Scott Westerfeld's Blog, page 19

Fan Art Friday (Downtime Edition)

It's Saturday morning here in Sydney, but I might get this done before it turns into Saturday in the US. That is the power of the trans-hemispheric lifestyle!

There's lots of exciting news coming up this week, some about Shay's Story and some about the Uglies series in general. No it's NOT movie-related news. You will know when that happens. You will FEEL it in your bones. But it's still pretty cool.

In the meantime, here's one of my oldest theories about fan art: We writers rob our characters of downtime. We don't let them have all those moments in life that don't involve fleeing from the Germans or swinging from the ratlines. We may start a chapter with character just kicking back and talking, but a page or two in, the Zeppelins attack!

This is because we want to write exciting stories, and we are all taught as tiny writers to jump straight into the action. But readers also regard characters as friends, and downtime is an important part of friendship. So a lot of fan art imagines those relaxing moments that are excised from canon, but which are surely a part of the characters' in-between-the-chapters life.

For example, McL-Jessie's vision of Dalek at home, presumably post-series. You know, just hanging on the couch:

Or checking out the tools of another culture, as per pockynightmare:

Or transforming into My Little Pony characters, as sue9000 envisions such a thing:

Okay, that was a stretch. But it's an unwritten rule of authorship that if someone sends you MLP crossover fan art, you must post it.

The same also applies to cyborg pandas!

(You had to have been at the WesterForum meet-up to understand this. And even then, I'm not sure if it's understandable. It's just a thing that happened.)

From Deviant's Firanda we are reminded that naptime is also downtime, especially if it's non-canonically cuddly.

And finally, from SkyHawkC, there's my favorite lazy activity, having a snack:

Okay, that's the climax of Behemoth, but for the Behemoth itself it probably wasn't that big a deal. You know, "Whassup?" "Nuthin. Eating a dreadnought is all."

That's it for today's FAF! Stay tuned for interesting posts all this week.

Shay’s Story Trailer

I had a great time at the Somerset Festival, and met lots of cool writers and students. My thanks to everyone for showing me such a great time, and congratulations on another successful festival.

While I was gone, what should appear in my inbox but the REAL TRAILER for Shay’s Story! (Not to be confused with the humble home-made trailer of a couple of weeks ago.)

Check it out:

If you want to see it bigger or embed it on your own site, head on over to YouTube. You can also see it super-big on my video page.

And finally, I’m doing a meet-up over at the WesterForum this Tuesday night, March 20, at 8PM US Eastern. Note that with the time change in the US, that means 11AM here Wednesday morning here in Australia, and midnight Tuesday in Britain.

Anything else? I would think not.

Shay's Story Trailer

I had a great time at the Somerset Festival, and met lots of cool writers and students. My thanks to everyone for showing me such a great time, and congratulations on another successful festival.

While I was gone, what should appear in my inbox but the REAL TRAILER for Shay's Story! (Not to be confused with the humble home-made trailer of a couple of weeks ago.)

Check it out:

If you want to see it bigger or embed it on your own site, head on over to YouTube. You can also see it super-big on my video page.

And finally, I'm doing a meet-up over at the WesterForum this Tuesday night, March 20, at 8PM US Eastern. Note that with the time change in the US, that means 11AM here Wednesday morning here in Australia, and midnight Tuesday in Britain.

Anything else? I would think not.

Fan Art Friday (Monday Edition)

Hey, sorry for missing FAF last week. I was busy preparing for the release of Shay's Story, but you guys know all about that. Hope you're enjoying it, and sorry to those who can't find a copy nearby. They will appear eventually.

This week I'm headed up to the Somerset Festival of Literature, where I'll be appearing several times and giving my Leviathan speech, so I thought I'd post this FAF now.

Let's start with a little love triangle from Miyu999:

Everyone's expressions are great here, and I like that Alek is distracted by Bovril. (Bovril is SO distracting!)

