So. On Monday I asked if anyone had a suggestion for what I should write about, today. 

"I would like you to post a blog about your novel. What it's about, what drew you to the story, how it came to be... not about the publishing process because that is probably a post for another time but about the book itself." --Tamela Ritter

And I asked, and she answered so... Thanks Tam. Sure.

What it's about:
That should be a super simple question, shouldn't it? Unless you happen to know me, and how hard I try to shoot myself in the foot when it comes to plotting. Also, I sort of hate answering this question because what a book is about to me, even as the writer, is maybe not what it'll be about to you. If you disagree with what I say next, I'd love to hear it.

On the face, it's about a guy who does the best he can to avoid any kind of responsibility. He lives on a little back-water planet, with his best friend, and they both do odd jobs to make ends meet. And then the world starts to go more than a little crazy around him and he has to make decisions. There are inept government officials, and shadowy organizations, and a woman who could be the girl of his dreams. He might do something about the 'girl of his dreams' part, if he gets them all out alive.

What drew you:
The characters always reel me in. Especially a character like Orion (Rye) Bartleby. There's an inherent problem with the way Orion views himself. If you asked him he'd tell you he was, at best, a blunt instrument. He'd say he's not too clever and not too useful. But he's wrong. And that internal misconception drew me. It made me wonder what he was going to do--how he'd react--when the people around him and the situations they were in challenged that. It's one thing to be footloose and fancy free when nobody needs you, but when you have to let go of that self-image what's left?


How it came to be:
Hehe. Right. So. Back in 2010 (I think) it was like the week before NaNoWriMo started, and I didn't have a plot yet. I mean I had options. I had sequels to books I'd already written (I wasn't particularly interested in any of them) and the entire plot for a paranormal/coming-home thing that's way too autobiographical to actually publish. Back in August I'd written this giant futuristic fanfic, and one of the things I like to do when I'm a bit bereft of inspiration is go back and read old stuff. 


In this crazy, long-winded fanfic I'd written a conversation where two characters start talking about what their favorite books are (don't judge me) and because I over-think freaking everything, one of them had to have a book that wasn't real and reasons. His reasons basically boiled down to him identifying with this character who'd been told his entire life he was worthless, and then sometime as an adult he'd had to grow past that and find his own self-worth. I'd given his favorite book a title, and mentioned a couple of his favorite plot points, and my brain just went "you know, it's October 27th. You should just write that."


Now obviously there's editing, and the book that I sat down and started on Nov 1st wouldn't look much like the thing you can buy a copy of today (thank ****). There were people who just kind of showed up on dusty street corners without asking me first--Addy was disturbingly adept at not doing what I wanted her to--and like most things, what I thought was going to be the simple bit turned out to be incredibly complicated. But hey, what's life without a little challenge?

So. I hope that answered your questions Tamela. Thanks for the opportunity to ramble on about my book with impunity. 

Side Note: Ashley asked for a post about tea, particularly in the Americas, and that's probably going to take a little research. Come back and look for it on Monday ;)

And check back on Friday, for sciency stuff about women made of awesome.

A few months ago I wrote this post about Mary Anning, who did some really awesome things like discovering the Plesiosaur in a time when women weren't--at least seen to be--useful for much scientifically.  And on Monday we talked about Thonis-Heracleion, and I mentioned the early days of Marine Archaeology. Which is when I stumbled on our topic for today, Joan du Plat Taylor. 

Connected posts make me happy.

So, anyway. Joan du Plat Taylor was born in Scotland in 1906. And when sources say she became a Marine Archaeologist despite having no formal training, they mean no formal training. Reportedly Joan's mom wouldn't let her attend school anywhere. Even the normal 'carry a book on your head' kind of finishing school girls went to in the WWI era.

Despite this she was apparently well read--a contemporary said she read her father's books--and scientifically minded. Her father was badly gassed in World War I, and after the war they started spending their winters in Cyprus. Probably so he could actually breathe. Against her mother's wishes she started volunteering in the gift shop at the The Cyprus Museum in Nicosia. By 1932 she'd gone from giving tours and selling knickknacks to becoming the Assistant Curator at the Museum and learning field methods. 

She returned to London to live with her mother for the duration of World War II, and served as first an ambulance driver, and then a censor at the Ministry of Information. In 1945, again without any formal training, she became the Librarian at the University of London Museum of Archaeology, and held that position until she retired in 1970. Then, she was a founding member of the Nautical Archaeological Society and also it's first president, and editor of the International Journal for Marine Archaeology from it's inception in 1972 to until 1980.

Long story short, she's considered one of the first ever Marine Archaeologists.

I've got nowhere to go with this, I just thought you'd all like to bask in the awesome with me. 

If you've got the time and inclination there's a much longer, academic biography of her here.

Side note: I've referred to her as a Marine Archaeologist here, but if you follow any of those links you're likely to see Nautical Archaeologist, or Maritime Archaeologist. Your guess is as good as mine, whether or not that's mistaken definitions, or non-standardized terminology, or a factor of her early placement in the history of Underwater Archaeology as a thing, or some mix of all three.  If you've got a thought I'd love to hear it.