In Which I Discover a New Writer, One As Yet Unknown to Me

Greetings, Blogospherians and all the ships at sea. This is More Chains Than Clank calling. And now this Public Service Announcement:

John loves Mary. But I don't love Mary. I don't even know Mary! Anyone can see that I love:

More Chains Than Clank!

The blog-o-roonie that's a solid sender! From coast to coast and pole to pole, the cats all agree that

More Chains Than Clank

is a solid sender, a blog-o-roonie that doesn't come up on an off-time riff.

Yes,

More Chains Than Clank

it's got the Vout and it's very o-roonie. If I'm lying, I'm flying.

... and now we return you to our Convalescent Narrator:

These days, Gate, I find that I can only handle one double-shot short Americano a day, whereas before ... well, the ceiling's the limit. Now I have a lovely Earl Gray tea in the afternoon. Now that's civilised. "For civlised times, make it Earl Gray time."

~*~*~

There's nothing I enjoy more than discovering an as yet unknown author. Some people find adventure in scaling Mount Everest or going over Niagra Falls in a barrel. For me, adventure is discovering an entirely unknown, and, better still, entirely obscure author. It's a whole new, entirely unchartered world. The thrill! The anticipation! I can remember the first time I read J.K. Huysmans' Against the Grain or Walter Pater's The Renaissance or the ingenious mysteries of Dorothy B. Hughes.

So imagine my delight and excitement when my friend M. pulled my coat to the voluminous and thoroughly eccentric-sounding works of Harry Stephen Keeler, a mystery writer who hit his stride in the 1920s through 1940s. Now dig this, Jack: not only did Keeler write mysteries, he wrote lengthy, multi-volume stories wherein he might drop an entire short story as a sideline to the main plot. He termed this writing style web work plot construction. Click the link to read more. His books are available in first editions at somewhat reasonable prices, but Ramble House has been issuing his ouvre in more affordable paperback format. This is entirely too wonderful and has made my day.