tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post7331553078146192593..comments2024-03-28T21:13:53.845+00:00Comments on Fabled Lands: Things within the shape of thingsDave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-47200860825593924562016-08-11T22:17:16.392+01:002016-08-11T22:17:16.392+01:00Sounds like a good plan DaveSounds like a good plan DaveGavin Orpinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14429308165174493624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-43805282926306501612016-08-11T17:59:14.050+01:002016-08-11T17:59:14.050+01:00Come to think of it I might have needed a lie-in t...Come to think of it I might have needed a lie-in the next day, Gavin. Ah, but fun. Btw Leo's coming up to London soon if you want to meet him and try for eleven Singhas...Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-87103095604881532382016-08-11T14:19:58.333+01:002016-08-11T14:19:58.333+01:00Dave, you are correct in that nobody fell over aft...Dave, you are correct in that nobody fell over after that very nice Thai meal last year, but we did get a taxi afterwards, and I did need to lay down once home..Gavin Orpinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14429308165174493624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-38755956813869860992016-08-08T22:21:47.720+01:002016-08-08T22:21:47.720+01:00CG has ruined many a film, much prefer old school....CG has ruined many a film, much prefer old school. I purchased The Innocents when I got Binscombe, so that will be on at the weekend. I'm running out of unseen films with good reviews to watch.<br /><br />Thanks again for the info and posts.Andy Fletcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735277481108984596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-1497363377565552332016-08-08T20:42:42.713+01:002016-08-08T20:42:42.713+01:00I did a big chunk of story development for The Fra...I did a big chunk of story development for The Frankenstein Wars - plotlines, descriptive text, major events, characters, dialogue, etc. But really that's just been the springboard for Paul Gresty, who is writing the thing.<br /><br />I like a good scare, though you're right that they're few and far between these days (unless you look at the political news). I was enjoying Andrés Muschietti's film Mama, but the last five minutes of CG monster face showed too much and robbed the story of any impact. A shame, 'cause it was pretty good and creepy up till then.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-47609782582803683862016-08-08T20:06:35.463+01:002016-08-08T20:06:35.463+01:00Will look out for that. I here Ash vs Evil Dead is...Will look out for that. I here Ash vs Evil Dead is good if you like the originals. I can imagine Binscombe translating very well, in the right hands of course. I can see a bit of it in The League Of Gentlemen, but that's just Mau opinion. Don't personally think there's been anything scary on telly since Children Of The Stones!<br /><br />I did think that amount of beer was very "Conan-esq" of you in one night! I did once nod off in a restaurant having had ten ish, so I've got form. Did you write The Frankenstein Wars? Couldn't quite tell looking at the web site just now. My cousin has an I-Phone by the way, so I'll get to read your other Frankenstein yet.Andy Fletcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735277481108984596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-89936402336817692472016-08-07T23:53:40.533+01:002016-08-07T23:53:40.533+01:00Recently people have been praising Stranger Things...Recently people have been praising Stranger Things to me as a homage to '80s horror, but I have to say that the TV show I'd really like to see in that vein is the Binscombe Tales one.<br /><br />Btw when I said I might once have managed 50 bottles of Singha, I did mean in a month. In one evening it's more like ten bottles. Ask Gavin Orpin, we did it last year after The Frankenstein Wars crowdfunding campaign and nobody actually fell over.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-82858185600064793042016-08-07T20:39:36.331+01:002016-08-07T20:39:36.331+01:00I'd like to say it's nowhere near that man...I'd like to say it's nowhere near that many due to high end pub prizes, where in reality it's ten more if you go the right supermarket! Mental note, never go for a curry with you. At that rate of knots I'd be flat on my face before the poppadoms were finished.<br /><br />Quite a way through Binscombe already. Just my cup of tea, thank you. I can guess at small shades of influence from different authors, whilst retaining its own distinct style. I could hazard a stronger guess at least one TV/script writer has also read it at some stage.Andy Fletcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735277481108984596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-50782427860646652482016-08-06T19:33:33.748+01:002016-08-06T19:33:33.748+01:00Let me know what you think, Andy. The ideal time f...Let me know what you think, Andy. The ideal time for reading the tales would be as the dark evenings of autumn draw in, but I reckon you can have a nice shiver on a summer's day too.<br /><br />Hmm, £100 a month on Singha - that's fifty bottles! Mind you, in the old days, with a nice hot Thai curry to go with, I could probably manage that.