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Monday, August 04, 2008

 

Signing off, now on to other matters...

Okay, I'm now taking the book to the publishers. Thanks to everyone who's participated. A few points, just so nobody's too surprised when it comes out:

1. The book is alternate history; its relationship to real history diverges during the ninth century, and the butterfly effect being what it is, that changes everything. A search for real historical figures or events will prove fruitless. I've followed the line of history as it seems plausible to me; hopefully you'll like what I've done with it.

2. However, history is a backdrop here; the structure is primarily focused around the adventures of two central characters, neither of whom you've met in the little precis I gave. Scholars looking for massive amounts of detail, I fear, may not find it, as my primarly interest was in the characters and too much info-cramming would have disrupted it. Hopefully you'll still find the story entertaining.

3. The mermaid-deepsmen, as I've presented them, are conceived with very little reference to folklore or tradition. Instead, I started from scratch, asking myself what people living in the sea would be like. My research materials tended more to nature documentaries and studies of feral children than to fairytales.

4. In all cases, if it's not what you would have done, by all means amuse yourself picturing an alternative, but let's agree here and now that you won't get mad at me if my idea of what's likely differs from yours.

5. A lot of the major issues raised were already addressed in the book; others were useful. For the sake of enjoyment, I'd advise against playing spot-the-editing when you read it; the odds of guessing right don't seem to me worth the disruption it would cause to the flow of the story. I'm not going to answer questions on that score when the book comes out, in any case, as I think it's liable to fragment the reading experience.

6. I'll be thanking everyone who contributed in the acknowledgements. If you want to be thanked by name, let me know your real name as well as the internet handle you used, otherwise I'll use the handle.

Comments:
I tried to send an email to the address listed on your website (kit@kitwhitfield.com), but it's been returned. Apparently it automatically transfers to whitfield_kit@yahoo.com, which is a discontinued account.

Where do we send preferences on names?
 
kitwhitfield@hotmail.com. Sorry, I should have thought of that. :-)
 
I must say, I'm flattered beyond measure that you found my little last-minute additions worthy of acknowledgment. :)

Yes, you may use my real name. Especially since I'm trying to get it out there in the writerly realm . . .
 
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