I'm always at a loss as to what to write for these introductory posts. I mean, odds are good that you already know who I am and that you almost certainly found this page via my social media. We're probably old friends, you and I. Or at least parasocial acquaintances.
But - BUT - there's always the chance you just stumbled across me...sort of like tripping on a broken headstone in a forgotten graveyard. You'd probably rather not have known it's there, but now that you do, it's impossible to ignore.
Or maybe I flatter myself.
Anyway, just to cover all the bases, here's a potted bio: My name is Josh Reynolds, and I’m a freelance writer and semi-professional monster movie enthusiast. I’ve been a professional author since 2007, with over thirty novels published in that time, as well as a wealth of shorter fiction pieces, including short stories, novellas and the occasional audio script.
I’ve also worked with a variety of licensed settings, including Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy, Fantasy Flight’s Arkham Horror and Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs.
I grew up in South Carolina, a place where hoodoo is still regularly practised. Where vampire-trees are marked with witch-sign and where soul-bottles are hung from branches. Where people paint their houses blue to keep out hungry ghosts and never burn wood from a tree where someone’s been hanged.
I now live in England, which, if M.R. James is to believed, has more ghosts than roundabouts, and England's got a LOT of roundabouts. In retrospect, my chosen vocation is probably unsurprising.
Regardless, back in 2010, I came up with a character who would prove more popular than I could have ever expected – the Royal Occultist...
Standing between Great Britain and its occult enemies, be they foreign, domestic, human or demonic, the Royal Occultist is the nation’s first and last line of defence against the supernatural. If there are satyrs running amok in Somerset or werewolves in Wolverhampton, the Royal Occultist will be there to see them off.
Created during the reign of Elizabeth I, the post of the Royal Occultist was first held by the diligent amateur, Dr. John Dee, in recognition for an unrecorded service to the Crown. The title has passed through a succession of hands since.
The list is a long one, weaving in and out of the margins of British history and including such luminaries as the 1st Earl of Holderness and Thomas Carnacki. There have been many Royal Occultists, and there will be many more, thanks to the strong British sense of tradition, bloody-minded necessity and the often ridiculously short life expectancy for those who assume the post.
In the wake of the Great War, the title and offices have fallen to Charles St. Cyprian. Accompanied by his apprentice Ebe Gallowglass, he faces threats occult, otherworldly, infernal and divine even as the wider world lurches once more on the path to war.
Charles St. Cyprian and his plucky-yet-murderous apprentice, Ebe Gallowglass, made their first appearance in the holiday-themed short story “Krampusnacht” in 2010. They have since appeared in more than fifty short stories as well as several novels.
I suppose the stories could be called ‘urban fantasy’, or even ‘historical fantasy’, what with them taking place in the London of PG Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh. That’d be the 1920s to you or me. The ‘Inter-War Period’ as historians call it.
While the characters were first created for and then utterly excised from a book, they found new life in a series proposal for a small press publisher. Four stories a year starring the intrepid duo were to have appeared in one of several flagship magazines.
Unfortunately, only one story appeared before the magazines folded. Luckily, by that time, I’d managed to sell a number of the stories to other markets in quick succession. So quickly, in fact, that it still boggles my mind a bit.
Of all the characters I’ve created, and stories I’ve written over the past decade plus, I’m proudest of these. I’ve written more stories featuring St. Cyprian and Gallowglass than I ever intended, and their continued popularity with my readers is both gratifying and humbling. I’ve enjoyed writing every single story, and I look forward to writing many more, as I continue to expand the series.
On that note, a few years ago I hit on the idea of exploring the Royal Occultist universe with regular write-ups about certain elements of the setting, including information on the history of the office, certain previous Royal Occultists, as well as reoccurring characters like Philip Wendy-Smythe or villains like the sinister Dr. Ptolemy, and even descriptions of artefacts like the Monas Glyph and Gallowglass’ ever-present Webley-Fosbery revolver.
This series - which I often refer to as the Royal Occultist Compendium - has moved around quite a bit over the years and changed from a random assortment of interesting, but concise, titbits to a more comprehensive look at the characters and the world they inhabit.
In the coming months I'll be bringing you a concise history of the office of the Royal Occultist - from its earliest beginnings, to its final, some might say ignominious, ending.
Following this, I'll be taking a look at notable holders of the office, beginning with John Dee. From there, we'll delve into the nitty-gritty of the Royal Occultist mythos, with a look at some of the peoples, places and things that inhabit the stories.
Like any good compendium, it'll be much longer than it needs to be, and will delve into questions no-one asked. There may even be a few vignettes included, as well as some short fiction.
If you'd like to read more about the Royal Occultist, why not check out the first two collections of short stories from 18thWall Productions? Click the images below for more information!
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Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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This month you'll get another chance to attend a #playtestuk session organised by TomColdron - Saturday 26 November at Patriot GamesLtd #Sheffield #boardgame #tabletop #cardgame #playtest fb.me/e/2jPNpWX3D
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More prototypes being played, and food and drink being consumed, at @treehousesheff during the #playtestuk session organised by @tomcoldron #boardgame #tabletop #cardgame #playtest #food
Great range of designers and prototypes being played tonight at the #playtestuk Sheffield session at @treehousesheff, organised by @tomcoldron. Games range from early versions on paper, to finished copies - like Voids, which will be on #Kickstarter on Tuesday 15 November. #boardgame #cardgame #tabletop #playtest #prototype
Tumblr is collectively doing this thing where we’re an old woman in the village minding our business and making our soup but the new gentrified neighbors want to come over and see if we’re interested in starting a Home Owner’s Association and so now we gotta pretend to be a crazy old lady who does devil sacraments and maybe will come to stand in front of their house at night and stare in their windows if they talk to us.
Just got a funny look from the new postie. When he'd gone I realised I was wearing a Christmas jumper today because it's cold and I hadn't done a woollies wash. He obviously now has me down as peculiar.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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