Hi, everyone! I’m excited because today I have the privilege to host talented and creative author, C. S. Boyack. Enjoy!
Thanks for the invitation, Vashti. You’re welcome to promote at my place any time you like. I’m here to talk about my newest book, Voyage of the Lanternfish.
I try to make every tour post unique, to give people a reason to read the post. This time the topic is some of the big decisions that went into this story. All authors have to make these kinds of decisions, and I’m interest to see if others faced similar things in drafting their stories.
I’ve written before about the plate of peas approach, where you scrape options away until the peas that remain are your story. That’s kind of the topic here.
My big decisions were Earth, or a fantasy world? Cutting throats or a bit more compassion. And finally, “Ere ye gonna write a whole novel wi nought but pirate speak, lad?”
One of the things on my mind was distancing myself from the most popular pirate franchise in history. I love Captain Jack, but this isn’t intended to be fan fiction. I decided to create my own world.
Part of this was to avoid going to places like Port Royal, Tortuga, and the rest. There may be some similarities, but I want my world to be bigger and contain different possibilities. I may have pulled a fast one on naming an island. Tortuga means turtle or tortoise. It’s the pirate stronghold. I needed one of these too, so I called mine Lagarto, which means lizard. I changed one reptile for another.
I also took my crew to places similar to Asia, the Mediterranean Coast, and even some wild moors.
I stayed consistent with the countries, even if readers don’t pick up on it. The bad guys are from a country much like England. There is a northern country that never gets visited, but all the ties to it are Germanic. This includes the original name of the ship that will become Lanternfish. My Asian part of the world is a mash up of several cultures. I stayed mostly Chinese, but allowed some drift into other areas too. It’s a fantasy world and this is one of the luxuries.
Pirates weren’t good people in reality. They came from all walks of life, but the situation that appealed to me was desperation. Common folk were treated like animals by those in power. Some of them developed a bit of backbone and rebelled. These people are the bulk of my pirate crew.
There were some looking to get rich quick, others who were more interested in striking a blow than gaining riches. In a novel, it’s a balancing act. I need readers to like my characters and be on their side. I went with the compassion, but a tempered version of it. No torturing prisoners, or walking the plank in this story. They are pirates, so there are some violent moments involved.
When it comes to pirate speak, I love it. However, it’s a nightmare to write, and spell check doesn’t like it either. This is one of those things that could drive readers insane too.
I chose to write it like any other book, but there are some secondary characters who drift into pirate speak. I ain’t afraid to butcher the English language a bit… in small doses. I want enough to get the point across without burning out my readers’ eyes trying to get through it all.
Readers will have to decide if these were the right decisions, of course. I love the story, but I could be a bit biased.
I hope your readers will give Lanternfish a chance. I’ll drop off all the important stuff for Vashti to add to the post.
How about it, you authors out there? What similar circumstances have you faced in writing your own books? I’d love to get some conversations going in the comments.
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Blurb:
An honorable man is mistaken for his disreputable father. Now he’s pushed into a political scheme to start a war that will spread across multiple kingdoms. James Cuttler’s fiancé is being held captive to ensure he goes through with the plan.
He soon decides his skills are at sea and procures a ship to wage war upon those who disrupted his simple life. He can’t do it alone, so he recruits a band of cutthroats to help him. But first, they need guns and munitions to outfit the ship properly. Deception and trickery will only get them so far. Eventually, they’re going to have to engage the enemy.
James’ goals aren’t necessarily the same as his crew. It’s a delicate balancing act to collect enough loot to keep his crew happy, while guiding them back to rescue the girl.
Voyage of the Lanternfish is filled with adventure, magic, and monsters. Lots of monsters. Hoist the colors and come along for the ride.
Purchase Link:
http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B07MP8V633
Bio:
I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.
I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century, and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.
I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.
Craig
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Connect with C. S. “Craig” Boyack on social media:
Blog: Entertaining Stories
Amazon Author Page
BookBub
Goodreads
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I hope you enjoyed today’s feature. Check out Craig’s fascinating blog and follow him on social media. He’s a very talented author and a great supporter of other indie writers.
I hear you about the language issue. I’m currently writing a piece set in another time and I find myself researching words to ensure they were in existence in that period.
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I get it. Google translate was my friend for part of this one. It may not seem like much, but it all matters.
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Hi Mark. I had to do the same for the books in my Fantasy Angels Series.
Thanks for dropping by and supporting Craig.
😊
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I love this post! You are braver than I for writing in a pirate’s tongue. 😉 I love certain pirate movies, but I’ve never read a pirate’s book (unless you count Peter Pan). 😛 That being said, this one sounds amazing!
I created a new world for my fantasy series, and like you, I wanted a certain familiarity, but I wanted to put my own spin on it. It’s harder for readers to rip apart your description of a place when your place doesn’t really exist. Lol! 🙂
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There is some pirate-speak, but not much. I tried to set the stage early, then drift into something easier on the eyes. Thanks for commenting today, Yvette.
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Hi Yvette. Craig is always an interesting guest. I love world building because I enjoy transporting readers to places they’ve never been. It’s also the reason I enjoy reading Fantasy. Thank you for visiting today!😊💕
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Thanks for hosting me today, Vashti. You’re always welcome to borrow my space when you need it.
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It’s always a pleasure having you on my blog. Your creativity and imagination are off the charts, my friend. I hope you do great with your new release. I’m looking forward to reading it.😁xo
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Aww, thank you so much.
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Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
Lanternfish is at anchor over at Vashti Q. Vega’s place today. The topic is big decisions we have to make when writing a novel. Come on over and share some of yours.
