Word count -- HALF-OFF RAGNAROK.: seanan

Word count -- HALF-OFF RAGNAROK.

Words: 2,731.
Total words: 8,017.
Reason for stopping: chapter two is done, and it's time for dinner.
The cats: all cats are currently out of view, which is worrisome.
Music: still the soundtrack to Syfy's Monster Island. I am predictable.

Once again, I am proving the old adage that all it takes to get me writing again is a finished manuscript and the sucking terror that comes from having nothing immediately demanding my attention. (These are things I needed to be writing anyway, mind you. It's just that Parasite was such a huge chunk of text that it sort of blocked the pipeline for pretty much everything else.) So now here I am, once more hip-deep in InCryptid and loving every mucky, slime-covered step.

Half-Off Ragnarok is really interesting so far, because it's the first book from Alex's perspective. I can't help looking at the text and thinking "gosh, the Machete Squad is going to kill half of this," and at the same time, I can't tell you which half they're going to target, so I have to write it all. That's a good thing, honestly. It forces me to get used to Alex's voice, and the little quirks and oddities of his personality. He's my first (and so far, only) male narrator in this series, and so it's important to me that I get him right.

I am very excited about this expansion of my universe. You get to meet Grandma and Grandpa Baker properly, and see more of the actual ecology of the non-sapient cryptids and how they're able to remain under the radar of modern science. It's going to be a fun ride.

Whee!

groblek

June 25 2012, 03:52:03 UTC 5 years ago

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I'm looking forward to it. I like the rotating narrator idea you have for the series, and am curious to find out how it'll turn out in practice. On a vaguely InCryptid note, I finally got the Discount Armageddon inspired cordials laid down, they'll hopefully be drinkable in a few months.

elialshadowpine

June 25 2012, 04:40:16 UTC 5 years ago

... Discount Armageddon inspired cordials? I must know of this.

July 1 2012, 21:50:44 UTC 5 years ago

Really two InCryptid species inspired cordials.
Dragon princesses - a cinnamon extraction in vodka blended with a little of a roasted hot pepper one I made just because there were extra peppers in the garden, a little bit of ginger extracted in vodka for a different kind of fire, with Lapsang Souchang tea steeped in it for smoke, along with toasted oak chips. After everything is filtered out, the final product will have some edible gold flakes added. This one will be ready first because I used existing cordials of mine as a base.

Madhura - a rum base with ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks (removed today so they don't overwhelm the rest), star anise, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg and peppercorns soaking in it. After a few months, I'll strain out the solids and sweeten it up with a simple syrup, probably brown sugar based.

seanan_mcguire

June 25 2012, 04:40:34 UTC 5 years ago

I've seen it work in other series, most specifically Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld, so I'm hopeful. This is a family story, and that means that one narrator would be too...narrow, for lack of a better word.

I look forward to the cordials!