Get to Know Me through My Shelves
An intro to the who, what, where, when and why of this newsletter.
The Origin Story of this Newsletter
Hello there. Welcome to my newsletter, and this, my first post. I’ve flirted with the idea of a website or blog for a while, but I have one man to thank for finding this platform that would lead to my committal to this newsletter thing:
I met him at Star Wars Celebration this April (more on that in a future writing journey post… down the line). He’s one of my favourite Star Wars authors, has contributed so much to that universe’s storytelling, so when he sneakily tucked a QR code into the book he signed for me as he was giving writing advice, I thought I’d see where it led. I subscribed to his newsletter, and soon found so many other great publications on this platform that have inspired me to start my own.
Please check out his Cavletter, where he shares news and insights on all the cool things he’s working on (way more than just Star Wars), writing advice, and he highlights other creatives every Sunday. I was even tempted for a while to tip my hat to Cavan by calling this my Harvletter…
So, yes, my newsletter. Please check out the About page of the newsletter for info on the three types of post coming every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and a bit about me too, and how I’ve been writing for fun since I was ten! Thanks to those of you that have subscribed already - it was a great birthday gift yesterday to see my friends supporting me. Turning 21 seems like a great time to start this newsletter, so here we go, onto the main topic of this post.
My Bookshelves
Bedroom
Here you’ll see a whole array of books I’ve read, and want to read, from YA fiction to franchise reference books, rock magazines to text books. There’s another shelf as well but take this as a highlight. There are some books I just haven’t parted with yet, and the shelves are doubled up - you can also see my CD collection on the right!
On one of the back rows along with other sci-fi/fantasy works, there’s all of Tolkien’s completed works - I read them all last year, and now they’re a prized possession, really inspiring me with my own full-length novels and what I can do with them. The middle right shelf has some of the books I’ve yet to read on the front left, a random assortment. Also to be read are Millie Bobby Brown’s first book, based on the true story of her family, and A Day of Fallen Night I picked up recently after meeting Samantha Shannon at MCM Comic Con in May. She was so supportive when I said I’m trying to get my own fantasy traditionally published so I’m excited to check out the book she talked about on the fantasy writing panel.
As you can see I’m a Rick Riordan fan. I think his take on mythologies and just his style of storytelling really inspired me growing up, whilst writing my own works adapting a large universe of stories. I’m doing a full re-readthrough before the new Percy Jackson series in December! I think Rick’s Kane Chronicles trilogy properly fleshed out my interest in Ancient Egyptian mythology that features heavily in my latest screenplay, based on elements I worked into my self-published works as well. Speaking of…
On the left there’s the complete Narnia - another to be read, as I’ve only seen the films, but know how much some of the concepts in that universe are very similar to the multiverse in my self-published works. I’ve only read one Stephen King (Under the Dome - certainly a book that showed me how wide in scope, and how long, you can go with a novel), but will get round to his Dark Tower series eventually.
Sitting beside those is a boxset, handmade at school, containing the main eight volumes of my Diamond Dimensions series. The chunky ones on the right are the four omnibus volumes that collect all 22 books in that universe in chronological order. (The labour of working out all the overlapping and interacting moments in my own works will no doubt be a future writing journey post!)
Downstairs Study
That’s what my family call this converted garage, where we keep a lot of stuff. I could also call this the Star Wars Room. I took too many pictures for this one, but I’ll share the main section of these shelves:
The rows run along into other units, so you can tell I’m a decent SW fan, and I take a certain joy in arranging the books (and comics in the folders above), in chronological order. I suppose its the same part of my brain that over-complicated my own fictional universes with overlapping timelines.
I was a fan of Star Wars toys, and even the Clone Wars magazine, before I’d even watched the films properly, but in an exponential way I now own most canon SW stories… And you can see a few Legends (yet to be read) books on the bottom right,
Staircase
On the stairs in my house we’ve recently put up two big shelving units to fit all the new books we’ve been getting in recent years. The image below is pretty much all from this year, and they’re all research for my writing… Yep. And I’ve barely scratched the surface of reading them. They offer a good insight into my WIP novels though, as I’m currently soaking up everything I can history- and mythology-wise, making my own sci-fi version of a universal mythology originating in prehistory and yet from alien layers of reality, looking at the underlying human factors of imagination, art and religion, that defy time and space… So, there’s plenty of cave art stuff! And many of the empires in between 50,000 years ago and now.
There’s some books that are more science or art inspirations that I’m hoping to work into my own work, and some books on more modern monuments that serve as settings for what I’m currently working on. The Egypt-related books were also useful for my latest spec TV screenplay and bible too. The most recent additions, like a book on divination, or one about the incredible underwater Cosquer cave in France (I’m working on a short story set there!), are birthday presents. The English Heritage guides on the bottom shelf are from a recent trip to Hadrian’s Wall, which’ll be one of three historical settings for my next novel across different eras of UK occupation.
Below is a little section of my father’s shelf I’ve ‘borrowed’. More to be read. Four more books from writers I met at that same comic con. Gareth L. Powell is a great writer on this platform, and I’m excited to launch into his works as he’s always helping aspiring authors like me! He also recommended Ian M. Banks, which are on the second row behind these books, and I’m intrigued to learn about his Culture universe. The Other Side of Never features a story from Cavan Scott, and another author I met at comic con, and I’ve been told by a friend that some concepts at least of my first full-length novel resemble those in The Enemy. I’ll see!
Going to the right of this photo now, I’m very excited to read Wolf Road by Alice Roberts. I’ve seen lots of her history-related documentaries, and this is a novel set in prehistory! I’m looking forward to Ballad and Dagger as I’ve been really enjoying Daniel José Older and his wife Brittany N. Williams’ Inkbottle Podcast. They even dedicated the whole second episode of the podcast to my question!
DJO has accomplished two of my major writing goals. Working with Rick Riordan on Ballad and Dagger and its sequel, and writing Star Wars!
I suppose that top shelf shows how helping other authors helps writers sell their own books, or how appreciative I am of their advice and kindness. Gareth as well was very kind, letting me be a guest on his newsletter - if you’re a writer, you should check it out! If you’d like to find more about me and my viewpoints as a writer in the form of answers to his great prompts, check it out below:
Thank you so much for reading, if you got this far. I may own too many books. I hope this answered all the ‘wh-’ questions in the subtitle… Please consider subscribing and sharing to support me as I embark on this Substack journey.
Next Wednesday will properly begin my Writing Journey posts. The first chapter and video of Children of Shadows (all will be explained in that post), will hit your inboxes on Friday.
Cheers,
Harvey
Welcome to Substack!
And is it possible to own too many books? (Space permitting, of course.)