Niall Teasdale's Blog, page 29

Continuity of Reality – Link

https://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/continuity-of-reality/

Continuity of Reality

Someone mentioned the idea of crossover-style stories in a comment and this is not exactly about that, but it’s related: how connected are the universes my novels take place in?

First off, what universes are we talking about:

Thaumatology: This world came first, so it’s first in the list. A fantasy reality with a modern, alternate history setting. Magic exists, and demons and fae, and there are at least three connected dimensions with travel between them. The setting does take a view that magic can be explained through science: humans (the protagonist for example) have created a branch of physics called thaumatology to study it. However, the Thaumatology Earth was fairly magic-free before 1945.
Aneka Jansen: Starting out with a relatively hard science basis, Aneka’s universe has progressed to more and more “magic science.” I could do an entire article on what I consider “magic science” to be, but when Aneka kicked off the only real super-science elements were FTL (travel and comms) and gravity manipulation. Over the course of time we’ve had force fields and wormholes work their way in.
Ultrahumans: A superhero reality where a mysterious “cosmic power” gives some people the ability to do amazing things.
Unobtainium: A steam/retropunk world where the “Miracle Metal” Unobtainium has been discovered and has forged a surge in technological development which did not happen in our world. In the 1920s they have near-indestructible warships, super airships, powered exoskeletons, and nuclear reactors.
Reality Hack: You haven’t seen this one yet and I won’t spoil too much yet, but this is an urban fantasy setting with a twist, and a system of magic which involves, well, hacking reality.
Fox Hunt: (You heard it here first folks!) The book to follow Reality Hack is currently called Fox Hunt and the setting for it is a near-future, hard-science one. It’s bright cyberpunk: the world has its cruddy, dark side, to be sure, but it’s not a typical near-future dystopia either. So, science, no magic, and that’s all you’re getting for now.

So, do I put all my worlds in one, overarching cosmos? Could Ceri Brent take a step sideways and visit Aneka? Well, let’s put that one to bed first: no because there’s one thing I don’t like and that’s time travel, and Aneka’s world is a thousand years after Ceri’s as well as being a dimension away. Aside from the possibility of comedy short stories, Ceri and Aneka are not going to meet. (And can you imagine it? Ella and Lily would vanish into a bedroom and never be heard from again. No. Just no.)

On the other hand, there is a little hint in Steel Beneath the Skin that Aneka’s world is part of the same cosmology as the Thaumatology books. It’s subtle and I always wondered whether anyone ever noticed it, but it is there. (And no, I won’t say what it is, because I’m evil.) In truth I’ve never really come to a solid decision about whether the Ultrahumans cosmic power and Unobtainium are explained via the same processes as Thaumatology’s magic, but I could certainly make an argument for it.

Reality Hack is a very special case and is definitely not governed by the same rules as the other worlds. You’ll get more on the reason for that (assuming you haven’t guessed) in the next few days as I ramp up to its release. Fox Hunt’s setting is the same, but for different reasons: it’s a hard-science setting so you are not going to see the kind of fantastic stuff which exists in the other books. Fox Hunt is about technology as it might progress in our world, plus the usual kickass heroine, no need for magic.

So, a lot of my stuff probably exists within the same cosmological reality with the same fundamental laws of physics modified by conditions within a particular universe. (If you want to know how the magic works, you need to go read some of Ceri and Cheryl’s papers on thauminos and the Super-Magic Field. They’re a bit heavy on the maths though.) It’s theoretically possible to have some of the characters wander from one storyline to the other. Outside of non-canonical short stories done mainly for comedy, however, don’t expect to see it from me. The worlds I make are separate for a reason and they’ll be staying that way.

One Blog to Cover Them All

I’d get it translated into the dark tongue of Mordor, but… Well, once upon a time I could actually pronounce the whole inscription from the One Ring, from memory, but Lord of the Rings stopped being one of my favourite books a long time ago. I won’t deny that Tolkien was an influence on me, particular in his desire to create a complex world for his stories, but you could say the same for the people who created a lot of the RPG settings I used to love like Thieves World, and the Forgotten Realms, and the Traveller universe.

I think I’m getting off-topic. I’m migrating all my announcements and posts to this blog. As previously indicated, the other ones will continue to exist and I’ll put pointers from there to here. I’ll continue pushing posts out to Twitter and Facebook, and all the other social media sites, for all of the blogs for a couple of months. If you’re subscribed to those blogs directly you’ll keep getting announcements from WP, but you may wish to shift over to this blog. Personally I would recommend either Twitter (@Tharcion) or Tumblr, both of which give quite good notifications. If you’re in it for the picture posts, Tumblr is definitely best because you get the preview. :)

Oh, yeah, and I’m sure there probably isn’t a Mordor word for ‘blog’ anyway… Even if there really should be.

PS. I’m an idiot, Tumblr, not Instagram, in case you saw that. Link’s above.

The Blog Debate – Fantasy Edition

I now have three blogs related to my stories and me. There’s this one, Steel Beneath the Skin, and Witches and Ray-guns. The original idea was to keep the sci-fi and fantasy series separate, and I wanted a blog for ‘other things.’ However, I admit it would be easier to handle things if they were all in the same place, and it’s confusing to some, so here’s the bit where I ask your opinion.

If I merge the blogs everything will move to Witches and Ray-guns. I will continue to put links here whenever I am releasing a Thaumatology book for a while, but the aim will be to stop that at the end of this year. If you’re not a fan of my sci-fi stuff you’ll get more announcements about books you aren’t interested in, but I’m not especially loud so I hope that won’t be a problem.

Does anyone think this is a terrible idea and will hate me to the end of days for doing it?

