August 2017 - Strychnine & Strangeways

Sorry for the radio silence, guys. I have a couple of blog posts in process, but have been so flat-out I haven’t had time to finish them. The last couple of months have been crazy with work, travel, and, of course, researching and writing about Mary Ann Britland. I guess it’s true what they say: time flies when you’re ~~having fun~~ investigating 130-year-old murders.

Another thing that’s keeping me busy is preparing for my upcoming combined research trip and holiday, which I’m calling a researchiday. Mostly because it’s fun to say. Try it – I guarantee it’ll perk you up.

This time next week, I’ll be on my way to the UK for three weeks of museums, archives, cemeteries, witchcraft sites, and prisons (as well as the usual eating, drinking, and shopping). I’m visiting London, Manchester, and Edinburgh, and while I do have a few serious research to-dos on my itinerary, my focus will be on spending quality time in the places I’m writing about. Time and place are so important to this story. As a writer, I’m driven by the question of WHY the Britland case turned out the way it did – why Elizabeth Hannah Britland, Thomas Britland, and Mary Dixon died, and why Mary Ann Britland’s life ended with a snap at the end of a 7ft rope. The time and place that these events occurred answer many of those questions, so as a writer I need to make them real for my readers. And the easiest (not to mention most fun) way for me to achieve that is to spend time in those places – which bear their history like scars – and make them real for myself.

Aaand I’m also a travel writer. So making places feel real is kinda part of my job 😜