Sunday, March 11, 2012

Well, how are the dice making projects coming along?


Well, how are the dice making projects coming along? Better than my blogging frequency, I hope :)

Once again it is well overdue for me to post.

Exciting news (I hope) is that I am working on two books at the moment: one an edit/rewrite of The Corsers' Hinge to (again, I hope) be released as a stand alone novella, complete with maps, illustrations, a brief explicarium and other appendical (not a real word) matter. Do people want to see this? If it happens it is more likely to come out first.

The second is a proper novel that the more I work on it, the more I feel might stretch out into the usual fat, multi-volume "epic" (for want of a better word) I found myself stumbling into with MBT. It will not (as I might have said before... or was that just in a dream...?) be about Rossamünd and Europe this time around, but I hope you are going to really like the new fellow in the spot light (as it were) - he really takes up where dear little Rosey left off.

This is all what I would like but it is yet to be accepted/approved/green lit/let come into exiatence so prayers/good wishes/positive quantum flow all appreciated.

This does not mean I have abandoned the Branden Rose or her little man, just that I am trying out the Half-Continent from a different point of view. This is actually a significant element of the overall thesis of the Half-Continent: that it came well before I had any concept of specific characters and contains stories from many different points of view yet they are all interconnected - not so much sequel spin-offs but distinct folk who overlap in what I hope are conceivably realistic ways. For example, the protagonist for this new tale plays a very tiny role in Factotum, just as a teaser.

As for Duchess-in-Waiting of Naimes and Rosey-me-lad, well, Lord willing we shall see where they are at again in the future.

And in answer to you request, Master Come Lately, here be a map showing the rough political boundaries of the Sundergird. Such things are necessarily vague in a land without satellite imaging/modern political wrangling and all such modern/our-world stuff that makes out own maps so punctiliously delineated. I hope you like, and more importantly it helps you-all over there at the Forum.



The tabs, Madam Blackwood, are those Post-It [TM] tabs you buy at your local stationer, and I have used different colours depending which book I writing (yellow-green = Foundling, pink = Lamplighter, sky blue = Factotum, dark blue = navy/newest stories... its getting vague, be good to clarify to myself once more) marking a large number of my notebooks in this way at all the pertinent entries for each story as I find them: I sit on my couch and trawl a notebook for anything I might need to know for that current tale, typically scribbling on the tab what the entry it flags is about.

Ahh, Master Alyosha, as always you make my day(s): Pococo is actually Italian for "freckles" - I use Italian/Spanish for localised colloquialism of Tutin which one can especially encounter in such areas like western Seat, Tuscanin and across to Catalain.

Hello, hello Troubadour! Wonderful to hear about you project - apologies for the lack of a more full depiction of troubardiers. Perhaps Appendix 2 of Factotum gives some idea, just add the sash as shown in Appendix 3 Factotum around the back. And now I am going to be a drag/punctilious pain-in-the-rear and offer that the proper spelling is troubardier - the concept being that they are soldiers (the "~ier" bit) who wear proofing/armour (the "~bard~" bit) that is fully protecting (the "trou~" or "true" bit) *please don't punch me* Will you be showing us you wondrous work when it is done? Can it be seen in its incomplete state at all? If need more keep asking.

An art book, huh, Emily Odenwald? Well, I reckon this will be worth doing once I have a bit more "art" under me belt. MBT is just one story and I hope I have a few more in me to tell on the Half-Continent yet, a body of work from which a selection of "art" (appendices, illustrations, maps etc) would be selected. As for manga/graphic novel - sweet! If I was to do such a thing, to stave off boredom I think I would tell an entirely new story.

And yes, dear dear Portals old blog-friend, until the conquest by the Tutelarchs and then re-conquest by their descendants/heirs the Tutins, the Soutlands were a collection of independent city-states warring and combining as political need moved. The Germanic names shows the influence of crossing cultures, of Gottish people coming over the Pontus Canis to dwell in the Soutlands.

Well, a long blog makes up for a long pause.

I hope you are all well.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Both book projects sound awesome. However, would The Corsers' Hinge be available in the US when it is released? I would really like to read it, but it is somewhat of a hassle to get it when it is generally not available here.

D.M. Cornish said...

That is a large part of the reason for the project, to get it into a version that can be more easily accessed in other countries (than Oz) than it currently is. WIN!

portals said...

