I promised last time to tell you a bit about the title. Well, it was chosen by my lovely people over at the Waystone (my Patreon community). But I'm so glad they chose this one. Because it has a good bit of easter-eggery about it.
First off, and you heard it here first, this will be the second series with a title or character that has a secret Star Trek reference in it. I'll tell you this one: the ONLY good thing about Picard season one was the title of the season finale: Et in Arcadia Ego.
It's an obscure title that refers to a long tradition of renaissance painting of idyllic pastoral scenes where death unexpectedly makes an appearance. The Latin means "even in Arcadia (something like Eden), I am still present". It's things like a skull in a landscape. A tomb in the middle of a scene with frolicking sheep. That sort of the thing.
It's also the name of a rather famous gun in Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, which is itself based on a historical gun. I haven't read that book yet, so I'll leave off commenting on it, but it was another reason I liked "Cantos of Arcadia" as a title.
The final reason is the word "Canto". It's reminiscent of the great "Canticles of Leibowitz," which is a HUUUUGE influence on this new novel.
So there you go. Easter egg your heart out, lovely people.
And if that's not enough to excite you, here's the first chapter of Cantos of Arcadia for your reading pleasure. It's titled "Dark Matter," but that's a secret production name. You know, like they do in Hollywood :)
Oh, and by the way, if you know the second obscure Star Trek reference in my Raven Son series, and you're not a member of my Patreon community, tell me. If you get it right, I'll send you a free copy of Cantos of Arcadia when it comes out!
And I'll announce the winner on this newsletter too. Fun :)
Reader Nook
The Waystone
Things were a bit slow in the Waystone in September (reminder: the month tried to kill me). But this coming month is chock full of goodness. Check out the content calendar for October 2023!
There will be a new short story available only for Waystone members this month, by the way. And it's set in the Raven Son universe! I told you. Stuff is falling out of the sky, my friends :)
Thank you all for coming along with me on my writerly adventures!
~Nicky
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