Amy Griswold's Blog
June 13, 2017
Death by Silver and the Victorian era: Secrets All The Way Down
My gaslamp fantasy/mystery novel Death by Silver is available now as part of the (awesome) LGBT+ Storybundle, and Melissa already did a thoughtful post about why so many of us ended up writing books about the Victorian era. My own thoughts (other than that the clothes are spiffy, and the society interestingly grotesque):
The Victorian era is great for murder mystery writers, because everybody has a secret. Usually more than one secret. There's so much social pressure to conform to a set of rules that become increasingly impossible as the period wears on, both because the rules become more frenetically rigid, and because under the surface, actual reality has increasingly diverged from the Victorian ideal. Almost everyone did things that they weren't supposed to, or didn't live up to their society's image of who they were supposed to be. And that makes it easy to have a book full of suspects who all have plausible reasons to kill.
There are other secrets in Death by Silver, too – there's Ned and Julian's relationship, which is criminal under the laws of the era and would destroy Ned's professional life if it became public knowledge. There are the secrets of their shared school years, in which the bullying they suffered left its mark on them, however much they might not want to admit that as adults. And there are the secrets of their own emotions, which they struggle to share despite having few available models for how to negotiate a functional relationship.
Which is not to say they don't have any models. One of the things I enjoyed about working on Death by Silver and its sequel, A Death at the Dionysus Club was the opportunity to talk about queer community – Julien has friends who help him navigate the world as a gay man. Ned finds it harder to fit into Julian's social scene as a man with more conventionally masculine interests, but does eventually find his niche. And Ned has his straight friends at the Mercury Club as well – friends whose friendship is contingent on Ned lying to them, at least by omission, about his sexuality.
In a world so full of secrets, there's something very refreshing about the ability of detective work – or magic – to penetrate beneath the surface and reveal what's really true. I think one big thing that Death by Silver is about is revealing, and facing, the truth, and I hope it's satisfying when that happens, in all kinds of ways. It may not end quite as neatly as Victorian popular novels – I'm reminded of one particularly fabulous period piece that neatly removes an inadvertently bigamous spouse by having the poor lady die in a sudden railway accident three pages before the end of the book – but it ends with the mystery solved and at least a large measure of justice served.
And then there's the sequel, A Death at the Dionysus Club, in which it becomes clear early in the book that solving the mystery may mean endangering everyone who depends on the queer community to keep their personal secrets safe, which is a different kind of problem. The Victorian era, ladies and gentlemen (and other gentlepersons): it's secrets all the way down. And a great source of plot because of it.
The Victorian era is great for murder mystery writers, because everybody has a secret. Usually more than one secret. There's so much social pressure to conform to a set of rules that become increasingly impossible as the period wears on, both because the rules become more frenetically rigid, and because under the surface, actual reality has increasingly diverged from the Victorian ideal. Almost everyone did things that they weren't supposed to, or didn't live up to their society's image of who they were supposed to be. And that makes it easy to have a book full of suspects who all have plausible reasons to kill.
There are other secrets in Death by Silver, too – there's Ned and Julian's relationship, which is criminal under the laws of the era and would destroy Ned's professional life if it became public knowledge. There are the secrets of their shared school years, in which the bullying they suffered left its mark on them, however much they might not want to admit that as adults. And there are the secrets of their own emotions, which they struggle to share despite having few available models for how to negotiate a functional relationship.
Which is not to say they don't have any models. One of the things I enjoyed about working on Death by Silver and its sequel, A Death at the Dionysus Club was the opportunity to talk about queer community – Julien has friends who help him navigate the world as a gay man. Ned finds it harder to fit into Julian's social scene as a man with more conventionally masculine interests, but does eventually find his niche. And Ned has his straight friends at the Mercury Club as well – friends whose friendship is contingent on Ned lying to them, at least by omission, about his sexuality.
In a world so full of secrets, there's something very refreshing about the ability of detective work – or magic – to penetrate beneath the surface and reveal what's really true. I think one big thing that Death by Silver is about is revealing, and facing, the truth, and I hope it's satisfying when that happens, in all kinds of ways. It may not end quite as neatly as Victorian popular novels – I'm reminded of one particularly fabulous period piece that neatly removes an inadvertently bigamous spouse by having the poor lady die in a sudden railway accident three pages before the end of the book – but it ends with the mystery solved and at least a large measure of justice served.
