New readers — welcome! This blog is where I set up feedback threads for the latest draft story in progress. Right now I’m up to story #8. You should probably start at story #1, though.
Current readers — That’s the last of coa//008 written and posted. Which also means it’s the last of volume//001, the Bedlam saga. Started writing in the middle of June 2012, ended late February 2013, and the whole thing’s quite a bit longer than my last book (Stars Fall). Wow. Just… wow.
Plenty of revelations here, many of which I’ve hinted at or outright stated in earlier chapters. I love leaving behind little tidbits which make no sense except in hindsight, so a second read-through makes you go “OHHHH you bastard.” I’ll point some out in a weekly update in March, for your enjoyment and-or facepalming.
In fact, let’s talk about what’s coming up.
- The KICKSTARTER goes live next Sunday! You can get in on the ground floor and get some nice KS-exclusive rewards. The money will go towards not only the book but — if we exceed the project minimum — all sorts of extras like more artwork, more advertising, and even the publication of Unreal Estate or Anachronauts: Second Age.
- New writing will be on hiatus until April, so I can plan out volume//002. I only have a few stories planned at this point and a vague idea of where it ends, so I need time to sort it out.
- The blog will have weekly updates in March, and Kickstarter backers will get additional updates. As mentioned one of them will be a “Did you notice…?” list of retroactive spoilers. Others… not sure yet. I’ll come up with something fun. KS backers will get project updates as well.
Exciting times, exciting times. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — 008 is now finished and there’s some eye-openers in there. I’m curious as to your reactions. How much did you go “Hah! Called it!” and how much did you go “Really? Huh, neat” and how much did you go “Oh, come ON!”? Let’s hear your thoughts!
some [b]on-Euclidean[/b] one-way connection
non-Euclidian
Also it was on fire.
Also, it was on fire.
they faced a very [b]lost looking[/b] little girl and a [b]confused looking[/b] man
lost-looking, confused-looking
Nice hat-tip to the VIP club stories, and in particular I liked Gregory’s flashbacks. I presume we’ll find out more about Patient 23 in the upcoming volumes, so I’ll hold off on asking questions until the story’s up.
It’s “Euclidean” not “Euclidian,” I promise. :D -=- Jen
Quite a finish! And of course, I have Questions.
Does Penelope ever get to be the baddie, the Source of Too Much Reason?
Is this the flu outbreak personified?
What in heck was with Seth anyway–who wants to see the world go nuts?
Wait, so the dreamer is able to dream real people who get born, grow up, marry, have children and die?
The parts in Gregory’s head were particularly scary.
Maybe, it’s related, bugnuts crazy person, good question, and indeed.
(Okay, I’ll clarify Seth a bit. Like Kelsey, he sees the chaos of the dream as an ideal — that the city naturally wants to be random and dreamlike and our efforts at resisting only hurt us. But unlike Kelsey, he was willing to go to insane lengths to embrace that idea in full. I’m planning to go into this a bit more in a future story.)
The goal of 008 was to raise as many questions as it answered. We know the true nature of the city now — and yet, we don’t know how or why it does what it does. Fortunately, we’ve got two more volumes to explore to learn more about the dream and those within it.
Aha! Flu vaccine test case, perhaps?