Why have I started this London Stories thing?
Now read on...
I completed and self-published my London novel Frightgeist: A Tall Tale of Fearful Times last year. You probably knew that already. You probably also know that John Vane is a pen name I use for fiction and for sketches of London life, past and present, which appear at OnLondon.co.uk, the journalism website I edit, publish and also write for under my real name, Dave Hill. So why am I starting this Substack?
It’s mainly because I want to do more writing as John, not all of which would work at On London. I also want to bring Frightgeist to more people’s attention. It’s not a bad effort, if I do say so myself. My two reviewers so far agree. And with a real life election for Mayor of London on 2 May this year, it has some topical relevance.
Here, I can also republish my On London pieces, share news and thoughts about what I am up to as John and - very importantly - honour my New Year’s resolution to read more London fiction, and write about it too. I have set myself the goal of reading 25 London novels in 2024 - one a fortnight on average - and offering some thoughts about each one.
And that is pretty much that. Everything here will be free for the foreseeable future. I hope to post about once a week, usually keeping it brief.
This Substack is starting very, very small - I’m not importing any mailing lists from elsewhere. It will be interesting to see if I can build a little audience of people who, like me, are addicted to London itself and want to have a fuller appreciation of how it is depicted in fiction and other forms of creative writing.
If you unsubscribe, I won’t be at all offended. If you recommend this Substack to other people, I will be very grateful.
Finally, anyone who doesn’t already own a copy can buy Frightgeist directly from me by way of On London or from my local independent bookshop, Pages of Hackney, which deserves lots of your custom.
Back soon. JV.
PS: Read excerpts from Frightgeist and bits of background to its characters here, here and here.