Bring In The Dancing Lobsters! - NaNoWriMo Update, Day 15

Pages: 74
Wordcount: 33,457
Plot Progression: It's moving . . . I think.

40k is within my sights, but blast me if it's an easy climb.

The plan I put forward last week to get the plot into full flow wasn't exactly a raging success either.

I'm hitting a down period - I'm irritated by the inconsistencies and weaknesses in the story, the idea has lost its original novelty, and the plot is blatantly refusing to go where I tell it to. It's lurching painfully through long streams of tedium, where characters pretty much repeat everything that's been said before because I can't remember if it's been mentioned already, and I have no idea how to move them on.

Thankfully, as of this morning, I've had a brainwave and plan to kick the beastie into a higher gear within the next chapter or two. I've got almost all my important players where I want them, and everything is lined up for the main action to get rolling. Some helpful plot bunnies have made for some fascinating side plots and red herrings, too!

The only issue will be working in the other aspects of the story - the setting, the character development, and a few rather important side-plots - at the same time.

I think I can do it though. After all, there's nothing like the Sherlock Holmes movie soundtracks to put you in the proper mood for steampunk hi-jinx!

Now . . . let's start a revolution!

~ Charley R

Something Plotting This Way Comes . . . - NaNoWriMo Update, Day Eight

This NaNoWriMo is going far better than I expected it to. Well, in most respects.

Pages: 39
Wordcount: 18,155
Plot progression: A little slower than I expected, but elements are coming together more effectively and with greater promise than expected.

I'm aiming to hit 20,000 words before the weekend, preferably, but these past few days have been somewhat hectic with my Oxford English aptitude test, and my slightly panicky rush to send off my marked work to the university. Still, all that is done and behind me to my satisfaction, and thus I'm hoping some open space will allow me to plough on ahead before anything else creeps up on me.

The novel itself, I am fairly pleased with. My loose plot format is pulling together well, and many elements are coming together that I did not forsee, which hold plenty of promise for later stages of the book. 

My main issue thus far is coming from the narrative. I haven't written in first person for eons, and the journal format is creating confusion over dates and timings that I am having trouble keeping track of. My other weaknesses are showing, too. I've never been terribly strong on dialogue, but coupled with a weaker-than-is-preferable grip on the narrator's personality, some rather nasty inconsistencies are coming through. 

Upon finishing, I also intend to go back and ruthlessly hack at the early chapters. I'm sure my introductory passages could be a lot sleeker, and I could get into the beginning of the proper plot much faster than I have done. Other events will also need re-ordering, certainly, in lieu of this.

All in all, though, it's going well - as I write more, I'm hoping to get a better handle on my narrator, and solve some of the problems I mentioned earlier. I may tweak some aspects of his character later, for the sake of kicking the plot forward a bit, as his shy, introverted nature somewhat inhibits that at times, but overall I'm very pleased with him, and with most of my supporting characters, who have begun to enter the mix.

And, finally, I'm drawing up to the opening of the really exciting bit of the plot now. And thus far, it's looking bigger, better and messier than ever I dreamed it would.

Hold onto your hats, readers. It's gonna be a bumpy ride . . .

~ Charley R

Enter the Circus! - NaNoWriMo Update, Day One

NaNoWriMo started today. I meant to get up a little earlier than usual to do some writing, but sleep was far too comfortable, and thus I only got started this evening - spent the rest of the day reading a book on literary criticism techniques (not as bad as I feared), editing my extended essay (every bit as bad as I feared) and going for a lovely long wet bicycle ride with the family.

Here's where I stand as of this moment:

Pages: 6
Wordcount: 2,744
Plot progression: Still in the early stages, but heading in the right direction.

I don't really have a plot - just a few major events that may or may not happen in any given combination, depending on where the story goes.

I tried to plan this novel once. It didn't work.

Oh, and I've almost killed my narrator twice thus far. He's currently got a sprained wrist, a seriously bruised jaw, and a rather nasty grounding in the reality of the city.

Sorry Deladier. It's all downhill from here.

~ Charley R

"Nana nana nana nana NaNo!" - Teens Can Write Too! Blog Chain, October 2012

“What are you writing for NaNoWriMo? Briefly explain how this book idea come about. Then write a mock first page for the novel.”

The prospect of NaNoWriMo used to scare the heck out of me, until Miriam Joy bribed me into it in 2010. That year, I scared myself half to death by writing a dark, disturbing, and chronically plot-hole-ridden dystopian novel. The next year heralded the arrival of a set of incomplete short stories, which had evolved out of a world building exercise for what, I thought, would be this year’s NaNovel.

