Fun times, editing, editing, editing. This one is coming together…
“Bingo.” At the intersection of History & Slang
I can get swept along when writing, especially when writing dialogue. I’ve heard this state of writing called “flow” and that makes sense to me. Cruising along in my current story, set sometime around 1935 and out of the mouth of one of my characters comes the word “Bingo.” I’ve never used the word outside the game with the balls and whirlywheels myself, but this fictional gent decided to say it in my story. It jolted me out of the story and I thought: Did anyone even use the word Bingo in the ’30s? Just one of the things I worry about.
In my story, I mean “Bingo” in the sense of “you got it” not “I have aligned 5 arbitrary letter-number combinations, give me a prize.” Etymological dictionaries on my shelf say maybe Bingo goes back to 1815, the other says maybe only 1936 without much explanation. Not very helpful. I want my stories to capture language as it was used, to sound natural but be historically…well, probable if not absolutely correct.
Etymological dictionaries saying it was used in 1815, so yes, it would fine in a story set in the 1930s just isn’t good enough. In historical research, we sometimes get to that point of proving if something was at all possible and ignore if it was probable. It’s setting a too low bar for historical accuracy.
This is where Google Books’ Ngram Viewer can be helpful. It uses the collective bajillion-zillion words scanned by Google Books and charts them by year published. You can use it to chart a word or phrase’s popularity in all of GoogleBooks 450 million scanned published works. It’s not definitive, and may not perfectly reflect normal conversation, but certainly helpful to see how frequently the word was used in print. I don’t think it includes newspapers, which would be very useful if it would.
Turns out 1930-something isn’t a great time of the word Bingo. It was around, and was used earlier according to this chart, but has been climbing in popularity since then. The true high-water mark came in 1976, apparently. No idea why that would be, but that’s for someone else to chase. I have a story to get back to.
Like this post? Here’s more about historical research:
How to know Things are Bound to get Worse
How to Research History like a Novelist
About the Author: Benjamin L. Clark writes and works as a museum curator.
Read hungrily and delightedly…
“I read hungrily and delightedly, and have realized since that you can’t write unless you read.” — William Trevor.
Noir Renaissance?
A Noir Renaissance?
Probably the best essay I’ve read on noir fiction in a very long time, addressing the whiteness of noir, and the potential of its resurgence, making the point that noir has a place in protest literature. I think it absolutely has that chance, but not many writers take it. I certainly haven’t, but it’s something I’ll think about.
Nicholas Seeley, the author of the article, gives a good definition of noir stories as well:
By “noir,” I mean something more than a general tone of bleakness and dysfunction. … Anglo-American fiction evolved in the grip of a controlling public morality, which demanded the representation of behavior only within certain socially acceptable lines. The classic crime story, the kind written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dame Agatha Christie, is the whodunit: it takes place in an essentially orderly universe, with a common understanding of good and evil. Crime here is a dangerous anomaly, but order can be restored by a hero-detective who investigates and, eventually, unmasks the criminal: revealing evil for what it is, giving it a physical location in an individual, and in the process, re-affirming the innocence of the other characters.
Noir, as it emerged in the middle of a violent century, said to hell with all that. Its world was chaotic, baroque and hypocritical. Crime doesn’t disturb this world, it’s foundational to it. Noir stories gave the stage to criminals and their motivations, which range from unspeakable passions to a firm conviction that their particular crime serves a greater good. A detective may pursue such a criminal, but noir reveals the line between them to be a product of chance and circumstance—if, indeed, such a line exists at all.
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To new beginnings
This is definitely not my first blog post.
I had a blog about book collecting and bibliophilia for many years over on blogger. I’m active over on tumblr too, but that isn’t so much blogging as a constant stream of amusing/pretty/cool stuff. I post a lot of photos and quotes and things I happen to like, (i.e. typewriters. I love me some typewriters.) It’s more immediate too, so there will be music links and funny memes, you know, tumblr stuff. Here, I’ll share links to articles, tools, and especially historic research resources I find helpful. I may occasionally post music to write to, or cool images.
Here, I’ll talk about my research, my writing, whatever I’m working on as I progress toward my writing goals. What are those goals? Well, in the short-term, I’ve managed to get a piece of flash-fiction placed with cool series from Akashic Books. Next is to finish another short (but longer than flash) piece and get it placed somewhere. Longer term, I’m working on what I’m seeing as a novella series, and then another series of full-length novels. Both series are historic thrillers/mysteries. One of those series grabbed me by the collar and is dragging me along.
