#the fetch phillips archives

[somfte]

[image description: seven images alternating between text from Luke Arnold’s novel, “Dead Man In A Ditch” and captioned screenshots from Black Sails.

First image: “All the things I’d never shared over six long years because I didn’t think I had anyone around me who would bother to listen. 'It’s just...' [...] 'It’s nice to be with someone who actually knows me.'”

Second image: episode 4.09, Silver looks up and to the side at Flint (offscreen) as they speak on the dunes. “It’s just... you know my story. And for some reason, I cannot figure...”

Third image: “We have our long talks and our secrets, years of adventure by each other’s side, [...]”

Fourth image: episode 4.10, Silver gazes reflectively into the middle distance as he talks to Madi (offscreen). “...whose mind I’d in some ways incorporated into my own.”

Fifth image: “Then, he leaned over and tapped a finger on my temple. ‘This mess, in here, is all you.’ He tapped his own head. ‘And this whirlwind of madness is all me. [...]’“

Sixth image: episode 3.01, Flint looks intently at Silver as he says, “But in my head, you are not welcome.”

Seventh image: “’[...] I will never get inside your head and you will never really know what is happening in mine. That is our curse, boy. Each and every one of us.’ [...] ‘We are all alone.’“

/end description]

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Australian & New Zealand Author Showcase No 20 – Luke Arnold

February 9, 2024 by Charlie Cavendish

An idea squeezed into my head in 2023, after seeing so many of the book community gathering at conventions across the US and UK. And once my FOMO subsided, I got to thinking about who might be gathered together if we had similar conventions closer to home. Pending the master planning required to arrange a massive convention, I thought the next best thing might be to run an Australian & New Zealand author showcase. So, I sent out the call, with the only prerequisite for participating being the author had to have been born in either country or currently live there.

Its now 2024 and the Aussie / New Zealand Author Showcase is gathering steam again. Just when I thought it was over even more talent has emerged, at this rate its threatening to become year long event! I will continue to post their individual showcases at regular intervals. So hopefully you will enjoy these interactions with some very talented people. Please be sure to check out their work, sign up to their newsletters and follow them on their social media of choice. I make no apologies for any damage inflicted to your TBR’s!

Showcase No 20 finds me chatting with very talented Luke Arnold. Luke is the award-winning actor from projects such as Black Sails, Glitch and Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS as well as the author of The Fetch Phillips Archives; a series of fantastical detective stories which has third instalments to date.

Do you feel that being an Aussie / Kiwi (or residing there) influences your writing?

Absolutely. I didn’t leave Australia until I was in my twenties so, for better or worse, I was brought up with a distinctly Australian outlook. It’s something that can be easily mischaracterised and also requires some distance to properly understand. Being both a young and old country, we’re still finding ourselves, experiencing growing pains, and struggling with our identity.

At the same time, isolation and an abundance of natural resources means a lot of us are able to benefit from a high quality of life without working as hard as we’d need to in many other places in the world. I think a lot of Aussies know this in their bones, and it makes us nervous of “rocking the boat” for fear that we might lose the advantages we have.

This aversion to change has some embarrassing repercussions on relationships between European Australians and Australia’s First Nations People, as well as our treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers.

We have a different kind of national identity to other western countries like the USA or Britain. We’re still trying to play the underdog – the little colony down under that punches above its weight – but that persona no longer fits us the way it used to. These themes seep into all my work.

Fetch Phillips may have the outward appearance of a classic American hard-boiled hero, but he has an Australian heart. He’s someone who feels separate, a bit ignorant, reticent to become a leader, and happy to defer to those he sees as being older and more experienced. He values being humble and self-effacing, but there is safety in that identity.

It allows him to shirk responsibility and hide in the shadows, even when it should be his moment to step forward. He’s a man who didn’t grow up when he was supposed to and is struggling to come of age too late. I feel like Australia is going through the same thing.

What are some of the challenges being located so far away from the rest of the world, do have any tips for overcoming these?

