Russell A. Smith's Blog, page 7

The Next Big Thing

I managed to get tagged twice this week by David Lascelles and by Maria Roberts. So I’ve done the sensible thing and merged both together, giving me an extra couple of questions but a blog post which asks more questions about my current Work In Progress. To find out more, and whether I’ve tagged you, read on!

Here are the rules:

1) Answer the questions.

2) Tag 5 other writers, providing the links.

3) Let the writer’s know you tagged them.

Okay, I shall tag people very shortly, but first, the post!

What is the working title of your book?

Oblivion Storm. That’s the actual title! It is out on December 12.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Several places, kind of. I cite the ‘Piano Man’ news story as one of the chief influences early on, though later drafts have gone kind of away from that. The Victorian aspect of the tale kind of crept up on me, as I’ve never been a major reader of works from the era. Rose, Tally and Kara began life as a cameo in my university final project. They’ve come a long way in that time.

What genre does your book fall under?

I mostly say Urban Fantasy from my ease of answering, but my Editor-in-Chief called it a ‘paranormal thriller’. Which I like.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

Here’s a few, starting with the modern day main cast first, I think:

Rose: perhaps Shirley Manson was who I first had in my head. Potentially Michelle Ryan.

Kara: physically, Janina Gavankar or Meghan Markle. I actually have a very good model for Kara on the banner of this blog though (made by Nicolene Lorette Designs.) British actresses? Angel Coulby from Merlin would do great, I think.

Jennifer: Her namesake, Jennifer Lawrence, would have to be a serious consideration. She is a solid choice in my head.

Thomas: Hmm. Might be tempted to see if Tom Hardy’s free.

Violet: Would need someone tall and suitably able to carry off unhinged. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has the ideal look but I’ve only got Transformers: Dark of the Moon as acting evidence.

Tally: The star of the Victorian show. Would require a young actress with a lot of gravitas. Anne Hathaway could be cool. Lauren Cohan maybe?

Lady Raine: An unrestrained Katie McGrath could roll with this part. Keira Knightley perhaps? No, Eva Green. She’d rock this part.

Lord Grenshall: Charles Dance would be awesome. He always is.

Lady Grenshall: Obvious choice for me is Alex Kingston.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Someone tries to kill woman who subsequently loses her memory; is sent to find a necklace which threatens London with an undead menace.

Best I can do in a sentence given we are in two time periods really!

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Xchyler Publishing are publishing my book for me; a US-based company well-versed with the modern world of publishing. I’ve got a cracking editorial team to work with who have helped lots in recent months.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I must have started this about 6 years ago now. It was after I left uni, I know that much. I will have been a good two years on getting to the end, probably. Then there are the rewrites. . .

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I haven’t had much time to read for a while. I’m also rubbish at comparing my work to that of others! Er. . .

No, sorry, shall have to get back to you.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I had written a final project for my M.A and the whole point of doing the course was to force myself to finish a novel. This was before I was ever aware of NaNoWriMo! Bare bones of some of the characters made a cameo in that and I said, maybe a year after, ‘Right. Let’s see whether I can write one for myself now!’ So here we are.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? How about a teaser?

I’ve had to check out some very strange facts whilst writing this. But for now, I’ll just go with, ‘one of the characters above does not have their real name. I will be putting teasers out in coming weeks, but only once they’ve been signed off by my editorial team. Check back regularly for more news!

My five tagged writers are:

. . .to be announced when I’ve heard back from them all!

Crime Net is out!

If you’d have told me I would have TWO things published at the beginning of this year, I would possibly have laughed in your face. And yet, it’s true! I’m gearing up for the release of Oblivion Storm next month, and can’t tell you how excited I am by this.

I’m double excited though. See, writing a short story scares the hell out of me. I find them incredibly challenging. So to have one in print now and out is something special. Anyway, here’s the info:

Technology Isn’t Always Used With Good Intentions

Crime Net is a collection of stories that delve into the nefarious side of cyberpunk and tech-thriller fiction. In a modern society, filled with affordable technology and always-on networks, some electric dreams aren’t always what we expect.

