After months of a vow of silence, I can at last make utterances about this without getting flogged.
Last fall, I had a dream gig. For the first volume in editor Stephen Jones’ next “mosaic novel” project, a slice of cosmic noir called The Lovecraft Squad, I had the pleasure of retelling “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” from the viewpoint of the pre-FBI agent key to breaking the case open. I’ve never devised a character quite like him, and evidently he went over so well he’s become a recurring figure throughout the book.
Which should be due out this October.
Because I try to look for the silver linings, how this came out is one of the good things that emerged from jacking my knee last year. That put me behind on everything, so I didn’t start the piece until last October, while Doli and I were seaside in Oregon. A lot of sensory impressions from the coast that found their way in might never have otherwise occurred to me. Plus, that’s where I discovered the wolf-eel, courtesy of the sign at the Rogue Brewery’s bayfront tap house in Newport.
Took one look at that beautiful blue-green face and said, not unlike Tom Hardy in Taboo, “I have a use for you…”
