I\u2019ve settled into a fantastic flat in London\u2019s Pimlico district. The new novel takes place at the end of the 19th century, so I\u2019m renting a place that was built in 1880. It\u2019s got lots of the original d\u00e9cor, including lovely tall French windows from which one can watch gloomy clouds and perennial rain, and a high ceiling in the parlor. A much better ambiance to write a Gothic novel than sunny L. A.<\/p>\n
My first night out on the town was intended to be a distinctly un-Victorian experience. My great friend Alex, reigning prince of jazz-fusion guitar in England, invited me to go with him to judge a music contest at a club in Balham. After hearing some fantastic music and a indulging in bit of extremely restrained (ahem) drinking, Alex put me into a taxi.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been thinking about the history of the London cab since my arrival. One of the very first scenes in the book takes place in a taxi. What were they like in 1895? Moreover, how much time would it take me to find out? That\u2019s one of the dilemmas of an historical novelist. True, you only need a few details to bring something like a quick scene in a hackney carriage to life, but they\u2019d better be specific and they\u2019d better be right. It can take hours or sometimes days out of your writing just to get the details you need for what ends up being a fleeting moment in the book.<\/p>\n
So this taxi driver\u2014bless his talkative soul!\u2014asks me what I\u2019m doing in London. I tell him I\u2019m writing a novel that takes place in the late 1800s. He says, \u201c1895 good enough for you?\u201d And he hands me\u2014I KID YOU NOT\u2014an article he\u2019d been reading in Taxi Magazine about the taxi and omnibus trade in 1895, replete with fantastic details like \u201csocial habits of the London cabbie.\u201d<\/p>\n
I came home and made a small offering to the gods.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a fan of jazz-fusion guitar\u2014and who isn\u2019t?\u2014check out Alex\u2019s latest: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I8QgFPgYqq8<\/a><\/p>\n