Featuring stories from four talented authors, we get inside the head of a man heading for rock-bottom until a too-good-to-be-true job opportunity comes his way; watch a devoted fan get a little too close to her idol; see what happens when gene splicing technology falls into the wrong hands, and experience a driven woman’s mission to kill in the underworld of a futuristic city.

Get Jacked In Now For A Cyber Thrill Ride

Stories by:

Nicholas P. Oakley

R.A. Smith

T.F. Grant

Vivian Caethe

And featuring a bonus novella from Colin F. Barnes:

Rebirth: The Techxorcist Part 0.5

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Net-ebook...

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crime-Net-ebo...

Kobo: http://bitly.com/WeT4zR

I can’t wait for my copy to turn up so I can read all the other stories. And The Techxorcist is something you should definitely check out.

Stay tuned – this month is going to be a busy one!

Twitterview Plus

Today, I had my first ‘Twitterview’ with Xchyler Publishing. Interview on Twitter with all answers were hence 140 characters or less. I’ve decided it’d be cool to record on this page. Whilst I’ll keep things as ‘raw’ as possible, I will also be extending some of my answers by way of later comments. For now, this is it!

While we’re here, most of you will already know this, but you can follow me on @RASmithPSL if you would like. And Xchyler Publishing are on @XchylerPublish .

Right – into transcript:

XP: Well @RASmithPSL , are you ready to get this started?

Me: Ready as I’ll ever be

XP: Tell us about yourself. Who is R.A. Smith?

Me: Russell’s my first name. Between day jobs, been writing about one thing or other since I was small. Avid gamer!

XP: And if I am right you are also an active LARPer too. I find it interesting your writing genre differs from the LARP you do.

Have you thought about writing a more knight’s in armor kind of story?

Me: VERY active LARP/LRPer at the moment! I enjoy a number of genres, Traditional epic fantasy may happen one day!

Yes, I’ve started a project which is some way away. The initial protagonist is a window cleaner!

XP: Window Cleaner… Interesting, can’t wait to see how you pull this one off.

Me: I’m going to love getting that one finished. Jet packs and a floating city all factor! #XP

XP: As of now, what genres are you representing?

Me: My two things ‘out there’ between now and the end of the year cover hi-tech crime and urban/paranormal fantasy.

XP: I know Oblivion Storm, the Urban/Paranormal Fantasy, will be released December 12th. Tell us about it.

Me: It’s the story of two women. The first is a Victorian urchin who finds herself heir to a mansion with a secret.

Iris ‘Tally’ Grenshall ends up on a mission to save London from a terrible evil.

In the present day, ‘Rose’ survives an Underground attack, dealing with memory loss and a monstrous undead menace.

I stuck a blurb on my blog page for a little more info: http://projectshadowlondon.wordpress.com/ 

XP: Can you tell us how this marketing photo fits Oblivion Storm, how can people relate this to your book? pic.twitter.com/IRZtHq4l

Me: Now, the ghost in the background would be Tally. She is pictured wearing a necklace, a quest item for Rose (front).

The necklace has great power over the dead, those who are ‘Unresting’. They come in many flavours. The knife? Spoiler

XP: If people wanted to stalk you, where could they find you besides here on twitter?

Me: I blog when I can here: http://projectshadowlondon.wordpress.com/  and have the #FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Mister.R.A.Smith?ref=hl …

Does anyone have questions for @RASmithPSL ?

  ‏@Ninfa76 @XchylerPublish #XP what was the inspiration behind your characters?

Me: Good question! ‘Rose’ was inspired by this ‘Piano Man’ news story some years ago. With added necromancy

Tally – I don’t know. She just turned up. Kara was my nod to the time I’ve spent in Manchester.

N: awesome can’t wait to meet your heroines!

Me: I am equally proud of my villains

N: Ah, what’s a story without a hateful foe!

Me: I prefer to think of them as ‘motivated’ #XP

@darkenscorpio Where do you get your ideas for your books? Do you have a special place they come to you at?

Me: Awesome question. No special place really – on a bus, while I’m doing something else – anywhere really!

XP: As a writer, I think you have to learn to write anywhere.

Me: My trusty notebook, tasks app on my phone and Post-It notes have all been vital tools!