And then there's the sequel, A Death at the Dionysus Club, in which it becomes clear early in the book that solving the mystery may mean endangering everyone who depends on the queer community to keep their personal secrets safe, which is a different kind of problem. The Victorian era, ladies and gentlemen (and other gentlepersons): it's secrets all the way down. And a great source of plot because of it.
June 7, 2017
Storybundle!
Hi folks,
I’m excited to announce that Death by Silver by me and Melissa Scott is now available as part of an awesome LGBT+ Storybundle !
Curated by Melissa, this ebook Storybundle features historical fantasy, contemporary werewolves, superhero adventures, Victorian adventure, a YA ghost story, secondary world fantasies, a noir-inflected war between Heaven and Hell, books by six Spectrum and Lambda Literary Award finalists and winners, and assorted stories celebrating queerness that will hold you entranced until the very last word.The initial titles in the LGBT+ Bundle (minimum $5 to purchase) are:
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles
Wonder City Stories by Jude McLaughlin
The Mystic Marriage by Heather Rose Jones
Riley Parra Season One by Geonn Cannon
Out of This World by Catherine Lundoff
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $15, you get all five of the regular titles, plus seven more!
The Marshal's Lover by Jo Graham
Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman
Point of Hopes by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett
Death by Silver by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold
The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories by A.C. Wise
Trafalgar and Boone in the Drowned Necropolis by Geonn Cannon
Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff
This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com . You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books! You’ll also have the option to donate part of your payment to the Rainbow Railroad, an organization helping gay men in Chechnya (and helping LGBT people escape persecution around the world).
In short: a fabulous book bundle for an unbeatable price. Get it now!
I’m excited to announce that Death by Silver by me and Melissa Scott is now available as part of an awesome LGBT+ Storybundle !
Curated by Melissa, this ebook Storybundle features historical fantasy, contemporary werewolves, superhero adventures, Victorian adventure, a YA ghost story, secondary world fantasies, a noir-inflected war between Heaven and Hell, books by six Spectrum and Lambda Literary Award finalists and winners, and assorted stories celebrating queerness that will hold you entranced until the very last word.The initial titles in the LGBT+ Bundle (minimum $5 to purchase) are:
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles
Wonder City Stories by Jude McLaughlin
The Mystic Marriage by Heather Rose Jones
Riley Parra Season One by Geonn Cannon
Out of This World by Catherine Lundoff
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $15, you get all five of the regular titles, plus seven more!
The Marshal's Lover by Jo Graham
Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman
Point of Hopes by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett
Death by Silver by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold
The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories by A.C. Wise
Trafalgar and Boone in the Drowned Necropolis by Geonn Cannon
Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff
This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com . You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books! You’ll also have the option to donate part of your payment to the Rainbow Railroad, an organization helping gay men in Chechnya (and helping LGBT people escape persecution around the world).
In short: a fabulous book bundle for an unbeatable price. Get it now!
August 22, 2016
Jo Graham on Patreon
Today on the Wordpress blog: Why you should back
jo_graham
's Patreon.
Short version: because she is awesome and her stories are awesome and this will let her write more of them faster. Check out her Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jograham
jo_graham
's Patreon.Short version: because she is awesome and her stories are awesome and this will let her write more of them faster. Check out her Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jograham
August 17, 2016
The Eagle's Heir + new blog
Check out
jo_graham
's post about the interactive fiction game we're writing for Choice of Games, The Eagle's Heir! I am having a blast writing this: so far I have gotten to write airship pirates, a dreadful Victorian dinner party, an elopement, a theatrical automaton gone berserk, and an assassination attempt foiled by the creative use of kitchen equipment, and we are only at the halfway mark. Also, more serious reflections on loyalty, idealism, honor, gender, and politics. I'm loving this.
*****
Also, a heads-up: I'm going to be shifting more of my pro blogging over to my WordPress blog, although I'll still link or mirror posts here.
Today on the new blog: I review Inhuman Condition, a web series starring Tori Higginson as a therapist for supernatural patients.
jo_graham
's post about the interactive fiction game we're writing for Choice of Games, The Eagle's Heir! I am having a blast writing this: so far I have gotten to write airship pirates, a dreadful Victorian dinner party, an elopement, a theatrical automaton gone berserk, and an assassination attempt foiled by the creative use of kitchen equipment, and we are only at the halfway mark. Also, more serious reflections on loyalty, idealism, honor, gender, and politics. I'm loving this.*****
Also, a heads-up: I'm going to be shifting more of my pro blogging over to my WordPress blog, although I'll still link or mirror posts here.
