Frankenstein was the mad scientist who created a creature of the same name. Â Mary Shelley had a name for the creature: Adam. Â The classic horror novel by Shelley is still an intriguing read today.
There have been several re-imaginings of Shelley’s story over the years, from the Boris Karloff days to Hammer Films and a more modern I, Frankenstein story. Â Each has its own take on the classic. Â And so do I.
In my story an evil witch seeking immortality joins forces with Dr. Frankenstein and the creature is an experiment in immortality. Â Adam is, in my mythology, a mix of science and magic. Â He is also the produce of a large “strong man” from a nearby circus who loses his life, and limb, while trying to save a lion tamer during a performance. Â This explains his unusual size and some of his facial deformities.
Since my book has Mary Shelley herself as a character I had to do extensive research on Shelley. Â Mary came from a long line of philosophers and forward thinkers. Her mother was a feminist and Mary was extremely unique for her time. She was a sad and intriguing woman who lost several children and the love of her life, but who also saved some of Percy’s ashes and a bit of his heart. Â Yes, his real heart.
The collection of short stories include Adam’s origin story, which is actually an alternate telling of a story I wrote for Time Out of Darkness, but includes Adam’s point of view and an alternate ending from the original story.
One story; Frankenstein’s Companion, is the story of how he gained his lifelong, and immortal, companion, Bella, a small dog originally owned by a mage.
The Therapist and the Dead is a tale of Adam in Brooklyn NY in the 1980’s as he seeks out a therapist on behalf of a ghost.
Frankenstein, U.S. Marshal is present-day Houston where Adam has found a job that suits him until he wakes up dead and someone has stolen his dog. Â I love this story because it also has Bella’s point of view in it!
I hope to continue to write short stories for Adam and have them all in different time periods, but the final one being a present day marshal story. If you’ve ever watched Person of Interest or even Arrow, you know how they tell stories from the character’s previous life experiences. Â I love this story telling, but I think it’s difficult, at least for me at this time, to write a linear story that periodically goes back in time to make a quick point. Â But, my short stories do build on each other in some way, either as foreshadowing or character development.
I hope people will love Adam. Â I do!
Sheila English