Storyteller series: The Druid's Son: part 4

New thread. Previous posts can be found here.

My author chat about The Druid's Son is live here now.

Posting again on this thread to sort it above the older one.

Musing on the chat thread discussion, I've had some more thoughts about time and continuity of cultures, but I'll wait until someone else posts on that thread.

test - having trouble posting on the other thread

well that test suceeded here - more than my search for welshcakes in the freezer :)

Tim, Dan, and anyone else who has bought the e-book at Smashwords: Apologies, but I have just found and corrected some formatting problems (lack of italics where there should have been some). You should probably download the new version to replace the one you have, which you should be able to do at no additional cost.

6> thanks, will do

For those who want a hard copy and don't want to wait for amazon distribution, The Druid's Son is available now on Lulu in what should be the final revision.

#3....time and continuity of cultures...should I ask you elaborate here or there? Very curious.

The Author chat seems to be going well - into the top five, in terms of number of posts :)

Yes, this is good! ;-) Thanks, everyone, for the participation!

Regarding Dan's question in #9: Not sure if I can remember what I was thinking about in that regard... probably the other thread right now.

As a side comment, I have finalized the print version of The Druid's Son on Lulu and started the process which will eventually get it to Amazon and the other on-line retailers, and also make it available for local bookstores to special-order. I'm also experimenting with producing a case-wrapped hardcover version, which would probably retail for around $25. I think that one will only be available through Lulu, but we'll see.

ETA: yes, it's only on Lulu - link here.

gwernin, will you link to this chat from your Author Page? This would be a great archival resource as new readers discover your books. I'm not sure if you are limited to the links you can add there.

The active threads are already linked on the right sidebar under "Current Discussions", but I can put a permanent link in the "Links" session - good idea.

... done. btw, if anyone wants to create a wikipedia page for me, feel free - I can't do it myself ;-)

12>> As it's actually quite easy to set up special hard cover editions on Lulu, I think I might do it for the Storyteller books as well. I'd want to revise the map for Storyteller first, though.

And at just $7 more, I think I'll be going for the hardcover.

What is a "case wrapped" hardcover: like a textbook, in that it incorporates the cover art as opposed to a cloth cover with a dustjacket?

That's it. I could have set up the other kind, but was unsure how well the cover art would transfer, and case wrap is, I think, cheaper.

eta: it's also a lot cheaper since it's only on Lulu; if it was a separate project with amazon distribution it would probably be $40-45 due to the markup to SRP.

Hi Dan - I love the pictures and other background material you're posting for the group read! In the case of the Menai Strait, somewhere in the lower half of the picture is a good guess as to where the Romans crossed. Togi and his friends, on the other hand, crossed at the north end of the strait, somewhere in the hazy top of the photo.

It's my feeling that the group read might go smoother if I don't comment there a lot - I'd rather see what other folks make of the book - unless there are specific questions. What do people think?

One minor quibble re your post #6 - the book starts in 61/62 AD (interpretations of the Roman records differ), the year after the invasion of Anglesey, not in 80 AD.

Looking forward to how this develops!

G - up to you as far as commenting. I will fix any errors you tell me about. Apologies for the year mix-up.

19: Well, perhaps I'll comment any time there's a question directed at me? Otherwise I'll post over here.

Rather off-topic: I'm currently reading Robert MacFarlane's The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, and finding it quite interesting. Another exploration of the importance of a sense of place which also mentions Wisdom Sits in Places. So far he alternates between rather gorgeous descriptions of actual walks / footpaths and (to me less interesting) commentary on the history of long-distance recreational walking.

Mmmmn: I've added MacFarlane's title to my wishlist. Looks thoughtful and wide-ranging, and incidentally a nice way to comment on your book without being overtly about the same topic. Would love if you posted any excerpts or ideas he raises that you think would be fruitful for our discussion.

(And any text mentioning Basso's book piques my interest!)

22: will do.

