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I waited to respond to the story comments on the Greyfeather #2 entry because I wanted to give folks some time to read the book and post if they liked.
Overall, I”™m proud of the work on the second installment of Greyfeather. For anyone new, this most recent chapter is titled “Catch” and is the latest release of a non-linear mythology that began with the publication of the first chapter “An Introduction” as a short story in the book Aidmheil. Despite my immediate plans and ideas for the Greyfeather novel, I didn”™t quite expect a story that came to me over the course of an hour on a Sunday afternoon to become this popular so quickly. It has it”™s own momentum, which is nice for a change.
Projects of this sort, even something as seemingly simple as a chapter book, are surprisingly challenging, time-consuming and expensive for us to pull off in terms of production and distribution. Thanks for ordering and sharing and supporting the evolution of story and artist. The day the books were delivered to me I had the best time sitting down and signing them over to you.
The feedback here has been terrific and rewarding. Many people chose to contact me directly over posting, so the discussion isn”™t as lively as I”™d have hoped, but that”™s fine. I suppose it is strange to have a story discussion with the writer. You might worry that you”™ll offend them or that your interpretation is completely incorrect or something else silly. When I myself am chatting about the story, I tend to forget that I wrote the thing. It”™s much more fun that way and that”™s how it happens, anyway. Plus, it”™s awesome to be a fan of your own work. In re-reading your comments on the story, I don”™t see anything here in the responses that I disagree with (there are spoilers so I won”™t quote them) and of course the praise of the work is affirming and keeps one sane. I was telling reader Curt in an e-mail that the setup of the story was a challenge against the current landscape of immediate action, hammer-to-anvil storytelling. In making my final decisions, I kept in mind all of the authors in times past who were accused of taking their time or delving too far into the minutiae of matters. Salinger, Dickens, Tolkien... Probably shouldn”™t have cited Charles Dickens: He was paid by the word. Quite a different reason for taking one”™s time. In the end I did what was best for, and organic to, the world. Like I said, I”™m happy with the way the telling unfolds: The events are just as they occured.
Prayer for the Grave, the bonus poem included after the main text, has been popular. I admit the poem is one of my favorite parts of the book, too. I do wish there was more of a market for poetry: I”™d release a poetry chapter book if there were.
I read reader Sean”™s ideas about Greyfeather with great interest, although it is nearly impossible for me to respond properly without ruining the future of the story or being overly self-analytical in terms of my own psychology. It”™s rather lovely-strange to be seen in the metaphor of your work as opposed to the regular way people go about measuring one another up. And readers of JSDC and otherwise are in a unique position to do so because their eyes aren”™t much clouded by what they see in person day to day, because their eyes aren”™t as much clouded by the everyday or the past. I always wonder how, if, it”™s possible to know a person. Fully. I expect that that philosophical question will be a present theme throughout the arc of my career because it exists in my stories. It will chase me a little, I think. But I welcome it.
Thanks again for your momentum. The story has garnered a fair amount of interest, which is a little funny because I had planned (and still do, really) on hitting it hard production wise down the line. As usual, however, we shall see.
Related Mentionings (spoiler-free): 1 - 2
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