Slipping the Gears is Finished!
Dear Readers !
It has been a challenging few months, but we finally got some time to wrap up the adventure Slipping the Gears, which should be available in it’s full glory this week on Amazon Vella (for now). For those that haven’t been tracking the story, it is a mystery set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons where the town of Ferncombe, a farming community in the Barony, has an issue. Undead have been reported running rampant between it and the neighboring town of Havehollow. Chamylla Adquen, a newly ordained Cleric of the Temple, and her partner, the enigmatic Defender Solwen, have been sent to investigate. A murder is committed and now the ladies find themselves wrapped in a small-town investigation on to what is going on. Their prime suspect in the plot: the strange jeweler Nesrick Welemdiass.
The whole idea stemmed from an ongoing … joke, I guess… that occurred in last season’s Critical Role where two of the characters talked about opening a detective Agency (Nott the Best Detective Agency) . In a related video (which I found hilarious) from Jester’s Sketchbook called CSI Nicodranas, had the player characters in running gags like they were on a CSI-like show and the ridiculous situations they and those around them would be in. So, I said “why not ?” and imagined a scenario where this could play out. I mean, in a world where raising the dead was within the realm of the plausible - how could this play out in an investigation ?
I coupled together this idea with J’s thoughts that the main character in the story should be like Harry Flashman from Thomas Hughes’/George MacDonald Frasier’s Flashman Papers - a coward , rake and cad. Nesrick is these things, and I think the dynamic between him, the town, and the female heroines just exemplifies is similar - but not quite “Flashy” enough in nature to be a direct lift. Don’t get me wrong…both the characters are jerks and folks I wouldn’t hang out with, but I think Nesrick is 60% flashy with a bit of Hercule Piorot thrown in. Overall, a bit more complex than he lets on and provided a difficult character to portray.
Solwen and Chamylla, on the other hand, are strong female leads with their philosophies grounded in their religious beliefs and understanding of complex social themes. Through Solwen we see the point of view that the land of Ferncombe was not always the home of the Gnomes and Humans, it was literally taken from the Orcs. This is a theme that I took from some recent experiences surrounding Columbus Day and work I did with Native Americans which centered on the idea of Colonialism and how it is viewed from the POV from the displaced peoples. I think a little was also taken from the status of Jerusalem, in particular the ongoing conflict and access to holy sites. I also think that some reflection of the ignorance of reality given the post-COVID world we find ourselves in may have seeped into the dialogue at parts especially reflected in the interactions with Norman Upshort and members of the Ferncombe community. Solwen is my rock of righteousness.
I hope that you find the story entertaining ! Feel free to send us feedback !
- JES Campbell family
Five Miles Downrange:
So what’s going on with the Pair of Normal Girls ?
I hear you. The latest story, Angry Sun, Proper Moon (still a working title) was first promised to be completed in the Fall/Winter 2020…then moved to Fall of 2021. Here were are in Winter/Spring of 2022…and nothing. In the words of Lo Pan (Big Trouble in Little China), “No pitiful excuses.”
The book is still being written, and we have made some progress on the storyline - it just needs to be finished, and that takes time. A few other treatments (including Slipping the Gears) got in front of the process, which caused some delays. Tempy and Hester will be returning in this adventure, helped by Hester’s high-school friends, to uncover a simmering supernatural threat to their hometown. A few loose ends of Tempy and Hester’s joint past will be addressed (like - whatever happened to Chrissy ?), and a filling out of what Snake and the XILED have been up to since the end of Blue Summer. Complex issues that need answers !
What other things are you working on ?
In an effort to “write what you know”, I have started to leverage some experiences and research into another detective story. Not sure how this is going to turn out yet, but I have bounced the idea off of J and E , as well as some other folks that are into some of the underlying themes. The working title right now is Shadowwork, and is going to be less about the RPG genre (as of now) and more of a pulp-noir story set in modern day. It’s in very early stages of development, but I want to leverage the character Gwen from Gruff Ending and her involvement with New Age philosophy, crystal healing, and mediumship . I think combining that with a Marlowe-esque character portrayed by Humphrey Bogart (The Maltese Falcon) would be interesting given Gwen’s paramour Ray Elliott was a skeptic, logical, and morally upstanding character, and Marlowe is a more pragmatic, emotinally-driven, and morally deviant character. In any case, it’s something to play with.
I do want to transfer both Blue Summer and Gruff Ending to the Vella platform, and move Slipping the Gears to paperback/Kindle for wider distribution. This will take some time.
Also on my plate is the concept of taking the short stories written over COVID and combine them into one book.
Lastly, I think, is the concept of writing a western-themed book based on my cat. Don’t ask.
