Welcome to the Paranormal Dinner Club
A work of fiction in process with help from readers
Get regular dispatches from a club formed on a mysterious island to take on the threat of a mad doctor.
The setting: An undiscovered island off the coast of African hidden from the world by strange magnetic and optical illusions.
The cast : A famed African explorer. A monster hunter from the Van Helsing family. An Egyptian magi. The Invisible Man’s assistant with perfect memory.
The host: A scientist turned doctor who has turned the world upside down with his miraculous healing serum
The invitation: At his invitation a group of England’s top scientists and thinkers is traveling to the island to see the source of the serum firsthand
The inspiration: The work is inspired by works by H.G. Wells (The Invisible Man), Jules Verne (The Mysterious Island), Bram Stoker (Dracula), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), and others.
The target reader: While the story is atmospheric and mysterious its an all-ages mystery perfect for fans of classic literature, mystery, and adventure.
A story about family, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in an adventure
I spent a lot of lazy afternoons reading — tracing the footsteps of a monster of Mary Shelley’s creation, taking a carriage to the mountain castle of Count Dracula, journeying to the center of the earth with Jules Verne, traveling in the time machine of H.G. Wells, exploring the lost world with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And as I grew up and had kids of my own I realized that I missed those stories. But I wondered — in a busy and digital world is there still a place for them?
When my kids became readers at age 11 and 9 I decided to write a story for them in the style of the old lazy afternoon stories I loved. To my surprise, they loved the opening journal entry. So I kept writing. The result is Paranormal Dinner Club.
This is a new story I hope feels like a lost book from the world of The Invisible Man, Captain Nemo, and Dracula. It’s for kids on lazy afternoons, or adults who wish they could be that kid again. And the wonderful thing about so many classic stories is that they thrill and excite people of all ages. And they can be read with kids before bed and manage to enthrall both the parent reading, the kids hiding under their blankets, and the teen who finally puts down their phone.
The Paranormal Dinner Club Needs You
This is a work of fiction in process with help from readers. If any of this interests you I need your help.
I need your help CREATING this story. Every day readers will get to respond in real time as letter entries are posted, advancing the story. Let me know what you like and what you don’t. When this finally gets printed you’ll have a hand in shaping the final project. Plus there will be fun polls, opportunities to name characters, and more fun.
I need your help FINDING an audience. Do stories like this seem old-fashioned and and irrelevant? I don’t think they are. I think we need them more than ever. But I need help finding people who want stories like this. By subscribing and forward this on you’ll help me find an audience.
What To Expect
You’ll get a letter that advances the story 2 times per week.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
Podcast
Once a week I’ll package up and read the dispatches from the week on the podcast feed. Perfect for audiobook lovers. Find the podcast here or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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Paid Subscriptions?
This is a near one-man operation. If you want to help me get things done like an official logo, book cover for next year, commission artwork, and get word out, consider being a paid subscriber. But if you can’t chip in, no problem — the newsletter and podcast will remain absolutely free.
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