Charlotte Frankel Rides Again
May. 12th, 2017 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scfranklesMy publisher (^___^) JayHenge Publishing has just announced that their latest anthology of short stories is now available. It's called 'Unearthly Sleuths' and I have a story in there, 'Noir Comedy', under the name Charlotte Frankel. You can see the UK paperback here and the UK Kindle edition here, and the US paperback version here and the US Kindle edition here.
As with the previous anthology I was involved in, I'm so pleased by how well-designed the collection is. I'm rather tickled by the fact that any 'a's in the authors' names are replaced by a little magnifying glass, and each story gets its own image as well. Mine is of a woman in a mask - as my story is a crossover between Commedia dell'arte and Detective Noir. (Someone else's prompt from Flash Fiction Month on DA, but I like to think I did it justice...) And it's a great cover as well. Haven't actually read the collection yet - but there are several authors in there I know and admire. I'm very happy to have been involved, and in fact I'm already planning on submitting stuff for another anthology.
Talking of little magnifying glasses... I'm in my *cough*late-40s*cough* but my near sight is still in pretty good shape for most situations. However, I am noticing the onward march of time - I have to hold my wristwatch a little further away, I can't comfortably thread a needle any more, I need plenty of light to read the small print on the back of a packet. And most pertinently, at work customers sometimes thrust items at me, point to tiny, tiny print on the label and ask, "What does that say?" And I either can't read it at all, or can't read it with confidence.
And so, in the spirit of keeping the ageing process as fun as possible, I have bought... my very own golden pince-nez! It's so cute. The frame is metal and a pale golden colour, with a little loop if I wish to attach a chain, and the lenses are oval. The whole thing is surprisingly small - about the width of a credit card. And I hadn't realised that pince-nez are worn so far down the nose - at the soft bit, rather than on the bridge. This makes it very easy to look over the pince-nez as well as through it, switching from near to far sight. Mine does pince the nez slightly more than I was hoping, but I can't expect a perfect fit from something off the shelf - and I don't need to wear them a lot.
I will go and have a proper eye test eventually though. It has only been 30 years or so... ^^"
As with the previous anthology I was involved in, I'm so pleased by how well-designed the collection is. I'm rather tickled by the fact that any 'a's in the authors' names are replaced by a little magnifying glass, and each story gets its own image as well. Mine is of a woman in a mask - as my story is a crossover between Commedia dell'arte and Detective Noir. (Someone else's prompt from Flash Fiction Month on DA, but I like to think I did it justice...) And it's a great cover as well. Haven't actually read the collection yet - but there are several authors in there I know and admire. I'm very happy to have been involved, and in fact I'm already planning on submitting stuff for another anthology.
Talking of little magnifying glasses... I'm in my *cough*late-40s*cough* but my near sight is still in pretty good shape for most situations. However, I am noticing the onward march of time - I have to hold my wristwatch a little further away, I can't comfortably thread a needle any more, I need plenty of light to read the small print on the back of a packet. And most pertinently, at work customers sometimes thrust items at me, point to tiny, tiny print on the label and ask, "What does that say?" And I either can't read it at all, or can't read it with confidence.
And so, in the spirit of keeping the ageing process as fun as possible, I have bought... my very own golden pince-nez! It's so cute. The frame is metal and a pale golden colour, with a little loop if I wish to attach a chain, and the lenses are oval. The whole thing is surprisingly small - about the width of a credit card. And I hadn't realised that pince-nez are worn so far down the nose - at the soft bit, rather than on the bridge. This makes it very easy to look over the pince-nez as well as through it, switching from near to far sight. Mine does pince the nez slightly more than I was hoping, but I can't expect a perfect fit from something off the shelf - and I don't need to wear them a lot.
I will go and have a proper eye test eventually though. It has only been 30 years or so... ^^"
no subject
Date: 2017-05-13 03:21 am (UTC)We were in Laramie, Wyoming, yesterday -- a town that is very proud of its Frontier West heritage -- and there was an optometrist's shop that puts prescription lenses in antique frames. They had quite the selection of antique pince-nez, including a gold-toned one whose chain seemed to end in... a hairpin? I'm not sure. But I did stand there thinking that you would know (would you were there), because you are very clearly The Person Who Knows All Things 1890s.
ALSO, congrats on the new publication!
:: ...my story is a crossover between Commedia dell'arte and Detective Noir. (Someone else's prompt from Flash Fiction Month on DA, but I like to think I did it justice...) ::
Oo, that's an intriguing combination. And I find it very easy to believe that you did it justice. :-)
no subject
Date: 2017-05-14 01:59 am (UTC)And that does mention hairpins, as well as pinning the pince-nez to clothing. Also, looking at the page again, the Victorian pince-nez is worn up on the bridge of the nose. It must just be these newfangled pince-nez that are worn on the end of the nose. (I checked photos again of people wearing them, just to reassure myself I wasn't managing to put the glasses on wrongly ^_^)
And thank you ^__^ My story is in fact still online as well. If you ever wanted to read it, searching for 'SCFrankles' and 'Noir Comedy' would probably make it pop up ^^
no subject
Date: 2017-05-16 04:24 pm (UTC)Laramie's a bit over a thousand miles, yeah. (A 2.5 hour flight to Denver, Colorado, then another couple of hours in the car.)
:: In fact, all I know of Victorian pince-nez I learnt from the Wikipedia page ^__^ ::
Hey, that puts you well ahead of me! :-D
:: searching for 'SCFrankles' and 'Noir Comedy' would probably make it pop up ^^ ::
And so it did! I enjoyed that, thank you!
no subject
Date: 2017-05-16 11:00 pm (UTC)I had a look at one of the videos that shows you around the 'antique spectacles place' ^^ It does look like a fascinating place - and so gorgeously set out. I wore my pince-nez while watching - it seemed appropriate ^^
Crikey, a thousand miles - I hope you and grrlpup had a great time on your visit ^_^ I believe it's a particularly lovely part of the world - I used to have a mild obsession with Colorado because of the film Cannibal! The Musical, of all things ^^"
And as I said over on DA, thank you for taking a look at my story ^^
no subject
Date: 2017-05-17 03:30 am (UTC)Weirdly, we think of Denver and Laramie as relatively close, in their not-at-all-close way? But that's the western US for you: anything that's within a state or two is manageably close, in a "well, it's not like you have to put in real effort to get there" kind of way.
It was a good visit, yes. Her family is very kind, and we always enjoy nipping up to Laramie.
Huh, I know nothing of the film beyond what I just googled. However,
Of course I did; I like your stories. I was even prepared to create a DeviantArt account just to say that I liked it. (But then it turned out that I already had one...? My life is a confusion.) Speaking of, is there a way to get DA to email comment notifications, or is that a paid-members-only kind of thing, do you know?
no subject
Date: 2017-05-17 10:20 pm (UTC)...is there a way to get DA to email comment notifications, or is that a paid-members-only kind of thing, do you know? DA doesn't do email notifications for anyone at all I'm afraid - they only do marketing emails for things like special offers, or confirming you've paid for something. The only way you can find out what's going on in your account is to log into DA itself.