Tag Archives: supernatural

Review: Women ghost story writers of the Victorian Age

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Ever since the Women’s Lib movement of the 1960s, editors have produced endless anthologies of stories written exclusively by women to prove that women can write as well as men, and to bring undeservedly obscure female authors to our attention. … Continue reading →

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Chapter 32 of Prophecies and Penalties

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Lavinia Priest constructed the plaza atop Sacred Mountain, the spiritual center of the Children of the New Revelation. Lavinia’s ghost controls Emily Fisher, her descendant, who is trying to uncover who has set the Children at odds with each other. … Continue reading →

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Chapter 30 of Prophecies and Penalties, and a notice about posts

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Prophecies and Penalties, my serial about a murder on a Vermont religious commune, has hit the thirty chapter mark! Hoorah! Emily Fisher, not-exactly-professional detective of this story, proclaims, “I am a gifted individual” in chapter 30. Oh, but the Trojans … Continue reading →

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Chapter 28 of Prophecies and Penalties

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Alex Bancroft has just told Emily Fisher that she is the Prophesied One of the Children of the New Revelation. As far as Emily’s concerned, that is sheer poppycock, just one more unnecessary complication in her screwed-up investigation into Stephen … Continue reading →

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The trial, Chapter 25 of Prophecies and Penalties, and Queen Caroline’s trial

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Brian Bixby

The trial is on! Defendant: Emily Fisher. Charges: Demonolatry, corrupting the young. Court: the High Council of the Children of the New Revelation. Prosecutor: Harold Lewis, of the High Council. Defender: Sonia Hoopes, Treasurer, Milltown council. In the eyes of … Continue reading →

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Chapter 24 of Prophecies and Penalties

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Emily Fisher is going to be tried by the Children of the New Revelation for corrupting the young and for being a demonolater. She is confined to her residence, not by the High Council, but by her half-sister to protect … Continue reading →

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A Mary Wilkins-Freeman twofer

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Ever hear of Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (1852 – 1930)? It’s not one of those names that has come ringing down the ages. She was one of those female New England regional writers circa 1900,[i] at a time when the … Continue reading →

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Conflict: reviewing a year of writing

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Time for another review of writing techniques, based on the last year’s work. Let’s talk about conflict. Lesson #1: Personal conflict works. Some of the better parts of Martha’s Children, notably Nora’s tense interview with her parish priest, are driven … Continue reading →

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The final chapter of Nightfeather: Ghosts

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Nightfeather: Ghosts, my Christmastime ghost story about Persephone Désirée Arabia Nightfeather Sanderson and the ghosts she encountered in Farnham, is now at its end with a final chapter. There’s not much more to say, except that if you haven’t been reading it … Continue reading →

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Chapter 21 of Nightfeather: Ghosts and the winter solstice

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Today is the darkest day of the year, the winter solstice, when the sun is over the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere for the shortest amount of time in a day. It always perplexed me as a child that the … Continue reading →

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