Posted on by paulmichael

Hoop la!

Hoop La!

Dearest Maud

I was sorry to miss you on your recent visit to Brighton. I hear you managed to have a perfectly pleasant time without me, which I find more than a little disconcerting. You must pop back when I’m in town and you can show me how its done (and not for the first time).

I was, as I’m sure you heard, having a little sojourn in a small town called Sunnyport. It proved quite the diversion. Without wishing to tire you with the details, I met a perfectly pleasant, if dull, couple and encountered a monstrous species of mind stealing creatures. Long story short, I managed to save the day by waltzing in to a cultists church with a magical hoop. I had a daguerrotype prepared (enclosed) so you can see. It was quite a little adventure.

Anyhoo, I am back in Brighton now and enjoying the lively and varied entertainments. In fact two of them are calling me right now.

Do take care

Your loving brother

Lord Hollingbury

Posted on by paulmichael

Hoop la!

Hoop La!

Dearest Maud

I was sorry to miss you on your recent visit to Brighton. I hear you managed to have a perfectly pleasant time without me, which I find more than a little disconcerting. You must pop back when I’m in town and you can show me how its done (and not for the first time).

I was, as I’m sure you heard, having a little sojourn in a small town called Sunnyport. It proved quite the diversion. Without wishing to tire you with the details, I met a perfectly pleasant, if dull, couple and encountered a monstrous species of mind stealing creatures. Long story short, I managed to save the day by waltzing in to a cultists church with a magical hoop. I had a daguerrotype prepared (enclosed) so you can see. It was quite a little adventure.

Anyhoo, I am back in Brighton now and enjoying the lively and varied entertainments. In fact two of them are calling me right now.

Do take care

Your loving brother

Lord Hollingbury

Posted on by paulmichael

The Omega Device

Recently one of our household devices decided to “give up the ghost” and break down on us. It was rather a nuisance as, despite our obvious literary success, we have no Miss Henderson to step in when things go wrong (or indeed get violent). So the errant appliance was despatched to be repaired. On its return we were rather surprised to discover the faulty component had been left inside. Once past our initial shock, we looked at the object in question with eyes of writers and artists….

It needs a few gears I suspect, some paint perchance, but I think you can expect to see this appear in a story in the not too distant future. But what, we wonder, will it be?

Posted on by paulmichael

Well, Hello Sir!

This charming chappy came to visit us today. He was around the size of a gentleman’s thumb.

hellosir

With his handlebar mandibles and waistcoat wings, he really does look smashing!

Posted on by paulmichael

Only Howarth Kids Remember This

%22You Serpent!%22“Like if you remember one of these, share if you used one”

So over on the nightmare of horrors that is Farcebook, we are enjoying having retro pictures from Benthic Times past. You weren’t aware we had a Facebook page? Oh yes, we are here:

https://www.facebook.com/thebenthictimes/

Come join us where you can say “greetings my good man” and enjoy some retro fun.

And on the topic of retro fun, if you wish to catch up quickly and easily with the first four stories, you may do so here.

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071V9PP6F

US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071V9PP6F

Posted on by paulmichael

Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

One of the joys of writing a novel about historical Paris is having to do research into historical Paris. I’m discovering that fin-de-siecle Paris is even more interesting and bizarre than I’d imagined. The air seemed to be filled with esoteric ideas, nouveau musique and the aroma of exotic beverages. I had no idea, for example, that Debussy was a Rosicrucian.

The pictures today are from a hotel we stayed in last year in Paris. Lovingly rendered by Ms Pichette, they show the small bar in the lobby with the painting behind it and an absinthe dispensing device on the counter. One could almost hear the chatter of insurrection and decadence, of art and aesthetics, coming from the corner…

Posted on by mjpichette

Look What We Found in the Letterbox…

maryjofinal_small

Here at the Benthic Times we were delighted beyond belief to receive the artwork for the forthcoming Jennings and Jennings collection. We would like to offer thanks and felicitations to the talented and wonderful Aiko Tagawa.

 

Posted on by mjpichette

Meet the Author

Paul MichaelDoes this man appear to be a professional?

A number of readers have expressed interest in learning more about the manner in which The Benthic Times is produced to such a high, professional standard on a weekly basis. There have even been stories suggesting that Mr Michael and Ms Pichette are mere fictions and that the magazine is produced by a crack team of professional writers and artists. Flattering though such allusions are, we can categorically state that these rumours are false.

We present as evidence the drawing above, rendered by Ms Pichette, of Mr Michael in the midst of creating another thrilling yet amusing story. One glance at the writer at work reveals the keen intellect of the literate mind whilst the image itself speaks volumes  to the magisterial aesthetic vision of a true talent in the artist. We hope this small insight into the world of The Benthic Times satisfies some of our readers’ fascinations and expands their enjoyment of partaking of our modest yet scintillating artistic endeavour.

Posted on by paulmichael · 2 Comments

Top Hats and Tentacles

Dear Reader

As I am sure you are aware, here at the Benthic Times we are extremely keen on cephalopods and crochet. We were therefore delighted to find on Messers Smith and Skarry’s most marvellous site a post combining these two topics, namely a televisual instruction on making a Crochet Octopus Mask:

Smith and Skarry: Crochet Octopus Mask

As the winter nights draw in and our thoughts turn from spending sunny days promenading under parasols to wintry days walking rapidly under umbrellas, one needs a hobby or project to while away the time. We are indeed most interested in crafting such a mask.

hat

To show we are neither “slackers” or “amateurs” in the world of tentacular head gear, I present above a picture of a “Steampunk Styled” hat that we have. We have taken the traditional approach of attaching everything we like to a top hat, including our much loved “cuddly” Cthulhu. We hope this shows our dedication to this cause.

Incidentally, the background to this daguerrotype is a small snippet of a piece of art by the wonderful Angela McFall, whose work is also much recommended.