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-9166937347579773802016-08-06T19:26:22.236+01:002016-08-06T19:26:22.236+01:00Thanks Dave. Let me know when it's set up and...Thanks Dave. Let me know when it's set up and I'd be delighted to chip in. I'm trying to stay off the Singha's for a month, so there's your first £100 right there!<br /><br />p.s. Binscombe Tales complete series has just arrived, so looking forward to reading that.Andy Fletcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735277481108984596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-65579166928390492662016-08-06T17:30:37.656+01:002016-08-06T17:30:37.656+01:00That's a big question, Andy. Fabled Lands LLP ...That's a big question, Andy. Fabled Lands LLP was set up about ten years ago with a signficant initial investment. I wanted it to focus on creating a portfolio of different "properties" in book or comics form. The idea was that the books that did well could then be developed in other media.<br /><br />In the event, that's not the direction the company took for the first couple of years, instead lavishing tens of thousands of dollars on a Fabled Lands Wiki and various other attempts to do something with the existing gamebooks. That turned out to be a mistake, and about five or six years ago we tried to revisit the IP portfolio plan with Dark Lord: The Teenage Years -- which paid off, but one book series does not constitute a portfolio, I'm afraid. Whether A Shadow on the Heart was the right concept to follow up with or not, six months' work produced nothing, so that's more or less it for Fabled Lands LLP.<br /><br />However, I do like the idea of a direct relationship with readers, where they can contribute the funding and (more importantly) the enthusiasm to help a project to completion. So I'm currently setting up a Patreon page with Leo Hartas to help pay for our ongoing comics saga Mirabilis. If we get even as much as £100 a month I'll be extremely happy.<br /><br />Wrt likeability in Wrong Side of the Galaxy, it was Jamie's original idea to make the hero (then called Gazza Greene) a bit of a thug and a bully. His adventures as a very reluctant starship captain would then be the key to him learning to be a better person. We both thought that would work, but the agent and the publisher insisted on toning his unpleasant side right down, making him a weepy mummy's boy, and renaming him Harry. Apparently it's a popular first name among kids' characters, as the publishers' market research department told them. <br /><br />That's how books are put together these days. It's all steered by marketing. The editorial department get very little say, and they wouldn't pick any book that boys like anyway. So you can see why I'm turning to Patreon!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-81826988151507721832016-08-06T09:23:26.950+01:002016-08-06T09:23:26.950+01:00I really should learn to check these things before...I really should learn to check these things before publishing, not after. See how many mistakes you can identify!Andy Fletcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735277481108984596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-250380442706248192016-08-06T09:18:02.649+01:002016-08-06T09:18:02.649+01:00Can you could me/us some detail on the Fabled Land...Can you could me/us some detail on the Fabled Lands LLP set up, Dave? Apologies if you've covered in previous posts. Only reason I ask, do Jamie and yourself not have editorial control over what gets published and the tone of the material? I might be alone, but I would prefer to pay, say, £100 for the book you wanted to write (a bit more if you sign it, along with my Golden Dragon books!), rather than £10 for an edited mainstream book geared towards the teen mass market, which as you mentioned in a previous post, has been done umpteen times already (in the vast majority of cases not as well written, regardless of how successful). £100 sounds a lot, but when you equate it to a month's TV subscription, a few rounds of golf, a good night out etc, it's relative in terms of value for money.<br /><br />I agree re likeability being overrated. I consider myself reasonable likeable, but I wouldn't want to read about me! I remember Dragonlance being one of the first fantasy novels I read. I've no idea how the books stands up to the test of time, but by far the most interesting and rounded character was the power hungry Mage in it. Providing not one dimensional or irritating, I can imagine far more interesting for you to write about and me us to read about. Perhaps not a great example, but Dark Lord was much better than TWSOFTG for precisely that reason.<br /><br />I guess what I'm getting at in a very long winded way, are your agents/editors actually wrong given your reader base?!Andy Fletcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735277481108984596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-57937529621112954782016-08-05T20:41:48.077+01:002016-08-05T20:41:48.077+01:00Thank you, Joe. I don't tend to get much feedb...Thank you, Joe. I don't tend to get much feedback for non-gamebook posts, so it's nice to know that some people are appreciating them.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-35621049336522245082016-08-05T17:16:57.451+01:002016-08-05T17:16:57.451+01:00:) Enjoyable to read. Thank you very much for post...:) Enjoyable to read. Thank you very much for posting them.JoeCrystalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09704987336977651777noreply@blogger.com