Here I am... and you thought I'd forgotten you all!

Not a chance!

Every comment goes to my email - I know when you've come a'calling... & I know how long its been since last post = far too long: you are so right Mr. Shayne de Comyn Esquire. Well, hang in there, its a long hall for anything worthy. I'd like to try and do this the first Monday of every new month. Let us see if that works, a little regularity to help folks know when its time to come and check old Monster Blog Tattoo once more.

I am currently working on a final draft for the final fine-toothed-cimb editing (what I believe is called copy editing) and loving all the questions and suggestions. Mr. Missfitt's idea of the submariner experience is a corker and I am thinking even now of a possible short story to describe just that (dedicated to him of course).

Now here is huge question for those of you have a care about such things - and one that needs pretty prompt answering. The question is:

Would you like to see what Rossamünd looks like - have me draw a view of his face or would rather that we never saw Rossamünd’s face during the series, that I left the subtlety, the mystery, the idea of his face to you the reader?

Just put your answers in the comments - no trendy poll widgets here, I'm afraid. I would be most definitely grateful to know your opinions - all of you.

Now, cause Coz asked for it, here it is – a picture of a monster…

... it is an ettin from some treeish swampland, rather smarter than your average ettin and a terror to the locals. You get a sense of this fellow's size by the skulls displayed at his hip. Does anyone want to have a go at naming him?

But the big question is, of course, Book 2 Book2 Book 2? I think I have another life somewhere, I have vague recollection of some other thing, like eating, and sleeping and going to the movies; I have this vague image of a woman with red hair… I think I married her recently – it is all so vague in shadow of BOOK 2!

Well, as far as I am aware release date is…

wait for it…

April 2008!

*wince*

A long time to wait?
Yes.

Does this bite the big one?
Yes.

Am I so very very sorry for the wait?

Still very much so, yes!

Will it be worth the wait?
Oh Lord, please may this be so!

Dan S. Tong bless you, sir, for such encouraging words. My word hitting the nail on the head for someone else feels so so good. I want people to respond that way – not just because I feel good if I know (oh my ego! arg!) – but because I actually want to give to the reader (those who are ready and willing) a great big other world transcendent experience. I want you to feel what I feel when I read my favourite books… That is my goal, anyways.

On of the A Nonny Mouses (cheeky scoundrels) asks: "... so could you please go into more detail about ranks and different rolls of service in HC wepenoary&c..."

I’d love to tell you all about the military (in its various forms) of the Half-Continent but I want to show you in detail about it in future books (should any publisher let me) and time and space are premium here. Therefore, in very very very brief right now: ... imagine ranks and files and blocks of soldiers in bright, stiff uniforms firing across the deadly gap at each other with firelocks and black-powder cannon, wearing proofing which makes them harder to hurt. Under great flying spandarions, regimental colours and company bunting, individual bravoes strut forward, suaves who are the darlings of their companies who challenge each other to dual. Across the dead-ground insults and musket balls are swapped and nothing much decided. An order relayed by runners, shouts and flags; one force starts forward 0 r maybe both. The armies close so that they might come to handstrokes where the troubardier is lord. Include now the thaumateers – the fighting teratologists: avertines (skolds) & bombastines (scourges) hurling their potives designed to harm men in to the steadily approaching foe in his neat ranks; somewhere a torsadine (wit) steps forward and putting hand to brow flattens sixty men before him in a perfect half circle. Now it is time for blows, the foe-man – three mighty troubardiers in proof-steal lorica are swinging their poleaxes at you. In leaps a tempestine (fulgar) and with a shout swings a fuse high and calls down lightning from the sky, felling the troubardiers instantly as the heaven-bolt leaps from foe to foe. This is how it goes for many hours till the moral contest is decided and one army quits the field, leaving the other exhausted and bereft after the terror and thrill of battle are gone. They retire to their camps and leave the desperate locals to loot the corpses of friend and foe.

