Things are quiet here at The Lost Way, and not only because the world outside has been immobilized by a crippling ice storm. The silence has arisen from my deliberately withholding the new content I’ve been working on, in anticipation of ‘opening day’, if you will. Let me explain.
About a month ago I registered several domain names for this site, but for whatever reason these newborn web addresses need a few months to mature. It’ll be mid-May before I can transfer my preferred domain name. And while I could probably find a way to accelerate the process, I’m in no hurry, and frankly I’d rather not upload all my best content to an impermanent url anyway. And so I’m waiting. The intervening time gives me the opportunity to craft and polish my posts, including a new series I’ve been working on. This series will be the sort of thing that several years ago I, as a neophyte writer, would have been keen to read. Hopefully it will be of equal interest to others.
Having completed my brief review of The Blue Firedrake I embarked on some initial research on Elinor Shaw. I found references to an intriguing document called An account of the tryals, examination and condemnation, of Elinor Shaw, and Mary Phillip’s (two notorious witches,) Northampton assizes, on Wednesday the 7th of March 1705. To my dismay, however, there seems to be no way for me to access this book freely online, and the nearest microfiche copy is at the University of Toronto. Though this would mean a day trip for me to peruse an 8-page document, I would happily do so, if not for the simple fact that I do not have (and can’t reasonably pay for) a U of T library card. So my research into English witchcraft will have to wait, and I’ll resort instead to making further notes from the text.
In addition to the blog I’ve been finalizing Warden Of The Lost Way. I’ve completed the full Continuity Edit and have been drafting the epilogue before releasing the manuscript to my alpha readers. I’m a bit at odds regarding this epilogue. It, like the rest of the book, has grown longer than I had anticipated, but my instincts are telling me to keep it brief. For now I will allow it to take the shape it chooses and leave the editing for later.
And finally, for my own word-geek entertainment, I have been skimming through a fortuitous thrift-store find, A Dictionary Of Modern Slang, Cant And Vulgar Words Used At The Present Day In The Streets Of London (1860) by John Camden Hotten. It features such colorful terms as ABSQUATULATE, BUZBLOAK, COLLYWOBBLES, and DOLLYMOP, and as you can see, I’ve only progressed to ‘D’ so far. When I’m through I don’t think I’ll be able to resist posting a full review.
So circle back now and again, especially towards the end of May. There’s a wind and a rattle in the tunnel.
– DGP
The Lost Way 