Dear Reader,
This week’s video in the Fabulous Foreigners in Fiction series, reveals to you the next important choices a writer must make along the road to a fabulous foreigner in their own book, cozy mystery or otherwise. Each of which choices will have consequences …
https://amandacadabra.com/ac1-trailer/fabulous-foreigners-in-fiction-how-to-get-it-right/
Now, the peculiar lifetime road that led to presenting these videos.
Are We Foreigners?
In a word, yes, all of us are foreigners to someone. For example, in the Amanda Cadabra books, the residents of Romping-in-the-Heye, a neighbouring village, are foreigners to the denizens of Amanda’s home of Sunken Madley. Here’s another instance: I wasn’t born in the overgrown village where I live. To a resident who was born here, I’m a foreigner. I live in one part of London; to someone who lives on the other side, I’m a foreigner. One of my parents came from outside the UK. I’m half-foreign. Another came from another part of the British Isles, foreign to London. You get the idea.
A Bit More Bio
So, as you see, my background has familiarised me with foreign accents, local, regional and international. Work and education have also taken me into the fascinating realm of languages other than English, as well as into an analysis of how English is pronounced and how to reproduce it. And, as you know, writing a series figuring Cornish characters and a hybrid magical language led me to learn that particular Celtic tongue.
If Only …?
You may also have read the enlivening consequences of creating a Swedish character, with a Swedish accent who speaks Swedish dialogue. (I was rescued by talented voice actor Simon Grunditz. More about that here.) Yes, indeed, I’ve been there, bought the fascinating t-shirt, (and took you with me. But if you missed it, here’s the link) and would happily revisit now that I have with the benefit of experience.
Consequently, I hope my journey will help other authors who are beginning theirs, so they can think it through rather than the perhaps more exploratory method of muddling through.
And if only someone had told me what I am, with pleasure, sharing with you now in this Fabulous Foreigners in Fiction video series, the road might have been a great deal smoother. However, would I have gone ahead and created a character whose linguistic background would have led me down an unexpected and complex track? Probably! But I’d have had hiking boots and supplies.
Just as importantly as providing a road map for fellow scribes, the Fabulous Foreigners in Fiction video series is to offer you, the reader, some insights into the fun and games of the writing process, especially cozy mystery. I hope that you’re entertained so far.
A Small Celebration
All of this reminds me of a highlight of this week, which was receiving a large, stiffened white envelope. Whatever could it be? I was pretty sure I hadn’t ordered anything from anywhere that would be packaged in this curious manner.
My name and address were handwritten. Hmm, I didn’t recognise the hand. I opened it, reached in and drew out a single page, protected by a clear plastic pocket. It was … my Grade 4 (final grade) Cornish Language certificate. And to think I’d have missed out on all the fun, the friends, the journey of learning if it hadn’t been for a Cornish-born girl in a quaint English village with her grumpy cat who appeared in my head five years ago.
AÂ New Video Series
This is my third week co-teaching a taster course for Cornish language beginners. And I’ve begun making a series of videos to support them. I’ll put the links here. They’re very short, I promise you.
This one gives you a 2-minute potted background to Cornish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp7Ar-P0Rw8
And this one gives you the first word for anyone curious about sampling the language. What you might call a gateway word: https://youtu.be/sZsj2HZtBgk
New Puzzle
This week’s jigsaw brings you another favourite villager from Amanda’s home, Sunken Madley. Someone at the heart of the heart of the village! Scroll down to find this week’s puzzle. Did you guess who last week’s was? I will also be adding a link after each puzzle to a brief bio of the character, in case you’re in doubt about who they are. If you’re a subscriber, you’ll see the new feature first. If not, and you’d like to join the insiders, you can do that here: https://amandacadabra.com/come-on-in/
Who or what would you like next? Let me know: hollybell@amandacadabra.com
This Week’s AI Shenanigans
For this image of an intrepid explorer navigating a mountain path, I asked the Midjourney bot (MJ as I call it) for this. It did pretty well until I requested ‘and holding a book.’ And that’s where it all went pear-shaped. MJ presented me with a three-armed person. The hands did have the customary number of thumbs and fingers so top marks there. I changed the game, and added a new sentence: She is holding a map…. No. Map. Not book, not magazine, not clipboard. No …. All right, let’s be more specific: paper topographical map. Let’s see you get out of that one …. No, not an ancient Egyptian papyrus of The Thebes Times. One more go … well done! No wonder she looks so happy.
Next week, I’ll tell you about my adventures with a rival bot: Dall-E 3. All I’ll say at the moment is that so far it appears to have the spelling ability of at least a 6 year old. As opposed to Midjourney whose capability is that of a 2-year old. With apologies to anyone’s 2-year-old who can assemble all of the correct letters for the word: Grade. Oh plus Dall-E will have a go at anything. MJ freaks out at anything it can’t get its head round and gives an image of a 16-year-old girl with hair composed of baubles and an understandably pained expression on her face.
Cozy Mystery Sequel
Now at over 8000 words, I have printed it out. A modest sheaf of A4 pages, but it is the kernel, the embryo from which the stack will grow. The next stage? What I call the Magic Circle …
I began it on Friday morning. But as I started, new plot links began to come to me, and I now have more notes. And I have commenced casting …
The Magic Circle?
This is where I lay out parts of the story that I have so far. Pages and groups of notes are formed into chapters, and gaps are given a blank sheet with the chapter number and or what needs to go in it. The first few chapters are gathered. At the moment it’s more of an arc. I will reveal more and even show you the tools I use when the the circle is further on.
Next Week
The next video in the Fabulous Foreigners in Fiction series delves into the three ways to convey the meaning of a foreign language to you, the reader. There’ll be a new jigsaw and more behind-the-scenes of the creation of Amanda Cadabra Book 9.
Happy Cozy Days,
Holly
