Benjamin Hope: Author of The Procurement of Souls
Benjamin Hope author of fantasy novel Procurement of Souls
I don’t mean to rock the boat or put a bee in your bonnet but I think there may be space for a cliché or two in one’s narrative. This may come as a bolt from the blue for some readers but I would ask you not to jump to conclusions like a bull in... Continue Reading →
Useful Books for Research into the Victorian and Late Georgian Periods I mentioned at the end of my article, On Researching for an Alternative History Novel, that I would offer up some of the most useful titles I have come across when trying to construct a believable context from which my fictional worlds could grow.... Continue Reading →
When writing fantasy, especially alternative history such as the turn-of-the-century late-Victorian-styled world in which The Procurement of Souls is set, how does the writer ensure they hook the reader sufficiently enough that they are prepared to suspend their disbelief and immerse themselves within the story? Surely anything goes: it’s fantasy/science fiction, after all! Perhaps not... Continue Reading →
Objectivity. It’s not really possible when it comes to your own work. You’re just too in it. Of course, you can develop editorial skills and nurture the ability to identify what works and what doesn’t. But that only takes you so far. For those working with a view to self-publishing then, who does one turn... Continue Reading →
I found the blog My Growth as a Writer (A Personal Perspective) by sci-fi and dark fantasy writer @kmarkhoover very thought-provoking. It got me reflecting on my own writing journey to date and the inevitable trials and tribulations that every writer (aspiring or established) goes through in a lifetime, no matter the particular stage they are... Continue Reading →
It’s interesting. When qualifying my novel The Procurement of Souls as a Victorian-gothic-steampunk crossover (which it is!), my wife tells me, it’s off-putting. To who? To me, she says, steampunk cheapens it; it’s much more than that. Well, I happen to love quality fiction within the so-called steampunk sub-genre and by being specific, knowing our... Continue Reading →
Writing my recommendation for Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke reminded me of the 2015 BBC adaptation. Now, this is not a diatribe on the failures and pitfalls of book-to-screen adaptations (I’m just as much a fan of great movies and gritty TV as the next person) nevertheless… Books Are Always Better, Aren’t... Continue Reading →
My last writing blog ‘Writer’s Block: It’s in Your Head, Isn’t It?’ got me thinking about the writing environment and the perfect setting for creative flow. And so, to: Cigars and Dry Martinis Well, I’m not a smoker. Nor am I a heavy drinker, for that matter. But fate (actually, my wife’s career) was such... Continue Reading →
I came across this brilliant article in The New Yorker the other day, Why Walking Helps Us Think by Ferris Jabr, which offers a whistle-stop tour of the established link between walking and the formation of ideas, and of its literary champions, from Joyce, to Woolf, to Nabokov. Anyone who knows me will know I’m... Continue Reading →
Benjamin Hope: Author of The Procurement of Souls 