Monday, January 11, 2010

A new year, a new... thing...

Well, just to be different I have not begun the year with a January first wow-wee blog post; I have waited instead until the day before I move house for the 6th time in 10 years. Was it just me, or did the entry into this new year seem a tad low key?

Well, here we are, 2010 - the year of Factotum, of The Corser's Hinge, of me thinking about and beginning a new tale: I have a few notions kicking around about what could be told next, certainly it will be set in the Half-Continent (I do not think I have much to say beyond it...)

I think maybe some manner of adventure (a nice, contained middle-class kind of adventure, of course) might be in order, something to revive a soul rung a bit thin after 6 years on Rossamund's story.

What are you folks thinking might be good for the new annum?

BTW: in a fit of ego, whilst checking the spelling of "annum" at The Free Dictionary, I found that they had an entry on me (I couldn't resist!) A little buzz for the ego...

30 comments:

smudgeon said...

Merry new year to you, Mr Blood-Tattoo.

I look forward to both the conclusion of your magnificent octopus, and your short story.

Perhaps a swashbuckling sea adventure? I've always been intrigued by the snippets relating to the vinegar seas, kraulschwimmern (?), pirates & strange lands over the seas. There's so much hinted at in the first story about the depth of the oceanic side of things, and if there's not much of this in Factotum, it'd be swell to see what your amazing imagination can flesh out if given a longer format...

...or I could just be trying to live out my I-wish-Joseph Conrad-wrote-some-fantasy-novellas fantasy.

Honestly, i think most of us are just keen to see where you'll take us next in the H-c.

Anonymous said...

Happy 2010 Mr. Cornish! It's been a while since I've kept up with MBT, but I am happy to rejoin and take part of your adventures! I cannot wait for Factotum to come out! I am also happy to hear about your short story! I'll keep an eye for that!

I'd love to hear more about the world of various vile and mysterious creatures. I know you've got some massively huge imagination with such subjects, so further stories involving history and development of such beasties would be awesome!

ms_ventress said...

I would also like to read about a sea adventure! Living on the prairies kinda makes you long for oceans and large bodies of water.

Although Miss Europe is nothing close to middle-class, I would love to read about her back story about how she became a monster hunter.

Actually, I am sure anything you write, I will enjoy!

Unknown said...

An interlaced series of novellas - crossing characters over between stories - maybe including some of the 'lesser' characters from Rossamund's story.
A series of Half Continent myths/fairytales.
Just a few thoughts.
Good luck Dave!
Looking forward to reading whatever your right mate!

monday said...

I concur with the sea-adventure wishes. you are an amazing monster-creator and I would love to see more like the Handsome Grackle. [also I think my brother would die of joy if you wrote a seagoing story.] bahaha. you could pass yourself off as the unnatural offspring of Patrick O'brien and H P Lovecraft.

Snooze said...

I would love to see a copy of the monster handbook Rossamund talks about in book one. The book that contains descriptions and pictures of monsters (Mind you,I think it would take a lot of effort drawing such pictures, which could prove difficult).

On other thoughts, I'd like to maybe hear a tale of a teratologist, with detailed writing on fighting scenes, and lots of monsters!

A sea-fairing journey would be marvelous, perhaps sailing into the foreign lands to the south of The Half Continent? (Or not seeming as you've decided to stay within those boundaries).

Another idea perhaps, is to, over time throughout your stories, create the atmosphere that maybe monsters are finally taking over, and a series of books in the future could be dedicated to writing about a full scale war between the forces of man and monster. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, and far too in-depth with ideas. It is, after all, your world, not mine! (Even though I wish I could say otherwise)
As said above, any story written by your hand will inevitably be fantastic, I'm sure. Oh, and the happiest of New Years to all.

Sara Charlotta Johansson said...

Happy new year!

...and how can it not be a happy one when we soon will be able to read not one but two brand new Half Continent-stories? It really is great news that there will be even more adventures to come after that, I think. Otherwise it would be so much harder to say goodbye to Rossamünd and his world when that time comes than I already fear it will. Sorry, I'm hopeless.

Speaking of your future writing I myself would be simply thrilled to one day get to read more about the leers. I find them endlessly fascinating! Otherwise I'm tempted to say the darker the better about future HC-stories. May there be creepy surgeons, ghastly kraulschwimmern, fearsome lahzars and other yet unknown scary beings! Well... Whatever there might be in the end I'm quite convinced I will enjoy it.

I do wish you lots and lots of good luck with your further explorations and writing, Mr. Cornish!

Anna said...

A soldier-story maybe...full of adventures, heroism and othernot so noble things.

I´m still a bit curious about that war.....

noelle said...

I second (or third or fourth or fifth, whatever we are up to now) a pirate adventure story! Can't go wrong with monsters and pirates...

portals said...

Happy New Year
I would look forward to anything else set in the H/c, although a sea story wouls be quite nice. I also think anything different to the current series but still set in the H/c would be a good chance to find out more about the world.

Christiane said...

Happy new year!
I would love to read something like 'the various adventures of four-acres', he is a mysterious character indeed, though, i think anything set in the HC would be good enough for me! there is so much potential there for so many stories!

p.s i love your work :)

smudgeon said...

I'd like to see Fransittart & Craumpalin in their vinegaroon days. Although one wonders whether some of this might turn up in Factotum - there's a hint in the first book that perhaps Rossamund's origins are tied up with those times.

Probably a bad idea to speculate on Facotum's content - still a while to wait yet & I don't want to get myself in a tizz...

Jackie said...

Happy New Year!

I think that you should write about Europe's past and what she was like growing up. Either that or a story about a pair of travelling siblings with opposite personalities, and their adventures.

