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Novel subjects
Jan. 18th, 2016 09:50 pmThe agent who'd wanted to see a partial a couple weeks ago came back and asked for the full manuscript and a bio. So that's exciting.
Meanwhile, I've started a new novel and I'm kind of feeling out the first couple chapters while still researching like crazy. It's set in a steampunk Venice, so I've been reading up on Venetian history. Man, I keep forgetting how much like the Venetians. They're so damn scrappy. Seriously, there's no point at which they're not awesome, except very different kinds of awesome. "You're trying to invade us? We'll hide in the lagoon!" "Ok, we're all ready for the pan-European crusade. You guys are right behind me, right? Guys? Guys? Aww, screw it. Fine. We'll do it ourselves. Again. (mutter mutter ungrateful wretches)" "We don't need no stinking nobles. We're going to make a republic and keep it going for a thousand years. If someone tries to turn it into a dictatorship, we'll have a nice little trial and quietly execute him. We'll cover his portrait with a curtain. Oh, the building with the portraits burned down? We'll paint a new picture of the curtain." "We lost our empire. Lets...invent tourism!"
These are the people who invented quarantines. And double entry bookkeeping. And italics. And got the Europeans to start using Arabic numerals. They've got no standing army to speak of, but a giant armada of merchant ships and fleets of diplomats and spies. I feel like I could easily write a dozen books set in Venice, just across a thousand years of history.
Meanwhile, I've started a new novel and I'm kind of feeling out the first couple chapters while still researching like crazy. It's set in a steampunk Venice, so I've been reading up on Venetian history. Man, I keep forgetting how much like the Venetians. They're so damn scrappy. Seriously, there's no point at which they're not awesome, except very different kinds of awesome. "You're trying to invade us? We'll hide in the lagoon!" "Ok, we're all ready for the pan-European crusade. You guys are right behind me, right? Guys? Guys? Aww, screw it. Fine. We'll do it ourselves. Again. (mutter mutter ungrateful wretches)" "We don't need no stinking nobles. We're going to make a republic and keep it going for a thousand years. If someone tries to turn it into a dictatorship, we'll have a nice little trial and quietly execute him. We'll cover his portrait with a curtain. Oh, the building with the portraits burned down? We'll paint a new picture of the curtain." "We lost our empire. Lets...invent tourism!"
These are the people who invented quarantines. And double entry bookkeeping. And italics. And got the Europeans to start using Arabic numerals. They've got no standing army to speak of, but a giant armada of merchant ships and fleets of diplomats and spies. I feel like I could easily write a dozen books set in Venice, just across a thousand years of history.
