Yesterday, at 3:30(ish) am, I sent in the final (FINAL [FINAL!!!]) Adobe Illustrator file for the map to accompany my book. I was unsatisfied with the previous iteration (elevations weren't properly fleshed out, some edges were rough, and it felt unfinished). Over the last 10 days, I have literally put in.... probably over 60 hours of work (yes you read that correctly, no I did not take time off work, tho I did have monday off) to polish it -- half of the effort was vectorizing the map, and the other half was adding contour lines after determining the final "highest elevation" (1.9km) and what I wanted each contour line gap to represent (25m increments). I streamed a few nights of edits, here's on of the saved VODs -- https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DH0rCpYyajZk%26fbclid%3DIwAR3aKK4JGWw1OAAjRWwtHvAlEOUy-p5GEyTBwTNYMIJ9Fy0iAauBMMEDzbE&h=AT1npt5RKXi7MyKjqE0u3s6gTbmGBgmM3wyO-qf30aq7of5j5dnF2FPOkqHwFFpHxq7fBA6H09XgG7fxEcqgfeXl_DOzUcV-Zt2bPBR-uDBwUbq5BHJ_IvmUpemoYyFf8yHKE1r6dg&__tn__=-UK-R&c%5B0%5D=AT1OVpNhkDqGoV9PU5HdeLjNy8I8nV9gGEtUD1rjevVAfe6dX7kDYivVkVnl7fRGJeKTSp9XfGSk4TQoppL16j7BX-3jeTIFDlWldQC2tIYlvimAMZUJSAgkfDHhm6d7P73HTe7wPUi5XMzFjl0BIcuMO5MXEPJevn7qTaHkAiDS_FBVWkwS">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0rCpYyajZk - this one was 4h 50m long. The longest editing session was just over 8 hours and ended at 5am.
I also wrote the preface for the book (frontmatter below), and the back cover summary (also below).
The book is in its final editing (punctuation, grammar, text formatting, etc) and the google doc for it is 109 pages long.
The first draft was about 38 pages. I would say roughly 100 of those pages are my own writing, with some spot edits / contributions by Wythe (Stillfleet creator) and our co-editors, the other ~10 pages were written by Wythe and a co-editor. 11pt font, if you're curious.
Our layout designer has the book roughly half-laid out and I've seen the early proofs; they're gorgeous. The team's artist has finished most of the artwork and when I saw the review proofs I nearly cried -- I had given him some VERY basic thumbnail sketches (((VERY. BASIC.))) and what he managed to create captured the vibe perfectly. I cannot begin to describe how amazing it is to see your ideas illustrated by someone else.
I feel like I just finished a dissertation. Crossing the deadline--surviving it--feels like a monumental accomplishment and the last 10 days were by far the most grueling. I promised myself that for the rest of the weekend, and maybe a couple days beyond, I'm doing no required work, going to sleep early(er), and prioritizing relaxation; my poor brain needs a break, and my body needs hella rest.
BOOK PREFACE
Desert and tidepools fascinate me. They both present different kinds of isolation: deserts isolating their inhabitants from normal survival infrastructure, and tidepools from their greater ecosystems. Both leaving their inhabitants behind, with a dearth of sustainability and disconnection from support. In a way, their similarities are almost ironic, each a predictable mystery.
For a tidepool, restorative relief is but hours away, when the tides wash back in with their fresh nutrients, new “friends,” and sometimes even a means of escape. “Making do” with what they have is an exercise in exaptation: repurposing the current bounty to fit their needs until the waters swell again. By contrast, a wasteland has used the decaying remains of hope for succor as fertile ground for adaptation: make it to the next day at any cost. “[Their] need will be the real creator,” the crucible of cruel optimization through natural selection. What will a curious interloper find, on first visit? What new friends, foods, and foes have arrived in the tidepool? Which inhabitants of the desert still persist and how have they changed?
When writing the first draft for this book, the notion of balance constantly bubbled up to the surface. Superficially, as themes of ecological and social order that allow the inhabitants of Radanaar to survive; but also with more subtlety: the development of the map worldbuilding with the narrative worldbuilding, creating obstacles and challenges that (hopefully!) sit between struggle and satisfaction, developing mechanics that reinforce themes but are also varied enough to be unique “pockets of flavor” while still working together in a greater thematic bouillabaisse.
Radanaar is partly a desert, its inhabitants weaving a cultural tapestry from environmental austerity; but in a way it is also a tidepool with a very long and unpredictable tidal period. A microcosm that isn’t refreshed regularly can’t rely on mere exaptation—eventually the resources run out. But adaptation on razor-thin margins can become brittle and vulnerable to the disruption of an unexpected tidal wash; particularly if the pull of the riptide currents are strong. What will be left behind when the tides recede?
BACK COVER
Voyage among the webs
The Rain Thieves, the second official Stillfleet venture and setting sourcebook, offers classic sand-blasted sci-fi danger and discovery on the minor province of Radanaar. This desert planet—populated by domesticated, yoghurt-producing centipedes and intelligent giant “spiders” (well, that word is close enough)—has been literally forgotten by the Co.
Players, as you undertake this sweeping wilderness-crawl, will you do the Co.’s bidding and destabilize the fragile ecosystems of Radanaar’s great cave complexes in the search for new fungus technologies or other resources to extract? Will you survive the dust cyclones and spider-ambushes? Will you discover the technical secrets of Kildz’s Antenna? Will you escort home a neighborhood of food tourists trapped here for two decades?
This pulp-tastic, politically charged, eco-horror venture is a great way to introduce new players to Stillfleet or challenge veterans with a campaign of rockside exploration and intrigue!