Spalluccipedia - Luneside University (part one)

 

Greetings one and all to this little dive into the characters and topics that make up the Spallucciverse.

This time around I want to have a little chat about Luneside University. This is the fictional university where both Sam and Spliff studied back in the almost halcyon days of their youth and where Spliff ends up as the chaplain. I took a similar academic path to Sam, leaving the flat East Midlands and travelling up the M6 to the hilly landscape of Lancaster and, like him, I studied Religious Studies up here back in the early nineties. Also, while I was studying at Lancaster University, which is situated in Bailrigg just south of the city, I started to write some of the original drafts of his stories. This meant it was quite natural that I would draw upon my place of study for inspiration. So, like Lancaster University, Luneside has a large square surrounded by residences and departments and the campus is dominated by a tall structure. 

However, there are certain differences. 

For starters, the tall structure at Lancaster University is Bowland Tower, a tall block of flats that surrounds a chimney to the boiler house. In Luneside University, the tall structure is a massive chimney which is a relic of the old Williamson works upon which the campus has been built, down on the Quayside.

Next, the chapel is completely different, taking its inspiration from Saint Martin’s College, as was (now the University of Cumbria), situated in the Bowerham district of town.

And, most radically, the location of the university is completely different. As mentioned above, Lancaster University has a huge sprawling campus to the south of the city. Luneside, as its name implies, is located on the bank of the River Lune on the site of the old Williamson linoleum works. 

The reason that I created a fictional university rather than use the actual one was to give me control of the location. Also, I found that it was going to be easier to pace the stories if I located the campus in the city, rather than a fifteen-minute drive away.

 

Don’t forget to visit my website www.aschambers.co.uk for more details about my books. 

You can subscribe to my newsletter here for up-to-date details regarding all my writing and appearances.

You can check out my Patreon Book Club for advance screenings of my videos and free books.

Take care and keep looking out for what lurks in the shadows…

A.S.Chambers.

A.S.Chambers - December Roundup

 December Book Club Update

Greetings all on an exceptionally chilly December morning.

The last couple of weeks have been fantastic with two book signing events taking place locally. On the 29th of November, I was made incredibly welcome at the Neuro Drop-In Centre in Torrisholme where I gave a chat about my books and my writing whilst having a long-term illness. Neuro Drop-In is an amazing local charity and I always enjoy going along to support them. You can find out more about the wonderful work they do here. 

Then, just yesterday, I was made incredibly welcome at my favourite bookshop, The Old Pier Bookshop in Morecambe. It was wonderful to see some familiar faces and to welcome new people to the shadowy world of Sam Spallucci. If you haven’t ever visited Tony and his outstanding temple to literature, then you can get a taste in The Case of the Bothersome Books which is the second case in Sam Spallucci: Fury of the Fallen where both book and proprietor make a cameo. Alternatively, you can visit his Facebook Page.

Now, a rather exciting bit of publication news. My next anthology, Out Of The Depths will be out in late February and, next week, I will be revealing the amazing cover art that has been developed by Liam Shaw. My Patreon Book Club members will get the first peek, then the general public. I am really pleased with this collection as there are even more stories tying into Sam’s ever-expanding universe.

On to works in development… 

I’ve finished the first draft of the first two cases in Sam Spallucci: Lux Æterna. So far, Sam has been pitted against zealous zombies and has been thrown into an Alice In Wonderland phantasmagoria. I am currently working on The Case of the Argumentative Archaeologist where he will meet his TV hero, the renowned Professor Robert Richmond. 

I am also cracking on with Child Of Fire. If you’ve been following my Sleepy Author updates on TikTok and Instagram, you will know that I have decided to write this one in the first person present, a style I’ve only used before in short stories. This way we get to see Amanda’s story unfold at the same time as she does. I am really enjoying running with this different type of style. It gives the story a great feeling of realism.  

And, just yesterday, I started work on a standalone Sam Spallucci and Spliff short which I hope to release around the same time as Out Of The Depths. At the moment it is tentatively titled The Case of the Pillaging Pirates and will be a crossover into the literary world of a favourite author of mine, but more on that as it develops…

Now, don’t forget that I have a growing YouTube channel. I’ve always loved making videos, ever since I was a kid and this is a great way for me to share facts about my characters and plots as well as post Easter Egg videos and reading of extracts. Why not hop over and give it a quick subscribe?

Don’t forget to visit my website www.aschambers.co.uk for more details about my books. 

You can subscribe to my newsletter here for up-to-date details regarding all my writing and appearances.

You can check out my Patreon Book Club for advance screenings of my videos and free books.

Take care and keep looking out for what lurks in the shadows…

A.S.Chambers.