It has been about a month since I have last updated the Sentinel Hill Press blog (if you need more up-to-date news, do check out our G+ group and, if you’re a backer, the Kickstarter for issue #3); I hope the wait has been worth it.  Despite it being March, I will note, it is snowing here in the unspecified Midwestern redoubt.

Issue #3 should hopefully be done soon.  It has run over-length and so I’ve had to pick a few pieces to cut from the issue – excellent both, but hopefully either better suited to PDF or a future issue.  The last piece being worked on is our scenario “The Queen of Night”, so the delays are wholly upon me.  Progress has been made despite some rather unfortunate news at SHP headquarters; even after the two articles were cut we’re still just short of 80k words for the issue, or just a bit over 100 pages.  That being my target length for the issue (and what I priced printing costs at), I need to keep it tatht atabout that long.  Hopefully we can keep all the rest our our articles.

We’ve also revamped issue #0 to bring it into line with our new layout style courtesy of the electronic wizardry of Chris Huth and with awesome new handouts prepared by Dean Engelhardt.  Check it out!

I’ve also updated the list of Lovecraft Country scenarios.  Let me know what I’ve missed!

For those who can’t wait for even more information about witchcraft, give the latest episode of Ken and Robin Talk about Stuff a listen, as they provide a useful introduction to Carlo Ginzburg‘s work on the Benandanti.  Since they lacked an obvious New England connection, we don’t cover them in the next issue of the Gazette, FYI.

I’ve also added to the research library here, picked up some inexpensive (but hopefully interesting) titles all with some connection to New England history.

Our first work is The American Resting Place by Marilyn Yalom (2008).  While the title intrigued, I’m sorry to report that this is less than academic in quality, being a rather idiosyncratic tour through the historical and geographic variations in burying places in the United States – more cocktail part trivia than a true survey.  The bibliography can still be mined, but I can’t say it inspires confidence to see end notes (ugh! I hate end notes†) citing Herman Melville and Margaret Mitchell… though admittedly Markers issues show up as well, so it is not a total loss.  Oh, and some pretty plates start the book.

Next up is New England Cemeteries: A Collector’s Guide by Andrew Kull (1975).  No less idiosyncratic, but a far more interesting read, this is a visitor’s guide to a select number of New England’s graveyards.  I’ve never seen a work quite like it, though perhaps Epitaph and Icon (1983) comes close.  While I may quibble he missed a few of Massachusetts’ better burying grounds, he’s certainly hit many that I would recommend, and did so in a era before GPS and internet aided research, so I doff my hat to your sir.

That’s followed by a copy of Edward Rowe Snow’s The Islands of Boston Harbor (1971 edition).  I’ve previously discussed this work, but it was nice to get a print copy for only a few dollars.

Lastly is Cape Code, Its People and Their History by Henry C. Kittredge (1968 edition).  I’ve only skimmed it a bit, but it seems the useful sort of early 20th century general overview, names and dates history; light on culture and society (and all their attendant important insights) but providing a useful framework should I wish to dig deeper.

(† Footnotes or GTFO)