What I’m working on now: a novella set in and around 1930s Denver. I was not alive in the 1930s nor have I lived in Denver, so there’s some research to do. This story also features a main character who I think will be a series character. Anyway, the short has been a lot of fun, using info I’ve dug up previously, but haven’t used.
I’ve gotten to know the main character in this one pretty well. He first appeared as a supporting cast member of my first attempt at a novel back in 2007 or so. Through edits, rewrites, and dumping the whole thing and starting over a couple times, he’s emerged as one of the two main characters of that novel — he was too fascinating, and too much fun to hang out with compared to my original main character.
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Anyway, thanks for reading. No spoilers, but amazing poster served as a bit of inspiration this week:
Book Review: The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
I’ve just finished The Murder of Mary Russell. Wow. It’s … fantastic. I get nervous with Laurie R King’s new books in her beloved Mary Russell – Sherlock Holmes series. This is book 14 of the long-running series. Sure, I love some books of the series better than others … but this book was marvelous and absolutely the follow-up I needed (as a fan) after Dreaming Spies, Garment of Shadows, and (deep breath), The Pirate King.After a deadly confrontation, readers are drawn through the history of one of Sherlock Holmes’s earliest cases and the true background of the fascinating Mrs. Hudson(!), and the true nature of her relationship to Sherlock. We even get a bit of King’s take on a Sherlock Holmes not long before his arrival at Baker Street. I know I could read a *lot* more in that vein. Maybe someday King will give us a little more.
About half-way through this latest of the series, I had an idea that though I was enjoying it, The Murder of Mary Russell would only appeal to the die-hard fans of Mary Russell and maybe those true completists of Sherlock pastichery. And a few unbranded #histofic mavericks. After all, we’re delving deep — real deep, into the supporting cast of the series, usually territory for only the most devout readers of fanfic and scholars of minutia. However, after that half-way mark (or so), all that build up became more and more meaningful, reaching deep into the story of King’s Sherlock, which incidentally, is among my favorite interpretations.
We’re also (mostly) but not entirely back in London and Sussex for this tale. If you’re among the legions of King’s readers who love the globe-trotting nature of Russell and Holmes’s lives, you shouldn’t feel too cooped up, after sojourns at sea and a bit of time in Australia during the days of Transportation and gold.
So, a spoiler free review, given how little I can tell you, given that title. Yikes. Read The Murder of Mary Russell and see how the world of Sherlock and Mary Russell is changed forever.
Disclosure: I received a free advance ebook copy for review.
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Book Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
Book Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
“Reader, I murdered him…., A reimagining of Jane Eyre as a gutsy, heroic serial killer….”With a lead-in like that, I had high expectations. That and this is Lyndsay Faye we’re talking about, the creator of the marvelous Timothy Wilde series, and the one who finally gave us a gripping account of Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper that frankly is better than anything Conan Doyle would have come up with.
Jane Steele is a fun, action-filled homage to the Gothic triple deckers of the Victorian age. It has the classic tropes: Girl orphaned young, named Jane, abused by the wealthier kinfolk she lives with, sent away to horror-show school and becomes governess … I go into books labeled ‘reimaginings’ with gun-shy wariness. Like satire, it can be a fine line between brilliant and obnoxious, too cute or cloying. Steele is not a satire of the genre, but it is sly and winking, more like a quiet unspoken joke between old friends. Jane Steele is even published as a triple decker — thankfully under one cover. It’s action-filled and just tons of fun with some great characters I deeply hope to see again.
Steele, is also unflinching from the ugliness in ugly people, and hardships of the time. Some of that ugliness is only hinted at in those classic Gothic novels we love, but here if someone is a sexual predator, it’s said/shown.
Anyone shying away from the ‘serial killer’ tag — I think it’s not used well here. Jane Steele isn’t a serial killer. More like a vigilante, or frankly just someone who lives in hard place during a hard time. The violence is largely unflinching, but far from Tarantino-esque. This isn’t a cozy knitting mystery, but I think the majority of readers won’t be put off by the violence.
Faye’s descriptions are gold, building tension then giving readers that pinching little twist of anticipation making payoffs that much sweeter. Book to book, she just gets better and better.
