It's Monkey Queen anniversary week! We'll be celebrating all week with a
look behind the scenes at all four Monkey Queen novels and much more, and we're up to the second, The Brigadoon Boondoggle!
The basic plot for this was inspired by some long-ago ideas I had for a science fiction comic with political overtones. The two sides competing over the meadow were a more rat/mouse like species and an avian species, both of which figured in the sci-fi comic, but after a draft I changed one, then the other. The bawsons were originally more like badgers than raccoons, but I changed them for a reason I'll explain when Redblade comes out.
Musgrove was originally intended to have a partner called Hess, as a tribute to two characters in an older unpublished work, but I realized it was excess baggage. I did find a use for the name, and HESS does actually stand for something. Someday, I'll figure out what that is.
The dedication came about because I was feeling guilty about using refugee spokesman Neil Gaiman as a basis for a comic relief character in a book about two groups of refugees that were in conflict. I'm glad I did it, especially now that things have gotten so much worse...
And the fight scene with the Jakes was largely taken from another comic script I had written back in the day, as a one-shot introductory special. I still love Little Jake's "Oh, I think I'll just lie here until the pain subsides" line.
Favorite Reference: Beth's reading material during her recovery includes the latest Maggie MacKay book. Maggie's adventures are written by one of my favorite writers and inspirations, Kate Danley. Go read them!
Most Obscure Reference: Miraculous Ladybug. It won't be when the show actually premieres in October (December in the US), but for now it counts. But I'm still glad I did it; if there was ever a TV show that would inspire Michiko to Beth-like levels of geekdom, this will be it.
Did you know: The short story "Three Women In A Stew (To Say Nothing Of The Guinea Pig)" takes place between the last two scenes of The Brigadoon Boondoggle? You can read it here, or click the "short story" tag to read all the Monkey Queen short stories to date!
Tomorrow: Willow Wednesdays!
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