Breaking Grin's Law
A Table of Contents to my new Substack Series. Free for limited Time.
Cover pic credit: “The Cemetery Entrance” by Caspar William Friedrich, 1825
A new project! A new genre! Author Jeffrey Cummins chooses genres as containers to hold tropes, ideas, and concerns.
Breaking Grin’s Law is his new serial exclusive to Substack. Each new tale is released on the last day of the month.
Breaking Grin’s Law is a gothic grotesque horror mystery involving an ensemble cast centered on the the Grin brothers: Sebastian and Karl. Set in Heidelberg, Germany in 1803 during the heart of the Romantic Age, the brothers work at a rare book store and attend University during the day while solving occult mysteries at night.
Investigating the city’s darkest occult corners and writing down what the brothers learn, Breaking Grin’s Law is a Borgesian historical puzzle fiction posing the question: what principle does this catastrophe prove?
TABLE OF CONTENTS (available on Substack since Dec. 27, 2025):
Johann Braun’ Body
Breaking Grin's Law: Principle One: "Johann Braun's Body"
In the Antique Store, stand a pair of early nineteenth century riding boots. Bleached out to the color of dun, dried out up the shins, and cracked along the soles.
Breaking Grin's Law: Principle One: "Johann Braun's Body" Part Two
Picture credit: JMW Turner, Heidelberg, 1844-45
Bad Penny
Breaking Grin's Law: Principle Two: "Bad Penny"
picture credit: Scene From An Auction, Wilhelm Nicolai Marstand, 1835Thanks for reading ForgivenIAm Publishing! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Whistles From the Grave: The Many Lives of Otto Mann
Breaking Grin's Law: Principle Three: “Whistles From the Grave: The Many Lives of Otto Mann”
***Dedicated to Travis Knight whose “horror story in ten words” challenge started this whole mess
Spirit Bound
Breaking Grin's Law: Principle Four: "Spirit Bound"
(Pic credit: Yahoo images search, Novalis, portrait 1799)Thanks for reading ForgivenIAm Publishing! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
The Dream of the Python
Breaking Grin’s Law: Principle Five: “The Dream of the Python”
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Breaking Grin’s Law: Principle Five: “The Dream of the Python”
Send in the Golem
Breaking Grin’s Law: Principle Six: “Send in the Golem”
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Picture credit: The Ladies of Hastings, circa 1800 by Henry Fuseli