Good luck with moving, btw...

pearl said...

A very happy new year to you, Mr Cornish.

Oh gosh, I haven't commented in such a long time... But here I am, still alive and all that.

I'm all for a Europe tale or a piratey story. Or one of those adventures that Rossamund reads? Of Herod and other HC heroes.

Alyosha said...

Dear Master Cornish,

I, for one, am not in the least bit wearied of the adventures of Rossamund – though I can understand if you, as the creator, have become weary. In any case, I wanted to offer a comment about the chapters you spent in Lamplighter describing the journey of Threnody and Rossamund from the Manse to Wormstool. You said in one of your posts, I’m not sure which, that you drastically edited that portion of the novel in order to keep the story moving along. I don’t doubt that the editing was for the best. Indeed, in my first reading of Lamplighter, the travels from the Manse to Wormstool did seem a bit long. But, on a re-reading, during some free time I had during the holidays - a casual reading in which I was no longer concerned with “what happens” and rather more interested with appreciating the story and the world that you’ve created - that journey was the most enjoyable part of the novel. It expressed, as you put it so well at the midway point of that journey, a subtle threwd exquisitely balanced between threat and welcome. I loved it, and hope that there will be some similar journeys in the upcoming Factotum.

Best Wishes,
Alyosha

Ben Bryddia said...

Greetings all, happy new year.

While we're all writing wish lists, might I throw in my two coppers?

First off, I'd like to request some sort of trickster or conman character, as I think you could really go to town with such a chap.
I also like the idea of an old, but still spry teratologist who can show the young upstarts a thing or two.

A subplot with highway men might also be amusing. You aludde to all the brigands in MBT, but so far we haven't run afoul of any.

A treasure hunt of some sort might be nice, though I'm not sure I'd put that with the seafaring story.

Overall, I want something fun, adventerous, and uplifting. Sure you'll do marvelously, I just hate to wait. Remember, this is the home stretch. Hope the moving goes well.
-Ben

noelle said...

As we desperately await the release of Factotum, does anyone have any suggestions of good sci-fi/fantasy books to help tide me over?

Alyosha said...

Noelle, Tad Williams' Shadowmarch trilogy (last book to be published sometime this year) is pretty good. It doesn't pull me into a whole new world so well as MBT, but it has full-blooded characters that you can empathize with and root for.

smudgeon said...

On an unrelated note, will we see an appearance from the Spider Queen in either the Corser's Hinge or Factotum?

I hope so, but will be content with the illustration & description alone...

Winter said...

I am delighted to hear another H/C story might be forth coming. Apparently every one likes sea stories. :D A grand adventure sounds like just the thing, whether on the sea or not. I sure whatever it is it will be as wonderfully detailed and fantabulous as MBT.

Alyosha said...

The concensus that seems to be building for a seafaring story sounds good - though the key thing from my point of view is that the heroes of the story travel far and wide, whatever their means of transport. There's so, so much of your world yet to explore.

Anonymous said...

Rather cool blog you've got here. Thanx for it. I like such topics and everything connected to them. BTW, why don't you change design :).

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Master Cornish!

For a story/book idea, well, I'm a bookworm and someone who happens to find things missing in books. And well, we people here need to know about more about this world...

I had one idea like that (I'm inventing a fanatsy world of my own) and it was a travel guide. Maybe you could write a travel guide to the Half-Continent!

Of course, some people will be thinking, 'Who the hell would like to go there? I'm happy on planet Earth thank you very much!'
But it would be fasinating if we could travel there. Maybe it could tell you where the worse monsters are, the laws, the histories, and the different people of that world so you don't look out of place.

Another idea (moving on from the travel guide) could be a story on people exploring the sea land etc. 'Cause we know quite alot now about the areas where Rossamund has traveled (XD). It would be interesting to see what the rest of the world looks like.

And maybe a story on Europe. She still seems quite mysterious...(maybe it was something to do with her past...*winks*)

These are just ideas! Don't critise me please!

Carlita said...

I agree with the sea faring story idea. I remember that there was a lot of discussion for the post "Who lives where in the Harthe Alle" (Sept. 3, '09) and it would be great if those areas were talked about more in an actual story. And good luck with MBT 3 and "The Corser's Hinge"!

Unknown said...

I think I'd go for anything else in the H/c. Sea would be cool, but so would anything else really. I'd like mountains as well.

Does anyone know where i can find some old gothic poetry?

monday said...

don't creepy blathering spam comments send you into raptures of joy?

D.M. Cornish said...

Indeed, Monday, such transports of delight! And now you have commented on it I shall leave it so as to not make you look silly =O

upsynede = the overpowring urge to hang upside down (as often witnessed in small children and acrobats)

D.M. Cornish said...

Oh, and thank you for you ideas, Siobhan (lovely name!), no criticism necessary, they are most excellent.

D.M. Cornish said...

Oh (again), and bless you, Alyosha, I shall quote you directly from now on everytime my US editor tries to make me kull world building for the sake of speedy plot. I believe one can go too fast sometimes; a reader needs to be able to settle into your idea too, see what is about them, breathe it in, have things to chew upon for 2nd 3rd 4th!!! readings.

Anna said...

I´m glad i´m not the only one seeking desperatly for something to read until book 3 is published.

Has anyone read Terry Gookind´s book about "the sword of.."something? A TV-channel has started to show "The legend of the seeker" which is based on the books. It´s interesting but perhaps the books are better?

In my desperation to find something to read I got hold of Ray Feist´s book Magician. While I was reading it I thought that this was something I´ve read before but I knew I hadn´t read anything by this author. I think it has strong resemblance with Joe Flanagan´s books "Ranger´s apprentice" So big disappointment.