[Rocket Sheep]

I liked that. Marianne de Pierres has done the same thing in Parrish's world to an extent.



Dear Sheep--re the "other" meerkat. How do you know it's another meerkat?

'Cause he didn't say, "You smelly little bastard! I was wondering where you'd got to!" when he found him in Nicola's apartment?

[Eventine]

Most of them will be collected in the Bantam trade paperback of Veniss Underground, which is nice, since they'll finally all be together

Are they also included in Secret Life? I'd like to get it at one stage, and that'd be a good bonus.

[JeffVan]

Yes, they're also in Secret Life.

So, has anyone noticed that Parts 1 and 2 of Veniss actually take place during Part III?

Jeff

[Eventine]

I alluded to part 2 taking place during part 3 above when I mentioned the final paragraph and Shadrach's influence - the whole smell of the canal, being lifted, etc. I assumed after reading part 3 that part 2 was written in the second person because that was the way that Shadrach experienced it - as Nicola.

And part 1 has Nicks' self pity about being discarded and living in a dump (although he doesn't mention his physical condition - I assume because he thought he could be "fixed").

I believe you were nominated for the world fantasy award not just on the basis of the vivid imagery within the novel, but also for the interesting way it was written - with three perspectivfes all intricately tied together.

Did the first person come in part 1, second in part 2 and third in part 3 on purpose, or did the story just work that way? I can't really see them being mixed around.

[JeffVan]

Yeah, that's why it's written in that dreamy second person. It was a lot of fun to write it that way, just in terms of being able to be surreal in a SF setting but have a definite reason for doing it that way. I think it's somewhat obvious, but a lot of readers don't pick up on it. And, yes, Nicholas is telling his story from a garbage dump.

I may have answered about POV before in a previous post.

Jeff

[Eventine]

I may have answered about POV before in a previous post.

Yep, you did. Sorry!

[Rocket Sheep]

Did you answer the question about the other meerkat yet? Or do you prefer confused sheep?

Also a question from the Australians... for reasons that are obvious to a few with little fuzzy ears to the ground... did you find Prime a good publisher to work with? Huge marketing budget, lots of support, supreme confidence, that kind of thing?

[JeffVan]

I honestly don't recall about the meerkat--maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.

Prime Books has done an excellent job of finding new talent and of publishing interesting books. Obviously, they're an indie press, so they don't have the resources large publishers do, but they pay royalties on time and so long as you stay in contact with them during the promotion phase and you communicate what your expectations are, they're a good publisher to go with, in terms of indie presses. And writers such as myself, Kirsten, and others have gone on to major publisher deals in part because of Prime taking chances others would not.

But it depends on what kind of writer you are. If you're not pro-active, you don't follow up, and you don't take responsibility before and after your book is published, you'll run into problems with any indie press you publish with, and with many large publishers. You get out what you put in.

I know some people have engaged in rumor-mongering about Prime. Let me just say, for the record, that I've had my own issues with Prime from time to time, but I do think they're one of the best indies out there right now, and I do recommend them--you just need to be cognizant of the limitations of the indie press and the strengths, and allocate your own efforts and time accordingly.

Nobody ever said this business was supposed to be easy.

Jeff

[Rocket Sheep]

My fuzzy ear on the ground doesn't listen to rumour-mongering so that wasn't where the question was going. But thanks for the answer.

Are you sure you don't know about the meerkat? That was such a pivotal moment... Shadrach let down the love of his life because of that meerkat and yet it was never again mentioned. He must have a good reason for choosing that meekat over Nicola or he's just a weak-willed... whatsit. Quick, edit your answer or I'm never going to be a satisfied reader... and sorry for being the most annoying one.

[JeffVan]

Sheepie:

I honestly don't know about the Other Meerkat. It might've been John the B. or not. The thing is, since it happens before Shadrach finds out Nicola's gotten herself in a bit of trouble (to say the least), I don't see any real reason why Shadrach wouldn't walk off with the meerkat.

Maybe it's Schroedinger's Meerkat?

Jeff