Category: Immortal Holmes
Royal Colors
Artsy Souvenir. While I was traipsing through art galleries in the nation’s capital, I visited plenty of museum shops. I collect enamel pins. I send my fair share of postcards. And I’m always on the lookout for a book-related souvenir. This is the treasure I brought home.
::twinkle::Kiss-up Kemp
Of the Badge Irregulars. Varti Weller’s best friend Phil is properly Philtrum, which is a lovely word. He’s a blithesome fellow.
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More behind-the-scenes details about Folk-Spelled to come! The books is now available in digital, print, and audio editions. (You can also procure author-signed copies from me.) It’d be brillsome if you picked one up, and truly stellward if you recommended it to another reader, rated it wherever you picked it up, and left a review.
Art Peek: Skrik
Eyes in the Shadows. When I described Skrik to illustrator Mart Lett, I compared his form as something between a feline & a small gargoyle, a shadow with wisping edges that are in constant motion.
He’s small enough to perch on Enzo’s shoulder. In fact, he’ll often drape himself along his shoulders and peek out from under his hair. Shy thing.
More behind-the-scenes details about Folk-Spelled are sure to turn up here. But if you want LOTS more posts like this, they’re the sort of thing I share over on Patreon. Consider joining, even as a free member. I’d be grateful.
In Publisher’s Weekly
Getting the Word Out. I’m doing what I can to give the Immortal Holmes series the best possible start. After receiving an Editor’s Pick from BookLife Reviews and its subsequent appearance in Publisher’s Weekly, I reserved ad space. This will be appearing soon and I hope it catches the eye & the interest of new readers.
How would YOU blurb Folk-Spelled? ::twinkle::
Thank you, as always, for supporting my storytelling. When you read, rate, review, and recommend my books, you’re making a world of difference for an indie author like me.
Table Games
Always Hexagons, Please. Favorite things tend to work their way into my books, which is why Ramage keeps games on the tables at The Speckled Hen. Naturally, I needed to make them fit in with Newcomb’s unique culture, so chess became a six-sided melee, and decks of cards gained a couple of extra suits. During my research, I found (and purchased) this simple puzzle game, which is just the sort of thing you might play with friends while waiting for dinner to arrive at your table.
Details, details. I do love details!
Every Word Matters
I thought y’all might enjoy learning how I came up with some of the names of cast members, places, etc. I’ll share more from time to time so that you can appreciate what an absolute nerd I am about words.
Publisher’s Weekly
Nice! Great to see Folk-Spelled in a recent issue of Publisher’s Weekly. Definitely celebrating that lightning bolt, which means my book was an Editor’s Pick. Want to read the review? I included the whole of it back on this post.
Grateful to all of you who trust my storytelling enough to dip into a new series.
Introducing Durst
If Looks Could Kill. One of my Folk-Spelled cast members is a gorgon. When I was picking and choosing recurring characters, I wanted to mix things up. That’s one of the reasons why I took two traditionally female creatures (harpies & gorgons) and created a male counterpart. Durst’s steampunk-style goggles counteract his deadly gaze.
This month’s Patreon mailing is a portrait of Durst created by Mart Lett, series illustrator, from which the above art is cropped. Want great mail? Head on over and see if one of my Patreon tiers suits. I’d appreciate the additional support.
Folk-Spelled Cast
Purdle the Water Sprite. I’ve been asked several times about his size. In my notes, he’s just six inches tall, so quite small. His trusty steed Cubit‘s name is a hint about his size, since a cubit was an ancient measure, roughly the distance from one’s fingertips to one’s elbow.
::twinkle::ART PEEK: Mr. Hudson
Mr. Hudson. In the original Sherlock Holmes mysteries, he and Watson relied upon Mrs. Hudson, who lived downstairs at 221 Baker Street and served as … well, housekeeper and cook. I felt there needed to be a Hudson on the premises in my own series, but opted for a slightly different head of the household. And so Thomas was added to my cast.
