bleakhouse – Gerry Mooney Illustrating Dickens

My Fortune Cookie

So I’ve been pretty psyched about this trip to Santa Cruz. I walk around the house “writing” my class lectures in my head, making lists of supplies we’ll need, and I’ve gotten a couple of questions from students already, about what they need to bring, what to expect, etc.

I correspond pretty regularly with the event organizer, and among other things, have learned that UC Santa Cruz has been putting on The Dickens Universe for 46 years! It’s all exciting and the anticipation has pretty much taken over, and I’m fine with it.

One Thing I Got Is Class.

…and it’s getting bigger! Namely, the enrollment for my linoleum-printing class at the Dickens Universe in July is growing. The Dickens Project, organizer of the event at UC Santa Cruz, have been promoting the class in their newsletter and on Facebook, and it’s getting results. 17 so far have enrolled and I believe they’re limiting it to 40, which should be workable.

Many of the enrollees have posted questions, however it’s all posted on a Google sheet, not set up to easily post answers. They did start asking folks for email addresses, so that will help.

The Dickens Universe Heats Up!

First I would like to thank those of you who have contributed to my GoFundMe campaign. I’ve already begun making lists, and buying paper, supplies and equipment for this adventure, and the lists keep growing!

I know folks have reservations about contributing money online, and maybe some folks just dislike GoFundMe and their ilk, and I understand. I would like you to know that if you want to help me in this endeavor, I can also accept money through the following methods, which don’t take a fee out of the donations.

London Hit-and-Run

Well yes, I made my marathon journey to London and I will never, ever do it again this way!

First and foremost I want to say that the event I traveled for, the annual Dickens Day gathering at the University of London, was everything I could have hoped it to be. Largely a group of “locals”, i.e., folks from within the U.K., there were also a couple of Asians, one other American, who currently teaches over there, and one Brit who has lived in Hungary for several years, so technically a local, but not really!

I only got to chat with a few of the other 100-odd attendees, so all my impressions are pretty selective. Everyone was extremely welcoming and interested in my work, and likewise the other speakers had some very interesting and surprising topics and visuals. The theme of the event this year was “Dickens and Art”, and the topic embraced quite a range of subjects.

Barnes & Noble Lino Demonstration – VIDEO

The B&N store on 71st St. in Tulsa was kind enough to allow me to hold my second book signing/lino printing demonstration on Saturday, Sept. 11 and it went just fine!

Several friends showed up and I even snagged a couple of new fans among the passing customers. Special big thanks to Vicki’s longtime friend Marty Sikes for handling the camera duties on the spur of the moment.

Going to London!

Well, lots going on this Fall with BLEAK HOUSE. This Saturday, Sept. 13, at 1PM Central Time, I’ll be hopefully livestreaming my book signing/linoprint demonstration at the 71st Street Tulsa Barnes & Noble, opposite from Woodland Hills Mall. The staff there has been extremely helpful and welcoming, and have offered to help with the streaming. If you’re on Facebook stop by if you can, should be entertaining.

I’ve been saying for a couple of years now that in creating an illustrated novel I’ve been working in an obsolete form. AFAIK, there hasn’t been an adult illustrated novel in like 50 years (give or take!) and I consoled myself by saying I’ll have the field to myself, ha ha. But the joke’s on me. Check this out…!

My Journey to Speak on BLEAK HOUSE at Dickens Day 2025

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!

Inspector Bucket Superstar

You may have ended up here in response to my latest email announcement, all nice and formatted with images and new info. I’ve been wanting to make this improvement for some time and I’m happy with the results. Above all, it contains an “opt-out” option at the bottom which is just polite, but I never had the means to do it in a standard, email-friendly format.

It means a lot to have the support I’ve gotten from many friends and even strangers in this journey. The book is out in the wild, I’ve gotten my first press coverage in our hometown Claremore Progress, and I’ve lined up my first book signing.

Okay, It’s ON!

Well folks, I first want to thank you for stopping by to read my posts here. It’s been a labor of love even when it’s a struggle because this book and this project are something I believe in. I don’t think I would have stuck to all this if it weren’t!

So I would like to announce the following:
BLEAK HOUSE, by Charles Dickens and illustrated with 40 new linoleum prints by Gerry Mooney, is now available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTG8DLCJ . Paperback, 650 pages, $30. I’m not planning an e-book edition.

PROOF!

I know I’ve been talking about getting a publisher, applying for a grant, finding an agent…well none of this is going to happen. For one thing, after approaching numerous agents and publishers, it finally sunk in that “illustrated novel” is no longer a thing, and hasn’t been for decades.

No one I approached, even those that liked the work, had any idea of how this particular project fits into any current publishing niche. I have no doubt the project has potential, I’ve known it for years, but convincing anyone who has the means to publish it to see it like I do is enough for even Sisyphus to give up and go back to his rock just to take a breather.