secret stuff

[adelaidesean]

Satima Flavell Neist contacted me a couple of days ago to discuss Saturn Returns in relation to an article she was working on for the Specusphere ("Write a Review Worth Reading", online here). We discussed some of the themes in the novel and the way I'd encoded them in the name of the main character. These particular details are now revealed for all to see at the link above (just scroll down a bit).

I assume that every writer plays these kind of extracurricular games with their stories. Would that be fair to say?

Anyway, all my books have sneaky details woven into the larger fabric, not all of them so profound, from giving Tripod a walk-on role in a Star Wars novel to slagging off people who've pissed me off in the past--in highly disguised forms, of course.

Saturn Returns is no different. There's "Cat's Arse", which I'm sure most people have guessed has something to do with our beloved catsparx (never ever, however, did I consider calling the series "Arstropolis"). There's Bianca Biancotti, no actual relation to deborahb but inspired by the same. Cat gets another throwaway mention thanks to a projectile rifle called "Sparks", and in fact every named weapon refers either to people and places in my life, or to the various Gothic authors whose work I've nicked for quotes and occasional dialogue.

It goes on. Hyperabad is obviously a typo away from Hyderabad. The ruined liner Deodati is a nod to Mary Shelley. The name of the "Aldobrand Cipher" comes from Robert Maturin's play "The Castle of St Aldobrand".

Maturin, in fact, appears several times in this book and Cenotaxis, the linking novella coming out from MonkeyBrain Books next month. The founder of the First Church of the Return is called "Mother Turin", which can be abbreviated to "Ma Turin". Another play, "Fredolfo", became a place-name, as did his great-uncle, Oscar Wilde. His pseudonym, Dennis Jasper Murphy, gave me the name of the main character of Cenotaxis. "Balzac beamers" are named after Honore de Balzac, who wrote a sequel to Maturin's classic Melmoth the Wanderer in 1835.

Friend and editor Lou Anders also gets two nods, once thanks to his surname (the proto-Fort Ampersand took its name from an anagram of its primary personality, Pam Anders) and his home town, which plays a major role Cenotaxis.

Some of the references are more obvious than others. The next book in the series, Earth Ascendant, moves away from Maturin to another famous Gothic writer, from whom I've lifted such creations as Bostonian sidearms, the Metzengerstein Nebula, Hansfaall base on the dark side of the moon, a colony called Al-A'raaf and another called Ulalune, conspiracy theorist from Tau Ceti called Reynolds and the mythical novel Zaknythos, by Henre Le Rennet and Edgar A. Perry.

I'm sure that most readers don't know that I'm having a whale of time like this behind the pages, and I'm sure that it doesn't add much, really, to the finished work. But to anyone who does go looking, I hope that details like this will surprise and delight them. Such eager readers--not to mention friends with legendary arses--deserve to be rewarded.

Comments

[deborahkalin.livejournal.com]

from giving Tripod a walk-on role in a Star Wars novel

Ha! That was you? I must confess, when I heard about that one, I wondered if it was your book. Which doubtless had rather more to do with you being the only SW author I know, but I shall claim it as a psychic ability nonetheless ;)

It amuses me that you made Gatesy a girl.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Guilty as charged. I was stunned and amused that the reference slipped past everyone else involved in the book--not just numerous editors and proof-readers, but my collaborator as well. That only encouraged me to see what else I could get away with.

Watch this space... :-)

[girliejones.livejournal.com]

I was actually talking about this with someone recently - I would imagine its fun(ny) for people in your close circle and for complete strangers who don't know you, they wouldn't know the difference. But for people in between those two extremes, the injoke referencing is very distracting and throws you out of the story.

[ashamel.livejournal.com]

It always sort of annoyed me when I heard other people do it -- but then I went and put the Gargoyle Club in my book. It's just one of those things that happens, I think.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

If a private reference is so obvious that even those not getting it are noticing that something is going on, then I reckon there's a problem. You never want your reader to feel like she's missing out on a private gag.

OTOH, the real world is the best place to find cool names, so I reckon it's perfectly okay to cannibalize from available parts.

[mondyboy.livejournal.com]

But the question - when am *I* gonna feature in one of your stories :-)

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

It certainly begs an answer, doesn't it?

You've appeared in novels before. Is there any type of character you haven't played yet? I'll see if I can deliver...

[mondyboy.livejournal.com]

I've appeared in only one novel - and that was Kate Orman's Blue Box and I was playing an American, computer obsessed, 1980s version of myself.

And I'll take anything... my fragile ego will be pleased either way :-)

[satimaflavell.livejournal.com]

Thanks for including the link, Sean. It's driving traffic to The Specusphere and I have my fingers crossed that some of them will be inspired to write reviews for us!

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I was literally just writing an email to let you know. :-)

[paulhaines.livejournal.com]

Hi Sean,

Your email has been bouncing, so I thought I'd try it here.

The book arrived the other day. I opened up the table of contents and started laughing! Full on! I hadn't realised this book was SO Gary Numan.

And then I skipped straight to Appendix C for a quick read before heading off for my 2nd round of radiation.

thanks again, that's really cool...

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

I hate it when my emails bounce. Will look into it and see what's going on...

Otherwise, hurrah! Too much Gary is never enough. :-)

I hope the radiation wasn't too horrible.