I should know better than to try and plan novels by now. It only ever ends in disaster. And, in this case, that disaster involved so many knots in my brain that I took the coward’s way out and gave up on that idea.

One trip to Paris, acquisition of a street map of London, and several fever dreams worthy of a cracked-out Lord Byron later, the concept of my 2012 NaNoWriMo novel had well and truly bludgeoned all the competition to death and was awaiting its time to strike by filling my imagination with plot bunnies.

The story itself, Ikarus, is nothing like I’ve ever written before. Normally I stick to my forte, that of historical fantasy, but here I’ve decided to plug my nose and vault into a pool of a different ilk; steampunk. Steampunk, for anyone who doesn’t know, is basically mixing futuristic technology to a historical setting by adding bundles of cog-and-wheel-and-aviator-goggles technology to anything and everything you can get your hands on. For this, you can blame my love of meddling with the laws of science, in revenge for all those years spent staring at the classroom wall while my experiments single-handedly defied the laws of nature.

You can blame three days spent learning about 17th Century France amidst the gorgeous capital of France for most of the rest. The politics, the powerplay, the outrageous costumes, the sheer madness of life in general . . . I absolutely had to play with it. The map of London was simply to give me an idea of how to lay out such a city. The setting, the city of Scatterank, is the sort of place that results from 17th Century France crashing into a train full of Victorian London, and being splattered with liberal dollops of something that doesn’t really fit anywhere. You can see why I’d need a map, if I was going to set my characters running amok in it. As for the fever dreams? That’s where the characters came from.

Speaking of the characters, they themselves have become the real driving force for the story itself. Being the inevitable cultural, racial and nonsensical melting pot it is, Scatterank is full of all sorts of interesting people. I pushed a few more boundaries than I usually do in their creation, and they are certainly more complex than many of my past creations. Especially as at least two of them don’t set much store by the laws of gravity.

The narrator, luckily, has yet to demonstrate any more dangerous traits than being rather good at causing small explosions when meddling with things he finds under the stairs. Cue smugglers, conspiracies, feckless mayors and canny deputies, civil unrest, an unpleasant family legacy, wrathful gods, kidnap, murder, magic, irresponsible use of undergarments and . . . well, you can guess where this is going.

What’s more, I haven’t written from a first person perspective in over five years. It’s going to be fun.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to treat you to a supposition of a first page today – not in the least because this post is already far bigger than perhaps it ought to be. The simple fact of the matter is that, whatever I bash out here, the actual opening of the story will be nothing like it. Having a concept of the story is very different to knowing what’s going to happen, and, as the Yiddish proverb goes, “man plans, and God laughs”.

 . . . And yes, that is just a more delicate way of saying “I have no idea what I’m doing”.

For anyone who is still curious about the endeavour, you can hop on over to my NaNoWriMo profile to check out the "official" blurby thing for Ikarus, as well as tons of awesome forums, writerly tips, and other awesome stuff.

Feel free to send me a buddy request too! Let's bork our brains together!

~ Charley R

The rest of the blog chain, and all its fantastical posts, is here:

October 5^th – http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com  – Lily’s Notes in the Margins

October 6^th – http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com – Reality Is Imaginary

October 7^th – http://onelifeglory.blogspot.ca – One Life Story

October 8^th – http://gabrielletheauthoress.wordpress.com – Of a Writerly Sort

October 9^th – http://towerofplot.blogspot.co.uk – The Leaning Tower of Plot

October 10^th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com – This Page Intentionally Left Blank

October 11^th – http://whatupdates.blogspot.com – What Updates?

October 12^th – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com – Miriam Joy Writes

October 13^th – http://cinderscoria.blogspot.com – Between the Lines

October 14^th – http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com – Inside the Junk Door

October 15^th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com – Musings From Neville’s Navel

October 16^th – http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com – Kirsten Writes!

October 17^th – http://mirrormadeofwords.wordpress.com – A Mirror Made of Words

October 18^th – http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com – The Teenage Writer

October 19^th – http://platonicpencil.wordpress.com – Platonic Pencil

October 20^th – http://markobrienwrites.blogspot.com – Mark O’Brien Writes

October 21^st – http://amandafoody.blogspot.com – It’s All In My Head

October 22^nd –http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com – The Incessant Droning of a Bored Writer

October 23^rd – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com – Teens Can Write, Too! (We will be announcing the topic for next month’s chain)

Stuck In The Middle

Beginnings are easy. Endings even more so. It's the middle that's going to drive you bonkers.