Koallaku asks: “I have always wondered if it is harder to write the book or edit it when the writing is done? I myself hate editing my work so when it comes to that I usually do very little >.<”
Each has its trials, but actually squeezing the work out in the first place is – for me – the harder task (by far!). Getting started on editing is the big challenge, the (big! HUGE!) fear of the work actually in the end being no good at all, of having to dump the lot and start again, the fear of boredom because I already know how the story ends (darn it!). It has the two times I have engaged in it, been a very rewarding exercise; it can take an ok text on to being one worth putting before others, and that is a very happy thing. As to being edited by my editors (shall I say edit one more time?): yes, my ego gets dented in editing, but there is nothing wrong with our egos getting buffeted into a more other-friendly shape. Big egos are the cause of much ill in this world, and humility so little seen – I am thinking of myself here. Taking out 20,000 odd words from a text (I’m answering Andre here) is actually less painful that it sounds when they are the wrong words in the first place and the losing of them makes the story so much better.

Mr. Bomber's “Pigs might fly” question might have to wait a little, suffice to say that some existing clichés are “stuck between the stone and the sty” = rock and a hard place; “you can tell a light by its colour” = proof is in the pudding; “a face that would stop a horse” = a very unattractive person; “not everyone who studies law becomes a lawyer” = things do not always turn out how they seem; “even the sebaceous hexapods of Welter know!” = something is obvious and self-evident (the sebaceous hexapods of Welter are a mysterious, half-mythic race of weird, six-limbed creatures reputed to live in the depths off the southern Verid Litus. There are “heaps” more but I shall stop here (and figure out the pigs might fly equivalent… hmm…)

For breakfast today I had Skippy Cornflakes[TM].

And now: Half-Continent synonyms for real-world terms #009

horticulturalist = well most normally they are called gardeners unsurprisingly, or bowerists; also more technically you might find a flosfructors (technical), pomarians (fashionable), gartenbaurers (Gott), Imperial Hortomaths (the personal gardeners and gardening habilists of the Emperor).

And done! (for now...)

Mate!

It has been one crazy, no-other-life-but-writing kinda time, but Draft 2 of Book 2 is done and in the hard-working hands of those mysterious folk who make it better. At this point I managed to excise 4 chapters and roughly 25,000 words (give or take) - very satisfying result. I don't mind this one bit. I have a tendency to over-write and all this fat-cutting does is make the text more readable, better-flowing, better connected.

For breakfast I had Echinacea for a chest infection that has just taken residence in my lungs.

Answers to questions coming very soon, honest – just catching my breath.
(If I may say, I am heartily glad Mr Bomber is still positing his curly queries...)

Will be back shortly.

Deep Gratitude

To my friends who have left their encouragements I say a most grateful thank you. With the text for Book 2 now two chapters and 20,000 words less (and much better for it) and the deadline fast approaching, your words - and your concomitant patience - have been most excellent and welcome.

I shall have answers to questions in the next couple of weeks.

… and for breakfast this morning I had some wheaty-fruity cluster thingies.

I'm Back...

Well.

My time blogging at Inside A Dog is now done. It was a blast and for me very frequent (though perhaps not frequent enough for the folks who frequent Inside A Dog with greater frequency) .

Editing progresses.

Time runs short.

Time, time, always time...

The 'mountain' is steep but if I keep looking at how hard it will be to climb then I just will not get anywhere, frozen by fear. So head down and on with todays work: those handful of chapters designated as today's challenge. Tomorrow's challenges for tomorrow.

This brings me to the necessary yet painful revelation that MBT Book 2 will not be out in May of this year, that being 2007. It is more likely to come out late this year (2007) or early next (2008) - but certainly no later than this!

*wince*

I am so sorry to have to do this to those of you hanging in there with me. I apologise for the misinformation several posts ago. That was out original target, yet the process of making MBT 2 any good is taking some time. For those of you who continue with us in this, I truly think it will be worth the protracted wait. I truly believe, however, that a good book late is better than a bad book on time.

For those of you who are still here and have not vacated in frustration at this revelation, Winter expressed curiosity at the origins of the vinegar seas. I sometimes wonder if eagerly divulging my creative process is ruining it for people, like seeing the strings on a marionete or getting that blue-screen fuzz about a spaceship that is meant to be hurtling through space ... I could go on. What do folks think? Reveal all - or keep the mystery?

Having said that I'll answer Winter's curiosity and say that there were two things most directly influential on the invention (if I may call it that) of the vinegar seas.

First came my delight at Homer's term "the wine-dark sea", and wanted an equivalent in the Hc that had a similar poetic impact, a way of refering to the all-inportant oceans that was more that just a technical name. I do not recall where exactly the idea of "vinegar" came from - probably the association with wine - but having settled on that as possessing the right 'vibe' I then had to justify why the seas were named so.

