Author: Madeline Crane

Fantasy writer, tabletop gamer, wearer of hats.

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 9: Green Grows the Lily

A bleak, leafless tree against a sepia-toned sky. Text reads: Space Whales Press presents The Well Below the Valley, an audio drama

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)

CLAIRE Cooper, harbinger of the new world. Female, late teens, Northern English accent.

Dr. MARJANI Kaur, caretaker of the women’s home. Female, early 30s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.

JASMINE Indrani, no longer an academic. Female, late 20s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, torn between horror and scientific curiosity. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, heir to ancient secrets. Female, mid-20s, posh English accent.

KURT Cross, who has accepted the occult but doesn’t like it. Male, early 30s, New York accent.

Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, believer in a better world despite all evidence to the contrary. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

The voice of Professor Emundr RAGNARSSON, speaking once more from beyond the grave. Male, late 50s, Icelandic accent.

JONATHAN Martel, long-serving butler of the Westmont estate. Male, mid-50s, Northern English accent.

AURELIA Westmont, sole resident of the Westmont estate and Ellie’s favorite cousin. Female, late teens, posh English accent.

Sheriff Norbert OAKS, Whitmoor gatekeeper. Male, mid-40s, Northern English accent. 

JAMES MacDonald, friendly neighborhood bookbinder. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent. 

The voice of ESTRILDA de Westemond, witch in captivity. Female, early 20s, Northern English accent.

Scene 1: Int. Whitmoor Area Women’s Home, upstairs bedroom – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 9: Green Grows the Lily” →

Song of the Week

Tinariwen, “Nànnuflày”

This week, I bring you this song from a Touareg blues group.

I’m bringing you some other things too! The newsletter will be going out today at noon. On Wednesday, the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up here for free reading. I’ll be working on the next episode and some preliminary drawings of the comic, as well as a new title for said comic, throughout the week.

That’s basically it for today. As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you come again soon.

Comic progress!

I’ve finished sketching the layout of every page. The art and science of comics is to guide the reader’s eye in the correct direction, ensuring they pause where the pacing needs to slow and move quickly when it needs to speed up. We’ll see how well I managed when I start drawing.

I guess I have to start drawing now. It’s intimidating, but I did this all to myself.

I’ll be working on a new and improved title, as well. I’ll be back with more updates when I have them.

New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 9

Everyone thinks I’m just a silly little girl, and he tricked me, but that’s not true at all. 

I wouldn’t have been chosen if I wasn’t worthy.

Soon, I’ll give birth to the new world. 

What’s this? New content?

Our intrepid investigators start uncovering the secrets of the town of Whitmoor and the Westmont family. Warning for implied body horror and reproductive coercion.

You can read this episode right now on Patreon!

Song of the Week

Jesse Welles, “War Is a God”

Good morning!

I’m not sure if I can say I’m back yet, but I’m giving it a try. I’m almost done with Episode 9 of The Well Below the Valley, so that will be up on Patreon later this week (hopefully Wednesday), and then up here next week for free reading. As I work on the next episode, I’ll be trying to work out a sustainable posting schedule.

I’m also maybe two thirds of the way done with thumbnails for the first volume of the comic! Basically, I’m just sketching out panel layouts based on the script I’ve already completed. Once that’s done, I’ll be starting to draw.

Having given it some more thought, I’m not sure how much I love the title Chrysanthemum Dawn. It maybe has too many connotations of Imperial Japan, which I would like to tone down for two reasons: the setting is not Japan, though it takes some inspiration, and I’m opposed to imperialism generally as a human and more specifically as a human of Korean descent. I’ll do some brainstorming and get back to you. I’ll also take some pictures of the thumbnails to show you later this week.

Here’s some petitions that I’ve signed and you might like to as well:

Via Win Without War: Congress must pass War Powers Resolution

Via Civic Shout: Defend gender-affirming care to save lives

Via the Juggernaut Project: Don’t deport kids

As always, thanks for reading. I’ve missed you! Come by again soon.

