Author Archives: jess

The working title for the novel is The Datong Incident, which I’m describing as an anti-imperialist steampunk-spy-romance novel. Any feedback is of course welcome. — Occupied Peking Sunday, May 2, 1902 The sad, dull silence of a depopulated country enveloped … Continue reading →

By request, the paper I presented at Readercon: “Thesis and Antithesis, but not Synthesis: The Gothic in post-Frankenstein, pre-Wells 19th century Science Fiction” In this talk I’ll be exploring, briefly, the influence of the Gothic form on science fiction published … Continue reading →

The following is the table of contents for the book I’ve been working on for the past year, a user’s guide to the Victorian canon of great books. Its original title was The Victorians for Freshmen but I’ve decided on … Continue reading →

Readercon, for those who don’t know, is one of the premier conventions for literary science fiction in the world. And this year, much to my squeeing glee, I’ve been asked to be on some panels, which I’ve only been wanting … Continue reading →

I’ll be paneling at Readercon, in Burlington, Mass., July 10-13. I’ll be doing several panels, but in particular I’ll be doing a special one-man show on the influence of the Gothic on 19th century science fiction. So if you’re anywhere … Continue reading →

from my forthcoming The Victorians for Freshmen: The Sorrows of Satan. The Sorrows of Satan was written by Marie Corelli and was published in 1895. Corelli (1855-1924) was one of Great Britain’s top authors at her peak–John Sutherland calls her … Continue reading →

Seem to be settling into a solid daily rhythm of 1500 words or so, which is nothing compared to a John Scalzi but, hey, I do what I can. I: had the detective finish interviewing the newspaper reporter and then … Continue reading →

More research done today, but I still had enough time to make my quota and much besides that. I: had the detective finish interviewing the witnesses and begin speaking with the local newspaper reporter. Today’s reading: Husband and O’Loughlin’s Daily … Continue reading →

I’m cheating, a little–the sum of words is what I wrote over the weekend and today. Weekends are bad for writing, for me–I don’t have the time I’d like, and what time I do have is often interrupted by my … Continue reading →

Again, not as much forward progress as I would have liked, but I spent a lot of time doing research, which for a historical novel is kinda important. I: finished the interview between the victim’s sisters and the detective and … Continue reading →