When I was first trying to get published, I was lucky in that I was already working overseas and had some profile from my acting career. That’s a clear advantage I don’t take lightly. Though I’d always wanted to write, the thing that pushed me to finish my first manuscript was a desire to spend more time at home. My acting career was reaching a point where every job was in a different city, and I wanted to know that I could keep working creatively without needing to get on a plane. There are numerous advantages to being creative in Australia.

One thing that is easily overlooked is that we have more safety nets that some other countries. I really notice this when I’m in the US. It’s terrifying to have no money in America. Of course, cost of living is going up everywhere, but I still think there are more ways to find a balanced life in Australia where you can keep a roof over your head and be creative at the same time. Yes, it’s a smaller market and it can be hard to break out overseas, but if the goal is to live a creative life where you do the thing you love without panicking that someone’s going to kick you out on the street, this is one of the best places in the world to establish yourself.

Personally, I know I couldn’t have survived as a young actor long enough to build my career without the support systems that Australia offers.

3. How do you go about establishing connections in the book community? (any tips / suggestions)

I’m terrible at this. My first two novels came out in 2020 when we were all locked inside, and I’ve only met a handful of other authors in person. So of course, social media is a huge asset.

I mostly rely on creatives I’ve known for a long time. Every couple of weeks, I catch up with an author friend, Steven Lochran, I’ve known since high school, and we read each other’s stuff and discuss what we’re working on. I have a number of other people, some writers some not, who I use as beta readers when they have the time.

Finding your own colleagues that you trust and feel comfortable to share your work with is more important than trying to network your way onto tables with notable people in the industry. If you do good work, then that will happen naturally.

4. Do you have a favourite character to write? And conversely are there any of your characters that are the more of a struggle?

Fetch is fun because he still surprises me. There’s a lot of me in him, and he’s dumb enough that I can stuff my own fears and ideas into his head and have him try and make sense of things. It’s always harder when I have to write someone more intelligent – someone who might have the answers he seeks – because then I need to get ahead of my own pondering and come to some conclusions. Perhaps that’s why everyone is fallible in my world, and even those who seem to have the answers will likely fall to pieces before the end of the story.

5. So aliens finally reveal themselves to us and your work is presented to them as example of what humanity has to offer, what do you hope they will take away from this intergalactic exchange?

I hope they’d see that we’re flawed, confused, vulnerable little things, and yet we keep trying to be better. Individually and collectively. My books are noir in tone, but the point isn’t to say that we’re all broken and corrupt. It’s about celebrating the way we keep trying to be good, even in the face of terrible darkness. Even when we’ve made mistakes that should he unforgivable. Even when the pressure – both without and within – feels like it’s going to crush us. Hopefully, if they’re looking at the state of things right now, it might help them see that we’re not completely lost.

6. Tell us something about yourself that not many people know?

In this relentlessly online world, it’s hard to think of something that isn’t already out there. So I’m trying to think of something obscure. Maybe I’ll share that I play a bit of Beat Saber in VR and I’m determined get to the top of the leader board for Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever (normal difficulty). I’m broken the top 100 but I’m gunning for a top ten spot.

What would you say is the best thing about being an author and the worst?

The best thing is that your work is all yours. There are very few creative endeavours out there where you can give so much of your internal world to another person. While our editors and publishers are integral, it’s not the same collaboration as making a film or playing a song with a band. This is all you.

The worst thing is that your work is all yours. You can get feedback and guidance, but it’s only your name on the cover. You must write every word, alone, without anyone encouraging you or sharing the load. Every time I write a book, I’m struck by what a monumental act of faith it is. One word after the other, day after day, for months, hoping that by the end it will be at all interesting to anyone else. Some days I can’t write a text to someone without crumbling under self-doubt, but then I have to find the motivation to pump out a few thousand words of fiction.

And at the end of it all, when someone else enjoys the finished product, they will also be alone, somewhere far away, playing out the story in their own head, and you’ll be completely oblivious to how it’s making them feel. It requires a level of self-belief that is easier to summon some days more than others.