Close crop from “Hudson & Holmes,” one of the portraits that Mart Lett, series illustrator, created for the art card series that I have been sending out to patrons. Yes, Thomas’s hair is purple. His fashion sense has folksome leanings. ::twinkle::
Personal Touches
Author-signed copies of Folk-Spelled are available, and as usual, they include personal touches that you can’t get in other places. This time around, we created a seal like those used in the Bastion’s Files & Evidence division, the sort of thing Varti Weller would use to stamp the documents he archives.
Green ink, of course. Very royal. Very official business.
If you’re interested in nabbing a book for yourself, details can be found on the Signed Books page. Reminder: the cost of author copies will be going up on June 1, 2025 to help balance out the increased cost of shipping. So in a way, if you splurge now, your books is kinda, sorta on sale! ::twinkle::
Folk-Spelled is an Editor’s Pick
“Richly Drawn Personalities.” I recently received a review for the first book in the Immortal Holmes series from BookLife, and much to my delight, Folk-Spelled was an Editor’s Pick. It’ll appear in an upcoming printing of Publisher’s Weekly, but I thought it’d be nice to share the full review with readers here. If you haven’t picked up Folk-Spelled yet, I hope you will. And if you did … hey! Thanks for your trust!
This gaslit Holmesian steampunk mystery from Forthright (author of the Amaranthine Saga) opens with a scene as cozily inventive as it is tantalizing: in the fog of a reimagined London called Newcomb, in which humans coexist with magical beings called the Folk, a young “badge”—i.e., constable—named Varti encounters a big, lovable hound. As he bends to pet and scruff the happy beast, Varti says, “You look ready to tear my throat out”—it turns out that Forthright’s protagonist suffers under a curse that makes his every utterance a lie, making communication and trust a daily challenge. With a friendship and a mystery established, Folk-Spelled gets down to business. When a series of murders marked by Folk magic shakes the city, Varti’s best friend, Phil Kemp, is assigned the case, while Varti works from the shadows.
… as cozily inventive as it is tantalizing”
Newcomb comes alive with hexagonal streets, spell-cast coins, and communal kitchens called “mothers.” At its heart, the story is driven by Varti and Phil’s friendship, with Phil serving as translator and emotional anchor, while Varti pushes him to see beyond appearances. Alongside them, that mysterious hound, Doggerel, becomes an unlikely but vital ally between “grumpy wuff”s. Fittingly, for a series starter, Varti’s investigation is shaped not only by clues but by a likable cast: Ramage, the flamboyant harpy who runs The Speckled Hen, is his chosen family; Dr. Kang, the pathologist who first diagnosed his curse; and Tybalt, Varti’s friend from the badge academy, offering tough love and unwavering loyalty.
Varti’s investigation is shaped not only by clues but by a likeable cast…”
The case takes a shocking turn when Doggerel’s true nature is revealed—and eventually Sherlock Holmes himself tasks Varti with a surprising investigation. The web of plot threads and character dynamics can feel dense at times, but the richly drawn personalities, slow-burning mystery, and spirited sense of mist-choked fae atmosphere keep the story consistently engaging. A promising series-starter about a truth-seeking liar, a city cloaked in ancient magic, and a detective who distrusts his own mind.
Takeaway: Promising Holmesian series starter, rich with mystery and magic in a transformed London.
Comparable Titles: James Lovegrove’s Cthulhu Casebooks, Natasha Pulley’s The Watchmaker of Filigree Street series.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Art Peek: Ramage
Harpy Design. During Travis Baldree’s recording session for Folk-Spelled, a couple of people spoke up, saying they couldn’t really picture my harpy character. So I shared this art from Ramage’s character sheet. My harpy characters are flight-capable, with large wings, trailing tail feathers, and crests that can rise or puff out, according to their moods.
::twinkle::Navigating Newcomb
Maps & Coins & Terms. I took my time with world-building for my new series, and I know my way around pretty well now … but it’s kind of a lot to navigate. For the first time, I created a glossary for the back of a book. Folk-Spelled includes a run-down of everything from the names of seasons to the value of the local coins.
If you’d like to snag a printable version of “Navigating Newcomb,” it’s available to members (even free members) over on my Patreon. Here you go >>
FORTHRIGHT 