Benjamin Hope: Author of The Procurement of Souls
Benjamin Hope author of fantasy novel Procurement of Souls
In my book, if you'll pardon the pun, Smashwords is a fantastic ebook platform. For those self-published authors out there, it offers an exceptional tool and service for publishing and formatting your ebook outside of Amazon. Amazon is, of course, also undeniably brilliant in facilitating the self-publishing process but it is limited to their own... Continue Reading →
The next invention from the world of The Procurement of Souls is another of Magnus Drinkwater's patented instruments, the EMOTOMETER. EMOTOMETER Notes: Patented by Magnus Drinkwater, the emotometer is a brass-based cylindrical apparatus which houses filament receptors capable of reading and interpreting states of being, determined by the density and combination of hormones and pheromones... Continue Reading →
The next inventions up from The World of The Procurement of Souls are patented serums from The Inventors' & Engineers' Guild of Bio-Alchemy. Morpheuserum High strength sleeping draught designed by Fellow and Master of The Guild, Professor Clarence Malahide. Veriform This truth serum was designed by Baron Magnus Drinkwater under commission from... Continue Reading →
Exploring the world of Victorian inventions for #inventorsmonth got me reflecting on all my own devices and creations within the world of The Procurement of Souls. So, I thought I'd do a series of vignettes showcasing a few. I start tonight with the viroscope, used in the story by Clementine in an attempt to track... Continue Reading →
Well it’s taken about 8 years and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but my debut, The Procurement of Souls, finally went on pre-release this week in anticipation of my official launch on 1st July. It’s a funny mix of excitement and trepidation as one enters into this next phase of the journey but... Continue Reading →
Genre: Steampunk Publisher: Tor Books When Leviticus Blue’s Boneshaker devastates 19th century Seattle, swamping it in zombifying blight gas, an enormous wall is built to contain it. Sixteen years later, Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes, re-enters the toxic, zombie-ridden city in search of her son, Ezekiel, who seeks exoneration for his father. Air pirates, rogues and... 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 →
Genre: Alternative Historical Fantasy Publisher: Bloomsbury 1806 and magic returns to England with the unravelling relationship between two contrary magicians. This book draws you in and immediately swallows you whole. Gothic-horror overtones and 19th century-pastiche prose conjure one enchanting read and the exquisitely detailed world practically steams from the pages. Pure sophistication: the ‘thinking wo/man’s’... Continue Reading →
Benjamin Hope: Author of The Procurement of Souls 