DS: Do you believe in ghost or do you just write about them?

Me: Not certain either way. But spend an hour in the cemeteries in Arnhem and I defy you not to look twice!

DS: I bet you spent a lot of time among the stones lol Do you like the creepy crawly spooks like Halloween tales?

Me: A one-armed guy told a story there. That’s where the ‘dead winds’ in OS come from. Seriously scary.

DS: Creepy but sounds fun as well. Hearing ghost tales is one of my favorite past times.

Great fun, this Twitterview thing. Hopefully won’t be my last! As I say, I will be adding further information by way of commentary later on.

Public Service Announcements

Hello readers and thank you for your patience; I know it’s been a while.

Much has gone on since I last broadcast. First off; you ought to know (if you don’t already) that The Grenshall Manor Chronicles, Book 1 has a new title. Misery’s Tear is no more. All hail the coming Oblivion Storm.

Check out all the awesome tweaks, folks!

Now, with the tale containing a bunch of things which go bump in the night (bonus prize for anyone who tells me the origin of that phrase), undead of various flavours and other supernatural elements, I was kind of looking forward to getting something out in time for All Hallow’s Eve. However, everyone has been working their literary butts off in order to get everything suitably polished – but between one thing and other, we have collectively agreed to push back the release in order to get the version we want – and that everyone who has been of so much help and support to me up to now deserves. To that end, we’re now looking at December, but rest assured, I will keep everyone posted at every turn.

So, thank you for your continued patience. I plan to have nothing but good news for you all from now until release. Amongst other things such as guest posts and the like, I’m planning to give you all a few little bits and pieces as teasers and treats to keep you entertained. Why, I have several coming up in this post alone!

First of all then, I have to link you to the wonderful new Xchyler Publishing website. Look for yourself at the shiny. There is an updated logo, information on other releases, that sort of thing.

Second: I really should introduce you to the Forged In Flame anthology.

How cool is this?

I’ve been watching this project develop alongside my own since I got on board with my own. And it looks shiny. I am very excited to say I shall be expecting a copy shortly – and also excited to announce that you’ll be hearing from a Forger on this very site relatively soon! From those who didn’t guess from the picture, I can sum the anthology theme up with one word: dragons! There’s a release party for it on Facebook, October 31, with giveaways and the like here. Get on board!

Now back to me, as the Old Spice Man would say. A while back, I posted up the back cover blurb as was. With a change in cover also came a change in blurb, so I should share that here too. I will leave you all with that – and ask that you watch this space in the coming weeks!  Enjoy:

Over a century past, a wily young pauper wins the hearts of a childless couple of ancient nobility, and a place in one of the most prestigious families in London. The sole heir to the Grenshall family legacy, Iris ‘Tally’ Grenshall fights to protect her family from the machinations of an evil woman, but discovers her adversary presents a threat much greater than she ever imagined…

The victim of a brutal attack, Rose remembers one thing: a long-dead woman giving her an impossible task. She knows only the price of failure as she sets out to retrieve a deadly talisman, with the aid of new friends and powers over the living and the dead. As the body count rises, Rose’s quest grows desperate—with London itself in jeopardy.

Rose and Tally share fates intertwined. Rose must discover how before the secrets of the past destroy her, her friends, and all of London.

Catch you all soon.

M.A.S.K: The Movie:

I thought I’d have some fun with this post in an effort to inspire myself elsewhere.

This all comes from having commented on a Last Exit to Nowhere Facebook page update, whereby it has been mentioned that a new Masters of the Universe movie is in the pipeline. The question was posed as to which old cartoons we’d like to see make it to the big screen.

I was really glad to see there was a fair bit of support for my call, M.A.S.K. For those who don’t remember it, it was a cartoon back in the 80s (you knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?) concerned with a couple of specialist teams in vehicles which could change from one type to another (intentionally airborne or amphibious road vehicles being the staple. Mobile Armoured Strike Kommand, or M.A.S.K, were our heroes (and you know, I think we could possibly look at a better acronym?) and the villains, V.E.N.O.M: the Vicious, Evil Network of Mayhem (which could definitely do with a better acronym if they updated it). All were experts in various fields, whether technical or physical, though the real appeal for me was that almost anyone could have put on one of those masks and done something cool. I’m imagining the possibilities already.