Excellent, they sound great.

Master Come Lately said...

Thank you for the political map, Master Cornish! I'm fully aware that there is no such thing as exact boundaries in the technological era of the Half-Continent. Regardless, these general territory outlines you've graciously posted have answered so many of my questions at once!

Also, thank you for the many responses to our questions. I imagine adding blog posts and answers to every fan question on your plate must be at least somewhat weighing, in addition to re-editing one story, writing yet another (that could potentially be another full epic) and dealing with undesirable features of professional writing.

On another note, I don't know which I'd like more: an art book (some time down the line, as you've said) or a comic book!

tradgardmastare said...

Novella and accompanying maps etc sounds splendid.I too enjoyed the map.
Having mulled it over go for the Novella first...
best wishes
Alan

Anonymous said...

I"d like this comment to count as prayers/well wishes/positive quantum flow for both projects.

Carlita said...

I'm so excited for both projects to come out! And I'm going to resist the urge to scour "Factotum" for the new protagonist...

I do have two questions while you're still answering them: one is will we ever find out more about Licurius? And the other is if you'd ever consider writing a 'history' book about the HC? I know the various political regions have been discussed in other posts and a bit of history is put in the trilogy, but a history book would definitely be useful for understanding all those deeper layers.

Also, I agree to more art, either a compilation or comic book!

Ali said...

I'm going to pester you to answer me in a variety of forums until you do so, you know. Spoors. Tell me about them.

I'd really love both of what you're writing to get published; both sound great (I've really enjoyed the Hinge now that I have access to it). Illustrations would be fabulous.

Also thanks for the links to the tumblr; I always get lots of new followers when you do. I'm blushing you liked my Pluto at all!

Ashley B said...

Yes I would like to hear more about spoors meself (and am tempted to start painting them on myself when I perform). Hullo dear Mr. Cornish! I just finished the books and am very relieved to see this interavtive blog as it will ease the pangs of separation felt at the end if such a grand tale with such compelling characters. I just sent you an email about the possibilities if a film rendition that, in my wildest dream, I would be directing. Any word on it? I can't wait for your next work! And now off to revisit Factotum on audio and see if I can't decifer who this new lead will be. Don't worry, my pinklips are sealed

BrokenSphere said...

Thank you for the map, Mr. Cornish. I was under the impression that the Haacobin Empire was a continguous entity including the Ager Magus and the Sleep, given that the Soutlands' colonial quarries are actually located far to the northeast. This also has me wondering how Gosling would be sent there - would he travel by road or take the sea route?

I am guessing that Rookwood would not be the new protagonist as he has a minor, but not a tiny role.

Wolf Blood said...

Thank you for the political map! The one I made wasn't even close.
On an unrelated note, I often wonder what happened to Sallow (I believe that was her name) from the first book. It seemed like she was to become a major part of the story. Also, I would like to know more of the Pilts. Hope I don't sound demanding :)

Alyosha said...

Both of your projects sound fascinating and well worth reading. Like tradgardmastare, I lean towards the Corsers' Hinge novella, if only because that sounds like a project easier and more quickly brought to completion. Your map creates a clear image - at least clearer than I had before - of how far-spread, and so how vulnerable, is the Haacobin Empire. No wonder the Emperor wants to take his son on a tour of the southern regions! And how lucky he is that many of the nobility (The Archduke of Brandenbrass, Europe, Threnody Vey, etc..) are either unable or unwilling to have children. Having plenty of his own children established on these various thrones seems perhaps the best hope he has of keeping the empire whole. Maybe reordering the months to bring extra attention to his son isn't such an empty headed gesture after all?

Anonymous said...

I agree that both projects sound wonderful - actually, anything about the HC does, including graphic novels, manga, etc.

The political map looks pretty much like I had pictured - i.e., your descriptions in the books led me in the right direction.

I love how tehre are stories hidden in the (zoomable) map itself!

But don't ever tell us *everything* - always leave room for mystery and imagination! The HC is after all a big place. :-)

- old aggie

Troubadier said...

I dislike auto-correct, my mobile device does not yet contain HC vocab. I was referring to the appendix in book 3 for the front of the troubadier's armor, but the shape of the pauldrons for the rear is something I was having difficult imagining. Thanks for the advice, and correct.

