Female | 27 Sideblog about my writing (+ mythology/history stuff). Current main project is a Victorian set alternate reality book called the Peculiar Life of Clara Russell.
This blog is mostly about my writing and the process of my writing. You can probably expect memes only I really understand, ramblings and other stuff about my projects and just writing in general.
My Current WIPs:
The Peculiar Life Of Clara Russell:
In an alternate version of Oxford 1872, 18 year old Clara Russell lives a relatively normal life, well as normal as you can when you’re known as ‘peculiar’ by society. That is until she stumbles upon a prince and a murder all on one day. Dragged into solving an increasingly supernatural mystery surrounding an occult book, by Prince Leopold along with his tutor and her best friend Edith, and as an dangerous man begins to close in on them Clara’s life is about get a whole lot more complicated.
To celebrate my male MC’s birthday (and that of his real life historical counterpart) here’s a glimpse of his first meeting with my protagonist Clara, in the Bodleian Library as she’s working on a defective invention in my first draft of my WIP The Peculiar Life Of Clara Russell:
‘ “If you do not behave, I will not hesitate to throw you into the Thames.”
The words leave my mouth before I realise, spoken with all the frustrated authority of a parent scolding a wayward child. Except the child in question is a delicate brass-and-wood contraption, no larger than a music box, with wires and gears wound so tightly that even I am not entirely sure I remember how they fit together.
It sits on the table in front of me, gleaming under the dim library lamps, its inner workings sprawled open like an unfortunate autopsy. The Echo Recorder—my Echo Recorder—is supposed to capture and replay sound, it’s a device that, in theory, could preserve voices and conversations as easily as a pianist records a melody in a music box. Instead, for the third time this week, it lets out a wretched, ear-piercing shriek— pain reaches my ears and I scramble to switch the mechanism to neutral.
And then—
“Good Heavens, is it supposed to make that noise?”
I twist around sharply, startled.
A man stands behind me, flinching slightly, though his expression is caught between alarm and curiosity.
My first impression is blue—from the deep and vivid colour of his well-tailored frock coat, to the piercing light blue of his round eyes. It’s an arresting colour - the kind of blue that stands out even in the dim lighting of the library. My second thought is that he’s young, perhaps my age or a little older.
I take him in with a swift glance. No facial hair, no signs of arrogance yet, but that coat is expensive, and the way he holds himself—upright, practiced, careful—tells me he’s someone important. He probably waltzed in here expecting deference, expecting me to fetch them books and then scuttle out of the way.
“That is hardly a helpful remark.” I fold my arms and raise an eyebrow at him.
He gives me a vaguely sheepish look in return. “I don’t mean to intrude. But I must confess, I really wasn’t expecting…” He gestures vaguely to the strange brass and wood device on the table between us, and then raises his hands to his ears. “…that. When I stepped in here today.”
I sigh, running a hand over my forehead, “Neither was I, if I’m honest.”
His lips twitch as if he wants to smile, but he suppresses it. There’s something… oddly self-conscious about him, like he’s aware of how he takes up space. Not in the usual way men do— with swagger, overconfidence—but instead he is careful. Measured - as if he’d spent his life believing he was nothing but an obstacle.
“I see.” He hesitates, “although, I do believe libraries are usually quite strict about loud, unholy noises.”
“Well, I’ll send my sincerest apologies to the bookshelves,” I reply as I continue to fiddle with the device before me “And, I suppose, to you. I didn’t realise anyone was standing behind me.”
He waves a hand as if to dismiss the apology, then steps towards the table. It’s then that I notice his cane—it’s plain dark wood but extremely well-crafted, and under his grip, the handle is pure gold, shaped perhaps like the head of a mallard. He leans on it just enough that I realise instantly that it is not just an accessory. He looks uncomfortable, in the way I do when I encounter sudden loud noises – and not those caused by a defective invention.
There’s something familiar about him, and not just from the colour of his eyes being like the sky on a clear day, but his sharp but overall delicateness of his features, are certainly familiar, in a way I just can’t place.
His eyes drop to the table, to the scattered mechanical parts and the open brass device in front of me and I am suddenly even more wary of him. It’s not a foreign feeling; I have spent too much time in this library not to know what comes next when it comes to people of his clearly aristocratic raising. Either he is going to sneer, ask why I—a woman—am tinkering with something clearly beyond my comprehension. Or worse, he will offer some patronising remark about how impressive it is that I’ve gotten this far.
“I am rather curious—what exactly is it?"
Well, that is new.
“Why do you want to know?”’
The 8th of March is International Women’s Day, so in celebration of that I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do a post on some of the women in my work in progress, The Peculiar Life Of Clara Russell, complete with face claim (because I find writing easier when I have an actor in mind whilst writing).