8. Any other Aussie / Kiwi creatives you’d like to give a shout out for? (let’s spread the love)

I’m embarrassed to say that my reading really dropped off over the last year, but if you want some more noir, this time with a sci-fi twist, the 36 Streets by T.R.Napper’s is a fantastic cyberpunk story set in future Vietnam.

And I finally jumped into Maria Lewis’s The Rose Daughter and am bloody loving it.

9. What’s your favourite quote or passage from one of your books?

Shit. The ones I love one day, I cringe at the next. The chapters about Fetch’s love interest, Amari, in The Last Smile in Sunder City still hold a special place for me though. They were the first pieces I felt confident sharing with other people.

There’s a part where Fetch just lists the days they spent together. As the series continues, I have to keep returning to it to make sure that if I allude to an encounter between Fetch and Amari, it’s related to one of the occasions included in that list. It’s simple, and Fetch doesn’t include much emotion or embellishment, but every time I go back to it, that tragic romantic melancholy gets back under my skin.

9. What’s your favourite quote or passage from one of your books?

Shit. The ones I love one day, I cringe at the next. The chapters about Fetch’s love interest, Amari, in The Last Smile in Sunder City still hold a special place for me though. They were the first pieces I felt confident sharing with other people.

There’s a part where Fetch just lists the days they spent together. As the series continues, I have to keep returning to it to make sure that if I allude to an encounter between Fetch and Amari, it’s related to one of the occasions included in that list. It’s simple, and Fetch doesn’t include much emotion or embellishment, but every time I go back to it, that tragic romantic melancholy gets back under my skin.

10. What can you say about your current project or what you are planning next?

The fourth instalment of The Fetch Phillips Archives is in the editing phase, and I’m really excited to get it in people’s hands. I’ve enjoyed the fact that Fetch has not yet lived up to being either a hard-boiled detective or a fantasy hero. His guilt, self-doubt, and insecurity have taken his investigations (and in some cases the plot of the books) off the rails. That was always intentional, and I found that journey interesting to write, but Book 4 is a different beast. Fetch is still a problematic guy, but he’s put himself together enough to tackle his next case with more determination. So, for the first time, we have a more focused narrative revolving around a single string of murders. There are a lot of rewarding moments in this one for readers who were hoping Fetch might eventually catch a break.

But it’s still noir, so don’t except all sunshine and roses. Just a mystery where the main character isn’t getting in his own way quite so much.

Bonus Question:  Lastly Vegemite* yes or no?

Absolutely. Thin layer with plenty of butter. It’s not something I crave when I’m away from home but get me back in the Aussie bush and I’ll be searching for a jar in no time.

* An iconic dark salty spread that (most) Australians slap on toast for breakfast (NB explanation for the rest of the world)

Author Bio:

Luke Arnold was born in Australia and has spent the last decade acting his way around the world, playing iconic roles such as Long John Silver in the Emmy-winning Black Sails, Martin Scarsden in the screen adaptation of Chris Hammer’s Scrublands, and his award-winning turn as Michael Hutchence in the INXS mini-series Never Tear Us Apart. When he isn’t performing, Luke is a screenwriter, director and novelist.

He has published three books in The Fetch Phillips Archives, with the fourth instalment on the way. He performs the audiobooks for all his works, and The Last Smile in Sunder City was nominated for Best Fantasy at the 2021 Audie Awards.

Book/ Series Links

Social Media Links

@longlukearnold on Insta, X, and TikTok

Source: FanFi Addict

[hurdygurdywizard]

"Oh, what a lovely boy... You're not really going to shoot me, are you?"

The red light pulsed in his hand. Fumes sizzled up from the floor where acid and desert dust begged to be ignited. I looked into Hendricks' eyes and everything suddenly seemed so clear.

"Yeah, Eliah, I am. Unless you put that down. Carefully. Right now."

I was waiting for him to laugh at me. Or to drop the orb. Or to say that I was bluffing.

He didn't.

