Author: Madeline Crane

Fantasy writer, tabletop gamer, wearer of hats.

Song of the Week

Pancho’s Lament, “Perfect Place”

Good morning! Bit of a deep cut for you today.

On Friday, I’ll be at Studio Moonfall, 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI for an Author Night! I’ll be hanging out from 4 until 7 in the evening, and I’ll have plenty of books to sign (but feel free to bring a copy you’ve already acquired!). It will also be Free Book Friday, so you can pick out something from the shop’s secondhand collection while you’re there.

I’ll have a shiny new episode of The Well Below the Valley up on Patreon for you on Wednesday. I’m coming to the end of my previously released material, and I’m eight weeks away from my due date, so I may be slowing down on this project. I’m going to do my best to keep up this fairly relaxed posting schedule and build up more backlog over the next couple of months.

Based on my rough calculations, I’m about 60% of the way through the comic script. The outline already contains 39 pages, much more than the standard 22-24 (I was planning on this first bit being an issue like one would find at a newsstand or get in the mail). Maybe it’ll end up long enough to be a graphic novel on its own, or maybe I’ll split it up. The page count may also change as I finish the script and move on to storyboarding.

Also, a quick note, if you’re boycotting Amazon, all my books are available on plenty of other platforms! You can find most of the major ones under the Buy my books tab, including Thriftbooks and Bookshop.org, but some searching on whatever your favorite platform is should turn them up.

Some petitions for this week:

Via Daily Kos: Release Mahmoud Khalil

Via Just Foreign Policy: Allow humanitarian aid into Gaza

Via the Friends Committee on National Legislation: Restart refugee admissions

Via Amnesty International: End genocide in Gaza

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Stop by again soon!

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 5: And There Is Nothing Green That Remains

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)

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, a man of reason caught up in an unreasonable set of circumstances. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent. 

FREYDÍS Emundrsdóttir, a woman with questions. Female, late 20s, slight Icelandic accent.

KURT Cross, an actor and detective perpetually unlucky in love. Male, early 30s, New York accent. 

Detective Chief Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, a stranger in a strange land. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

William “WILL” Grey, bartender and host to several of London’s strangest characters. Male, late 20s, London accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, private investigator, photographer, picker of locks, and actress in her own right. Female, mid 20s, posh English accent.

NIGEL Blackthorne, established ranter on a particular street corner. Male, early 30s, posh British accent.

Constable John TAYLOR, a useful tool for an unseen force. Male, early 20s, London accent.

Scene 1: Int. University of London laboratory – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 5: And There Is Nothing Green That Remains” →

Song of the Week

Mediaeval Baebes, “Erthe Upon Erthe”

Hi! It looks like I forgot to put a post up here about the newest episode of The Well Below the Valley being on Patreon. I promise it’s there! In my defense, I am very pregnant.

That episode (number 5, “And There Is Nothing Green That Remains”) will also be up here on Wednesday for free reading.

I had a lovely time at Story Keepers Books last week! My next excursion will be to Studio Moonfall in Kenosha on March 28. More on that as we get closer.

I’m just about done reworking the episodes of The Well that I had done previously, so we’ll be moving into uncharted (or less-charted, anyway) territory soon. I’m about a full episode ahead of you right now, so I’ll be starting Episode 7 this week. I’m also plugging my way through the comic script. I’m hoping to finish it this month and get started on thumbnails.

Some petitions I’ve gathered for this week:

Via the National Women’s Law Center: Stop the erasure of trans people

Via Save the Children: Demand a future for Syria’s children

Via Amnesty International: Save US foreign aid, save lives

Via the ACLU: Free Mahmoud Khalil

That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Song of the Week

Neil Young, “Rockin’ in the Free World”

Good morning! Here’s a classic for you.

On Thursday, I’ll be at Story Keepers Books (7035 W Greenfield Ave, West Allis, WI) for a reading and Q&A session! This lovely little secondhand bookshop just opened back in December, and the proprietors are so friendly and welcoming (and really know their books!). They’ve got a few copies of my books left if you’d like to pick one up ahead of time, and I’ll bring more. The event starts at 6pm.

I’ll have a new episode of The Well Below the Valley up on Patreon for you on Wednesday. I’m working on the next episode and more of the script for the comic, of which you can find a quick preview here.

Also, quick note, if you’re boycotting Amazon, my books can be found in all sorts of other places! If you can’t make it out to Story Keepers, I recommend bookshop.org, but most online retailers (including ebook-only platforms) will have all three titles.

Couple of petitions I’ve found this week:

Via the ACLU: Stop attacking transgender Americans

Via Win Without War: No more bombs for Netanyahu and Support the Neighbors Not Enemies Act

Via RootsAction: Sign the Pledge of Noncooperation with Mass Deportation

I hope to see you in person on Thursday! In any case, have an excellent week.

Chrysanthemum Dawn: comic script preview

Here’s what I’ve been working on in between episodes of The Well Below the Valley. (The text is recreated below, for screen readers and/or people who don’t want to squint.)

Right now, I’m still learning how this process is going to work. For a traditionally published comic, the writer would hand a script like this to the lead artist(s), but since I am a team of one, I just need to have enough information that future me can remember what I was thinking. I also haven’t started storyboarding yet, so I’m guessing on layout and panel styles. Pacing in sequential art is a complex process of guiding the reader’s eye around the page, and it’s something I’m going to have to learn by doing.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me! I hope this little snapshot intrigues you.

