This past weekend was productive. I began work on the outline to my next novel. I’ve been fiddling around with something since May, when I finished The Spanish Bride. I was exhausted, burned out, just plain not interested. I still seem to be caught in some kind of writer’s block about short stories, but I spun out nearly ten pages of single-spaced outline for the sequel to Orleans. There is the slightly-better-than-remote possibility that Orleans could get picked up, and if so then I will nned to write the rest of the trilogy.
Oculus will pick up pretty much where Orleans left off. (Yes, the titles are all “O” titles, including the overall title of the trilogy, which is the Oxun Trilogy. Oxun is the South American river goddess, the only female of the bunch that outwitted the boys and became just as if not more powerful than the others. I’m using it as a metaphor rather than a plot device, but she just might turn up somewhere along the line anyway.)
It feels good to be writing something again. Other than grant proposals, blog posts, and assorted newsletter stuff.
Couple of things I need that will be difficult to find.
A substantial part of the background of these novels (alternate history) deals with Germaine de Stael. Google her, quite a woman. The only woman who ever frightened Napoleon. But he wouldn’t have her just killed. He exiled her, banished her, had his secret police at one point chase her all over Europe and into Russia…anyway, I became fascinated with her. I’ve got her memoir about her exile, a book of her philosophical and political writings, a solid biography, etc. As with most such projects, it is the most unlikely little details that can hang you up.
Her father, Jacques Necker (google him, too—this family was important) at one point bought 38,000 acres in New York. Germaine herself added to it and, according to the biography I have, “came to own a substantial part of upstate New York. But of course I haven’t been able to pin her holdings down. I probably could if I went to Albany and septn a weekend or more in their public records archive, etc. I probably won’t do that. I’ve looked at a map, I’ve seen what upstate New York contains, and just decided where her holdings would have been. Part of the action of the novel takes place in Saranac Lake and vicinity. Lot of French town names around there. Seems a safe bet.
Anyway, it would be nice to know specifically where her holdings were. If anyone reads this and has a way of finding this out, please email me at info@marktiedemann.com
A minor side issue to this. There is a largish island in Upper Lake Saranac. It’d be nice to know a little about it. I’ll track some of this down eventually myself, but I thought I’d ask.
I’ve been stewing in my own juices most of this year. Time to get off my butt and write something new. Stay tuned.
