Writing The Bastet
Jan. 20th, 2008 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsSo, days after complaining about suffering a touch of writer's block and worrying myself about the Bastet universe and it's unfinished stories, I sat down and started writing and now have two Bastet stories well underway. Curiously, my brain seems to be heading in a strongly queer direction this week. Maybe I just need a boyfriend. Anyway, 6000 words this weekend, first thing in the morning now. I'm trying to get into the habit of reading my email after I've done my requisite 1,000 words.
In Desert Soul (1947), an American seaman named Jake Hunt, dishonorably discharged and forcibly ejected from the U.S.S. Columbia at the end of WW2, has tramped around the South Pacific islands until he picks one blasted and now deserted patch of green as his own. He went there to be alone, to wrestle with his demons, and to figure out what to do with his life now that he has avoided the "queer stockade." After a year of being alone, a Bastet woman named Jina washes up on his shore, shipwrecked, and with a huge sunburst tattoo on her shoulder marking her as property of the Sanheihui, a group of Indonesian pirates, backed by Hong Kong syndicates, who troll the Tolles Strait. Two weeks after that, a seaplane lands on the island and drops off Lyon, a well-spoken Austrialian Bastet who plans to spend the next four months on the island, birdwatching, as part of his university training. Like most people, Jake knows nothing about the Bastet; now he lives with two of them. How can Jake wrestle with his demons when they're so close? And will the Sanheihui come looking for Jina?
In Iowa Stray (1904), a young man named Matt Henry is tending to the chickens on his family farm one morning when he sees a figure totter and fall into a drainage ditch near the railroad tracks. He finds a beautiful young Bastet named Nico lying there, bruised and bloody, with a broken leg, and no pants. Nobody in Jackson, Iowa has ever seen a Bastet, and few know any more than rumor, innuendo and legend. Nico's presence disrupts the normal routine of the household, and brings out feelings in Matt and, to his surprise, Matt's father, that will leave all of them changed forever (which is kinda the point of any story, ne?).
In Desert Soul (1947), an American seaman named Jake Hunt, dishonorably discharged and forcibly ejected from the U.S.S. Columbia at the end of WW2, has tramped around the South Pacific islands until he picks one blasted and now deserted patch of green as his own. He went there to be alone, to wrestle with his demons, and to figure out what to do with his life now that he has avoided the "queer stockade." After a year of being alone, a Bastet woman named Jina washes up on his shore, shipwrecked, and with a huge sunburst tattoo on her shoulder marking her as property of the Sanheihui, a group of Indonesian pirates, backed by Hong Kong syndicates, who troll the Tolles Strait. Two weeks after that, a seaplane lands on the island and drops off Lyon, a well-spoken Austrialian Bastet who plans to spend the next four months on the island, birdwatching, as part of his university training. Like most people, Jake knows nothing about the Bastet; now he lives with two of them. How can Jake wrestle with his demons when they're so close? And will the Sanheihui come looking for Jina?
In Iowa Stray (1904), a young man named Matt Henry is tending to the chickens on his family farm one morning when he sees a figure totter and fall into a drainage ditch near the railroad tracks. He finds a beautiful young Bastet named Nico lying there, bruised and bloody, with a broken leg, and no pants. Nobody in Jackson, Iowa has ever seen a Bastet, and few know any more than rumor, innuendo and legend. Nico's presence disrupts the normal routine of the household, and brings out feelings in Matt and, to his surprise, Matt's father, that will leave all of them changed forever (which is kinda the point of any story, ne?).
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Strange coincidence
Date: 2008-01-20 10:11 pm (UTC)You've piqued my interest. I'm goin' story hunting, unless you tell me these aren't available online...
Sounds like a good read to me.
Date: 2008-01-20 11:27 pm (UTC)When are you going to be posting more journal entries?
What exactly is your posting schedule? This would be handy if it was listed on your main page. I do read your blog, but knowing when to drop into your fiction would be helpful.
MPK
no subject
Date: 2008-01-21 02:58 am (UTC):flirt: :flirt: Well, I'd be more than happy to volunteer. :flirt: :flirt:
That is, if I weren't on the other side of the continent. And if I weren't already taken (or had permission from my spousal-unit :wink:).
So few Elfs, so many guys.
Date: 2008-01-21 08:12 pm (UTC)I for one am thinking that oiled, naked wrestling might be a good way to go as one of the competitions. Just the visual alone would be a nice second prize for those of us who don't make it into he final round of selection.
Is it just me or suddenly does some reality TV seem like it would be worth watching? Now all we need is a title and a catch phrase for the show, and a list of everyone who wants to be on the show of course.
MPK