October 2024
For fear of little men...
I know. I know. It’s been a while. I been talking about and working on a fantasy novel for about…sigh…20 years.
Longer if you knew me in middle school.
There have been so many incarnations. So many drafts so many versions. So many times I’ve declared it finished only to declare a new super-duper, I-swear-it’s-done-this-time-version about every 5 years. And then I DID finish in about 2018 and shopped it around. That was Tang of Fate in 2018/2019 or so. I didn’t find an agent. I shelved it and played around with short stories for a while.
Recently, I dusted off the characters, revamped the world, and I’ve been working on a NEW book. The story is different. The goblins are now bug-people called “Drall.” (Cuz ya gotta have bug-people.)
I’m a bit proud of their design. I took a little Lovecraftian inspiration, part Lovecraft, part Slayers from that old 80s movie Krull. The Drall are part ant, part praying mantis, part human. They’re short, about the size of a lanky child. But they’re fierce and strong. They jump around and have mandibles which they use to speak in a chittering sort of language. They’re covered in a sort of black carapace and fight with both regular swords and spears as well as sharpened growths extending from their arms. They’re gross.
I abandoned goblins as a concept because I was really trying to get away from anti-Semitic stereotypes as well as anti-African stereotypes in fantasy fiction. There are A LOT. In case you hadn’t noticed. I love goblins. I love fighting little green guys in my fantasy rpgs. But I just can’t write little green dudes for my heroes to slaughter anymore. Doesn’t feel right.
Instead I create little black-armored monsters with hollow eyes that are so obviously inhuman, no one could possibly mistake them for anything remotely resembling a human culture. Could they? Hope not.
Inspired by that quote from Willy Wonka or William Allingham, depending on how literary you wanna get on a Tuesday:
“Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl’s feather!”
—The Fairies, William Allingham, 1850
I call my wizards “shamans” — problematic perhaps, but I can’t find a better word — and the magic they use is attuned to the seasons.
Anyway, Elfborn is the new book. The pitch is thus:
A runaway serving girl named Terrwyn meets up with a shaman who may not be who he seems. She meets some more friends, and she has to choose whether to help her shaman friend or stop him from unleashing an ancient evil on the land. Along the way, she discovers a shocking rumor about her parentage which may hold a clue to her future.
Along the way, there’s magic and elves and dragons and swords and people die and other people live and maybe someone finds love and maybe someone finds peace and people eat boiled crayfish. I’m very excited about it. But I’m taking my time with it. I’m hoping to have a first draft done for Christmas this year and a first revision done the end of next year.
After that, I need to make a plan. Because I’m self-publishing this thing which means I’ll need funds for a cover artist, a book formatter, a letter person, plus one or two other people who make books happen. All that costs money, which means I’ll probably need a Kickstarter. So…release date in 2027, maybe. Maybe 2030. I’d like it to be 2026, but I don’t want to rush. Why rush?
I’ve taken this long already.
What’s ten more years?
In the meantime, I’m still drawing comics. I’ve made issue one and two of Secret Operations, the new version, with my old stuff still available online at Indyplanet. So, you know, if you’re REALLY desperate to give me your money, there’s that.
If you’d like a peak at my new comics, feel free to drop me a line, and I’ll be happy to mail you issue one or two for 5 bucks each. They are not available digitally at this time. Unless you want to print and assemble them yourself. :)
