Every year the University of London hosts “Dickens Day”, a prestigious event that features speakers on a chosen topic of interest to fans and students of Charles Dickens. It was exciting to see that this year, the topic is “Dickens and Art”, and in a flash it seemed all my efforts were suddenly coming into focus and timed perfectly for the stage my project is currently at.
Of course I could say I’m speaking at the Institute of English Studies at the University of London, but come on, “The Dickens Society” just sounds cooler!
I responded to the request for proposals sent around by the Society, then found out later that other Dickens organizations had circulated the same request, on behalf of the University, so this is a much bigger deal than just the Dickens Society. I responded with a proposal that I speak on the challenges of illustrating BLEAK HOUSE, and it was accepted enthusiastically.
I’ve received a draft schedule of speakers, and the final schedule will be published after Aug. 1, once all the speakers have checked the schedule for lecture titles, spelling of names, etc. The event will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2025, and I want more than anything to feel some sort of victorious achievement. I’ve been working single-mindedly on my BLEAK HOUSE project for over six years, and been blogging, emailing and social media-izing about it almost as long.
Some of you may know that my sweet, talented wife Vicki has suffered a couple of strokes in the last year or two. She has mobility and memory issues that seem to worsen by the day. She is able to walk back and forth to the bathroom but that’s about it. She has been on hospice care for about three months now, with a nurse and a social worker making regular visits. The care is excellent, and devices, supplies and medications are completely covered by our insurance, but it’s surprising how little consolation there is in that.
Given all that, I was not surprised to find that Vicki is distraught and depressed over the prospect of my being away for this trip. I’m navigating her moods and needs but the fact that this trip is still over two months away is a little disconcerting, and whether or not I will be able to make the trip at all is still an open question. Our life is literally day-to-day in the most mundane way. Vicki’s sister in North Carolina offered to come and stay while I’m traveling, solving the one big problem I had about being away. Beyond that, imagining two months into the future is frankly impossible at the moment.
All else continues as before. I’m working to schedule book signings locally. I have one scheduled at a Barnes & Noble in Tulsa on Sept. 13 and I continue to contact other bookstores in the area. I really do enjoy making appearances like this, talking about this book and this project, selling copies at retail and doing linoleum cut printing demonstrations, which seems to be the real crowd-pleaser. My Amazon sales are pretty puny, but after all, this isn’t a mass-market book.
I’ll continue to post about my upcoming events and let you know what changes as things develop in my adventure. I continue hopeful!
