A Salute to Brown Jenkin

Sketch by H.P. Lovecraft, 1934. Image in Public Domain.

We are less than a week away from the June 3^rd debut of THE SOURCE, book two of the Witching Savannah series. To celebrate, I will be sharing a bit of background each day until the release.

A salute to Brown Jenkin

HP Lovecraft, the man, had some issues; There are no two ways around that. Still, I am a huge fan of HP Lovecraft’s work, and have quietly adopted and adapted his Cthulhu Mythos for the Witching Savannah series. His Cthulhu Mythos, with its alien entity “small g” gods, allows for an exploration of a cosmic evil that lies outside the tenets of the established religions. This was important to me, as I wanted to make Mercy’s world accessible to everyone, regardless of their religion or lack thereof. If you aren’t a fan of Lovecraft, not to worry, the allusions, while ever-present, are for the most part pretty subtle.

Still while you won’t encounter six foot tall penguins or witness R’lyeh rising off the Georgia coast, those familiar with Lovecraft’s works will see his influence in the mythological underpinnings of the Witching Savannah series. So, in THE SOURCE, when Mercy encounters a creature that resembles a rat with a tiny humanlike face and hands, know that yes, this is an affectionate shout out to Brown Jenkin.

One bit of trivia:  In THE LINE, Mercy tells us her family came to Savannah shortly after the Civil War. What she doesn’t say is that, at least in the unpublished backstory of the Taylor family, they came to Savannah from Lovecraft’s own beloved Providence, and undoubtedly had a run-in or two with Jenkin’s mistress, Keziah Mason.