July 12, 2020

Lost history and no drinking

Chasse's Song reached 50,000 words this week, with a key moment concluded that defines the plot for the second half of the novel. Research for Chasse's Song was limited this week, focussing mainly on spear fighting techniques. Most of the work on the novel was in banging out writing.

However, part of this week was devoted to a revisit to Girlie, thanks to amazing research being conducted by a good friend - Grant Tinney - who has a Facebook site called Brighton South Australia's Lost History Tour.

Contributors to the site have unearthed a treasure-trove of images and stories that support my research for Girlie and I have revised and added detail to a couple of pieces of information used in the novel, particularly concerning the Argosy dance hall at Seacliff.

I also uncovered a small article via Trove highlighting the alcohol rules in place in the 1940s - no consumption of alcohol within three hundred yards of dance halls. I always wondered why my father and his friends used to get in cars and drive a distance from the local dance hall when I was a kid. Now I know. It also explains the popularity of hip flasks and similar containers for having alcohol handy and easy to transport and hide.

A return to work this week might slow the writing process, but I'm committed to meet my target draft deadline for the second The Last Wizard book.