Happy New Year,
Welcome to the Hardihood Books December Roundup. I hope you had a happy Christmas or Hannukah.
What I Published in December:
This month, I departed from my usual schedule. I published two two-part short stories, and the latest installments in my two novel(la)s. That’s still six posts in total, but all of them fiction, and four of the fiction posts were part of the same two stories. But I get to mix it up sometimes around here. More of my posts were free this month, but given that two of those are the first halves of two-part stories, and that you’ll have to subscribe to read the endings, I felt that was justified.
The first half of my first story, “Christmastide,” is free to all. I wrote most of this story last Christmas, but I didn’t finish it in time to publish it that year, so I cleaned it up and wrote an ending and published it this year. Perhaps I say this too frequently, but I liked the way it turned out. My goal was to show readers a glimpse of what it was like inside each of the protagonists’ heads, and the stark contrast between them. The story is set in medieval England – as one imagines it to be, not as it actually was – which struck me as an ideal setting for a Christmas story. Some questions are left unresolved at the end of the story, intentionally so. We never learn the name of Sylva’s father, for instance, or much of Rulen’s backstory. Some readers will no doubt notice that many of my stories involve characters traveling alone on foot. That is, of course, partially because I spend a lot of time doing that myself, and partially because I have been drawn to such narratives from my earliest childhood.
My next two-part story (the first half of which is also free) is called, “What Do You Mean They Don’t Believe in Me?” This is another Christmas story, and it’s about… what you probably guess it’s about. Astute readers will notice some similarities to parts of Hogfather, one of my favorite books of all time – which I reviewed for this Substack two years ago. Clever readers will also notice exactly when in the story I first use the name of the most important character.
After that, I published chapters seven and eight of “Civilization in the Wilderness,” which foreshadow some events to occur later in the story. Our heroes have set off on their journey. They have entered the Louisiana Territory and reached the Mississippi River. If anyone notices any geographic or historical inaccuracies, feel free to send me an email (just hit ‘reply’). These chapters are free, just like last month.
Finally, I published the last two chapters in “If You Can Keep It,” my fantasy political thriller set in a classical civilization bearing stark resemblance to a certain ancient civilization you and I think about every day (or maybe just I do). For the most part, I follow an outline I hashed out when I first began writing it, but occasionally I’ll throw something new in. Some plot points suggest themselves very obviously once the story has advanced to a certain point, and I inevitably work these into the narrative.
From the Archive:
By all means, check out my review of Hogfather, although it is behind my paywall. You can also read, “Christmastime in the City,” another humorous story involving elves, which is outside the paywall. Feel free to scroll through the Christmas archives, while you’re at it.
In Closing:
Paying subscribers should keep an eye out for tomorrow’s newsletter.
Please feel free to email me with any feedback. If you’re on the free list and you’d like to respond to one of my stories or essays, you can email me, or reach out via Twitter (@benconnelly6712) or LinkedIn (which I no longer check frequently). You can also follow me on Notes.
Thank you for reading and subscribing.
Cheers,
Ben Connelly