In another universe, where a man in a small lab in China didn’t drop a non-descript vail on the floor (allegedly) on a Tuesday in late 2019, the release of my 2020 novel ‘Maybe’ might have gone differently. It must have been a Tuesday when he dropped the vial, these things always happen on a Tuesday. No one ever accidently changed the course of history on a Monday.

As it was Maybe was released in mid March 2020 just before the world was shutdown. Of all the issues Lockdown caused, the release of a novel by a indie author been scuppered is a fairly minor one I know. The only person truly affected by this bit of lockdown fall out was me, but affected I was. I had a grand list of 10 events I was going to do from the end of march onwards. I had never done many events at the time, only a couple in fact. but I was going to brave the world and throw myself into it that spring. I was full of energy and Maybe was my totem. I planned to write two more novels in the Maybe series, I planned to write them both over the course of that year, fueled by the energy of hope and passion.

Lockdown happened, and while it has been six years now since that first lockdown, the events scene has never really recovered. Several large events were wiped out. Promoters lacked the energy to start over. Sci-fi conventions, steampunk gatherings and other events just do not get the same footprints they got pre-covid.

Other things happened too. From a mental health point of view Lockdown was isolating for many people. For me personally a little more so as I live alone. While you might think been forced to stay at home would be ideal for a writer, the ‘great Lockdown Novel’ really isn’t a thing, most writers I know struggled, as did most of the other artists I know. Turns out when you must stay home, the last place your want to be is home.

As a book Maybe struggled to get off its feet. People weren’t reading in the summer of 2020, I have the sales figures to back up that statement for all my books. Sales did not pick up till we came out of lockdown. The ‘book tour’ of conventions never happened. And I could not write the sequel because I could not write. By the time we got passed it all and I found the will to write again in late 2021, it felt like Maybe needed to sit a while. I needed to write other things until I found the headspace for the lost covid novels

Despite all this ‘Maybe’ has been among my most successful novels aside the Hannibal Smyth books. It is very well reviewed and very well liked, not only by my readers, but also by me. I reread it over the winter while I was writing Lucifer Mandrake, and found I wanted to get back to Eliza Mayabee, and Benjamin West. I also had around 30000 words in abandoned drafts that were not quite the way I wanted to go with the next novel. The ballad of Maybes needs two more books, and I need to write them. I have vague outlines for them both that keep changing and at some point I will get down and write them , and nothing is ever thrown away. Even if I never use any of those 30000 words, they exist in my internal cannon. I know this, I will get to it…

Which brings me to ‘On a Different Tuesday’ the latest Harvey Duckman Anthology. This one is a collection of Alternate History. Everything from Steampunk to Ancient Reme (a version of Rome if it was founded by the other twin), dark visons of a Sherwood than never was, or, well, anything. Stories set in alterative versions of the past where something is a little different. So, right in the middle of my wheel house…

Typically I had an abundance of ideas, and typically I struggled more with writing a story for this anthology than I did for the previous four combined. I am in the middle of a complicated project taking much of my writing brain, and coming off a new book in Lucifer Mandrake. I struggled with half a dozen stories and none of them were working, and the deadline came and went as I struggled with the last idea I had. I was in fact close to just abandoning it and for the first time not writing a story for a Harvey Anthology. I would not submit anything I wasn’t happy with. I refuse to half ass a story or just throw something together that would devalue the anthology. I had a duty of care to the Harvey project, to the editor, to other writers involved, and frankly to myself. Because I would have to look at the book and know I wasn’t happy with my own contribution.

Then on the Tuesday after the deadline had passed* I remembered the 30000 abandoned words of the second maybe novel, and that in the midst of that manuscript there was a couple of chapters that worked as a short story. Not could work if I nailed them together with a few nouns and taped over the cracks with an adverb or three. Did work. And not just in a ‘oh this is part of a bigger thing’ kind of way, but as a self contained piece.

*Yes it had to be a Tuesday because it always is, and yes I was passed the deadline, but I look cute in a kilt so what are you gonna do?

So I dug them out, put the two chapters together in a separate word documents, read it through twice, then made notes as I read it a third time. Then spent six hours rewriting it so it actually worked.

‘An Infatuation of Maybe’ was the result. Its a short story in the Maybe cannon , set between book1 and what will eventually be book 2. It is the first new Maybe story since the release of the novel way back in march 2020, and so it is at least five years late… But hopefully those readers of mine that loved Maybe and want more Eliza Mayabee stories will be pleased. Also hopefully it will drive me to write the second and third novels. If the world doesn’t fall apart next Tuesday.

On A Different Tuesday is available now on preorder and will be fully released on kindle and in paperback and hardback on the 4th of July. With 17 stories by 17 authors, and I am proud to be among them once more. It is and will be fabulous, because Harvey collections always are and I am very proud to be among them, as I almost wasn’t, and because I found the story worthy of joining this talented and delightfully divergent procrastination of authors.

Harvey Duckman is back with a fabulous collection of stories examining alternate histories, from the Romans, to the middle ages, through the 1600s to the Victorians and the 20th century and beyond… what if history wasn’t quite as our records remember?

Looking for original, wonderfully imaginative stories from a bunch of fantastic writers? Sit back and enjoy a glimpse into our weird and wonderful worlds.

Featuring funny, poignant, dark, thought-provoking and always entertaining short stories from Liz Tuckwell, Steven C. Davis, John Holmes-Carrington, Anna Atkinson-Dunn, Darren Goossens, Hugh Alan, Mark Hayes, CK Roebuck, Mary F. Carr, Keith Errington, Reino Tarihmen, Zachary Taylor Branch, Ben Sawyer, Phil Sculthorpe, Davia Sacks, Will Nett and Michael A. Clark.

All this means A ballad of Maybe’s (of which maybe was always intended to be the first book) has grown a little larger, at last. Which pleases me a great deal. If you have never read Maybe this may be a good time to grab a copy. Of course there is no bad time to grab a copy, but one feels this is perhaps a good time to mention it exists.

Because Eliza told me to tell you, and one does not argue with Eliza Mayabee if one knows what good for you.