The second part? Watching a documentary on flamingoes I was struck by those multi-hued soda lakes in Africa, the very home of these birds. A conjunction formed in my thoughts: I had actually wondered if the Homer's "wine-dark sea" might actually be deep red in colour, and these soda lakes were red (and torquoise, and yellow and so on) in colour. So perhaps the vinegar seas are actually alkalai oceans filled with all kinds of exotic chemicals to make them odd and lurid hues, that the appellation "vinegar" comes from the sharp, sour-wine-like smell of the various chemicals within the waters. Click. For me it all fitted and so the idea became firmly a part of the Hc.

From there it was - and continues to be - a matter of allowing for the adaptions and habits such an aquatic world might force on people, on shipping and seaside living, and what manner of creatures might lurk beneath the turbulent waves.

I hope this does not ruin the idea for anyone.

And as yet I have not had breakfast, though it is most likely to be Sultana Bran [TM] with a few extra saltanas for increased sultanary goodness.

... and I am still very very sorry for the disappointing news of MBT2's later than expected publishing date.

NOTE: MBT = Monster Blood Tattoo, Hc = Half-Continent

Answers to Questions.

And now to answer the back-log of questions and get on track - for the moment any way. I have answered these in no especial order, just as they came out. Before we go on might I let you know that there is a fairly comprehensive interview over at the BookClub - so head on over or read on: it is wall to wall MBT! Either way, let us get cracking.

Steve said “Hi, I was wondering when the halfcontinent.com site would be online? I just reviewed Foundling and in the comments it's come up that a click and zoom function for that map would be great :-)”
Thank you for the review Steve (!!!) This “world-building geek” greatly greatly appreciated your insights and positive words (and for getting the length / proportion of the back matter correct). I shall now have to read Vance. In the past I have made the rather obvious mistake of getting too much into reviews for MBT – it is a rather rarified atmosphere with all the highs and lows – so I these days I tend to be a little less egocentric and just let those that come my way be enough. A bad review can be crushing (though probably it should not) and a good review (as with Steve’s) so very encouraging, emboldening even. And thank you too, sir, for the heads up regarding a zoomable map (aka http://www.halfcontinent.com/ ) – as stated somewhere in a previous post the project is on the way and is “in the pipe 5 by 5” (10 points for anyone who can tell what movie that quote came from…)

madbomber asks: “I'd like to try and stump you with a word, but it seems impossible. So I'm interested in the gods of the half continent. Who or what do people believe in? It seems that science plays a large part in many of the professions.”
Hmmm, that hoary old chestnut. Mate, Mr. Bomber, you have a knack for the tough questions! I have to frank and say that religion is probably the least developed area of the HC and the lands beyond; it is probably the most complex and perhaps touchy subject. Certainly as you have astutely deduced science or habilistics is a most prevalent point of belief – that man’s knowledge and learning and application of the same will conquer, will fix all ills. This is equivalent of “humanism” I suppose, sometimes referred to as “universalism” or coingnosis (said "CO-in-no-sis") or prosaics (coming from prosagologia – the idea that reason conquers all) Then there are those who seek to raise the false-gods (those anciently man-made abominations) – who might be thought of as worshipers of the same, the fichtärs, cultists eagerly seeking the return of their chosen “lord”. With these there are those are in thrall to the less friendly kind of monster and those who do not hate monsters quite so much and think there might be “good” monsters too – enter those accused as sedorner. Some folk trust to Providence – the idea that there is a God and He will provide – others trust their track to the paths of the Signal Stars – all fairly common stuff. Other ideas not ready for publishing bubble away too, just as they have always done ever since I started notebook 1. The Half-Continent and the world it is in still continues to form and grow – it is no fixed thing and it will take a goodly long time to get my notes into a solid coherent form (of which the Explicariums only tell a part) As for a black and red “football” team, Mr. Madbomber – how about the Bombazines? The Artillerists? The Sappers?