"Yes, boy. I believe you will."

[misterflint]

melbnova today meeting luke arnold ❤️‍🔥 he was absolutely lovely! also so nice to meet @nohtora and @finngualart !! 🫶

[johnsilvers]

diversity win!! the terrifying demon from hell who serves as your city's minister of education is nonbinary!!

[scififantasies]

This just in: Fetch Phillips earns “good boy” from third grown man— a werewolf leather daddy.

[somfte]

[image description: a tweet by Keara Sullivan (@superkeara) that says, "My dad loves having us home for the holidays <3".

Attached to the tweet is a screenshot from a group chat labeled "Fam".

In the group chat is a message that says, "Could I ask which feminist left this behind as well?" underneath a photo of a shirt that is printed to say "SLUT MODE" above a toggle set to "ON".

/end description]

[somfte]

Oh! I shared this info with the Sunder City discord but forgot to put it here.

In some interview somewhere, Luke Arnold mentioned that he used to read the Philip Marlowe noir detective novels, and that they informed his love of the genre and his inspiration for the Sunder City novels.

Then someone else, somewhere, mentioned that in 2014 Toby Stephens was cast as Philip Marlowe in a BBC radio adaptation of eight of the novels.

I set out to find those recordings and they were available through archive.org!

They are *beautifully* produced, full cast radio dramas. I listened to the first one the other day and was entranced. Here are the links, both the main page and the zip download, for anyone else who is interested:

https://archive.org/compress/BBCMarlowe/formats=VBR%20MP3&file=/BBCMarlowe.zip

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

From Lynette Noni's post:

I’m finally beginning to catch up on everything from the last few weeks, so here’s some fun pics from @supanovaexpo Gold Coast and Melbourne last month! I had the best time hanging with amazing authors @freyamarske, @trnapper, @longlukearnold, @say_shannon, and @gracechanwrites (plus @jameslindsayauthor and @marclindsayauthor) over the two weekends! And it was beyond incredible to see so many readers and talk about books! 😍

Huge thanks as always to the phenomenal Supanova staff and volunteers who go over and above to make the event/s magical (especially the literary manager @pagsbelfield, and of course the fab PAs like Teela and Kyle (among others!) who took such great care of us all). I wish I could thank everyone involved in making the event/s so special, but instead, I’ll just say I adore you all - and of course a MASSIVE thank you to all the readers who came out to see me/us! All the feels!! ❤️

Bonus from her instagram stories:

[somfte]

[image description copied from alt text:

first image: painting of a woman on a gray background. she is sitting sideways on a chair, wearing a sheer black robe with a hood. she has whiskey colored skin and various piercings and jewelry.

second image: painting of a woman on a gray background. she is sitting sideways on a chair. she is bald, has whiskey colored skin and various piercings and jewelry, including wrist and leg cuffs, many necklaces, and silver chains and belts.

/end description]

Khay, colored vers.

[hurdygurdywizard]

It literally took me like half the book to realize the machine Fetch had was a gun. I don’t know why I was picturing sind sort of lighter until embarrassingly late into the story. Even when Victor mentioned the sand, my brain was still stuck on rudimentary fireworks. It did make the eventual realization all the more horrifying though. Points for that.

[lichfucker]

[image description: three versions of the same drawing of Hendricks from the Fetch Phillips Archives, a thin pale elf with long curly red hair, green eyes, a mustache, and a goatee. he's wearing a light blue ruffled shirt tucked into white trousers and a grey striped blazer draped over his shoulder. he also has dangly gold earrings, matching gold buttons on his pants and jacket, blue nail polish, and a dark cane with a bone handle. he's glancing off to the right with a look of disdain on his face, one eyebrow raised judgmentally. the drawing is done in a graphic style with flat colors and shading implied by thicker, solid line work. the background is muted blue with a thick yellow stripe diagonally behind Hendricks' body. in the first drawing, the line art on each element is a darker shade of its base color (a darker blue on his shirt, darker orange in his hair, etc.); in the second, all the line art is black; and the final version has black line art and no color at all, including a grey background. end id]

drawing hendricks in clothes I saw on pinterest: 4/?

bonus close-ups:

[image description: two close-ups from the version with colored line art. the first is from the chest up, showing the detail in Hendricks' face, hair, and shirt. the second focuses on his hips, his sleeve, and the hand holding the cane. end id]

[scififantasies]

Fetch Phillips who punches his way out of uncomfortable situations calls Simms “impolite” for too much eye contact with Eileen.