Re: group read: you might include in your invitations to join this link: http://gwerninstoryteller.blogspot.com/p/the-druids-son-sample-chapter.html
to the first chapter.

some useful background information and photos here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yr_Wyddfa

Hi Dan, apologies for jumping in on the group read thread - I answered a question that hadn't been asked, and should have let you handle it anyway. Not enough coffee yet ;-)

Goodness, no worries from me!

I think it's helpful for you to post. It's always a complicated to have a group read when the author is involved. And certainly it can make me uncomfortable in some kinds of circumstances. But, in this case you are already very active on LT, and what we are all doing on this site is constantly building and re-building our LT community. You are part of that. You know some of the readers, like me, and you may establish some new LT relationships. I don't think there is any reason for you to not be part of the group read.

As for "jumping in", you are welcome to stomp around as much or as little as you like. My hope is to keep the thread interesting enough that everyone is stays tuned it. If I can make it fun, or if we actually get some conversation out of it, that would be ideal...but my limited LT charisma is not so helpful there.

Anyway, it's all good, however much you get involved.

Agree, gwernin: your concern about being overbearing is a healthy sign, but you haven't approached anything like an intrusion at all!

Thanks, guys! I just have a feeling that conversation may flow more freely on that thread if I'm not in the middle of it, although I'll be happy to answer specific questions. That's why I'm mostly just posting on this one at the moment.

Need to get back to blogging again, too - I've been too busy the last week due to various activities, including getting ready for the winter weather which arrived last night (one inch of snow possible - hmm, where did the other two or three inches come from???).

Something I stumbled across on facebook the other day which amused me: http://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/the-druids-ring/

I think I posted that link on one of my threads here, but can't remember which one.

Been thinking of that as I re-read about the Togi's ring.

Received and approved the distribution proof copy today - all things being equal, Druid's Son should be available as a paperback on amazon, b&n etc in 6-8 weeks.

And hardbound shortly thereafter via LuLu?

The hardcover is already available via Lulu - http://www.lulu.com/shop/g-r-grove/the-druids-son/hardcover/product-20459451.htm...

The Druid's Son e-book, nook version, is now on Barnes & Noble as well.

A pertinent link: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2349/

More pictures to help things along: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2363/

That chain is freaky.

Another location which is important in The Druid's Son and also in The Ash Spear is Bryn Celli Ddu. And for overlap between The Druid's Son and Gwernin's next book, The Fallen Stones, Togi's view from Emain Macha:

>38 dchaikin:

0.6 m between each neck ring: not a lot of room. The prisoners would have to focus so much on not falling, or not choking one another while sitting down, it would leave very little opportunity for escape.

worse than this?

I've seen a picture of some archaeology students wearing one of the two from Llyn Cerrig Bach, and yes, quite a bit shorter.

Ah, here it is...

That picture makes the 0.6 m chain seem un-workable: are they sure it was used for adult humans? An adult is almost 0.6 m thick (from shoulder blade to breastbone), adults would be almost sandwiched together.

I realise it's not designed to be comfortable but this seems infeasible!

44- shoulder to shoulder perhaps, but front to back!

Blog update: http://www.tregwernin.com/2012/11/friday.html

While you folks are reading and discussing The Druid's Son, I'm turning my attention to the next Gwernin book: The Fallen Stones. Having written Togi's book first will change the emphasis in the next one a bit...

Looking forward to it!

Awen knows no rest -- except perhaps when moving from one project to another.

Wandering over to this thread now to share a couple of thoughts I've been kicking around which pertain to both The Druid's Son and The Fallen Stones - in particular the degree to which actual events can change through transmission into more magical or mythical events.

