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... ^^"
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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 ^^
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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?
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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.