A Rossamünd Costume

Given today is October 31st, I thought a bit of costume action would be appropriate.


Ben, 10, the son of a friend of a friend of mine (the faithful and rather clever Sue-Ellen who gets me out of fixes with Latin and Greek) wanted to dress as Rossamünd for his school’s book parade this week.

... And so he did.

I think his costume looks rather splendid; I especially like the battered old backpack and the untied shoe lace. These images makes me realise just how small and vulnerable Rossamünd was when he first left the foundlingery.

I must say, I really dig all these Half-Continent costumes folks make. Thank you Ben... and his mum too, I reckon!

*[Images used with permission]

Time to get European.

Today being the last day before I trip off to Brisbane to attend the Aurealis Awards I though I would share a bit more of y process with you (how the two are related I do not know, but it makes for a beginning to a post, so I am running with it).

What I have for show and tell today are a couple conceptual sketches completed for Book 3, done to help me get a better "eye" for what Europe is wearing at certain occasions in the story. The first is for a more formal and fancy event.

This second sketch is me trying to get a handle on colour and style for a set of new-made harness for fighting in. Spotting that clipping from the fashion section of the local paper helped me greatly in fixing down the nature of the cloth which I had previously designated as read on the sleeves and blue-grey on the apron. I like the green with red florals much better, though the flowers on the cloth used for the harness would not look or be placed in quite so modern a manner.

Just goes to show how rough my sketches can be, but there purpose is ideation not polished illustration. I heartily recommend little sketches to help with "seeing" your writing.

If you are seeking even more European costuming goodness head over to Monster Blood Cult to see what Erin Montemurro is doing (really, go check it out, 'tis remarkable!)

An enormous grateful tip of the hat to Mr. Bennett Lovett-Graff (aka Polymath Paradise) for his thorough and heartily uplifting insights into MBT Books 1 & 2. For such as you and all the goodly folks here do I strive - such responses are the endeavour rewarded.

Here's a question for you: should I or should I not get a spot on Facebook?

(Was intended to be the...) Bumper Final Issue (for the year that is...)

Well, 2008 has come and nigh gone again (indeed, it is gone!) and all the while I have been wrestling through some book I am supposed to write *rolls eyes* ;P The previous two books of the Monster-Blood Tattoo series so far has been a distinct journey and this third is now different - as another author once said you never learn how to write your next book, just the one you are currently working on.

How true that is. Book 3 - the infamously long-to-wait-for Factotum - has been a process all its own, with its own momentum, its own surprises. It is frightening and wonderful to go out in the story on a hunch that it is the correct direction and have it rewarded with an unexpected unfolding of whole unforeseen and richer moments in the tale.

One of the hardest things has been facing the finish the text, fear fear fear; is this story good enough? Does it do what it needs to do? Will folks like it? The great thing is that now it is not even 18 months to release folks, so hang in there.

A recent high point was when Katie - a fellow metaphoric citizen of the Half-Continent - sent through images of a costume she has been working on. I won't tell you who it is of, 'cause you ought to know...

(c) Copyright Katie/ Spacetart 2008+9. Used with permission.

I could not help but ask Katie how it works as a functional piece of clothing to which she responded:

"As a functional piece of clothing, I'm not really sure. For me, it was fine, since I was at work and didn't have a huge range of movement,but for the actual characters, I'm not sure how it would stand up to the whirling fighting movements without the benefit of spandex/lycra.Though you can't see it, the sleeves do tie on like it's said in the book, so that wouldn't be an issue, but around the inseam, it might be a problem. The stomacher actually worked well, and stayed on fine with the ties. I have new respect for the seamstresses of the clave if they have to paint that diamond pattern, and even more if they have to quilt or sew them together."

My thoughts on that last statement are that the cloth comes dyed that way by request - still, it'd be a heck of a job for the dye house then and prodigiously expensive to boot. You can see the rest of the images of her astonishing creation and Katie's comments on them here! Thank you, Katie!

Next bit o' niceness (my how that word has change in meaning!) is this piece of superb well, I suppose you might call it "fan art" (somehow that does not seem to cut it with me) from our own curiousmouth - and again I shall leave you to figure who the two figures are...(c) Copyright Katie/ Spacetart 2008+9. Used with permission.

(c) Copyright Curiousmouth 2008+9. Used with permission.

Thank you all so much for another excellent blogging year, you all make writing and creating better, "funner", a bit more real; I hope I might do the same for you sometimes.

New Year's Resolution: to get the Varificon up and running fully - there are too many genuinely excellent new words in there, I think a couple might make it in to Book 3. I am hoping it might become a corporate cooperative dictionary we can all dip into, so help yourselves peoples (with proper credit of course).

Welcome to 2009!

On with the new year!