And that's before they started adding algebra to the GCSE Mathematics syllabus.

I joke, I joke. If you're not mad by the time you hit the middle, you're doing it wrong. Stories, however, are a different matter entirely.

NaNoWriMo is now one-day-less-than-a-month away, and I, as a proud member of the United League of Plot Plotters, am merrily wreaking havoc with the dim outline of the story that is beginning to take shape inside my head. Major events! Character profiles! Plot twists! It's wonderful stuff.

The only trouble is filling in the bit between. It's all very well having all these stunning events lined up, but putting them all end to end, with no buildup or explanation . . . well, I might as well strap you all into a fairground teacup ride, set it to full velocity and watch as your teeth shoot out the backs of your heads.

Even magpies know that there's only so many shiny things they can put in their nests - the rest, regrettably, has to be the bits that hold it all together; the laying of the clues, the buildup of environment and situation, the slow amalgamation of events. And sometimes it's trying to do this that really brings a good book down. Despite being a die-hard Tolkein fan since the age of ten, I still find myself skimming through bits of The Two Towers simply because so much of it is the necessary buildup material needed for the stunning tour-de-force that is The Return of the King.

Regrettably, there have also been books where this saggy middle is simply too much, and I've had to put the book down out of sheer boredom. The classic dystopian 1984 is another example. Despite having one of the most chilling and terrifying endings I have ever encountered, I would have put the book away never to be read again if I hadn't had to drag myself through it for my English Literature course.

So, how to avoid this? Well, here's a few tips I've picked up from my many misadventures in the world of the printed page:

1 - Space It Out
No point in keeping all your good stuff for the end. Put in a few of your tasty treats in the slower stretches. Even if they're small-scale, they can still be enough to hold a reader's attention long enough for them to see the importance of what it's all leading up to.

2 - Spice It Up
Don't give us a hundred-page discourse on the layout of the sewers of Paris - trip your character down an open manhole and make them explore it themselves! Explanatory passages are so much more fun when they occur in circumstances that make us, and the character, go "Eureka!", or "Eeeeuuuuuugh!".

3 - Tie It In
If it doesn't need to be there, get rid of it. Stephen King's semi-autobiographical book "On Writing" gave us the charming phrase, which I will badly paraphrase, as a final draft being the first draft, with 10% less. Whether it's a few extra red herrings, a few too many details, or even just a paragraph of prose that's rather too close to purple for comfort, go through and make sure it's tight stuff. Just because it's neccessary doesn't mean it has to be flabby.

Of course, I'm not advocating the complete annihilation of all forms of "middle bit". It's genuinely vital stuff by all accounts - not in the least because your poor readers can't be expected to be pelting through adventure after adventure without stopping for a break. However, even something as simple as cleverly worded phrases can keep the audience reminded of what they're working towards, and if you need a longer digression, be sure to write it with the same enthusiasm that you give to the rest of the story.

And, of course, not all the best parts of the story have to be big flash-and-bang occasions. Sometimes just having the protagonist alone, doing a good spot of navel gazing, will bring up a moment the readers will really remember. Sometimes these fabulous moments can arise when you decide just to tweak a little bit of flabby prose. And sometimes you realise that it's not a flabby bit of prose at all - just a gem you haven't got around to giving a shine yet.

I know I certainly have tricky moments with "the middle", but what about you lot? Do you have any special strategies to get you through the gaps between your story's highlights? Do you keep the gaps minimal, or do you have something special that you like to do with them?

~ Charley R

"...And That's How I Became President of the Universe" - Charley R's Guide to Backstories

Memory loss, guilty secrets, frequent distraction, marauding hordes of penguins - just a few of those inconvenient events that can hinder a reader's knowledge of a character's backstory. There are few fictional environments - unless you're writing a sprawling epic like Beowulf or happen to have the last name of Dickens or Eliot - where one can give the reader all the necessary background on a character at once. 

Nota bene, however, that I am not referring solely to parts of the backstory that are used as plot devices - though they will invade a large section of the proverbial sofa in this guide. I'm referring to your characters' stories as a whole; where they come from, their family, their upbringing, the choices and events that have lead them up to the point where the author decides it's time to mess them about. 

Backstories are tricky things, not in the least because it shares a bitter emnity with plot pacing. How many of us have fallen asleep in pools of dribble during a three-chapter-long digression whereby we are filled in on everything from the characters' scarring experiene with Uncle Ted's rottweiler to their agonised naval gazing when asked about the suspicious death of the creepy-looking local  overlord? And that's without mentioning all the other things that can blow up in your face.