Naughty crosspost

Not that kind of naughty, I just don’t believe in doing posts across multiple blogs like this… but in this case I want to be sure all of you get an opportunity to comment. So, if you do wish to comment, go to the link below and read and do so. (And there is a pretty girl in minimal clothing to look at so it is a bit naughty-like-that…)

The Link

Thanks.

Fantasy and Sci-Fi – The Problem

I’d like you to meet Ysayn…Ysayn stepped out of a sleepless night a couple of days ago, and the rather dazed day which followed. Ysayn is a sorceress/magician/witch sort of character who lives in a fairly epic fantasy world with a bit of the Game of Thrones about it as far as life is concerned (though this is me so expect the characters to have a genuine good time at least some of the time). I feel like writing Ysayn’s story once I’ve wrapped the current book I’m working on, which happens in the next few days. here’s the problem…

My sci-fi sells more than my fantasy. Steel beneath the Skin was the book which exploded (and I kind of mean that) and gave me the chance to view writing as more than a hobby. The Aneka books consistently outsell all the other releases. I’m writing another sci-fi character at the moment and it’ll be interesting to see how she does when she appears on the electronic shelves. Whatever, science fiction seems to be a far more economic target for me to write than fantasy. I would love to know why.

My initial thought on why Steel took off the way it did was that there is simply less sci-fi being written than fantasy. I suspect that a lot of sci-fi is also less accessible, focusing heavily on esoteric physics and high-minded comments on modern society so a good, old fashioned space romp caught people’s attention. (Hell, Thaumatology 101 has more physics in it than Steel.) Then again, maybe it’s the urban fantasy bent of the Thaumatology books. Ysayn is more high/epic fantasy. Would Ysayn be more popular?

I would really like to hear people’s thoughts on this stuff. Sci-fi fans, tell me why you jumped on Steel. Fantasy fans, this is your chance to persuade me to do more fantasy. People who like both… uh… good! But why?

Patreon

Patreon is a site a bit like Kickstarter, but based around the old notion of artistic patronage. You can subscribe to a Patreon producer’s site, helping them to produce more of whatever form of ‘art’ they create. You can give per item produced or on a monthly basis and so help the struggling artists of the world to make more glorious stuff for us all to look at/read/play/etc.

I am not a struggling artist, but I do have a Patreon page now. I’m looking at this as a way of getting some extra money in to do additional projects. The main one is audiobooks, which I’m not sure are really economically viable, but were a real pleasure to do, but there are some other things I’d like to try. And I thought “I have loads of concept art people would like to see and I could post that as a reward for subscribers.” You can find details on the page.

In other news, Shadows and Reality Hack are both going to see the light of day before summer is out (and probably before it’s very far gone at all). That’s a new Ultrahumans book and something entirely new. Keep your eyes on this space for more news.

Christmas Message, Magical Version

(Preparatory note: While considering what I was going to write here, I started thinking that it sounded like a ‘this is the end, I’m writing no more’ speech. It isn’t, so put that out of your head and read on with happiness in your heart. Also, I’m cross-posting this to both blogs, because it’s for all of you and I don’t know whether you all read both blogs.)

So… On a whim this afternoon I was clicking through Netflix and I found Stephen Fry’s Planet Word. I hope everyone knows who Stephen Fry is; he’s a British national treasure, but beyond that he’s an eloquent man with a love of language. Planet Word is his tour of how language came about, what it means, who it has changed, how it is written, and the kind of thing he thinks of when it comes to good writing (and there are a few surprises in that list). If it’s available on whatever streaming service you may use, I heartily recommend it.

What it did for me, aside from entertaining me for several hours, was got me thinking. Mr Fry has written books and he tells the story of the arrival of his first ever printed novel and how he felt to see something he had written sitting there, bound into a book. And I know how he felt. The last programme, about literature, made me think of something else; about the pleasure he gets from reading the kinds of works he likes.

Now, I don’t claim to be a Joyce, or an Orwell, or a P.G. Wodehouse, or any of the other authors mentioned in the series. But you lot are out there enjoying my writing. Someone told me recently that one scene in The Other Side of Hell had really cheered her up and I got a little thrill out of that. I don’t care whether you read my stuff because you like strong female characters, or kick-ass heroines, or the sex, or the guns. I assume you like the stories, because you’re here reading this and you keep buying them. Coming up to Christmas, I think it’s a good time to point out that I really appreciate the fact that people out there are enjoying Aneka and Ella, and Ceri and Lily, and all the other characters. Thank you.

PS. I’m not trawling for praise either. If you feel like posting some, save it for the next book and have a damn good Christmas (or whatever form of holiday you may be celebrating).

A Couple of Halloween Pinups

I have to admit I’ve been sitting on these for a while, but now seems like a good time to share. Two pinups of Lily. The first… Well the shirt texture just screamed Lily when I saw it (and it turned out that the shirt itself is designed for models with… exaggerated features; it looks really crumpled on smaller breasts). The second is more of a Halloween shot and she looks so elegant in it. Anyway, enjoy.

The Big Update

So, I’m getting all the Thaumatology books proofread and reissued. Back before these things started making money I couldn’t really afford to have a professional work over my stories, but I’m a little bit of a perfectionist (not a really big one, but I hate putting out something which could be better), so now’s the time to get everything checked over.

Before I send them off, however, I’m doing a run through myself to correct the things I know will just need fixing anyway and to tweak a few things I know I need to correct. There’s a few bits of Devotik around that need correcting, and I think a few dates need tweaking. I’ve got as far as working through Legacy. Going back and rereading the old stuff is always fascinating, and it gives me ideas about future projects.