But enough love. Here's some Clanker hardware! Oskar created this in the game Spore, and it even has moving legs (in the game, not here, alas).

Because it's 3D art, I think we need several views.

Pretty cool. I haven't played Spore in a while, and it's definitely gotten more sophisticated.

Here, from Lydia, some comic art.

I love that the biggest maternal yelling is about the haircut, not the, you know, treason and stuff.

And a couple of sketches from Carly, kissy Dalek:

And annoyed Deryn:

Angry Deryn is angry. I love that her tie is loosened, and that makes her totally ready to rumble.

And here's another of that ever-popular lift from the book, Bovri-with-fake-mustache, from Nicole:

I love that this throwaway line in the text, about Bovril trying on the mustache, has become the signature image of Bovril. And I'm sure in an unillustrated book, most people would have skipped over that sentence and not become obsessed with it. THE POWER OF THE PICTURE.

And finally, a quirky and expressive micro-sketch of Deryn from Lauren:

I like her messy hair.

Thanks to everyone for their work this week. I'll probably go back to Fan Art Friday Fortnightly, because I'm busy working on a New S3krit Project, which is a novel. And, of course, I'm still busy with the second Uglies manga. Also there is ANOTHER s3krit project, which is not a novel, which will be announced in the next month or so.

And of course I'll be doing the meet-up after the Festival, which means next week. Shall we say Tuesday night, March 20, at 8PM American-East-Coast-time?

But I'll get back into full blogging mode when we get closer to the Manual of Aeronautics coming out, which is August 21!

Shay’s Story Spoiler Zone

IT IS A TIME OF SPOILAGE. A TIME OF SECRETS REVEALED.

Use the comment thread of this post to discuss Shay’s Story. And if you haven’t read it yet, GO ELSEWHERE.

I know what you’re saying. “But I’ve read the Uglies series five times. What new can I possibly learn?” Well, don’t forget that new points of view mean new information. Shay’s Story will reveal all sorts of previously unknown things!

And, as is traditional, we must always remember this comment from back in May 2006, in the Specials spoiler thread:

oh god, i read the spoiler section before i read the book. i would have read the book by now but the bookstore doesn’t have it in yet! i got the first two before the sale date. why can’t i do that now!? crap i can’t believe i read the spoiler section…crap

Let these lamentations be a warning to you. And let the spoilage begin!

Shay's Story Spoiler Zone

IT IS A TIME OF SPOILAGE. A TIME OF SECRETS REVEALED.

Use the comment thread of this post to discuss Shay's Story. And if you haven't read it yet, GO ELSEWHERE.

I know what you're saying. "But I've read the Uglies series five times. What new can I possibly learn?" Well, don't forget that new points of view mean new information. Shay's Story will reveal all sorts of previously unknown things!

And, as is traditional, we must always remember this comment from back in May 2006, in the Specials spoiler thread:

oh god, i read the spoiler section before i read the book. i would have read the book by now but the bookstore doesn't have it in yet! i got the first two before the sale date. why can't i do that now!? crap i can't believe i read the spoiler section…crap

Let these lamentations be a warning to you. And let the spoilage begin!

Last Reveal: The Smoke!

Shay's Story is already out, of course. But I had promised one more reveal. The Smoke!

Here's Shay's first view of it as she and her fellow runaways arrive:

Click here for a bigger version.

Of course, the smoke had to be smokey! After all, that's the first thing Tally notices about it in the books. It's the first thing any city kid would notice, so chimney smoke had to dominate this shot. (Also, look at David standing there looking back at the runaways. He's all "tada!")

One of the key themes of the Uglies series is the balance between the city and the wild. And one of the reasons I wanted to work with Steven Cummings was that he can render both architecture and nature as dramatic elements on the page.

The Smoke is a mix of nature and proto-city, and of futuristic and traditional technologies. So I like this shot of a work detail below, that has hoverboards and powerjacks juxtaposed with giant and imposing trees. The high technology is cool, but it's literally in the shadow of nature.

