Mindcracker is live! Some cool pictures from my research

Mindcracker is finally here! I am so excited that this finally live. I started the story years ago. It has been a long journey with lots of ups and even more downs. 

But it's finally here and that alone feels like a hug personal victory.

As always, a book is the combination of many people's assistance and support. This was no exception. Some truly lovely people helped me so much along the way and I tried to thank and acknowledge a few of them in the dedication and acknowledgment section. 

One of really fun things about writing this book was all the research. To date, all of my books are set either in the contemporary world or a completely-made-up fantasy world. This one was set in the Victorian era. Of course, it is an alternate reality, but I still needed to do a lot of work to accurately envision architecture, clothes, transportation, criminal procedures, even what roads were made out of. One of the most intriguing areas of research was learning about the criminal world.

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We sometimes romanticize the era, but for many--perhaps most--people, life was incredibly difficult. Simply living was very difficult and as one reads primary sources, it is clear very quickly that it was a time of great insecurity. Many did not have the means to live. Those who were fortunate enough to have a roof and a meal one day could not assume they would have it tomorrow. Employment was tenuous and sometimes very arbitrary. The times were particularly unkind and unfair for women, who often had no good choices. 

Because of the difficulty that people faced, the criminal classes burgeoned and there was a hierarchy of crime with very specialized skills. Learning more about this world, their roles, rules specialties, and slang was both fascinating and quite sad as well. 

I put some of my favorite photos below, but if you are interested there are more on my Mindcracker Pinterest board. The photos below should be linked to their original homes.

An abandoned Victorian warehouse. This is where St. Teddy's gang took shelter, although in their world it was crowded and jam-packed with crates and boxes.

Molly lives in the twisting, turning back alleys of London.

Belgrave Square, where Sir Edward lives is a different world than what Molly is used to. This was an elite neighborhood in the Victorian era. Not much has changed: homes there now are sold for millions and millions of dollars!

The floor plan of a home in a fashionable part of London. Sir Edward's home was based on this plan. This is actually from Grosvenor Square.

One of the red boxes used by high-ranking government officials. This one dates from the Victorian era and belonged to William Gladstone.

I imagined that Eleanor wore a dress like this.

A dress that made me think of Lady Arminia.

The women who ran households used a tool called a chatelaine. It was an arrangement of chains that hung at the waist or by the side. Each chain carried a specific tool or implement the woman wanted to keep close by. Mrs. Quinson wears one of these.