[somfte]

[video description: a fanart animation for "The Last Smile in Sunder City" by Luke Arnold, set to an audio excerpt from Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom".

Set to a soft piano tune, the animation starts with Eliah Hendricks saying, "What kind of bird are you?"

Two regulars (fantasy genre humanoids, likely a dwarf and half-orc) of The Ditch dive bar pause their drinking and smoking to answer, respectively, "I'm a sparrow, he's a dove -"

Hendricks cuts them off to ask again, with emphasis on "you", "No, I said... What kind of bird are you?"

The music changes to include a dreamy electric guitar element as the visual cuts to Fetch, holding the handle of a mop or broom, who looks up in flushed, shy surprise.

/end description]

“Just the act of his eyes taking me in seemed to change me. He had such a presence that, as stupid as it sounds, I was struck by the profound realisation that I existed.”

[etoilesombre]

Fic Master List

I got tired of having to decide which fic post to keep pinned, so I made this. Proper summaries, tags and warnings all on AO3.

Black Sails

Another Way - Silverflint, E, 29,399 words, complete. Dubcon! But in a very old-school fanfic trope fuck or die way. It diverges from the scene where they get captured taking the warship. They do work through everything in the aftermath, and the end is very sweet actually.

By Faith of my Body - Silverflintmadi in various combinations, but emphasis on the flintmadi relationship. E, Chapter 1/4 posted. Flint and Madi bond over books, the weight of leadership, and being in love with John Silver. FealtySub!Flint, shameless use of literature for my own nefarious purposes, and so much pining.

Another Troy to Burn - Series. Silverflint longfic series, my special precious baby and literally the first thing I ever wrote. It's canon where they're fucking the whole time but it doesn't change anything. There is a moodboard (thanks @jaynovz) and also a playlist.

A Composite Unity - E, 20,366 words, complete. The first two seasons, Flint pov. He is not having a great time.

The Salt and the Sea - E, 60,495 words, complete. Set during the season 2-3 break, how Silver decided to stay and what happened with the gold. He is also not having a great time.

It Only Made Me Real- E, chapters 4/? posted. Silver adjusting to his role as quartermaster, Flint being Flint during the raids. I swear upon everything holy that I WILL finish this series if its the last thing I do, but, it has been on hiatus for a while.

for to fight the cold - Silverflint, E, 11,283 words, complete. Flint arrives to rescue Silver while he is still being held captive on the beach after the failed attack on Nassau. The cathartic murder of Israel Hands, followed by angst, caretaking, and a sexual tension filled camping trip.

If It Was You - Silverflint, E, 17,430 words, complete. Free use gangbang porn that got out of control and also grew a lot of feelings. The boys spend the night in port on a mission. There is only one bed. Flint freaks out and makes questionable choices, Silver walks in on the whole thing, they have to work through it. Cathartic happy ending. The very Most dirty talk.

I'll Carry You Home Tonight - Silverflint, E, 6,604 words, complete. This one is just porn. Season 3-4 break, the guys are newly in a relationship, they get Pirate Date Night. It's working title was 'impact play and 5 phases of ass stuff'.

Kinkmeme-Verse - Series of prompt fills for 2024 Black Sails kinkmeme. I wrote the first two, saw the prompt for the third, and had a Vision of how they could all be connected, so here we are.

As a Boy - James Flint|McGraw/Admiral Hennessey, E, 5,121 words, complete. Young James McGraw is caught with a boy, and punished. Big content warning for CSA, which I tried to treat seriously.

