Category: The Poison Sky
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Jules Verne imagined a better future, but not what made it worth imagining
Oddly, I’d never before read any Jules Verne. I’ve now read three of his books in quick succession as research for my own novel. [Spoiler alert if you’ve never read any of the following.] Jules Verne has a reputation as a giant of early science fiction. He’s lauded as a visionary, a storyteller, and an…
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How to crew an airship
A short scene describing the roles of all the men serving aboard a military airship in A Philosophy of Air.
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Naturalistic fantasy: a light touch for weighty tales
My work-in-progress novel, The Poison Sky, fits into the sub-genre naturalistic fantasy, which does not yet exist. I’ll define this sub-genre and why I think it’s an area ripe for new stories.
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Lonely Girl: a prototype of air
A prototype chapter for The Poison Sky, representing the mood and world of the story. Many details are inconsistent with the current state of the work.
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Fantastic etymology: powerful words unstuck in time
In a novel, words matter. But in fantasy – where words may lack a historical etymology – do words still mean what you think they mean?
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Airships: our unlikely conquest of the skies
Airships arose through an almost impossible set of coincidences. Learn the roles played by wood, wind, canvas, and booze in the conquering of a Poison Sky.
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How I create marketing “art” without spending a fortune
As a writer it sucks to admit, but pictures sell things faster than words. Learn how I use free art tools to create art to help market the novel I’m working on.