Season's Greetings

With the holiday season almost upon us, I'd like to wish all of my readers [both of you] the very best for Christmas and the New Year. 2014 has been a very good year in the Latham household, and with lots of projects in the pipeline and at least one book out next year, here's hoping 2015 is even better!

Cheers everyone!

Card designed by Dom Murray, from his Sinister Snowmen range.

The Other Fright Before Christmas

Delighted that Titan Books used another of my offerings for their festive Advent calendar on Twitter yesterday:

I also got included in their Advent window #10, as part of a collection of pictures of author's desks. (↻ from top) Kim Newman, Adam Christopher, Rachel Howzell, me, and Freda Warrington. Illustrious company, I'm sure you'll agree.

You can't really see the whole workspace clearly, but I've added a proper photo below. The reason I draw attention to my office isn't just because I'm proud of my decorating skills (and those of Mrs Lost Victorian, of course), but because I think it's vital to productivity to have a proper workspace. Finally, I have a tidy(ish) area to work in, surrounded by all my reference material in easy reach, and with the inspiring figure of Horatio, Lord Nelson gazing down at me, judging me harshly when I'm being lazy. Might need to write a bit about that in a proper blog in the future.

A Fright Before Christmas

A poetic contribution to the Titan Books advent calender.

The Lazarus Gate

Today, the cover of the Lazarus Gate, my début novel of Victorian science fiction and mystery, has been revealed (many thanks to Titan Books)! The book hits the shelves next Autumn (September in the US and October in the UK, most likely).

From the press release:

This is the tale of a secret war between universes, between reality and the supernatural; a war waged relentlessly by an elite group of agents; unsung heroes, whose efforts can never be acknowledged, but by whose sacrifice we are all kept safe.

So what exactly is The Lazarus Gate? Well, that'd be telling. But suffice to say that its very existence will change the world forever. Stay tuned for more!

The Very Thing for the Discerning Lady...

It struck me recently that I haven't posted much in the way of Victoriana recently. Considering I frequently pine for my own era, before that deuced time machine incident stranded me here, this is a poor state of affairs indeed.

I was going through my collection of Victorian cuttings the other day (as you do), and was struck once again by how great the old 1800s advertisements were. It was a boom period for typeography, design and headlines, giving rise to a massive variety of adverts in publications, on billboards, playbills, the sides of omnibuses... essentially any black space in Victorian London became prime real estate for an advertisement. The results, however, varied from the beautiful to the surreal, and the downright terrifying ("Toothache sir? Try some cocaine." "Bad posture, madam? You'll need an electric corset.")

Not all Victorians were enamoured by the glut of advertising, as this Punch cartoon from 1886 illustrates:

ADVERTISING IN EXCELSIS.

Mrs. Blokey, Junior (who is of a romantic turn)."MY! AIN'T THE MOON LOVELY, GLITTERIN' ON THE WYVES! IT DOES ONE'S HEART GOOD TO SEE IT!" Mr. B. (Blokey and Son). "AH! AND WOULDN'T IT DO ONE'S 'ART GOOD TO SEE 'BLOKEY AND SON'S PICKLES' PRINTED RIGHT ACROSS IT IN CAPITAL LETTERS, BIG ENOUGH FOR ALL THE WORLD TO READ WITH THE NAKED HI!"

Punch, Almanack, 1886

I'll leave you with some of my favourites:

Yes, as we all know, there are but two infallible powers in this world!

An instantaneous cure, suitable for your... children? Argh!

Need one of these for the pesky squirrel that eats my strawberries...

If you're interested at all in Victorian design, I can't recommend this book highly enough: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Scrapbook-Robert-Opie/dp/0954795490/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417777467&sr=8-1&keywords=the+victorian+scrapbook