Pressure - Silverflint, E, 4,504 words, complete. More watersports are we all shocked? This is kind of the ultimate expression of that, but really its an exploration of pain and grief and healing through BDSM.

Make Sail for the Dawn - Silverflint, E, 12,504 words, complete. Flint uses submission as catharsis amidst his grief and pain over Miranda, but Silver accidentally reminds him of past history, which he then has to confront. They work through it, because Silver really has to do everything on this ship, including being his captain's therapist. Also Flint gets fucked with his pistol. Just by the way. This is the one prompter hated! Go see for yourself if it is, in fact, Too Awful For Kinkmeme XD.

long as amber of ember glows - Silverflint, E, 7,933 words, complete. If 3.10 ended the way it should have. There are love confessions, and they fuck on the gold. No literally, on it. It's very sweet honestly.

Our Feast is But Beginning - Series. Silverflint Cookingverse! Flint teaches Silver to cook.

Spit-Roasted - M, 5,821 words, complete. The one where Flint shows Silver how to roast a pig. It's canon! Flint is very weird about sex.

Gentille Alouette - E, 11,618 words, complete. Late night cooking dates on the Walrus, continuing intense sexual tension, Flint is basically edging himself. He sure is a way.

Princes of the New World - E, 38,145 words, complete. This one got a little out of hand, it has many things in it, including lots of hurt comfort and caretaking, the guys finally getting together and also not hiding their relationship, some intense gender vibes (Silver gets to be a pampered pretty princess) and yes, even some cooking.

Our Shadows That Are Bold - Silverflint, E, 4,912 words, complete. Dom Silver. The first little iteration of fealty sub Flint, he sure has some feelings about Silver coming into his own as king.

So We Begin - Silverflint, E, 4,038 words, complete. 3.7 missing scene fic that is exactly what you would expect after stomp stomp and the "how good it feels" conversation.

The Soft Animal of Your Body - Silverflint, E, 3,398 words, complete. The watersports one. Yep sure is, omorashi style, with a good side of hurt comfort stuff and also Flint telling a weird dirty story. Set during warship recovery time. This is basically an outtake of longfic because it doesn't quite work there but wouldn't leave my brain.

the sound that you found for me - T, background silverflintmadi, but its really about Silver and Betsy the cat. Yep. 5,699 words, complete. Kittenfic!! Written for the Beach Blanket Black Sails Ficfest, the prompt was 'Betsy has kittens and Silver wants to keep them on Maroon Island.' It's really about Silver and trauma and there are sad parts but nothing bad happens to any cats and there is a happy ending.

stitched with its color - G, silverflintmadi sort of, 1,344 words, complete. The conversation where Madi tells Flint that Silver is alive.

Such Terrible Hungers - E, Flintvane, 3,357 words, complete. Instead of fuck buddies, they're fuck enemies. Fight sex and Flint angst, that's basically the fic.

to pull me from myself again - E, Silverflint, 7,419 words, complete. Written in response to a Tumblr prompt asking for s1 dynamics softe silverflint, Silver's first time with a man. That is indeed it, that's the fic

What Lies Beneath - E, Silverflint, 3 chapters, complete. 11,031 words. Demon Flint AU! Basically make the demon in Flint literal. Silver is fascinated of course.

The Fetch Phillips Archives (aka Luke Arnold's books, go read them!)

announcing your place in the family of things - E, Fetch/Satyr, 6,865 words, complete. The first creature Fetch meets when he leaves the human city is that unnamed Satyr, and that feels like a conscious choice to me. Coulda said 'faun' and we wouldn't be here Luke. Anyway monsterfucking, but in a lovely way.

The Exorcist (tv)

The Smoke of Their Torment - M, Marcus/Tomas, 572 words, complete. A snippet of Marcus angst and pining and also jerking off in a shared hotel room there may be more someday.

[rion-writes]

okay I do take minor gumption at calling Fetch a detective. Man's legwork in two solid books was "let myself get hit enough until I'm dropped at the crime scene".