Some news on the comic front!

As of next month issue 1 of Peacemaker will no longer be on special at .99c AUD and will now cost $3.99 AUD.

The good news is that for your money you will also get the short story (approximately 5k words) that the character  is based on and a bunch of concept art from Brigitte Sutherland, along with her commentary, as part of the new price. Although the comic follows a different story line from the original short story, you can see the development of Virgin’s character and the heavy influences of the Australian Outback and spiritual weirdness. Brigitte’s commentary also gives some sneak peaks into my novel in progress.

Issue 2 is in the pipeline and will be double the size of issue 1. It will follow the same pattern of a reduced price initially, and then a package deal with extras when the price increases.

For anyone who has already purchased the comic and would like the short story and concept art extra as well, you can email me via this website and I will arrange it for the price of .99c AUD.

N.B. Many thanks to Tehani Wessely at Fablecroft for making the short story pdf available for me. The story was originally published as “Gin Jackson: Neophyte Ranger” in AGOG Smashing Stories, Cat Sparks (ed.), AGOG! Press, 2004, and later reprinted  as Virgin Jackson in Australas Imaginarium, a Fablecroft publication. Australis Imaginarium is still available for purchase and is full of terrific stories.

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I’m researching as I’m writing, which is quite normal for me. The first chapter is almost finished and I’m hunting for the right paranormal element to fit in the book. With Australian (Virgin Jackson – the ranger) and North American (Nate Sixkiller – the cowboy) protagonists, it’s a delicate balance of mythologies. The book is set in Australia but Nate is here because one of the supernatural creatures from his cultural mythos is lose in our place.

I’m really attracted to the idea of the collision of  culturally opposed mythological creatures. How does their interaction affect their integrity, and those of the humans around them? Which myth has more weight? They might sound like strange questions, but the strength of a myth is in the hands of the writer, and the writer is a conduit for what gone before, and what might be. I expect the myths to wage war inside me as they seek supremacy. Or maybe they’ll just get on fine!

In searching for what I want, I encountered Debbie Harry’s version of Ghost Rider’s in the Sky, which I just had to include on my playlist. Her voice is so haunting (though I could do without the tinny music accompanient), and it lifted me to another place – just what I wanted.

One chapter down (about ten pages) but with lots of blank spaces for pertinent dialogue to be inserted when I’m more sure of the story arc. Back with chapter two news soon, as we meet our other hero, Nate Sixkiller.

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There’s something equally exhilarating and terrifying about starting a new novel. Strange thoughts run through your head. Can I do this?What will it be like? Countered by the sense of  liberation at creating something from scratch. Freefall into the page. For the first time since I began writing full time, I’m thinking of writing about the novel journey. Join me if you like. It could be slow and painful or not?

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I’m looking for information on lawman Sam Sixkiller and this is all I’ve been able to find so far:

– One of the most outstanding members of the Longhorse Police in Indian Territory , Sixkiller was born in the Going Snake District (now Adair County) of the Cherokee Nation in 1842.  At the age of 19, he joined a Union Indian artillery company, commanded by his father, 1st Lt. Redbird Sixkiller, during the Civil War. In 1875, Sixkiller was appointed high sheriff of theCherokee Nation and warden of the National Penitentiary.

Five years later, in February, 1880, Sixkiller became the first captain of the United States Indian Police headquartered at Muskogee, Indian Territory . He also held a U.S. Deputy Marshal’scommission that allowed him to pursue these outlaws out of Indian Territory into Texas , Kansas,Missouri and Arkansas, as well as being a special agent for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad, which gave him access to any railroad property in pursuit of any bandit. With forty men under his command, tasked with policing Muskogee, one of the most dangerous towns in the Wild West, Sixkiller and his men dealt with bootleggers, cattle rustlers, murderers, train robbers, and all manner of lawless characters (smurched from http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-lawmenlist-s.html).

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I’d be most grateful.

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Thanks to my music-obsessed YA site manager, Bec Stafford, I’m collecting a soundtrack to help me with the planning stage of Cowpunk – the Series. Eclectic so far, I know, but each artist is giving me a little bit of what I need to ignite the creative supernova. Recs accepted and acknowledged. I’d prefer you leave them here to Facebook so I can keep track of them. So far I have Psychobilly Freakout by Reverend Horton Heat (True Blood on speed) and Crystal Frontier by Calexica (from Bec). House Rules by Kane (from me and Rena) and Nosebleed Section by Hill Top Hoods (me – SO love the energy in this clip).

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I’ve just heard from Tehani Wessely that Fablecroft Publishing will be reprinting my cow-punk story, Virgin Jackson in their upcoming anthology Australis Imaginarium. The story was originally published in agog! Smashing Stories edited by Cat Sparks.

I have such a strong affinity with this story that I’d actually love to write a novel series based on the character and world – just need a publisher to love it too. Maybe the right person will read Tehani’s antho!

Tehani says:

Boasting original cover art by Shaun Tan and award-winning stories by superstars of Australian speculative fiction such as Sean Williams, Margo Lanagan and Marianne de Pierres, Australis Imaginarium showcases Australian storytelling at its very best.

The Fablecroft site has a list of other confirmed stories. Publishing date September 2010.

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