Naturally I’m fully aware that this being in the usual category of a giant TV advert, it’s not as simple as just dumping an awesome script on some exec’s desk and hoping your dreams come true. Oh, no. They’d clearly have to release a whole new range of toys for it – and if Transformers are anything to go by, it would be a healthy mix of re-workings of the old favourites, and some completely new stuff. I would personally welcome both.

But just because we’d be looking at a two-hour marketing drive, doesn’t mean it can’t be a good one. In fact, of all the recent remakes of old children’s toys, this has the most story potential if you ask me. With G.I. Joe, which I’m quite impressed with the treatment of, we are already dealing with elite fighting forces in essence. With Transformers of course, we’re dealing with giant sentient robots, so well out of the human league there – though having said that, in every incarnation of the series or movies, humans have always played a significant role in the successes or downfalls of both the Autobot and Decepticon factions.

But with M.A.S.K, you have a totally different side of things. Somebody I read in the initial comment thread put it very well: ordinary people fighting an extraordinary war. Straight away there is a very decent story premise available;  the cartoon origins can be happily adapted in that the leader of MASK’s younger brother, Andy Trakker, prodigiously developed the tech for the masks, and was killed by Miles Mayhem, our head of V.E.N.O.M. So that’s a decent intro right there as Matt gets a bunch of specialists in to deal with Mayhem and his hired bunch. There’s any number of plots that can be thrown in from there really.

Now I could go on for a while on what kind of vehicles you could see, but I’ll keep it to a few. Thunderhawk, having seen the latest (albeit brief) Knight Rider incarnation, could be a triumph of CGI, though I suspect all the grief would revolve around selecting the right vehicle for it. My choice would possibly be a Lamborghini Reventon, just on the basis that the shape lends neatly to a shift to a jet aircraft.

Though that would of course be a key sponsorship choice in itself – car companies get to make a fortune on their product placement – which Casino Royale was a triumph of.

Switchblade, being Mayhem’s vehicle of choice, doesn’t need to be based on anything. It just needs to be done well. Shark is awesome – though particularly James Bond, and I believe based on an old Porsche 928. Easy enough to bring into the 20s. Jackhammer is essential, and can effectively remain as is. I’m sure GMC or Chevrolet would only be too happy to step in there. Clearly there are more, but decent bikes can happily be done.

Once I started this post, I realised it was going to be a long one as I was having far too much fun talking about it. So, I’ve split it into two parts. The second features the bit I had most fun with – a potential casting couch. I’ll post that up soon!

Talk Part 3

Apologies for the delay on this third and final part; I can assure you all that it is kitten-related and therefore worth it. I promised pics of more kitties once I hit 150 followers on my author page and I am sticking with that pledge! For now though, the last part of the Nerd East talk now some time ago, relatively speaking! You may, as usual, find a link to the video here:

An image from my talk!

 

I had a couple of points left to the Wikipedia definitions which turned up in previous parts of this annotation:

Several tales of urban fantasy have appeared in live-action format. Additionally, some stories have debuted as films before finding further success as television shows. Well-known examples include the 1992 series Highlander, and the TV adaptation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is regarded as a seminal work of the genre.

[Urban fantasy] often features mythological beings, romance, and various female protagonists who are involved in law enforcement or vigilantism.

‘Live-action’ is of course the first half of LARP by definition. That aside, here it is meant as TV or film of course. But yes – if someone wanted to ask ‘what is urban fantasy?’ and needed a physical televisual example, I would probably hand them Buffy before I’d had a chance to think about it at length. I would certainly count vampire slaying as either a form of vigilantism, or perhaps even an allegory for it at times. I’d even make an argument for Harry Potter containing elements relating to the genre. Consider Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station, and the Routemaster bus running around London, for example. And now, the last taken quote:

Certain staples of urban fantasy novels are also present in TV series. The concept of peaceful coexistence with paranormal beings is explored in the 1996 series Kindred: The Embraced, which focuses on secret vampire clans throughout San Francisco. Conversely, works such as Witchblade present the more common matter of a protagonist attempting to protect a city.

