Readers have asked, “Why did you start the Flying Cloud?”. (Actually, what they really said was, “An online serial about a Royal Navy airship in the South Pacific crewed by English gentlemen, French jewel thieves, sultry island maidens, and Viking warrior-women? Right. Yeah. Sure thing,” but I’ll take this as a question.) The answer is simple. Airships are neat. The Royal Navy, the South Pacific, English gentlemen, French jewel thieves, sultry island maidens, and Viking warrior-women are all neat. So why not combine them all in one fast-moving mystery-adventure?
The story itself was my fault. The art was Young’s brilliant idea. And the mouseovers were suggested by TMC, who the world should treat with awe and respect. I’d like to thank all the readers who’ve taken time to sent ideas, suggestions, and corrections by… ye gods… email? That kind of dedication deserves admiration! Now that this blog is running, I’ll see about adding comments and the like to make this process easier.
How long will the saga continue? That all depends on you. But even as Season One draws to a close, plans are afoot for… Season Two…
Oh my Lord. I just finished reading episode 14 and can’t stop chuckling. Love it!
Bravo!
I linked in last night, and stayed up way too late last night reading 35 episodes. I finished catching up today.
I’m a big fan of science fiction, but I’ve always loved airships too.
With a few minor tweaks to history they continue and proliferate.
My only complaint is that more editing be done, even retroactive.
There are a few mistakes, but more often, sentences and dialog have a clipped, “1st draft” quality about them that would be easily corrected.
Many thanks for a ripping good tale.
Looking forward to many more episodes
Ken
Hi Rima, I’m glad you liked Episode 14! I wasn’t at all sure how it would come out. And that armadillo was the very devil to draw, because… well… how many times does one have occasion to practice drawing armadillos? And professional armadillo-drawers — or ‘armadillistes’, as they’re known in the cafes of Montmartre — can be hard to come by…
Hi Ken, I’m glad you approve. And… don’t we all like airships? Isn’t this one of the defining traits of humanity — one of the noteworthy qualities that separates us from other life forms?
I quite agree with you about editing. And I have been going back to revise things as you suggest, but it’s been difficult to manage rich dialogues and also keep to the 1100-word limit I felt was essential for a 1930’s-style serialized drama. I’ll give another go after I install the (eek!) Major Layout Changes I’m working on. And if there are any episodes you feel need particular attention, please let me know and I’ll tackle them first!
Paul,
Thanks for the reply.
I can certainly understand the difficulties imposed by an 1100 word limit. In school I despised essays with a minimum word count, though as often as not I would overrun any maximum, if imposed.
Whatever your layout changes are, I’m sure you’ll have your hands full for a while.
I’ll be happy to dig up a few of the items I feel deserve your attention.
Ahhh, The beauty of paperless publishing.
Having just 9 months experience with my first blog, my essay skills are still returning and growing to fit my current needs. Luckily for me, most
layout decisions are out of my hands. A major reason I started with a blog instead of a full website, which I may one day aspire to when my online materials reach critical mass.
Are you familiar with; Tales of the Brass Griffin and Flight of the Calliope? Both are Steampunk LTA flying ship, serialized adventures. The Brass Griffin flys in a signifigantly stranger Europe. The Flight of the Calliope isn’t even on Earth. And then there’s Agatha Clay Girl Genius.
Ken
Tales of the Brass Griffin and Flight of the Calliope? I was not aware of them until now, but they look quite intriguing. Thanks for the links! I’ll add them to the Online Writing List next revision — allegedly out of altruism, but also so I can link to them from my favorite coffeehouse.