I’ve been a nerd for as long as I can remember. When I was ten years old, my parents bought me my first computer — a Commodore Vic20 — but I started playing Dungeons and Dragons with my neighbour around the same time. That was also around the time I started devouring fantasy and science fiction books at the Emma S Clark library. I’d sneak into the adult section of the library and one of the cool librarians would allow me to check out books by Piers Anthony, Lloyd Alexander, and Larry Niven. A lot of those books don’t hold up now, but they were formative for young Jeff.
Storytelling comes easily to me. Whether as a youngster explaining how my bedroom became so messy, as a young adult at parties during the Internet Bubble cosplaying a housepainter instead of a Web developer, or as a parent crafting intricate bedtime stories for my daughter featuring a cast of recurring characters, I think in terms of stories. As my wife puts it, “Stories are the human operating system.”
I’m delighted that after building software for thirty-five years, I’ve spent the last year writing a novel instead. I’ve felt more like a kid these last twelve months than I have in decades. Now I’m deep into revisions for my second draft, and it’s still exciting.
James is late delivering his wife’s birthday present. Forty-five years late. Now he’s stuck in a summoning circle in Edinburgh. And he needs a body. Any body will do.
I hope you’ll follow along as I share some of the material I’ve dug up in my research into Victorian Edinburgh and more. Today I published an article about Edinburgh’s Old Town, the population explosion that drove it, the wacky people who lived there, and the living conditions they had to endure. Go read it and sign up to receive updates every other week.