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Great post. I agree. You need to make sure you use the correct language and appropriate descriptions for the time period. I enjoyed the book immensely. I can’t wait for the next one. Best of luck with the release.
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Hello Michele! I’m sure Craig will be ecstatic when he reads your comment. Thank you so much for stopping by and supporting him. 🙂
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I hadn’t stopped to think about the pirate speak part of the book, but you handled it really well. It added spot color here and there which I really enjoyed.
Seriously, Craig, you outdid yourself with this book. I already miss the characters and the world you created. I still have my fingers crossed there will be another Lanterfish voyage in the future.
Great job of hosting, Vashti. I thought I was subscribed to your blog before. Doh! Pardon the oversight. I’ve corrected that now!
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Glad I dragged you over here. Vashti has a great blog. I like spot color. An entire book of this would get tiresome. That’s one of the reasons James was more of the officer and gentleman type. The crew drifted into pirate-ese, pidgin English, and a few Chinese words.
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Thank you, Craig. You made a wise decision not to use pirate-ese in the entire book. I’ve seen some writers get carried away with that kind of thing.
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Hi Mae! Craig is a wonderful guest and I’m always happy to have him on. Thank you very much!💗
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Thanks for hosting, Vashti. So nice to see Lanternfish here.
Craig, you raise a great point about language. Reading a whole novel in pirate-speak would be exhausting. I’d probably give up long before the end. But not having any would make me miss the flavor. Sprinkling it in with the secondary characters is a great idea. I sprinkle foreign language into some of my work (Italian words or phrases in my Medici Protectorate series). I try not to do it often and not to use terms that have to be understood in English. Usually curses or terms of endearment, so if the reader doesn’t get it, she hasn’t missed out on anything crucial. Great post. Wishing you continued success.
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Hi Staci! It’s my pleasure to host Craig here. I agree with your wise and insightful comment. Happy Friday! 😀 xo
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I think you got the balance of pirates and compassion in great proportion by making James and Dan–both honorable men–turn to piracy to save Bonnie. You made the pirates feel like pirates when James had to keep them happy by winning enough loot for them. None of James’s crew would have been happy without battles and bootie.
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Hello Judi Lynn! Thanks for stopping by and supporting Craig. 🙂
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Craig is having a wonderful tour. I’m seeing him everywhere! Congrats on the new book. 😀
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It’s been great, but is winding up now. Thanks for coming along.
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He sure is, and I’m happy my blog is one of the stops on his tour. Thank you for visiting, Diana. ❤ xo
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I love the freedom of fantasy, but you are right it has to be familar, too. I’m with you I love pirate speak in movies, but not so sure about reading it an entire book. A lot of thought goes into creating a new world and I’m looking forward to reading yours soon. Thanks for hosting Vashti:)
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A lot of people don’t understand that, but you have to root the reader into something they can understand. Those decisions are some of the fun behind writing fantasy.
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Hi Denise! It’s a pleasure hosting Craig. I think even in movies too much pirate speak would be annoying. Fantasy, even with our world building and creatures, has to be grounded in reality for it to work. Thank you and happy Friday! ❤ xo
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I agree, little is better when it comes to language. I find if it’s too much, it pulls me out of the book. Great post, Craig. I hope to read Lanternfish soon!
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Thanks again, Jacquie.
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Thanks for stopping by, Jacquie! Happy Friday! 😀
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I can just imagine how difficult pirate speak would be to write. Big task. Thanks, Vashti for hosting Craig today.
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Tough to read too. A little does the job and seems to work.
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😄
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It’s fun hosting Craig! Thanks for stopping by and supporting Craig, John. Happy Friday! ❤
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Great post, Craig. Every genre presents its own unique challenges. I love doing the research and have discovered so many new and wonderful outlets for creativity in doing so. Maintaining that connection to our readers is pivotal and you do it beautifully, Craig. I’m so looking forward to Lanternfish. Thanks for hosting Craig today, Vashti.
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Thank you so much. Hope you enjoy the voyage.
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Hi Soooz! I completely agree, every genre does present its own unique challenges, but with Fantasy we have to make sure that our completely fictitious worlds and lifeforms are believable to our readers. It’s like Tom Clancy’s quote says, “The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” I love doing the research too. Thanks so much for stopping by and supporting Craig! Enjoy the weekend! ❤ xo
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I thought you did a fantastic job with the language and keeping it with the time period you set the story in. I hadn’t thought about it, but yes, I’m sure spell-check was a nightmare. Another great blog post! Thanks for hosting, Vashti!
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Spell check doesn’t like Chinese words or variations of words like Capitan.
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I had to add a lot of words to spell check while I was working on The Fall of Lilith. Once you add the word spell check will not bother you unless you misspell it. 🙂
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True, but I write with Apple Pages. I think there is an option there.
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I was happy to host Craig. Thanks for coming by, Jan! Happy Friday! ❤
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The question of writing in a dialect is an interesting one, Craig. I honestly do not enjoy reading a book that is entirely written in a dialect as it makes the reading so cumbersome. I think to write it like a normal book with a sprinkling of “piratese” was a good decision. Thanks for hosting Craig, Vashti.
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Word processors don’t like it either and it slows the process down. Dialect is a useful tool, but should be used sparingly.
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I completely agree, Robbie. Craig made a wise choice. Thanks for stopping by and supporting him. Have a great weekend! ❤ xo
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Ahoy, Craig! I’m glad I stopped by today. The book sounds interesting, although I’m not sure how I feel about compassionate pirates. Lol I will definitely take a closer look at the book and probably pick up a copy.
Vashti, thanks for hosting. 😀
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Thank you so much, Rhani.
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That’s great news, Rhani. Thanks for stopping by and supporting Craig. 😀
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