This month on Patreon, I’ve added several new articles, updates, and other snippets for supporters, including chapter two of my draft novel The Balliol Conspiracy. This romantic psychological mystery-cum spy thriller isn’t a part of my usual gothic oeuvre, but I am serialising the draft manuscript as an exclusive for those who support me at Knight of the Dillon Empire level or higher. For those of you who are supporters, in case you’ve missed these, here are a few highlights.
The Balliol Conspiracy Chapter 2
Bridge engineer Stanley Orchard is drawn into a web of intrigue after bidding an outrageous price for a mysterious suitcase in left luggage at Heathrow airport. However, this chapter is primarily a flashback, detailing his relationship with his now-dead wife.
Those who are patrons get to giggle at my inept attempts at providing short video updates on my writing goals. Here’s this month’s awkward stuttering.
What I Most Dread About Submitting to Agents
Patrons often get exclusive insights or advance notice of announcements. Here I talk about a particularly irksome aspect of submitting to agents, and also include the pitch for my current submission, gothic mystery novel The White Nest. However, that isn’t the real title. It’s a placeholder temporary title. I will announce the real title here eventually, but if you’re a supporter on Patreon, you already know it, and have been sworn to secrecy (it’s included in this article).
Outside Patreon, I’ve also had the usual busy month on Medium. Here are a few highlights, beginning with a rather silly piece that I hope you find gigglesome.
A Typical Day in the Dillon Empire
The horrible result of foolishly responding to a writing prompt. Let it act as a warning to others, lest they likewise fall to darkness.
Les Diaboliques: Best Twist Ever?
Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1955 fiendish horror-thriller remains an all-time favourite.
The Rings of Power Series One: The Dillon Empire Verdict
Passive protagonists, pointless preambles, and the lack of a clear-cut premise results in a boredom-inducing mess.
An agonisingly selected smorgasbord of scariness.
My Ten Favourite Martin Scorsese Films
Also, the Dillon Empire’s fury at recent ignorant criticisms of the great director.
Was director Tobe Hooper or producer Steven Spielberg the dominant creative force behind the 1982 paranormal horror classic?
One Genuinely Great Thing about the Star Wars Prequels: John Williams
The legendary maestro gave these disappointing films a set of scores to die for.
That’s it from me this month. Thank you again for all your support, and a special big thank you to all my supporters on Patreon – Claus, Robin, David S, David P, Steve, Emma, Sterling, Galina, Ian, Gillian, Yasmine and Ville, plus those who have contributed one-off donations on Ko-fi. Also, thank you to Ruth and Iain, and thank you to every one of you who has bought books, reviewed books, and promoted or supported me in other ways. You know who you are, and I wouldn’t be here without you.
If you aren’t already a supporter on Patreon, please take a look at this link, which outlines my writing goals for the next year, clearly stating how much I wish to raise and why, and offering support levels of £2, £4, £8, and £25 per month, with different benefits at each level. Please consider supporting me, even if only at the lower level, as every pound makes a huge difference.
Those of you who aren’t Medium subscribers get three free reads per month. However, if you decide to subscribe to Medium to read all my work (and the work of many others), please do so via this link, as it means I financially benefit from your subscription.
Thank you again supporting my writing.
Simon Dillon Books 
You must be logged in to post a comment.