Author Archives: hermit

The Future of Northern Arcadia

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Three books, or a thousand pages or so, and I hope to have Abigail’s story down. For a future series, I’m toying with the idea of advancing the clock forward on Northern Arcadia by a thousand years or thereabouts. Not least among the attractions: the ability to forecast technologies and fads of the near future. Stuff like…

  • Cosmetic skin packs
  • Personal biometric scanners
  • Camera contact lenses
  • Clean room parties
  • Global pharmaceutical trusts
  • Universal control sticks
  • Bulletproof fashion
  • Personality mining
  • Private police forces
  • Flash clubs
  • Permanent nervous system migration
  • Professional retraining centers
  • World universities

How would the Sisters of the Moon respond to advances like those? Not to mention the rise of rationalism, the suffragette movement, the sexual revolution… fertile ground for speculation, I think.

‘Speculative fiction’ describes what I aim to do better than ‘sci fi’ or ‘fantasy.’ What if you had proof that gods existed? How would that change the way you approach faith and religion? More urgently, what if you had the choice between personal happiness or worldly power?

Little Type Stuff

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I’ve tried to be judicious about switching perspectives within the novel. The bulk of the reader’s time is spent with Abigail, with occasional switches when appropriate. To mark the moments of transition, I’ve included excerpts from a range of (fictional) sources.

Today’s exercise was to review the excerpts currently in place. I’m pleased with where I ended up: only a half dozen or so require immediate attention.

If an agent or publisher asked to see this manuscript right now, I’d pass it over without a moment’s hesitation. But since I do have the time…

No news is. Full stop.

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To recap where we stand with the quest for publication:

The first agent on the list of six has been mailed, and (per their request) given an exclusive window until November 21st. Haven’t heard back yet; I’m cheerfully pessimistic. Assuming no movement with agency number one, five more mailings go out on the 21st.

In the interim, I’m editing the manuscript for the first novel (guilty pleasure) and drafting the second in the series. Also: updating this web site.

I’m staying busy.

Fit, Print, and Footprints

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To tell the first big story arc set in Northern Arcadia – the romance of Pierre and Abigail and the struggle for Northern Arcadian independence – I’m guessing I’ll need around 750-1,000 pages. Collected in one volume, you’ve got yourself a daunting-looking novel. I’d prefer to split things up into slimmer chunks – a la the Amber series from Roger Zelazny.

Like Zelazny, I’m not going to be shy about using cliffhanger endings, either. Here’s hoping folks will forgive me at the (final) end.

One Thing (Leads to Another)

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As I jog through the manuscript, searching for mentions of the dhao bo, the newly re-christened frog people native to Northern Arcadia, I keep stopping. Suddenly, I can see where (and how!) everything from brief passages to entire scenes can be buffed and detailed.

Perspective is a marvelous thing.

My initial plan was to hold off on any sweeping changes or rewrites until a professional editor had a chance to weigh in, but now?

I can’t help myself.

Senses & Working Overtime

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Appealing powerfully and consistently to people’s senses is a hallmark, I’d suggest, of lasting fictions. In the realm of imaginative long form fiction, George R.R. Martin’s descriptions of dishes have inspired fans to acts of culinary alchemy. As a child, I was fascinated by the descriptions of lembas bread in LOTR, and even as an adult who rarely drinks, J.K. Rowling’s butter beer sounds mighty tasty.

Over the past few days, while I’ve been maintaining radio silence on this blog, I’ve been doing nothing. Okay, well, I took one day where I did nothing even slightly productive, but then I followed it up with two days focused on stinking up the place. By which I mean editing the manuscript with a keen eye (and nose, etc) on the sensory clues and cues I’m offering.

Turns out switching from fish people to frog people created an interesting challenge. What, exactly, does a toad smell like?

Fortunately, the Internet always has an answer, even if the source might seem a little half-baked.

Edioting Wind

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My father refused to edit the novel manuscripts he wrote in the middle of his life. His vision of the author was the solitary figure scratching out words on paper, each pen stroke deliberate, final. Others could puzzle over his handwriting and type the manuscript into the computer. Others could worry over the ways his book didn’t work as well as it might. Dad made some desultory efforts to sell a couple of his ‘books’ but he genuinely seemed unconcerned when he didn’t succeed.

Years later, he would read and re-read the novels he’d written, and (according to Mom) he could not have been more pleased with what he’d accomplished. Reading his own stuff, he beamed.

As I prepare to edit the Witch of the Colonies manuscript for the bajillionith time, I think of my Dad, and though I miss him I can’t help but smile.

We should all derive such satisfaction from our hard work.

Goodbye Mr. Kitsch

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An intriguing essay from M.D. Lachlan over at io9.com posits that ‘fantasy… is inherently kitsch.’ The full article is more nuanced, with Lachlan eventually settling upon the notion that kitsch, and fantasy authors’ responses ‘…will continue to define Fantasy for years to come.’

Personally, I hope original characters and stories play that defining role. I’d like to read more fantasy books with the wit and humanity of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, Orson Scott Card’s Enchantment or Glen Cook’s Black Company series.

Look, I’m not philosophically opposed to kitsch, or its close relation camp, so beautifully explored by Susan Sontag. But I do think those topics are related more to an appreciation of Robert Jordan, in specific, than fantasy in general.