So, here are my top tips for integrating characters' backstories effectively, without turning your readers into zombies.

Hopefully it'll point you in the right direction.

1 - Plausibility

Especially applicable to the obligatory mysterious background / companion character, this is probably the biggest flaw I find in explanations of a character's history. Would you really expect someone to believe you if you told them that their childhood friend and protector was actually a thousand-year-old demon imprisoned on earth for attempting to destroy the universe? Especially when the aforementioned demon shows no sign of being anything other than a dim-witted but cheerful dope whose only evil deed is to mis-quote Monty Python.

My remedy for this is to have the character worked out before you even begin the story. Make sure you leave some small indications in previous chapters that could lend concrete proof to the revelatory plot element. The character's a sadistic demon in disguise? Maybe he's tested positive for a form of sociopathic behavior. The character is a long-lost relative? A little physical similarity and maybe an occasional "OMG, I have an Auntie Beryl too!" would help. 

For general backstory, this is the same. The odds of that heavily armoured brute on a horse actually being the long-lost son of the local washerwoman are very low. Likewise for your "typical American girl" turning out to be the daughter of some strange reclusive alien species. Know what they are, and what that entails in their behaviour, and ask yourself "does that really sound believable?"

Don't overdo the hints though. The readers aren't daft. Honest.

2 - Originality

Surprisingly, whipping out the Age Old Unfulfilled Prophecy is not always the best way to explain how a character is who they are. We've seen it so many hundreds of times and - like the aged wizard, the wise old mentor and the dusty volume in the abandoned library - we expect the outcome.

Try and make the revelation more interesting - or, at least, more natural. If it's general background, why not have them talking to travellers on the road, and they get onto relevant interests (a good part for explaining that your character is fond of music or swordplay), or have someone else talk about the character (a good part to get their reputation and origin). 

For revelatory snippets, you can be more creative. Although the event of suddenly discovering powers in a stressful situation is much used, the room to be original is massive. Rather than an old book explaining everything, why not have the characters discover the truth in bits and pieces throughout the story? This will not only compliment the plot, but it will be a point of interest to hold your reader's attention. Dragons and exploding turnips can only be amusing for so long, after all.

3 - Impact

I swear, if that wretched mage starts harping on about Sir Doobledoo's destiny to be the bearer of the Magical MacGuffin Sword and slay Lord MwuaHaHaI'mSoEvil one more time, I'm going to drown him in his soup bowl!

If you've got something to explain, you may as well do it properly. Make sure the events are clear, relevant, and - most of all - memorable. Although we may need a small reminder of the presence of the curse on Lady Fluffypants' pet gerbil from time to time, we do not need to be slammed over the head with its cause and lore every other paragraph. If the explanation is a good one, you will not need to do it again and you can get on with what the readers really want - the story!

Turning the "explanation scene" - if you feel you really must have one - into a memorable event can also be a great bonus for the story. Rather than being a digression from the action, try to make it a good piece of prose in its own right. Don't just wander off into a long-winded explanation - get the characters asking questions, get them reacting, get them thinking out loud. "Oh! That time you tamed the posessed hosepipe totally makes sense now we know you're part water sprite!" That sort of thing. 

4 - Nuance

Not everything in your backstory has to be flashy. In fact, not everything in your backstory is going to need to be told. Giving a general idea of a character's rustic background will be easier through their speech patterns (an accent? certain colloquial phrases?), how they stand in an environment (I dare you to find me a sailor who'd be happy halfway up a flaming mountain!), and what they do. In my newest novel - whose three protagonists gave me the inspiration for this post - I know for a fact that my lead male character is more than happy to talk diplomatically, but his sister is warmer from the outset and is more comfortable around strangers. 

Similarly, let your character's current position show their past. For example, the third protagonist of my trio is a general, but as he spent time as a stable boy, he knows plenty about animal husbandry. Show, don't tell. And let the readers' imagination fill in the parts of the tale that may not be so important - like extended family, childhood experiences etc. Keep it relevant, and, honest, you won't miss that gag about the mackerel in the local lord's boots as much as you think.

5 - Timing

I'm sure your agitated hero isn't the only one thinking there are better things to do during dragon invasions than be chasing pixies up mountains on the promise that catching one will mean he can learn about the platypus-shaped birthmark on his left butt cheek.