Quick check-in

A baby wearing a black dress with gold hearts lies on a stack of books, including the Edge of the Empire RPG sourcebook, the D&D Monster Manual, Player's Handbook, and Dungeon Master's Guide, The Art of War, the Norton Shakespeare Anthology, The Golden Compass, Dune, The Night Circus, and Gulliver's Travels. She is turned toward the camera, eyes closed, her hands in her face.

This is Miranda. I made her out of love and…mostly cheese (I had gestational diabetes). She is here and real and healthy as can be–almost a month old now.

I’m not quite ready to get back to regular posting, but I wanted to let you know that I’m still alive and slowly picking my work back up. I’ve finished the script for the first volume of Chrysanthemum Dawn! I’ll have some sketches for you soon. I’m also outlining the next episode of The Well Below the Valley today, and should start writing it this week.

I’ll check back in again soon. In the meantime, happy Pride, and thanks for stopping by!

Announcement: Maternity Leave

Hello friends!

I will be absent from posting starting May 8, 2025. I plan to have new content starting sometime in June, and return to in-person events at the end of July, but I’ve never done this before and will have to adjust as I go along. I should be able to answer comments here or on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky) if you need me. Thanks for your patience, and wish me luck!

All my books are available wherever books are sold (but here are some options), and you can catch up on free reading as well. I appreciate you!

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 8: And In the Lowest Deep, a Lower Deep Opens Wide

A bleak, leafless tree against a sepia-toned sky. Text reads: Space Whales Press presents The Well Below the Valley, an audio drama

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)

FREYDÍS Emundrsdóttir, in search of closure. Female, late 20s, slight Icelandic accent.

Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, torn between following orders and pursuing the truth. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

Chief Superintendent Winston PEMBROKE, Sr., determined to put this whole affair behind us. Male, early 60s, English accent with audible mustache.

KURT Cross, former actor and perhaps current believer in magic. Male, early 30s, New York accent.

William “WILL” Grey, bartender and gatekeeper of the Cross and Coin. Male, late 20s, London accent. 

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, botanist and believer in rationality. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Professor Frederick HALE, another of Milton’s victims. Male, early 50s, posh British accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, descendent of a long line of occultists and eccentrics. Female, mid-20s, posh English accent.

JASMINE Indrani, interim director of the Whitmoor Area Women’s Home. Female, late 20s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.

MARJANI Kaur, resident doctor of the Whitmoor Area Women’s Home. Female, early 30s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.

CLAIRE Cooper, the chosen one. Female, late teens, Northern English accent.

Scene 1: Int. Scotland Yard – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 8: And In the Lowest Deep, a Lower Deep Opens Wide” →

Song of the Week

This Cold Night, “Black Cathedral”

Hello!

This is almost certainly going to be the last weekly update before I go on maternity leave. My baby is proving incredibly stubborn and likely won’t be born without some help (she’s still head-up and seems very comfortable there), so I’m going in on Thursday to get that help.

The latest episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up here on Wednesday, then you won’t hear from me for a little while. I plan to return you to your regularly scheduled nonsense sometime in June, probably later in the month. I’ll have a new episode (and, baby willing, a new posting schedule) and some comic sketches shortly after. There will also not be another newsletter until the end of June, and I won’t be at any in-person events until the July edition of the Kenosha Book Festival.

If everything continues to go according to plan, I’ll put some maternity leave announcements up here and on my social media on Wednesday. I’ll be able to answer emails and comments (though likely not immediately) if you need me for anything, and of course, my books will be available from wherever you buy books.

In the meantime, wish me luck, and I’ll be back soon! Thanks for reading.

New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 8

If I don’t stay busy, I feel like I’m drowning again.

There’s brackish water in the back of my throat. My lungs burn. 

My vision goes black around the edges.

We depart London with our investigators for the rural town of Whitmoor, where strange things have had a good long time to get entrenched. This is the beginning of the second act! You can read this episode right now on Patreon for only $3 (as a per-month subscription, or to purchase just this one post).