Click here for the big version.

Anyway, I won't show you any more, because as of today you can just go out and buy Uglies: Shay's Story!

I just found out that there are two electronic versions available. Nook users can buy it at B&N.com. For iPad owners, here's the Shay's Story page on iTunes is right here. (It says you can read it on your iPhone, but you'd better have pretty good eyes, because it's fixed width format. iPad is way better.)

And you can get physical copies at bookstores and comics store, of course, or online at Indie Bound, BarnesandNoble.com, or Amazon. Australians wishing to shop online can get it pretty cheap from Fishpond.

Hope you enjoy it! I'll put up the official spoiler thread tomorrow.

Uglies Manga Imminent

Several things:

1) Uglies: Shay's Story comes out TODAY, March 6. (!!)

2) I don't have the art for the Smoke reveal yet, but I will soon.

3) There is going to be a trailer for the graphic novel, also soon! (Not this one, a real one.)

4) I want to do a meet-up on the Forum soon, maybe a week after Shay's Story comes out, so we can all talk about it. What time and day is good for you guys?

5) And finally, here's a list my previous blog entries on Shay's Story, just to whet your appetites.

Here's how we worked together to create the manga.

An interview with Girls Read Comics Too.

A WesterForum meet-up in which I answer a LOT of questions.

And here are all the reveals:

Rusty Ruins

Dr. Cable

David

Tally

Zane

and Croy!

And here's, you know, the cover:

Pre-order Shay's Story at Indie Bound, BarnesandNoble.com, or Amazon. Or buy it at a bookstore or comics store starting tomorrow!

Fan Art Friday, Monochrome Edition

Since a certain manga is coming out next Tuesday, I thought it would be fun to do a monochrome version of FAF today, just to prove that you don't need color to create a mood. There's also a fanfic and a Scrabble board, because random is how the rolling of me occurs.

Let us begin with the fanfic, which is by Psocoptera. It's called "Interesting Facts About the London Zoo," and is obviously set after Goliath, in the hallowed halls of the London Zoological Society.

Click here to read it.

And now for the arts. First up is Christine K., with a drawing that asks the question, "What if Deryn Sharp was an admiral in the Royal Navy?":

Also, check out the Napoleonic period image this was based on here.

From Deviant Art's penut-butter-goddess, here's a certain young prince making himself taller ny standing on a box:

MUCH taller, I'll point out.

From Feitan, here's a lovely charcoal-looking image of Mr. Sharp:

And from teaspoon00, a piece called "dress up," which is possibly Bonus Chapter Canon, or maybe just something that happens post-trilogy.

And next from anderaminela, with this penciled coat of arms for the Bov-meister:

Everybody looks better with a Volger mustache, except possibly me. (I've tried. Believe me, I've tried.)

Speaking of Volger, here's a pencil piece by Bryn showing him being ejected from the Leviathan by Deryn, who's just had enough of his snide remarks.

I love how formally posed all of these are.

And from Aleta, this is Alek at the tailor's in Japan. Note Deryn cleverly framed in the mirror.

I love that Bovril is also sticking its arms out. BECAUSE BOVRIL WOULD DO THAT.

And finally, from Mallory, an entire Scrabble game played with only Leviathan-related terms allowed:

Not strictly monochrome, but amusing none-the-less!

Okay, that's it. I'll be posting a reveal of the Smoke from Shay's Story on Monday, and an official spoiler thread on Tuesday, when the manga comes out. Also, a real book trailer for Shay's Story is in the works, and will be appearing soon!

Ciao for now.

I Made a Thing

Shay's Story comes out in a week, and I had a new stop-motion app, so I thought I'd make a thing.

This is that thing:

You can also watch it bigger on YouTube!

Sorry about no FAF last week. But there will be FAF this week! And more THINGS of this nature.

You can pre-order Shay's Story at Indie Bound, BarnesandNoble.com, or Amazon. Or buy it on March 6 at a proper bookstore or comics shop!