Jimmy Trinket said some encouraging things (!!!) and then asked: “… what advice would you give to a budding illustrator??? I recently gave up a rather stressful job to follow my dream of drawing doodles all day, heh heh. I'm at that point where I have a portfolio and no idea... I'm just not sure where to go or what to do.”
Advice is such a tricky thing and my journey has been so long and meandering its hard to know what to say: certainly persistence is essential. I went through a period of about 4 years doing part time work I hated whilst waiting for illustration work to build up, and it was only the Providential intervention of a television show requiring an illustrator that rescued me from more years of toil. Being an illustrator is very rewarding, but until MBT came along (a decade later! – I might add), not very fiscally rewarding. I don’t think the obstacles to a creative life are “put” there deliberately, but it does sort out those who really want to do it from those who "kinda" want to do it. Get your folio – your “book” – looking slick, get a business card or some such of same quality, get an online folio, get yourself about: advertising, publishing, editorial (by which I mean magazines and newspapers), find an agent (though be choosey who you go with – if at all possible, get advice from those who have worked with them), pray if you dare. Be determined but also have some patience: I finished Unit in 1993 and its only been 14 years later that things have reached this stage. I am not sure this helps much, email me if you need more advice.

John asks: “Speaking of detail, even in the blow-ups in the back of the book, many of the words on the map of the Half-Continent were too small to make out. Any chance of a fold-out map in the next book? Or a separate poster?” and Mr. Missfitt agrees “I also think the separate map is a great idea go talk to the publishers about it!”
A great request – yet my publishers are sitting on a printed map for now. We’ve argued about releasing a map sooner rather than later, but they want to wait for a bit. Distributing such a map is not as straightforward as I thought it might be. Ah well, on with the online map I say which I hope will be coming sooner rather than later… and thank you John for your enthusiasm for the non-standard setting of the Hc, I am glad to have “hit the nail on the head” for you, as it were.

random missfitt enquires: “Is the hardcover edition coming out as well or do we have to wait? – because I hate it when your favorite book falls apart on your 15th read of it (so do I! – DM). The Explicarium better be long as well, I’ve read that more times than the book.”
That warms the cockles of me heart, Mr. Missfitt – I have to say the Explicariums are my favourite part of the books too. So chuffed you like ‘em too. As to your questions: hard cover will be coming out first then paperback and I am afraid the Explicarium for Lamplighter may well be shorter – I am told it is a cost thing, that the story of Lamplighter itself being longer impacts on the length of the end matter. But you never know: with the drastic re-write required of Lamplighter as it stands currently, more room for the Explicarium may only be a few deletions of a chapter away.

Daisy Girl says: “I recently did a few days work experience at Omnibus Books and Dyan eagerly showed me your book and told me to read it (which I'm still doing)... it's interesting the changes that different countries made to the cover art and title. Do you have a favourite?”
How can I choose between them all? Each time the publisher has done their utmost to make a beautiful book. I like them all yet as it happens I do have a “favourite” (and I hope this does not ruffle too many feathers) It is quite naturally the ANZ edition – the one made first, right here in Oz-land: it is actually just how I wanted it to look. Being a trained designer has its advantages when you’re an author, and I was graciously allowed to have a major contribution to the whole look and feel of the book – even down to the cloth-like feel of the cover and the two ribbons – one to mark your place in the story and one to mark your place in the Explicarium (non-Australian readers – other than those wonder folk from Germany - will not know what I am talking about, but if you get a chance to obtain an ANZ edition I highly recommend it, it is the closet to my “vision” of how the book should be – see image)

For me writing a book is not just about the text, it is also the process of illustrating and designing the cover, of the character studies and the density of information at the back, of painstakingly constructing maps from a blank page. Speaking of which I can say that there will be (the Lord and publishers willing) a layout of Winstermill in Book 2.

An a nonny mouse viewer asked for a preview of Book 2 – I shall see what can be done. That’s the kind of things publishers get first and last say in I am afraid. Stay tuned …and thanks to another a nonny mouse for the rework of the white stripes number, that's rather snazzy.

... and when you have a chance get along to Inside A Dog for more from me of the blogging kind.

As for breakfast today: I am as yet to have it - yes I am foregoing breakfast to get this out, you heard it first here!

And now: Half-Continent synonyms for real-world terms #008
Keep them challenges coming - it actually helps me make the Hc better.

positive exclamations = esteemed and wondrous come to mind, also blithe or blithely though this is more used for good things received from an urchin or nuglung, from the better kind of monster – though don’t tell them I said that else I be carried of to hang as a sedorner.

negative exclamations = blighted is probably the most common, often pre-fixed with such things as “twice” or “thrice”, blasted is another or filthy.
(Thank you, Winter, for both of these: I feel i have not done it full justice so i might revisit the problem some time soon...)

NOTE: MBT = Monster Blood Tattoo, Hc = Half-Continent