The minute I sat down to write something further in The Grand Theory universe, the world and its mother decided that they had more use for my time than I did.
But I’m persevering and it’s coming together. Once I finish, publishing will only be ten or fifteen re-writes away.
It’s a hassle to write about a time other than you own, and I decided to look fairly closely at the historical aspects so I don’t sound like a total idiot to anyone ‘in the know’. Its a hassle and a half, and I’d hate to attempt it without the big Goog in an adjacent browser window to research the details of armour, locations, and all the other details you need to make things believable without necessarily intending to be 100.000% historically accurate,
I’m inclined to follow Conan Doyle’s example when he was criticized by a purist concerning his story “The Bruce Partington Plans” (I think, I’m working from memory here). The awkward individual in question had travelled the railway where the body had been dumped and sent the great man a telegram, pointing out that there was no second line of rails where his story had placed them.
Conan Doyle replied to his telegram with a single line, “I make one”. And left it there.
I have to admit that despite being an major admirer of Sherlock Holmes stories in general, I’m a little more of a nit-picker than Conan Doyle. But I reserve the right to ‘make one’ as required, but one here and there – just not everywhere. The details need to ‘feel right’ and reasonable accuracy is one way of making sure they do. Pleasing the purists is incidental – not the goal.
Still, hang in there, and I’ll keep you updated. I promise it won’t be thirty years this time.