Text is recreated below the cut:

Continue reading “Chrysanthemum Dawn: comic script preview” →

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4: Lost Daughters

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)

Professor Josef DIETRICH, colleague of the murder victim. Male, mid 40s, German accent. 

Detective Chief Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, a man who has held many titles in his life but none more important than “Baba.” Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, botanist and puzzle enthusiast. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, a private investigator of many skills. Female, mid 20s, posh English accent.

FREYDÍS Emundrsdóttir, the late professor’s next of kin. Female, late 20s, slight Icelandic accent.

The memory of MUSTAFA Effendi, Iskandar’s childhood friend, now deceased. Male, early 30s, could speak with a Turkish or English accent.

The memory of HALIME, a princess in her father’s eyes, now deceased. Female, about five years old, could speak with a Turkish or English accent.

Mrs. JUDITH Rosenfeld, who was very proud the day she installed a telephone in her building. Female, late 40s, slight Yiddish accent.

EMILIA Niyazova, flapper and velocipedist. Female, early 20s, slight Russian (actually Kazakh) accent.

Constable John TAYLOR, just doing his job. Male, early 20s, London accent.

Constable ANTONY St. John, fencing enthusiast and important alibi. Male, early 30s, London (specifically Estuary) accent.

Chief Superintendent Winston PEMBROKE, Sr., a representative of the system. Male, early 60s, English accent with audible mustache.

Scene 1: Int. Oxford Faculty of History – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4: Lost Daughters” →

Song of the Week

Quaker City Night Hawks, “Some of Adam’s Blues”

Good morning!

I didn’t have any comic updates last week–so sorry! Friday got away from me. I’ll have something for you this Friday. The script is coming along, but it’s already way longer than I had planned. I was hoping everything I wanted to get to in the first issue would fit in the standard 22-24 pages, but I’ve hit that number in my script already, and I have several more scenes to get through.

I just have to remember that I’m doing this by myself, for the first time, armed only with a drawing tablet, Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics (plus a lot of online resources and some of my favorite comics), and a dream, so it’s a learning process.

On Wednesday, I’ll have the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley up here for free reading. I’m an episode ahead of you right now, and I think we’ll have one or two more to finish this first arc (corresponding to Part One of the Call of Cthulhu module).

This month, I’m going on a Tiny Book Tour! I’ll be stopping at Story Keepers Books in West Allis, WI on Thursday, March 13 (5:30-7), and at Studio Moonfall in Kenosha, WI on Friday, March 28 (4-7). I hope you can come to either or both! At Story Keepers, I’ll be doing a reading and a Q&A session, while the Studio Moonfall event is more casual. In either case, I will be signing books (and you can pick up some copies if you need them) and hanging out to talk about whatever readers want to talk about.

I think that’s all for today. I’ll have more petitions next week. Thanks for reading, and stop by again!

New Patreon Post: The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4

And I the unworthy Brother Bran begged the Northmen to spare us with the promise of greater riches to the north at the hollow island. 

They departed with their plunder, and they will not return.

I fear I have done the unforgivable, and I pray God might have mercy on our humble souls and on the souls of the heathens.

A brand-new episode of THE WELL BELOW THE VALLEY is now available on Patreon! Our intrepid investigators meet the late professor’s next of kin and uncover one of his many secrets, decoding the document he had with him when he died.

Song of the Week

Allison Russell, “Persephone”

Good morning!

I had a lovely time at the Spooky Frog Book Fair! Thanks to everyone who climbed the stairs to see us. I hope you enjoy the books!

The newsletter will go out on Friday, so if you haven’t signed up yet and want to (there are bonus cat pictures in it), you can put your email in the box at this link. Be sure to check your inbox for a confirmation, or it won’t add you to the list. If you signed up at the book fair, I’ll be adding you today; no need to do anything.

On Wednesday, the next episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up on Patreon! We’ll get to know some new characters and solve the puzzle the late professor was carrying around in his briefcase. I’ll be working on Episode 5 this week, as well as the first issue of the comic. I’m hoping to finish the comic script soon and get started on storyboarding, which is a much more interesting thing for you to look at, but I’ll see if I can post a bit of the script on Friday as a fun teaser.

Couple of petitions for this week:

Via Left Click: Stand against the expansion of Guantánamo Bay for immigrant detention

Via Native Organizers Alliance: Stop racist mass deportations

Via Our Revolution: Stop weapons sales to Israel

That’s all I’ve got for today. Take care and have an excellent week.

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 3: Oxford

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)

KURT Cross, car owner and actor on his current most steady job. Male, early 30s, New York accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, the only actual consulting detective in this cast. Female, mid 20s, posh British accent.

Sebastian MILTON, dealer in rare books. Male, mid 50s, London accent.

Detective Chief Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, descendant of a long line of Ottoman cavalry officers. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

Mrs. Mary HOWARD, concerned mother of a missing son. Female, mid 40s, London accent.

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, field medic turned adjunct botanist. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Professor Josef DIETRICH, Oxford professor of history and a friend of the late Professor Ragnarsson. Male, mid 40s, German accent. 

Professor Frederick HALE, Oxford professor of history and lurker in basements. Male, early 50s, posh British accent.

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

Scene 1: Ext. South Bank market – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 3: Oxford” →