Christmas List 2016 started
It’s not secret,
I really enjoyed the Blake & Avery series of historic thrillers by historian M.J. Carter last year. And my (not so) idle curiosity went ahead and tweeted the author herself when one could expect Blake & Avery 3 —–
It wasn’t entirely presumptuous on my part she was working on it, she’s tweeted before that the manuscript was underway.
So, this is what I learned:
So, there we have it. It will hopefully be a later 2016 release, and not need to be put off further still. Until then, I hope M.J. Carter feels better!
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Book Review: The Infidel Stain by MJ Carter
It’s been three years since Jeremiah Blake and bibliophile William Avery teamed up in India for what was one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read recently (The Strangler Vine) — getting in on the ground floor as it were of a new series. The Infidel Stain takes us to London in the early 1840s, into the orbit of publishers and pornographers, dissidents and rebels. Oh, and of course, murder. It’s one of those novels that just oozes with atmosphere of dank and dark London, after a terrifying time in the dangerous jangals of India. Our heroes have become something of celebrities given their encounter with Xavier Mountstuart. We learn a little more about the mysterious Jeremiah Blake’s background in this novel, which was interesting, to say the least. We don’t get much more of Avery, which I would have enjoyed. Maybe the only thing I’d have expected was that ardent bibliophile William Avery, on a rare visit to The City would indulge himself in a visit to a bookshop.
Historically rich, and textured, a thriller that had me reading late in huge gulps.
Ok, an admission: I liked the first book better. But with reports of Blake & Avery 3 well underway, I can’t wait to see what happens next. This book was published as The Printer’s Coffin in the United Kingdom.
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Book Review: First Impressions by Charlie Lovett
If you’re a follower of many bloggers, talkers, and reviewers in the bibliosphere (i.e., booklr, bookstagram, et. al.), you’ve probably already heard about Charlie Lovett’s new book, First Impressions. I received a copy of Lovett’s latest bibliomystery from his publisher for review.
It’s good.
For a long time I was a “Decide to read a book, finish it no matter what” reader. If I chose poorly, it was an act of contrition to the bibliogods to finish a crappy book.
But, I began to feel like Life’s Too Short for that kind of strict observance. I asked around what other readers did. Some read to page 100, which seemed like a lot. I was surprised how many were like me — finish it no matter what. Those who would drop a stinker didn’t follow any guidelines, which should have been obvious had I also lead that kind of bohemian, lawless lifestyle like some kind of flamboyantly dressed Borneo ape-man.
Then I heard Nancy Pearl’s good advice, to subtract your age from 100, and that’s the number of pages you should give a book. As you age, and your reading time on earth shortens, and you become a better judge of literature, you don’t have to be quite so full of grace for books that don’t quite deserve to take up precious reading time.
So, for me, that means 66 pages.
By page 40, Fred got his answer:
Yes. Yes, it is a kissing book.
And by page 66 (actually well before page 66 …), I was hooked. But it was good I had adopted that guidance to give First Impressions a fair shake — the opening is cheesier than the pickup lines borne bravely by our protagonist. (An aside: I had a lot of terrible First Impression puns I’ve spared you. You’re welcome.) Not that I’m cheesy-opposed — I’m a big fan of the Aubrey-Mauturin series, but when it comes to romance, I prefer it given a bit more straight.
I found myself drawn in by Sophie Collingwood, a bibliophile in modern London who inherits an amazing library and far more trouble than she ever wanted. A curious bibliophile through and through, I was fascinated to tag along with her for a fun story, intertwined with a story about Jane Austen. I’m no Jane-ite, so I’m definitely not the best one to tell you how accurate/ fulfilling/ uhhh….. Janey(?) that part of the story was, which I know is why many readers will pick this one up. To be honest, I found myself frequently wanting to skip ahead to the modern side of the tale. Not because the Jane side of the story was not interesting, but that I identified more closely with Sophie and her side of the novel.
In the end, it was a good story I’d recommend especially to Anglophile bibliophiles, and I deeply hope it’s a dandy for the Jane Austen fans out there. After all, it’s probably been at least a week since the Jane-ites had a new book to read, which can be way too long for you people. Also in the plus column, I’d rank it highly on “bibliofactor”. The book stuff was meaty and not at all the simple McGuffin some authors try to foist off on us, rather the only setting in which this story could be told. Very good stuff.
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