Introducing ... The Centennial Horror!
In the summer of 1876, a massive Corliss steam engine awoke to power the machinery of the Centennial Exposition. The world's fair was meant to be America's coming out party to the industrial world. The Civil War was over. Its triumphant general presided in the White House. America's most thoughtful men and women had labored for years to organize the Centennial. They had debated endlessly over the organization of its displays. They had begged for funding. They had judged submission after submission from hopeful and talented architects drafting in every corner of the continent.
It was to be the dawning of a new era.
No one expected the End of Days.
The Corliss Steam Engine at the Exposition.
Was this engine powerful enough to open a gate to Hell?
Do you really have to ask?
The Next Novel from J. P. Moore
Plotting for The Centennial Horror has already begun. I'm excited to make plain my "process" for researching, writing, and ultimately podcasting this novel right here in my blog. Like Toothless, this project is attracting characters who are already quite familiar to me from the back of my head. There's Cairo, the eccentric but brilliant palmist from England. Stanley, a vagabond and teasure hunter, wanders the Southwest, looking for the fabled Kingdom of Dreams. (He'll find more than he bargained for.) And, deep in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a forgotten sect worships an ancient and slumbering god who is about to wake on the absolute wrong side of the bed.
Feeding the Beast
Perhaps not surprisingly, the works of H. P. Lovecraft represent a chief inspiration. In this, I've not only been re-reading those works, but also soaking up ...
The Art of Scott Purdy: the world of The Centennial Horror seems as if it would fit nicely in Scott's head, and I spend a lot of time staring at "Cthulhu WIP" and "Nightmare of the Plains" to put me in the right mood. Fans of Toothless already know Scott's amazing work, so should not be surprised that his art is proving to be an inspiration for this equally dark project.
I'm gaining a new understanding of and appreciation for Lovecraft's work from The H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast. I'd been looking for a podcast like this. Dissecting Lovecraft's stories with intelligence, humor, and finesse--if you're a Lovecraft fan, subscribe now.
I'm also flexing the muscles of some new software. Liquid Story Binder XE seems like it may just be the right platform to tease out all of threads of this tale. I'll let you know how it goes.
Stay tuned ...
I'll post more--much more--on this work as it progresses.
