How did we make how to make the perfect man?

Our brand-new Halloween novella, How to Make the Perfect Man, came about thanks to a prompt for a Halloween story. Catherine and I had a chat about the sort of Halloween story we’d write. We’ve already written a couple of paranormal stories – The Captain’s Ghostly Gamble and The Ghost Garden — but they are, as you can tell, mostly about ghosts. We wanted to do something a bit different.

We were both thinking about the idea of a Frankenstein-like scientist. I particularly liked this, having written books on nineteenth-century forensics, which involve lots of test-tubes and unmentionable bubbling vats. Taking elements of that and turning it into a story appealed to me. As we divide the characters up between us, I took the scientist, and Catherine came up with an alchemist, Trismegistus Nimlet (Tris for short).

I named the scientist Aubrey Waldegrave because it’s a surname attached to the legend of Borley Rectory, once said to be England’s most haunted house. The Waldegraves were lords of the manor of Borley, and it was said that one of the ghosts was from the Waldegrave family. I’m not sure how many people will spot this admittedly obscure reference, but the name has an eerie feel to it even if you don’t know the background.

And what exactly was Aubrey up to? Well, he was creating a man, of course, in the grand tradition of Frankenstein-like scientists, but why? Because he wanted to have a date to take to the Grand Wizard’s Halloween ball, of course.

Mary Shelley was never entirely clear how Victor Frankenstein breathed life into his monsters, and we skirted around the technicalities of Aubrey’s process too. But it involves DNA, of course, seeing as he’s a twenty-first century sort of Frankenstein.

We added other ingredients to the mix: a talking crocodile, a Bichon Frise werewolf, and Tris’ alchemical powers. But does Aubrey succeed in making the perfect man, or was he right there all along? You’ll have to read How to Make the Perfect Man to find out!

Blurb:

Love isn’t science. It’s alchemy.

Needing a date for the hottest Hallowe’en party in town, scientist Aubrey Waldegrave sets to work creating his perfect man. Unfortunately, the Adonis who emerges from his laboratory is a free spirit who has no time for Aubrey’s brogues and tweeds.

Alchemist Trismegistus Nimlet can turn anything into gold, but when his apocathery’s alligator starts talking back and his werewolf allergy leaves him sneezing, it looks like Halloween might be a washout. Worse still, is Tris really about to lose the chap he secretly loves to a manmade surfer dude who’s more flash than Frankenstein?

With werewolves leaving fur in the ornamental fountains and a banshee making enough noise to wake the dead, Aubrey’s Halloween is going from bad to worse. All he wanted was to make his perfect man, but what if he was right there all along?

Buy link:

Amazon

Catherine Curzon and Eleanor Harkstead began writing together in the spring of 2017 and swiftly discovered a shared love of sauce, well-dressed gents and a uniquely British sort of romance. They drink gallons of tea, spend hours discussing the importance of good tailoring and are never at a loss for a double entendre.

They are the authors of numerous short stories and two novel series, the de Chastelaine Chronicles, and the Captivating Captains, published by Totally Bound and Pride. Their novel The Ghost Garden was shortlisted for the 2020 Romantic Novel Awards.

Find out more at www.curzonharkstead.co.uk

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