Greetings my fine friends, from Edinburgh, Scotland on a beautiful, crisp and sunny autumn day.

I come to you with good news and, shall we say, “bittersweet” news. The good news, as those of you who follow me elsewhere might have seen, is that my debut novel sold in a two-book deal to a “Big 5” publisher, Macmillan, earlier this year! This is a dream I’ve been working towards for about a decade, and one that still feels quite surreal.

The book, DEATH ON THE SHOOTING STAR, is the first in a sci-fi mystery series, about an intergalactic flight attendant who gets involved in a murder investigation. It’s retro vibes meets space, and inspired by Pan Am and the 1950s, a time when flying was glamorous and fun.

Currently, I am towards the end of editing Book 1 with my editor, while also drafting Book 2. It’s coming out in early 2028! If you’re interested in any updates about that, the best place to follow along would be on my new Instagram (@goodgriefcarlybrown) or my quarterly author newsletter.

But all this has left me wondering…what to do with this blog?

Since 2019, I’ve been using it primarily to blog about my passion for 18th century history and historical fiction. But…that’s not really (directly) connected to the new novel and, for the next year and a bit, I need to use every resource, connection and outlet that I have (and if you have any where you’d like the feature or review the book, let me know!) to get the word out there about DEATH ON THE SHOOTING STAR. I’ve had four other books published before with fantastic, small indie presses, but I think it would be accurate to call this book my “big break”. My heart and soul need to focus on this project, and, if I’m honest with myself, I don’t have the hours in a day to edit one novel, draft another, do my academic day job, and maintain a blog that isn’t related to the book.

What happens to all the previous “Madeira Mondays” posts?

All the previous posts aren’t going anywhere. Dozens upon dozens of historical site visits, book reviews, and posts about random and interesting bits of history are still there (and, according to my WordPress statistics, are still being read).

And why not use this excuse to take a dip into the (pretty extensive!) archive of posts? Some of my favorites include…”Making an 18th century sailor’s breakfast”, “A Visit to Culloden Battlefield“, “Thomas Jefferson, James Hemings, and French Cooking“, and my posts about the HBO John Adams miniseries.

Why I started this blog series back in 2019…

One of my goals, when I started “Madeira Mondays”, was to connect with people who were interested in this time period, to find new friends and readers for the 18th century historical fiction I was writing at the time! I named it after a favorite drink of America’s founders: Madeira wine! And, oh boy, did I TRY to get my novel set during the American Revolution published. But I couldn’t find a literary agent (literary agents are the people who sell your work to publishers, many publishers don’t accept “unagented” submissions directly from authors. Agents know how to position your book, which editors are looking for which genres, and they sell your work and negotiate your contracts).

I think that, unfortunately, timing had a lot to do with these set-backs. Public interest in the 18th century was waning after a brief rise post-Hamilton, and I’ve been told by several people in the industry that it’s just hard to sell.

I got my fantastic agent – Michelle Hauck – in 2024. When I signed with her, it was for a science fiction novel inspired by 18th century sailing. Still a fantastic premise in my eyes (a bit like Treasure Planet!!), and I thought “Hey! I can keep up with Madeira Mondays because I’m still in that 18th century-inspired world, but it’s just in space!” That will be perfect!! Alas…that book did not sell either. It came close and it still might, someday. But it wasn’t until I wrote this book, inspired by the 1950s and the golden age of air travel, that I finally “cracked the code”. The stars aligned, if you will, for DEATH ON THE SHOOTING STAR. It sold quickly, to my dream publisher, earlier this year and it’s been full speed ahead ever since.

But it means that I’m no longer in an 18th/19th century headspace. I’m thinking about poodle skirts, not pantaloons.

What happens with the blog now?

My understanding, from speaking with some blog readers, is that people who followed along and read this blog weren’t necessarily 18th century enthusiasts like me, but fellow curious, knowledge-seeking people who wanted to dip into the past and learn a little something. So…does that mean that I carry on with the blog but feature posts about other areas of history that are more directly related to what I’m writing now? Or focus it on reading recommendations or the writing process? I’ve been branching out past the original 18th century remit for years now, so maybe that makes sense…

Truthfully, I’m still figuring that out!

But what I can say for sure is that “Madeira Mondays”, as a regular blog series focused primarily on 18th century history/historical fiction, is lowering its sails, at least for now.

This time period still has my heart, and I would so dearly love to write a book someday that is either straight up historical fiction or some kind of riff on the era, but with a sci fi/speculative twist (like DEATH ON THE SHOOTING STAR for the 1950s).

I guess the “moral of the story” (not that there needs to be one!) is that sometimes it’s good to keep creating, but you don’t always know where it’ll take you! Seven years ago, I NEVER expected to be a sci-fi novelist. But I followed my instincts and my interests and…here we are!

More than anything, I want to thank everyone who has read this blog series (some since it began seven years ago!). You have supported the blog in numerous ways: from simply reading, to liking, subscribing, buying me a coffee on Ko-fi, and even meeting up with some of you in person!! This has meant more than I can say, especially when I was facing so much rejection for my historical novels.

You showed up, you read the blog, and you made me feel like I had something interesting and worthwhile to say. “Madeira Mondays” gave me structure during a time in my life when I very much needed it, and your support really means so much.

Stay tuned for announcements about what comes next for this blog (feel free to send over ideas too!) and thanks for joining me for many happy years of “Madeira Mondays”!!

Your faithful servant,

C. Brown