Today on the new blog: I review Inhuman Condition, a web series starring Tori Higginson as a therapist for supernatural patients.
March 17, 2016
New project, more Mathey & Lynes, and more news!
I’m working on an exciting new project, a text-based game for Choice of Games, co-written with
jo_graham
. It's a steampunk adventure set in 1830s France, and I'm having a blast writing it. Look for THE EAGLE'S HEIR early next year!
In the Mathey & Lynes series,
mescott
and I are planning two short stories and a novella this year, with a full-length novel to follow next year. I'm re-immersing myself in the fabulously weird world of Victorian England and preparing to spend some quality time with Ned and Julian.
I'm also working on a Stargate novella in the Legacy series, and I'll be attending this year's Creation Stargate convention in Chicago this September with some of the other Fandemonium authors.
Finally, if you haven't already checked out the Lethe Press March sale, it's a great deal: buy at least three ebooks, and each title is only $1.50. If you're looking for DEATH BY SILVER, DEATH AT THE DIONYSUS CLUB, or Melissa's POINTS series, you can find them on the Gay Fantasy page, along with a host of other titles worth picking up.
jo_graham
. It's a steampunk adventure set in 1830s France, and I'm having a blast writing it. Look for THE EAGLE'S HEIR early next year!In the Mathey & Lynes series,
mescott
and I are planning two short stories and a novella this year, with a full-length novel to follow next year. I'm re-immersing myself in the fabulously weird world of Victorian England and preparing to spend some quality time with Ned and Julian.I'm also working on a Stargate novella in the Legacy series, and I'll be attending this year's Creation Stargate convention in Chicago this September with some of the other Fandemonium authors.
Finally, if you haven't already checked out the Lethe Press March sale, it's a great deal: buy at least three ebooks, and each title is only $1.50. If you're looking for DEATH BY SILVER, DEATH AT THE DIONYSUS CLUB, or Melissa's POINTS series, you can find them on the Gay Fantasy page, along with a host of other titles worth picking up.
September 28, 2015
Write ALL the things!
A busy month! Lots of things in the works:
My short story for the second Stargate anthology is in to MGM for review; it's a Ronon-centric story set in his younger days on Sateda, and was fun to write. The anthology is called POINTS OF ORIGIN, includes both SG-1 and SGA stories, and should be out later this year.
Melissa Scott and I have an outline for the next installment of the Mathey and Lynes series, a novella tentatively titled BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA, in which Ned and Julian attempt to go on holiday together, but become mixed up in a metaphysical burglary. We've tentatively scheduled the next full-length Mathey and Lynes novel, DEATH UNDER FALSE PRETENSES, to be completed in early 2017.
Jo Graham and I are also working on a novella, this one a dark fantasy centered on a group of immortal artists in pursuit of a demonic killer. Writing an immortal Constantine Cavafy in Greenwich Village in 1980 may be the most entertaining thing I've done in a long time.
And I'm starting to plan my next Stargate project (starting to plan: like commencing to get ready to begin), a Legacy series novella (this year it seems to be novellas all the way down) centering on John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir. Three Legacy novellas are planned for next year, to be published individually in ebook form and then collected into a single print volume.
My short story for the second Stargate anthology is in to MGM for review; it's a Ronon-centric story set in his younger days on Sateda, and was fun to write. The anthology is called POINTS OF ORIGIN, includes both SG-1 and SGA stories, and should be out later this year.
Melissa Scott and I have an outline for the next installment of the Mathey and Lynes series, a novella tentatively titled BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA, in which Ned and Julian attempt to go on holiday together, but become mixed up in a metaphysical burglary. We've tentatively scheduled the next full-length Mathey and Lynes novel, DEATH UNDER FALSE PRETENSES, to be completed in early 2017.
Jo Graham and I are also working on a novella, this one a dark fantasy centered on a group of immortal artists in pursuit of a demonic killer. Writing an immortal Constantine Cavafy in Greenwich Village in 1980 may be the most entertaining thing I've done in a long time.