Moderate spoiler alert:

In Gwernin's next book he is going to hear about events which happen to Togi, some of them covered in The Druid's Son and some of them later. To write a sequel to The Druid's Son I'll have to figure out what the original event was which morphed into the story Gwernin will hear... and I will have to be aware while writing The Fallen Stones of the eventual (probable) need to make that reconciliation... tricky, that... ;-)

re: http://www.librarything.com/topic/143480#3677826:

My Falco and Titus:

Posting on this thread partly to bump it up again... Once the group read finishes, discussion will shift back here. In the meantime, I've been busy tweaking The Druid's Son amazon page - tying it to my author page, offering a copy myself as Aldertree Books so that it shows up at the SRP, and most recently forwarding the necessary files to amazon for their look-inside function. Don't know how much longer it will be before the rest of the book data from Lulu appears there and they offer it for sale - usually it all loads at once when it finally does. Hope there's not a glitch... Patience is not merely a virtue for indie authors, it's a necessity!

oye, good luck.

As I said on the other thread, I've enjoyed the pictures we've posted for The Druid's Son so much that I'm thinking about creating similar threads for the other books, perhaps in their own group so we can keep them together. What I need in that case is a name for the group... "Storyteller Series" doesn't quite work since The Druid's Son isn't really part of it. Suggestions?

I don't do we'll at coming up with name ideas, but you might try something with Gwernin or with Wales or Welsch in it.

...or Celt.

Or Bards,

or Taliesin - since he seems to be an inspiration.

...or Awen...I guess I should stop now.

Well, there's always "Tre Gwernin" like my blog site... or "Aldertree Books" although that sounds too much like a straight publisher site and perhaps too spammy... the later is a pun actually because "gwernen" means alder tree.

I wondered about the relevance of Aldertree! Assumed it had to do with alders being native to Colorado (and perhaps Wales?), but I'm a naif with respect to botany.

I thought something like Old or Lost Britain, or even Dark Ages Britain. "Lost Images of Dark Age Britain"? But this quickly becomes overly descriptive and loses the evocative.

As I said on the other thread (keep crossing back and forth) I sort of like "Dark Ages Britain"... but on second thought, Togi's period is pre-"dark ages". Hmm...

"Roman and Dark Ages Britain" is inclusive enough, but lacks... er... something.

Ok... vote:

Or...

Or...

I am currently leaning toward "Roman and Dark Ages Britain" because there doesn't seem to be an equivalent group on LT, and it would be nice to have threads on subjects other than just my books. Granted we already discuss a lot of related subjects on these threads, but how are people who haven't read them to know that? I'd like to see a thread on Rosemary Sutcliff's Roman Britain books, for example. Now, I could go and start one on "Historical Fiction", but then I couldn't mention how my writing relates to hers without getting flagged, or at least snarked at. Same if I wanted to start a thread discussing bog bodies on the "Archaeology" group. I also don't think it would necessarily be a bad thing for other writers working in this period to start threads in the group as long as they weren't blatantly self-promotional (in which case they could be flagged). Thoughts?

sounds good - if the group description was carefully written it could allow authors to discuss, but not "merely promote" their works.

That's my thought, Tim. I'll mull it over during another bout of garden cleanup (it's a nice day here, and I keep popping in and out) and post a possible description for discussion.

Still tweaking...

"For discussion of the history and archaeology of Roman and "Dark Ages" Britain, and of historical fiction set in that period. Authors are allowed to mention and discuss their own books as long as (1) the books are pertinent to or set in this period and location, and (2) the posts are not blatantly promotional. ("Drive-by authors" starting "buy-my-book" threads, for example, may expect to be flagged.) Threads concerning G. R. Grove's "Storyteller" series and its spin-offs are explicitly permitted."

Very nice. Only suggestion is to change the last sentence, here's a possible revision:

"This group evolved from group discussions of G. R. Grove's "Storyteller" series and its spin-offs, with the intent of expanding upon these in particular, and generally in hopes of finding a home for threads on other similar discussions and books."

Much better - thanks!

Here's the new group: http://www.librarything.com/groups/romananddarkagesbrit

We can always tweak the details later if we need to.

This thread is now continued here.