Kindred: The Embraced brought me something perfect to talk about. You see, it was from the writers of the original Beverley Hills 90210 – who took their source material from… Vampire: The Masquerade. This was a source of huge excitement amongst those of us who spotted this landmark moment – a TV show with its origins in a table-top roleplaying game! This was a big deal in the community; perhaps as big a deal as the MMO in development. I’m not an MMO player really, but I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with this very much. Now, earlier on in the Kindred TV series, the 90210 part of it seemed the clearer part, and the changes rendered felt a little cringe-worthy. I won’t go into detail, but some of you know exactly what I’m talking about. However it was starting to get quite watchable by the end of it, and showed some promise until its cancellation, the tragic loss of the actor playing the lead protagonist putting a final end to it.

Gaming, then, has been without question a formative element to my own writing. Without having created one or two gaming environments over the years, I wouldn’t have had the same experience to do so with my writing these days.

Despite having read his stuff after starting mine, I have to consider Jim Butcher a real role model for me. He is a gamer and proud of it – even crediting as much in his book bios. The Dresden Files universe, or ‘Dresdenverse’, is a fine example of a GM in action, and nowadays has a great roleplaying game series of its own, which he was heavily involved in the production of. Check it out if you haven’t already – I’m in a campaign even now!

Nerd East provided a wonderful audience of fellow gamers and those who write about such things. Revisiting this, I mentioned that within the urban fantasy ‘rules’, there is the option of a significant ‘real world’ person, place or thing being brought in – or taken out. Charlaine Harris of the True Blood series has, in her books, Elvis running around alive (in a manner of speaking) and well in the present day. This, or another such celebrity figure, is very possible in any roleplaying game, should the Gamesmaster deem that it would add something to it. I put out there the possibility of a game’s players having to solve the mystery of the Milton Keynes concrete cows for example, clearly conduits for some otherworldly force…

What IS their secret??

As mentioned earlier in the talk, the current fashion isn’t for third-person omniscience in writing nowadays – more commonly, first-person is where it’s at now. It’s great for those moving between gaming and writing – that literal thing of getting into the head of your character, just like you’d expect to as a player.

From my experience of gaming, drawing up a character is sometimes as straightforward as an idea coming to me straight away about what I want to play – however attaching the nuts and bolts isn’t as simple as just putting pencil to paper. And here’s another analogy I have with writing; I find that it never quite comes together until I’ve actually played that character for that first session, maybe a second or even a third. Certain combinations of perks, merits or advantages and quirks, flaws or hindrances – whatever you want to call them depending on your system, don’t always quite work for the way you want to play the character. Stats or skills may need a little adjustment. And sometimes, the character just isn’t the one you pencilled in at all, and you need to do something different.

One area in which they differ is that a starting novel character may not at all be a suitable starting gaming character. Harry Dresden for example, is somewhat beyond a starting character, even when we first catch up with him in Storm Front. I’d argue the same about Rose, in my story, Misery’s Tear, even relatively early on. And also, occasionally in character development too. Sometimes, novel characters make significant advancements in terms of power and skills without having done the kind of grind that RPG players put in four hours of gaming time in once a week for two or three years to reach. Novel characters can be utter munchkins, and it isn’t fair at all, but sometimes, that’s how it’s got to be for a story.

Finally, it’s probably worth me putting out there that in some form or other, urban fantasy is not necessarily a new thing. It finds older relations in more general fantasy, but it is also the descendant of the original Gothic novels. Vampires, werewolves, and ghost stories have been cropping up for quite some time. In regular generational cycles, these elements crop up and trend in popularity most likely too. Look at: Christopher Lee’s lengthy stint in the fantastic Hammer movies from the late 50s to the 70s, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles from the mid to late 70s onward – and accompanying movies, The Lost Boys, the True Blood series and I could probably name a dozen more. And that’s just the vampires.

I would be delighted to hear how your stories, readers, came to be. On the gaming side, there are very few games I’ve played in, games-mastered or attended as crew in the case of live-action, that have not seen a character turn up – mine or another player’s, that I haven’t taken some inspiration from. Stories breed stories, no matter what universe they start or end up in.