Although having someone torn between a personal goal and a more altruistic one makes for great conflict, don't let your hero's personal quest get in the way of your main plot (this may or may not be applicable, depending on the relevance of the backstory to the plot). Sure, we've discovered that your lovely little girl is in fact the daughter of an exiled enchantress ... but that's not much use when your quest revolves around hunting down a stolen biscuit. 

There are multiple ways of working this issue out, of which I shall mention a few:

- Running the two "quests" side-by-side, using them to keep up the tension and pace and keep the reader's interest if one narrative starts running dry.

- Using key events in the main narrative as teasers to the second, which can be gradually pieced together jigsaw-style beneath the main story.

- Combining the two; being careful to avoid the cliches, why not give the character a personal reason for going on their quest? It'll make the revelation of both a lot easier for you.

And, as mentioned in the "Impact" stage, try not to let the explanation run on for too long. Otherwise we will get bored. And you won't like us when we're bored.

POINT you in the right direction .... very punny!

What about you guys? Have I missed anything? Anything new to add on what's already up here? 

~ Charley R

Fish, the Force, and Fanfiction

As kettles of fish go, none get much stranger than fanfiction. While many denizens of the aforementioned bucket are nothing out of the ordinary - an alternate ending, an additional character, an entertaining crossover with a related (or, often, unrelated) world or storyline - there are also some very very strange fish. Like the ones with two heads, a leg, and the bizarre ability to speak Elvish. Backwards.

I myself have never written fanfiction - it's a comfort issue. As much as I am happy to express my views on what could / should / might happen in a given story, every time I contemplate writing out my musings on paper, I feel like I should be arrested for breaking-and-entering. Or kidnap. Or some other form of metaphysical felony. It's all very well wreaking havoc and making huge booboos in my own worlds, but in someone else's? It just doesn't feel right.

And yet, for some strange reason, the idea of fanfiction fascinates me. I peruse several fandoms (a fandom, by the way, refers to the body of fans of a given TV show, book series, movie, whatever, usually found in cyberspace). Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, a Song of Ice and Fire, and multiple crossovers related to them are my usual haunts. Despite being a die-hard fan of all of the above - especially the last - I don't really have an issue when people decide to have a little fun. Fanfiction is, after all, supposedly an expression of love for the thing in question. 

I'm not using this post to damn fanfiction - I honestly have no problem with it. Heck, some fanfiction authors, I reckon, ought to be off writing their own stories because they honestly have a good head for plot, consistent characterisation and interesting dialogue. Sometimes the fanfiction - especially parodies - is genuienly very good, too. I've been known to sniffle a little when reading a particularly touching fic, or laugh hysterically during a good rib-tickler.

Unfortunately, as with all things - notably the moon, the toast from my school toaster, and the Force, fanfiction has a dark side. Sometimes the things one finds in there are not only implausible, illogical, and sometimes downright unsavoury, but they can be downright scarring into the bargain.

I don't just say this because I'm a terrible canon Nazi - I'm not, most of the time. It's my own fault, really, that I enjoy perusing the dark corners of fanfiction to find the worst of the worst. It's a subtle dance, somewhat akin to swimming in a tank of large sharks, tickling them in the hope one will roll over and let you tickle its tummy. Unfortunately, said shark may be one of those who would rather use your arm for a squeaky toy.

Sometimes I envy the fate of that lost arm.

Below, I list some of the weirdest, creepiest, and most scarring things I have encountered in the world of fanfiction:

• A Harry Potter fanfiction, whereby Severus Snape was miraculously pregnant ... with the child of Sirius Black.
• A Doctor Who fanfiction where The Doctor ended up marrying a fifteen-year-old girl who, by all the rules of the long, convoluted and utterly nonsensical plot, should have ceased to exist after ripping open a hole in the universe, stealing the TARDIS, riding it through the aforementioned hole, and somehow come back with the destroyed world of Gallifrey in tow - complete with everything else that followed it into the void, presumably.
• A LotR fanfiction where Gimli and Legolas had mysteriously suffered a sex change and ended up marrying Pippin and Aragorn, respectively.
• A Harry Potter fanfiction where Harry fell in love with Firenze, and ended up giving birth to a foal that, in the words of the fic "was the size of a five-year-old".
• Many more fanfictions, in all fandoms, involving male pregnancy.
• A Song of Ice and Fire fanfiction stating origins of Jon Snow's parentage whereby Ned Stark pulled a Jaime Lannister and slept with his sister Lyanna before she died.
• An even more disturbing Song of Ice and Fire fanfiction, which resulted in a three-way orgy involving Jaime, Tyrion and Robb. Set against the backdrop of Book Five, I might add.