And I'm starting to plan my next Stargate project (starting to plan: like commencing to get ready to begin), a Legacy series novella (this year it seems to be novellas all the way down) centering on John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir. Three Legacy novellas are planned for next year, to be published individually in ebook form and then collected into a single print volume.
August 5, 2015
Shore Leave!
I'll be at Shore Leave 37 this weekend, heading out to the con at just-kill-me-now-o'clock on Friday morning and hopefully arriving in early afternoon.
My panel schedule, as I understand it:
Keeping it Real: Facts in SF -- 5 PM Friday
Alternate, Steampunk, Gaslamp: Creating Parallel Worlds -- 10 AM Saturday
Upcoming Stargate Fiction -- 3 PM Saturday
LGBT Characters in SFF -- 4 PM Saturday
Writing and Publishing Short Stories -- 1 PM Sunday
Writing the Next Book -- 3 PM Sunday
It's always a great con, and I'm looking forward to it (and hoping I can catch David Nykl's talk on Sunday!)
My panel schedule, as I understand it:
Keeping it Real: Facts in SF -- 5 PM Friday
Alternate, Steampunk, Gaslamp: Creating Parallel Worlds -- 10 AM Saturday
Upcoming Stargate Fiction -- 3 PM Saturday
LGBT Characters in SFF -- 4 PM Saturday
Writing and Publishing Short Stories -- 1 PM Sunday
Writing the Next Book -- 3 PM Sunday
It's always a great con, and I'm looking forward to it (and hoping I can catch David Nykl's talk on Sunday!)
March 4, 2015
Writing updates
It's been a long winter, but I feel that I'm emerging from the cave and blinking at the light. It helps that it's actually sunny and warm today, rather than some variation of ice, snow, melted snow that's now ice, or gray clouds threatening to produce more snow and ice.
My next SG-1 novel, MURDER AT THE SGC, is turned in and on its way to MGM for their review. We're hoping it'll be out in April or early May. Stay tuned! I'll let you know an exact publication date when I have one.
And my short story "The Passing Bell" sold to the TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER anthology, so I'm looking forward to seeing that in print in 2014 as well. I've also got stories due out this year in The Lane of Unusual Traders project and the DAUGHTERS OF FRANKENSTEIN anthology.
Now to go see what I can do for all those anthology calls I've been making myself ignore until I was finished with the book!
My next SG-1 novel, MURDER AT THE SGC, is turned in and on its way to MGM for their review. We're hoping it'll be out in April or early May. Stay tuned! I'll let you know an exact publication date when I have one.
And my short story "The Passing Bell" sold to the TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER anthology, so I'm looking forward to seeing that in print in 2014 as well. I've also got stories due out this year in The Lane of Unusual Traders project and the DAUGHTERS OF FRANKENSTEIN anthology.
Now to go see what I can do for all those anthology calls I've been making myself ignore until I was finished with the book!
December 27, 2014
A Death at the Dionysus Club ebook formats
Just a note that if anyone's thinking of buying A Death at the Dionysus Club as an after-Christmas treat (and it would make a lovely after-Christmas treat!), it turns out we're currently on a Kindle exclusive, so there's no EPUB version available. I will let you know if that changes! (It's not up to me, but to our publisher.)
The Kindle version is DRM-free, though, so you can convert it to EPUB using Calibre (my favorite free ebook management software) or the MOBI to EPUB converter of your choice.
And the first book in the Lynes and Mathey series, Death by Silver, is still available in EPUB from Weightless Books as well as for Kindle through Amazon.
The Kindle version is DRM-free, though, so you can convert it to EPUB using Calibre (my favorite free ebook management software) or the MOBI to EPUB converter of your choice.
And the first book in the Lynes and Mathey series, Death by Silver, is still available in EPUB from Weightless Books as well as for Kindle through Amazon.
November 6, 2014
Sneak peek: "The Wreck of the Airship Octavia"
You can now read a preview of my steampunk story for the Young Explorer's Adventure Guide anthology:
The Wreck of the Airship Octavia
For once, the icon is entirely relevant. :-)
The Kickstarter for the anthology has less than two weeks to go, so if you've been thinking of throwing some cash in the hat, now's the time! Any help in spreading the word would also be welcome.
The Wreck of the Airship Octavia
For once, the icon is entirely relevant. :-)
The Kickstarter for the anthology has less than two weeks to go, so if you've been thinking of throwing some cash in the hat, now's the time! Any help in spreading the word would also be welcome.
