Sunday 11 January 2015

Reason to begin...

... it's already begun of course - well over a year ago now, but as I'm returning to the Havenworlds now (after a lot of publishing activity in other places) with the 'origin myth' nearing completion, I've given the project it's own blog so audience participation and feedback can begin!

This is all sounding dangerously professional isn't it, but never fear - it'll go down my usual route of 'fits and starts' documenting soon enough. However, just to show you that work has gotten underway in earnest, here's a few visuals to whet yer whistles...

I love maps - even before I became an LotR geek so of course when I decided to write about a world far, far away I really needed to map it. Those of you familiar with the titchier British Isles may recognise some of the land masses shown below. They're grossly fiddled-with adaptations of the Orknies - or Orcades as I'm thinking of them more, as the overall feel for the Shadow Series is heavily influenced by Graeco-Roman classical and Celtic/Norse cultural mythologies and language


1st or 2nd pass of the basic world map (the main land masses anyway as the Outer Ocean is a wrap around and not really populated). Copyright - Jan  Hawke


 

and the coloured version



fuller relief of the main land mass where most of the action will take place around the Cloudwoods and Baywood regions

And - because it helps to have a visual proto-type for characters -


copyright - Len Brook Photography

this is Ruarghan, a skilled telepath and 'borrower' (in the Granny Weatherwax style) and a fledgling shape-shifter! He's one of three primary characters who'll form a kind of demi-god triumvirate and the only one who's scheduled to survive into the anticipated third cycle of the series, which will focus on his and the other 2 characters' children. I'll lose the cap and guitar of course....

Well that's enough to kick off for now. I'll probably post the origin myth in here once it's out of beta reading on the forum as a teaser - hopefully in a few weeks. Feel free to comment as you like ;-)

4 comments:

  1. Nice map. I like the coloured version. The powers Ruarghan has are cool. What is a borrower though?

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    1. If you've been reading/watching Game of Thrones (or a Song of Ice and Fire as it really is) then borrowing's similar to what Bran and the Wildling woses do - taking over another being's mind and using their body. In GoT this is usually done with birds to spy on enemies or wolves for hunting/tracking (the latter especially for Bran, who also uses his simple-minded giant-blood servant Hodor as a vessel when he needs to walk or use muscle strength). The Granny Weatherwax ref is to Terry Pratchett's Discworld where she's the consummate world champion at 'borrowing' mind control :-D

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  2. Exciting stuff Jan, will be following with great interest!

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  3. My excitement levels have been rapidly expanding throughout this wonderful week of touring blogs so I PROMISE I'm going to get back to working on this much more from tomorrow! :-D

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