And, last, and the most horrifying and eyeball-gouging of all:

• Crossovers. My Little Pony crossovers.

I could go on - I could launch into a list of the most disturbing character pairings, or the most ludicrous plot twists, or the most irritating Mary Sues who have inevitably made it their quest to hunt down and destroy the personality of the most desirable characters in every conceivable fandom known to mankind.

But, as I said before and will say again, these horror fics are a minority - and I really do bring them upon myself. Curiosity killed the Charley. Almost literally, in the case of a few demented fic-induced heart palpitations.

What do you guys think of fanfiction, though? Ever written any yourself? Where do you draw the line between unsettling and kill-it-with-knives-and-a-flamethrower?

- Charley R

We're on the Weird Side of Plotting Again...

We've all been there: desperate to write something, but we honestly cannot think of what. Sometimes it's too many ideas at once, sometimes it's no ideas at all, and sometimes it's caffeine-related. It's a pain, but normally we can get out of it eventually - either by staring it down, or simply looking away and waiting for it to get bored and leave.

But sometimes we don't feel like being paragons of virtue and leaving it alone. Sometimes we want to kick the wretched conundrum into the middle of next week because WE NEED WORDS, CURSE IT!

So here, with the helps of Springhole.net, I have discovered five of the most weird, wonderful and downright giggle-snort inducing potential plots on the planet! 

To anyone who actually writes one of these for a blog post, I will personally publish a post all about it and tell the world how awesome you are.

Now ... send in the clowns!

1) A talkative cat must stop a towel and swallows the ideal significant other.

2) A geeky dancer must stop a monster from under the bed with the help of a kingdom.

3) A deranged doctor becomes another realm and swallows a monster from under the bed.

4) A fuzzy dog takes over the village and discovers the dishwasher.

5) A mysterious gargoyle disguises as a kingdom and discovers a mop.

Extra kudos to anyone who comes up with a believable method of allowing one to disguise oneself as a kingdom!

- Charley R

Oh, How I do Love a Good Plot!

Yes, you guessed it, I am plotting again! It's marvellous, it's fantastic, it's so utterly amazing that just hearing mention of it will make jelly beans squirt out your ears and choirs of angels will burst into epic guitar solos over your head while lip-synching Bohemian Rhapsody!

But enough about my plans for World Domination.

I'm here to tell you about the newest story I've begun to plot!

Now, as many of you know, these past two years of my life have been taken up by the adventures of a rather chaos-prone ginger bloke and his friends (and enemies xD), but recently, as I begin to wade into writing up the third and final book of the trilogy, I have begun to realise that I will, one day, need a new project to love, cherish and despise almost simultaneously.

So, you wanna hear my new idea?
No?
Tough, 'cause I'm telling you anyway.

Deladier (pronounced: del-ah-dee-ay) is the last son of a very old and very rich family. However, having spent most of his life in a sheltered upbringing in his family's ancestral home in the country, he is unprepared when his father suffers a fatal heart attack and he must suddenly travel to the great city of Tesselen to take over the huge trading empire that has brought his family his wealth. However, unused to the treacherous intrigue, gossip and danger of the city, Deladier is all at sea as to how he is supposed to cope. His grouchy manservant Jeremy- who utterly resents being sent from his master's side to keep watch on his son - is no help, and the staff in the house - including the batty old Mrs Minch and the one-eyed, man-mountain Cook - do little more than frustrate his every effort to appear respectable to his contemporaries (not that he was doing a very good job in the first place). It looks as if Deladier is about to bring the family name crashing down in ruins.


Then, seemingly out of nowhere, appear a motley crew of individuals the likes of which Deladier has never seen. Rembrandt, the charming young actor-come-wordsmith; Emerald the bright-eyed cross-breed circus performer and Andallas, the low-born clerk whose sole ambition in life is to impress the baker's daughter. They take an instant liking to Deladier, and before long he is the talk of the town and his family's business is booming.


However, there is more to Deladier's new friends than meets the eye. Dark things lurk in their pasts, secrets and felonious deeds that have nearly torn them apart in the past. And now, it seems, they threaten not only the future of Deladier and his companions, but all of Tesselen itself ...


It's only a very rough idea at the moment, but if all goes right then I could be in for a lot of fun. After all, everybody loves eccentric characters, and they don't get much more eccentric than this lot ...

Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have a trilogy to finish *grins*

- Spook