Welcome

Hey there. 

If you’re reading this, you’ve signed up before I gave you a strong reason to. That kind of early trust is not something I take lightly, and I intend to reward it.

I’m working very hard on Black Satin Ribbon, a Victorian ghost story, filling it with fog and dark alleys and tragic characters standing over fresh graves. I’m also proofreading, which is hard for me. Not a drop of dopamine to be found in that.  

Embarking on this project has been a true delight. I’m ending a years-long creative drought with this. It’s also been a good lesson in what’s realistic. 

I’ve dropped Midnight Snack from 3 subscription models to 2. I’ll be including the first several chapters of Black Satin Ribbon free permanently, and a second paid model will kick in at chapter 7. 

My plan is to send two chapters a week. The chapters are longer than I initially thought they’d be, but the pacing and detail lines up perfectly with my vision for the story. 

A Sneak Peek

Even though I'm not quite ready to send out full chapters, I am ready to share my first lines with you.

Here’s the opening paragraph of Black Satin Ribbon

Charlotte had spent hours watching the uncooked dough rise on her dead father’s chest. It had started out as small as a closed fist and grown, “absorbing the sins of the departed.” It went into the oven having tripled in size, bursting with his sins and emerged fragrant and sweet, with a floral pattern etched in the crust. 

The Sin Eaters of Victorian England

When planning the first serial for Midnight Snack, I felt instantly drawn to Victorian England. It’s atmospheric, but it’s also a living society obsessed with death. I’m not a writer who spends tons of time on research normally (I usually write contemporary fiction). But in this case, it was absolutely necessary and fun. 

There’s a lot of macabre rituals in Victorian England. My favorite was the idea of a sin eater. In such a very Christian society, this stood out to me. It struck me as some kind of inverse, unholy communion. So naturally, they hired it out to the lower classes. 

You can learn more about sin eaters here and here (apologies, this last link is addicted to pop-ups, but it’s excellent content). 

Taking Liberties even Though Victorian England Got Cranky about “Taking Liberties”

Sin eating was not in fact a popular trend in London, especially when Black Satin Ribbon takes place (1870). However, it wasn’t unheard of. As an author, there’s a sense of wanting to make everything real and perfect. Imposter syndrome, partly. The joy of getting lost in fiction and wanting rich details to enhance the story and not take the reader out of it. And anxiety. Yes, I’m working on it with a therapist. 

I came across a specific version of sin eating from earlier centuries in Germany. They would place raw dough on the chest of the deceased and let it rise. I was a photographer for many years and I’m a sucker for a compelling image. To me, the idea of the person’s sins making the dough larger, acting like yeast was too good to pass up. So I took some liberties. It’s not in my nature as a writer to do that. Already, this newsletter is pushing me. 

I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. I promise I’m balancing all the things and maybe the end of the world to get this story ready for you. Till next time!

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