Caffrey Conversation: Backdrop to Progress of Love

A series of paintings called The Progress of Love by the Rococo artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard was the inspiration for my latest Caffrey Conversation story. Finding a slot for it in Neal's timeline was straightforward since the theme of the paintings called out for a Valentine's Day story. Devising the plot was more complicated. My initial thought was to feature an attempted heist, but the size of the panels made me reconsider. Even for someone as gifted as Neal Caffrey, stealing a 10-foot tall painting would be quite a feat!

Novel progress: police of the future

One of the main characters of Prime Conditions is a police officer in a world where part of the policing role has been taken away. While Zinnia misses that aspect, her heart remains with police work. But what is police work centuries from now?

Six-Crossed Knot: Backdrop to Masque

Masque is the tenth story in Six-Crossed Knot, a series based on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. The story takes place in the spring of 1604, roughly six months after Jack became a vampire. Philippe has a larger role than his first appearance in the prequel, Walking Shadows. Matthew and Ysabeau are also in the story. Locations for this story include the Globe Theatre and two palaces -- Hampton Court and Whitehall.

Vault Acquisition: Standing Stones

Standing Stones is the ninth Arkham Files acquisition to the library vault at Miskatonic University. It is the sequel to Scorpion Hill and takes place in February 1976.

Writing retreat: 2020

A week ago Silbrith and I wrapped up our annual writing retreat, and I've been reading my post on last year's retreat to refresh my memory of what I said about the 2019 retreat. So much has changed...

Crowley: On the Outside Looking In

As Glass Angels draws to a close, Crowley reflects on the end of Astrena. Is he worried about his future as well? He's already departed from Supernatural. Is this the end of his involvement in my Crossed Lines series too? He doesn't appear to be concerned, and he has good reason to be confident. How could he possibly be written out when there's so much potential?

Glass Angels: Questions about Beethoven

Toward the end of Chapter 2 in Glass Angels, Neal dreams of Beethoven, or so he believes. Earlier in the day, he'd played on a square piano from the time of Beethoven. The piano, as well as a contemporaneous lyre-guitar, is located in an alcove of his hostess Electra's bedroom. That evening Neal and Richard gave an impromptu concert on the instruments for the group of amateur actors assembled in Electra's house. Was that the reason he later dreamed of Beethoven? For readers of my Crossed Lines series, undoubtedly several other possibilities came to mind.