Eldritch Black, Author of Spooky Middle Grade Fiction
Attention book lovers! Join me on a journey to the mysterious and peculiar land of Weirdbey Island as I read excerpts from my novels.
The event will take place at the Clinton Community Hall on Saturday, January 28th at 2pm.
But that’s not all! There will also be a special activity, which may or may not involve creating monsters…
I’d love to see you there!
By now, you probably know there’s been some seriously spooky things happening on Whidbey Island! Rumors of witchery, and many mysterious occurrences. Perhaps you’ve read about them in The Witches Of Whidbey Island, but have you heard them?
Today, I’m pleased to announce my latest Weirdbey Island novel has been conjured into an audiobook narrated by the amazing J. Scott Bennett! Want to hear a sample? Click below:
It’s here at last, my new Gaslamp Fantasy novel with a twist of Steampunk, The Clockwork Magician!
The novel has been ten years in the writing and during that time it’s had almost as many incarnations as Doctor Who. This seems appropriate because I describe the adventure as Doctor Who meets Sherlock Holmes in an imaginary, magical London.
Originally, the book was a much shorter children’s story based on the silhouette art I made for my wife’s Steampunk Jewelry and art store, London Particulars.
The images traced the journey of the plucky Professor Thistlequick and his cat companion Happiness. Happiness’s silhouette in the artwork is our cat Bing (named long before the search engine).
The pictures sold well on Etsy and I had many people contacting me asking if I’d write a book, so because it wasn’t quite ready, I released two short stories; The Ghosts of the Tattered Crow and The Curious Incident at Gloamingspark Yard. The first is a short story about Jake Shillingsworth and a haunted London Inn, the second concerns Professor Thistlequick and a dark encounter with the fiend Spring Heeled Jack.
Professor Thistlequick and his cat really captured people’s imaginations, and one author asked if she could write fan fiction about the strange duo (I said yes of course and was very flattered), and another lady got a tattoo of Professor Thistlequick and Happiness soaring over the House of Lords on her shoulder 😀
I finished the first draft of the book in 2009 but didn’t quite know where it rested, so I rewrote it as a longer novel, and its second carnation had the working title ‘Shadows Over London’ (a nod to Shadows over Innsmouth).
I’ve since reworked the story and now it’s in its final carnation as ‘The Clockwork Magician’, a Gaslamp Fantasy Adventure.
The strings have been cut, and the story is ready to fly out into the world!
Here’s the blurb so you can learn more and there’s a preview below. The audiobook is finished and working its way through Audible’s publishing process and the narrator, Hannibal Hills, has done stunning work in bringing the characters to life in a whole new way. I can’t wait for you to hear the Professor, Jake and the grotesque Silas Grumble.
The Clockwork Magician
A street urchin with a mysterious gift. A nightmarish enemy hunting over the gaslit streets of London. Dark Magic Rising.
It’s a cold winter’s night when Jake Shillingsworth, serving boy at The Tattered Crow, finds himself running a task for his monstrous master Silas Grumble. Jake’s errands are never fun, but this one is worse than most. This one’s for a witch…
When Jake’s best friend is snatched by a terrifying creature he’s forced to seek help from Professor Thistlequick; an eccentric man known as the clockwork magician.
Soon Jake finds himself in strange shadowed streets and soaring over clouds in a race to stop the gravest of threats.
London Bridge is falling down, and so will the entire city if Jake and his unlikely companions fail.
The Clockwork Magician is what would happen if Sherlock Holmes met Doctor Who with a Dickensian cast of grotesques, nail biting adventures, and shadowy heroines who aren’t what they seem.
I’m thrilled to announce that another of my books has been turned into a spooky audiobook. Yes, One Dark Hallow’s Eve , the short ‘lost’ tale from The Book of Kindly Deaths is now available on Audible.
The narrator, Hannibal Hills has done a stunning job once more of turning my dark Halloween tale into an even spookier experience. The acting and atmosphere is perfect and I hope you will really enjoy this new version of Hallow’s Eve.
You can hear a sample below, and buy the book on Audible.
And remember, Halloween is Coming!
Greetings at the Occasional Blog! I’m most excited to announce that book two of Weirdbey Island is published and is available in all bookshops! The Day of the Jackalope follows on from the spooky events of The Pirates of Penn Cove
If you live on Whidbey Island, or have traveled to its beautiful shores then there’s a fair chance you’ve visited the quaint town of Langley (which is where Dylan and his friends live). And if you have, you’ve probably spotted one of the many colored rabbits who hop about the town’s gardens and streets.
There’s even one who frequents the Useless Bay Coffee shop where I often write (evidence below).
Anyway… why am I talking about the Langley rabbits? Because I need to warn you that they’re not as they seem… and there’s more. Much more.
And all will be revealed in The Day of the Jackalope. Dive into the book now and discover more. It’s available as an eBook, paperback, and now there’s an absolutely wonderful audiobook by J. Scott Bennett too.
Here’s the blurb and click below for a sample:
The Day of the Jackalope by Eldritch Black
A dastardly secret. A creature that cannot be. A great mystery itching to be solved.
Dylan Wylde has barely had time to recover from his harrowing battle with Captain Grimdire when he and his friend’s find themselves caught up in a new mysterious adventure on Weirdbey Island.
People are vanishing in the night and no one wants to talk about it…
Are these sinister occurrences linked to the eerie fortune teller who’s just arrived in town? The one gathering a horde of strange, creepy-eyed followers?
Dylan and his friends soon find themselves investigating the disappearances while uncovering a cryptic mythical creature who shouldn’t exist.
Now, as a series of dark events spread across the island, they’re forced to face a terrifying new foe who threatens to take over the world.
Jackalopes, rotten mermaids, and rabbits that are not what they seem…
It’s summer, but perhaps you just felt a chill breeze. Maybe there was a tinge of fog in the trees that shouldn’t have been there this morning, or a strange scraping sound coming from the cellar…
Why? Perhaps it was because I just published a new book, ‘The Pirates of Penn Cove’. The story contains a strange summer adventure, sinister villains, and sudden fogs after all, and perhaps they’re sweeping out from the pages.
I wrote The book on Whidbey Island, where I live. Or Weirdbey Island, as I call it, because it really can be remarkably odd, in the best way.
Are there ghostly pirates on its shores? I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Here’s the blurb so you can discover more, and a sample so you can read the beginning before embarking on this new adventure:
A lost Pirate’s Treasure. A Mysterious Secret Society. A Summer Adventure like no other.
Dylan Wylde’s no stranger to fear. His brother’s a bully, his only friends are halfway across the country, and now’s he’s been forced to move to Whidbey Island, or Weirdbey Island as it’s called by those in the know.
Soon Dylan finds himself having to confront his deepest fears as he uncovers a hidden society with a nightmarish secret. Throw in a monstrous sea beast, a pair of desperate treasure hunters, and a wild chase to find long buried chests before a fearsome centuries old undead pirate can destroy the whole island.
And he hasn’t even unpacked yet.
For readers who love spooky magical adventures, Goosebumps and Stranger Things.