Talk Part 2

This is the accompanying post to part 2 of the video up on my Facebook page here: Once more, apologies for the occasional dip in sound quality, but I’m some way from having a proper documentary series at the moment (for which most of you are extremely grateful).

Wikipedia was revisited in this stage of the talk, as I began to define in Part 1:

Several characters of urban fantasy are shown to have self-esteem issues or tragic pasts. These matters often tie into the larger story or the development of the protagonist.

Without spoilering Misery’s Tear, I certainly found it something I’d be inclined to agree with.

I got to the name-dropping at this point:

Jim Butcher, and in particular his Dresden Files series, seemed a good foundation point. Though Harry Dresden is one of the last characters I’d ever accuse of having self-esteem issues, he undoubtedly has a tragic past.

Ben Aaronovich has produced the character Peter Grant in Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho. (and soon, Whispers Underground) Peter Grant again is not particularly hampered with self-esteem issues, but his past certainly has an element of tragedy, or more accurately lament, tied in with his father’s own story – a highly talented jazz musician who never quite managed to fulfil his potential. I certainly cite a theme whereby essentially the rigours and grind of city life are often somewhat crushing and equally, often formative, amongst the grittier protagonists increasingly forced to save the day.

Next Wikipedia spot:

Though stories may be set in contemporary times, this characteristic is not necessary for the fiction to be considered urban fantasy, as works of the genre may also take place in futuristic and historical settings, real or imagined.

I agreed with this from experience of what turned up in Misery’s Tear – noting Victorian/Edwardian eras are seemingly the periods of choice. I observed that  the ‘urban’ element, by definition, begins to apply more solidly from this era on. Of course, I’m only a part-time historian, so I’m sure someone will leap in and attempt to correct me!

Another quote!

Many urban fantasy novels geared toward adults are told via a first-person narrative.

Agreeing with Adrian, I revisited a statement that there isn’t much in the way of third-person omniscient writing within current fantasy trends. This is even more true of urban fantasy. The vast majority of books on that section of the shelf tend to be written from a first-person perspective. Or sometimes more than one. Again, backing up Adrian’s earlier point, it seems to just be the way we tend to absorb things these days.

I decided this wasn’t just a book thing. Novels are always a zeitgeist in some way or other –  always reflecting in some way what is going on in the real world at the time. They are some of the greatest historical documents we have, even when they’re not directly talking about a particular time. Social and political commentary in novels sometimes turns up as a subconscious matter, and sometimes intended, but a book written in the 1920s, even if it’s written about the future, will still likely tell you something about the 1920s, or at least be distinctly from that time, etc. etc.

At this point, I chose to digress slightly, talking about the increasing interactions the ‘real world’ have with the gaming world.

[Interlude: WARNING: May contain historical inaccuracies/time jumps]

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, both video gaming and tabletop gaming were relatively new to the world. Space Invaders became Pac Man, became Afterburner and Outrun, and eventually we got Zork. Dungeons and Dragons sprung up in the 70s, got advanced and eventually became a later edition. Fantasy was the 80s version we had before. Vampires, and then zombies – and then vampires again, resurfaced in popularity in the mainstream during all of this [and check out this amazing article on Cracked.com which explains it almost perfectly.]

As we went on, (we, that is, being the demanding consumer), began to want a bit more from our video gaming experience. While the timeless charms of our retro classics remain to this day, if you were to tell this generation of gamer that if they wander too far out of a relatively small gaming zone and are likely to be eaten by a Grue when actually they are stupidly encumbered with adventuring kit, then they are likely to want to frogmarch the programmers straight  to Yahtzee for a thorough and medicinal ‘reviewing’. MMOs are so massive, they even have it in their name.

So this inevitably bleeds over to gamers –D&D 4th Ed and Star Wars: Saga Edition reminded me a lot of what I’ve experienced of MMOs, in terms of rigid party character class roles necessary for success.

These days, a significant number of people play video games, casually or otherwise. It was a pleasant observation that those sat in the talk (and indeed most of my blog readers) are busy shaping my world right now  – along with anyone else who’s ever played a game and decided they wanted to write a novel about it, or even a serial adaptation. At the top of this tree, someone might even make a movie out of it. Doom, Silent Hill, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy, Super Mario Brothers – I’m looking at you. And Dungeons and Dragons was worth a mention for obvious reasons.

