Author: M. C. Dulac
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Grab a coffee, ‘The Alchemist of Paris’ is here!
It’s been a long journey, but ‘The Alchemist of Paris’ is finally here! Escape to Paris this summer, without having to leave home! A big thank you to all my friends and readers for their support and encouragement, from those early days of listening to me talk through the plot, to asking those questions that…
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Alchemy, Magic and the Origins of Modern Science
I remembered a word I had heard the monks say, a word spoken with disapproval, a word as bad as a deadly sin. A word that was rich and alluring, a word describing something I knew to be wrong, but which I knew was exactly what lay in the pages before me. Alchemy. – Elise starts to…
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Plotting my Way across the City (from a Writer’s Perspective)
One of the most evocative books I have ever read is “The Vampire Lestat”. Anne Rice made me want to run down the Paris boulevards with Lestat and Nicholas, sit in the smoky theatres and opera houses, and descend into the catacombs with Armand. Frankly, it even made me want to be a vampire, had…
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Finding Inspiration: Secret Gardens
In “The Alchemist of Paris” the heroine, Elise, has special knowledge of herbs and medicines, which leads to her being sent to Paris, to be a maid in the house of the mysterious scientist, Albert Price. Although a small part of the story, I wanted all the descriptions of the medicine gardens to be as…
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Enfin! ‘The Alchemist of Paris’ Release Date 14 July 2016
“The Alchemist of Paris” has been beta read, edited and polished to a shine, and is coming out on 14 July 2016! The picture above was taken near the house (now a museum) of a famous French writer. Can anyone guess where it is in Paris?
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The Many Stages of Writing a Novel
The novel is almost finished! Writing is never a straightforward journey. Here is a rough sketch of my recent writing experiences in graph form (‘Writer’s Mood’ on one axis, ‘Time Passed’ on the other).
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Cover Reveal – The Alchemist of Paris
I am very excited to reveal the cover design of ‘The Alchemist of Paris’, created by the wonderful Adriana Hanganu of adipixdesign.com. ‘The Alchemist of Paris’ is a gothic mystery set in modern day and 1820s Paris. A young woman searches for a forgotten mansion in the heart of modern Paris. The only clue to…
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Flash Fiction – Social Media Anxiety
A sweet tale for this Valentine Day’s Month. * * * * * Tim wants to be your friend. Natasha sat before her computer. Sunlight peeked through the morning clouds outside her window. She sipped her coffee and stared at the screen. Tim was the cute boy she had met at the…
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Your Novel Stinks! Including all the Senses in your Writing
The quickest way to immerse a reader in your character’s world is for the reader to experience that world through your character’s senses. Most writers are familiar with the “show don’t tell” rule. The closer we are to the character’s actions and reactions, the more gripping the story becomes. Sight and sound are easy to…
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Character Sketches
I am surrounded by creative projects in various stages of completion. Here are some character sketches from an ambitious plan I had to write an illustrated novel. Our beautiful heroine has been captured… By a mean and pompous vampire-hunter… And held captive in a terrifying prison, where the guards keep watch… Due to her…