Joined OC Social Network to help develop my characters & get into their heads better (so far created accounts for Clara and Leopold) and this daily wrapped weirdly fits Clara to a T.
Based off the real life Edith Liddell, younger sister of Alice Liddell, Edith is a gentle and kindhearted young woman who longs to step out of her sister’s shadow and help her best friend.
I am convinced that if the Bodley was to crumble and the Cherwell were to run dry, all I would have to do is look to Edith and everything would be better once more.
Edith was born in the spring of 1854, making her 18 at the time TPLOCR takes place.
She is the fifth child of Henry Liddell, The Dean of Christ Church and his wife, Lorina.
She is extremely close to her sister, Alice.
In 1856 her family moved to Oxford as her father was appointed into the position of The Dean of Christ Church.
She first met Clara Russell for the first time when she was four years old and they almost immediately became friends.
She was one of the three Liddell children who first heard the tale of Alice’s Adventures Underground (later Alice in Wonderland) on the boat trip up the River Isis on the 4 July 1862.
Edith is described as almost pre raphaelite in her looks, she reminds Clara a little of Elizabeth Siddal as Ophelia. She has a sullen expression most of the time.
Like her sister, Edith is very popular amongst the social circles of Oxford, but she’s a gentle kind of popular. However in reality she’s quite quiet.
Likes: tea parties, family gatherings, music, drawing and needle work, fashion.
Dislikes: Being photographed (having been photographed by Lewis Carroll as a young girl she’s entirely tired of the process), Being overshadowed by her sister even incidentally, being noticed in public.
She’s a bit of a romantic but she isn’t too impressed with her mother’s match making attempts. She’d much rather find her own romantic story, than have her mother write it.
She is the heart of the group of four at the heart of the murder mystery, she’s the glue that keeps people together. The truest friend anyone could ever ask for really.
Ah yes there’s nothing like spending part of your birthday week dragging your friends (somewhat against their will) from one part of Oxford to the next during your birthday trip there and timing it just so you can see if you got the travel time of a walk correct in one single line in your WIP 😅
Prince Albert died from Typhoid Fever (disputed as it may have been Crohns or cancer), leading Queen Victoria into years of mourning from which she’ll never come out of.
‘It will be eleven years since Josephine Russell vanished into the ground on the 14th of December. The authorities investigated, or so they said, but nothing ever turned up. Nothing has ever turned up. And it’s unlikely nothing will.’
For my novel, The Peculiar Life of Clara Russell, one of questions I had that began the idea of the novel was essentially: what would have happened if Albert had lived beyond 1861? Then, what if he had been saved from the brink of death by supernatural means?
The 14th of December is a massive date in my book’s universe, it’s the day our universe diverges from this novels.
Josie, the mother of my protagonist, Clara, is taken instead of Albert, she vanishes into the night and the police do nothing to find her and assume her to be dead. It’s the formative moment in Clara’s life that shapes her to where she is at the start of the novel, eleven years later in 1872.
Based off the real life Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Leo is a sheltered but intelligent prince experiencing freedom for the first time.
My first impression is blue—the deep and vivid colour of his well-tailored frock coat, to the piercing light blue of his round eyes. It’s an arresting colour really.
Leopold was born in Buckingham Palace on the 7th April 1853 to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom, he’s the 8th of their children and the youngest son. He is 19 when TPLOCR begins.
He was born with Haemophilia, a condition that affects the body’s ability to clot blood and means even the smallest knock could have disastrous consequences. As a result he was often kept in doors and away from any potentially dangerous or strenuous activities which….for Leopold was basically everything.
He is the smartest of the royal mob; he is polymath who could dictate full letters in German by the age of three. He is also a fierce patron of the arts.
He has a very turbulent relationship with his mother, who is extremely overbearing on him more so than his other siblings.
He had very few companions growing up. Barring two of his sisters whom he is very fond of, his tutors have been his most consistent companions though until recently they have come and gone every few years, meaning he was quite alone as a child with frequent illnesses.
Likes: fine china, the arts, croquet, collecting photographs and autographs.
Dislikes: Scotland, being treated as an invalid, his valet, being called an inseparable.
Leopold is a student at Christ Church College in Oxford, though not on a specific course, he’s essentially studying a little bit of everything he’s interested in.
He is often dragged home from Oxford on specific occasions because his mother commands it, he finds it very very frustrating.
He is the one who puts the group together in the story, though he does not command it as you would expect, he prefers to be the one offering knowledge than leading despite his position he holds in life.
Clara is the protagonist and title character of my duology The Peculiar Life Of Clara Russell.