And that was my contribution to why geek is currently the new cool.

I have one final part of the talk to put up – look out for it this week(end)!

 

My First Talk!

Last Saturday, I actually completed my talk at Nerd East as mentioned in my previous post. It got video recorded in three parts; the first of which as just gone up on my Facebook page, which you can see here if you wish, and can excuse the sound quality, especially towards the end. The other two parts will go up over the course of this coming week.

Below, I’ve put in a slightly remixed transcript of what I was talking about for those who missed it, or just can’t hear me:

I confessed that I’d never even heard of the existence of the urban fantasy genre when I started the book, and I barely had when I’d finished the first draft!  But after the nineteenth-odd person asks you what it’s about, you kind of have to look into these things.
The Wikipedia definition of urban fantasy provides a base both for writing urban fantasy and building a world for a game. The two are certainly not mutually exclusive. The world-building process is somewhat different to pure fantasy, in that the obvious difference is while you can’t just load up your car and travel to Mordor or Westeros from your house (though LARPers may beg to differ on this), London, Manchester, Bristol or even Chicago are all perfectly feasible real-life destinations to get to.
In some ways it’s more straightforward, in that you can just grab a map, or hop on your computer, and most of the time you’ll know exactly what’s where easily enough. But in some ways it’s harder too. People will usually know of The Gherkin Building or the Houses of Parliament, and will have already formulated their own perceptions of it – which can help you greatly, but hinder you too. There will regularly be certain expectations of a place which you have to either meet when writing them up – or make crystal clear that you’re taking them somewhere else as soon as is necessary.
This is where the ‘fantasy’ element really comes in. Though you may have the foundations of your cities, villages or hamlet ready to visit for research, you’ve still got a blank slate on important stuff. What really goes on inside the Gherkin Building anyway?
One direct example provided was from Misery’s Tear, in the use of the Half Moon pub in Croydon. It *does* exist – or at the very least did, for now it is a boarded up, derelict wreck. But I used to pass this place every day, and it was open once, though I never got a chance to set foot in there. In my world though, it provided me a scene in which the reader gets to meet a ghost that has haunted the place since the Second World War – and to see how the main protagonist, Rose, ‘levels up’ in her interaction with him.
At the larger end of the scale, you have the metaphysics of your version of this world to consider. Will the words, Avada Kedavra  have any effect if mumbled by a casual passer-by in your world? Does being caught in dark alleys at night time mean getting your blood drunk or turned into a frog? How far can you fly on a broomstick anyway? Is there a god? Or are there five hundred? And are they walking the streets at night time and threatening to drink your blood, before turning you into a frog and riding off into the moonlight on their broomstick? These are all questions you have to consider amongst the basic ‘game rules’ of your world. This probably sounds familiar to both player and GM alike, and so it should. With gaming, hopefully there’s a nice, convenient rulebook that’ll answer most of these questions for you. If writing, unless you’re doing so for an existing fictional universe, such as the World of Darkness stories, you’re on your own with that one. Though a homebrew system will do that for you too.
Consider the people populating your world. Is your boss just a regular git? A werewolf? Or the mentor who will teach you exactly how to cast a proper spell, instead of that Harry Potter one she caught you comedy miming at lunch time?
I agreed with Adrian,who gave the first half of our joint talk adventure, in that there’s nothing like a good gaming campaign to train a writer for world building. Games Mastering trains one very important adage: that no plan ever survives contact with the players. This is true for characters, even ones technically controlled by the GM writer. You want to treat them like NPCs, but they’re just not. You’ll sit there writing, totally certain of how a scene’s going to go and then one of your characters will be perfectly happy to engage Plan E. If any of you are kind enough to read Misery’s Tear, just you try and work out how I managed to control Tally for any of her scenes.
Oh, and as a final note on world-building, having not been to half the places I’m heading to for Book 2, I would remind budding urban fantasy writers that, just as with GMs, that Google Maps is your friend.

Stay tuned for the second part soon…