Richard Monson-Haefel said...

Mr. Cornish,

Would you consider creating an enhanced eBook version of 'The Corsers' Hinge'?

With an enhanced version you could, for example, zoom in and out of your map, do political overlays, search and find cities, and plot where the main character has been and is going.

You could also provide pop-up definitions from the explicarium directly to terms and names from the Hc used in the book.

You can integrate all your illustrations, provide audio pronunciation guides for words and character names and many other things.

I love your books and have myself created other enhanced ebooks. I would LOVE to help you create an enhanced edition of 'The Corsers' Hinge'.

What do others thing of this idea?

Anonymous said...

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen

I just wanted to pop by and share a Half-continent ah-ha moment from a few weeks back. I've been visiting a large number of Orthodox churches and monestaries, and one icon I see a lot is that of St. Ecaterina/Catherine. She is always pictured with the engine of her martyrdom, a large, spikey wheel. Catherine wheel anyone?

This in turn made me curious about the history of Catherine wheels in the H-c and whether the term is at all related to the Cathars or to the idea of cleansing (I think there's a linguistic link between Cathar and Catherine with the Greek Katharidzo, "to cleanse"). Thank you for the new post, and I personally would like to see the novella hit the USA, as I am not going to pay to get it from Australia.

Farewell

-Ben Bryddia

Anonymous said...

I'd love to read a novella! Anything to sate my thirst for the half-continent.

Unknown said...

I will love to read the Corsairs Hinge...and I am looking forward to another book...love the HC!!

Random_Interrupt said...

Just finished Factotum this very eve, greatly heartened to hear of another tale of the Half-Continent (or, mayhaps, yet further afield) in the grinder. From beginning to end, they infallibly refuse to stop getting better.

Anna from Sweden said...

It sounds great with the 2 projects. can´t wait!. It´s nice to get something decent to read.

My own writing goes well, sort of. My big project is on ice but I´ve written a couple of articles, one which is to be published in a yearbook.

Alyosha said...

I logged into the blog to check for the latest posts and, after I'd read them (in this case,the ones by other fans, which can also be interesting) I remembered how there used to be occasional polls posted on the site. Some of them were along the lines of "which character are you most like," or "what Half-Continent profession would you most likely take up?" Whatever my answers at the time - and I honestly can't remember them - after having read Factotum I'm pretty sure that I would be a city dweller. There's no way I could be a fulgar, a wit, or even a leer. Just getting my blood taken makes me queasy, so how could I work up the nerve to voluntarily have weird stuff transplanted into my body or growing up my nose? Nor am I particularly courageous. So, unless I had some natural gift of fabulous strength like Rossamund, living outside the city would end up being too hard on my nerves. And then, wonderfully, in Factotum, we find out that there's a monster lord in Brandenbrass. Even if the Lapinduce isn't especially fond of humans in general, he has his few "steadfast ones" that (I'm guessing) keep him supplied with clothes, crystal goblets, and pianos. As an engineer in real life, I can imagine being a called in to shore up crumbling walls, or clear out clogging drains - afterwards being permitted to spend the evening unobtrusively listening to a primordial piano fugue. The magic of monsters and the security of city life in one package!

Molly Merula said...

I'll have to get my hands on some more of those tabs, then! They look quite useful. I'm fairly certain I have put a lot of them into our various cook-books in an attempt to remind my future self to bake something in particular. Perhaps they could be scavenged from there as well.

An art book would be wonderful! People don't do those enough; I find them dreadfully inspirational.

Hannibal942 said...

I'm so excited for the next book.

alice said...

Oh my, an art book would be amazing! I must say, your illustrations quite inspire me.
I am SO looking forward to the new stories!

fahyhallowell said...

We will look forward to reading both of these projects! My 12 year old son and I are reading MBT series through for the second time. Was especially appreciating the fantastic illustrations the second time through! We encourage you to go where your inspiration takes you, because that's what makes great art and literature. Though I do hope it brings you back to Rossamund and Europa someday.

Master Come Lately said...

Now I can finally respond to the titular challenge of this blog update, though I don't know if this blog update is too old for anyone to take notice. Anyway! I've finally been able to make a set of lots, after a couple of bad tries. Pictures of the process and finished project here: http://unofficialmbt.yuku.com/topic/505/Lot-Making-Project-Result

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