‘I agree Miss Russell is strange, yes, but she also has the most uniquely brilliant mind’
Clara was born on the 23rd November 1854 to Archibald and Josephine Russell. She is 18 years old when her story begins.
Clara’s full name is Clara Enid Russell.
She is part Yorkshire, part Scottish in heritage but she was born and raised in Oxford, England.
She is a Sagittarius, she doesn’t believe Zodiacs affect anything though.
She is on the autistic spectrum, as a result she’s a little blunt unintentionally and she doesn’t recognise what she’s feeling some of the time though she feels emotions intensely and she often misses social cues. She also constantly forgets to eat, it’s a major issue.
Dislikes: authority figures, being forced into the status quo, porridge, loud noises.
She has a deep mistrust of authority figures due to the death of her mother in 1861.
Clara works at the Bodleian Library as an assistant librarian and spends most of her time there cataloging books and sorting shelves, when she’s not inventing things. She can find her way around the Bodley with her eyes closed.
She has very few friends, as she’s really not very social and prefers books and inventing to social events.
Due to her unfortunate abilities to see into the past and future and her unique standing in society, Clara is the reluctant leader of her friend group’s investigations, though she prefers brains over brawn and is incredibly awkward, but her friends look to her and that is almost enough for her to push through her discomfort.
Alternate History Fiction - a style of fictional narrative where the author changes one key element or elements about established history and then concocts a story that results from this change.
Common Themes in Alternate History Fiction
In alternate history fiction, authors isolate one element of history that, if changed, would alter all events that follow. The resulting setting is termed an “alternate universe.” Some common questions and themes in alternate history novels include:
What if the Confederate South won the American Civil War?
What if Nazi Germany had prevailed in World War II?
What if North America had been industrialized by its indigenous people?
What if Einstein’s observations on relativity immediately led to human space travel at the speed of light?
What if Leonardo da Vinci had invented time travel?
What if the United States had aligned with the Russian government to embrace communism?
What if flying, fire-breathing dragons were among Earth’s living reptiles?
What if Victorian British industrial design sustained all the way into the contemporary era of fashion and technology? (This particular alternate universe is known as the steampunk subgenre.)
Writing Tips: Alternate History Fiction
Many of today’s writers are interested in dipping their toes into the fertile world of alternate history fiction. To achieve the most effective alternative worldbuilding, there are a few key guidelines to follow.
Focus on one specific change to historical events. Make that single change the impetus for all the action that takes place in your novel. If you change too many elements, it may cause your story to veer too far from reality, which can drain your reader’s interest. Even the biggest fans of speculative fiction want some degree of groundedness in a storyline.
Do a ton of research that goes beyond the single event you are altering. The best alternate history novelists know voluminous details about the era they are altering. If, for instance, your novel alters the outcome of the Civil War, it is not enough to merely know the history of particular battles like Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Antietam. You must know the surrounding context of Union and Confederate life away from the battlefield. You must know the political events that preceded and followed the war.
Remember the same rules of standard fiction writing apply. You can have a brilliant idea for an alteration in the historical record, but it won’t matter if you don’t have textured characters and a compelling storyline. In the hierarchy of story, character, and world building, story and character still come first. If those two elements aren’t stellar, readers will check out.
History of Alternate History Fiction
Alternate history fiction took off in the twentieth century, but literary scholars often cite 1490’s Tirant lo Blanch by Joanot Martorell as the first published work of alternate history fiction.
It imagines a world where the Turks were prevented from seizing Constantinople.
Works of alternate history fiction trickled in during the 19th century and early 20th century, but a true bloom of the genre sparked during the Cold War era.
Alternate history fiction continues to thrive in the 21st century, particularly as film and television adaptations are created from alternate history books.
Famous works of alternate fiction include:
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962)
The Alteration by Kingsley Amis (1972)
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (1990)
Fatherland by Robert Harris (1992)
Making History by Stephen Fry (1997)
1632 by Eric Flint (2000)
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (2002)
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2004)
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Navik (2006)
Farthing by Jo Walton (2006)
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (2007)
Alternate History vs. Other Speculative Fiction
Alternate history fiction is part of the broader genre of speculative fiction, which includes science fiction.
However alternate history has defining elements that differentiate it from science fiction and other speculative subgenres.
Whereas sci-fi often concerns itself with future developments, alternative fiction is rooted in a change in historical events.
This point of divergence from actual history creates alternate timelines that affect all subsequent events.
Therefore, alternate history novels can span into the future, but that future is altered by some change in the established historical record.
2. 'I didn't account for the rotation of the planet and how that affects the constalations while my characters stargazed at different times of year, I have failed as a writer, and this entire thing is trash'
