Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Five Influences on Barbarossa's Bitch

I have this book coming out next Friday.

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Pre order now and save 20%



And people always ask me "Where do you get your ideas?"
I have various flip answers: I subscribe to a service in North Dakota. I found it under the soap in the shower. It jumped me when I was cleaning out a cabinet.

But here are some very real influences on the next book.
They may not be ALL of where I got my ideas (the barbed wire sissy bar on the bike is an actual thing that one of my driver trainers built), but they do show. And hopefully NOT like a cheap slip.




The Postman.

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I had read the novella by David Brin when it was originally published in ASIMOV'S in the early 80s. (Read the sequel “Cyclops” too) I am one of six people on the planet not related to Kevin Costner who likes the movie.

The idea that people would need mail, as a sign of hope, had never occurred to me before that. And by letting the wildpack pick up this duty, and even organize a pen-pal exchange between various settlements, it gave the people a way to circulate knowledge.




Adam Lambert.






Naomi pointed me to the footage of the Sydney Mardi Gras. We both stared at the costume, especially the spiked codpiece. We both knew we would be writing that article of clothing into a story.

Adam became the inspiration for rocker Grant Starr, who was just about to break big. His single, “Dirty Touch” has been at number one for a while. Dylan is a fanboy and has a “Dirty Touch” ringtone and a framed poster. He goes to a Grant Starr concert on the night before the world ends.




The Road Warrior.



There are numerous bits that made their way in, from the masked leader—and Dylan is just geeky enough to remember the line about “Lord Humungous, the ruler of the wastes”--to the ragtag fleet of vehicles, to the very pretty toy riding bitch behind one of Humungous' men. While none of the pack has a toy so pretty and useless, Dylan comes close. We let him skip the bleached blond hair.



SM Stirling's Emberverse.

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Despite the fact I call it “Heather Alexander kicks John Norman's ass after the end of the world,” I really do like this series. It strikes me as a fairly realistic representation of the end of the world. Some people have skills, some don't, but everyone has to eat. Only strong leadership—often female leadership—keeps women equal in some groups. This is where I swiped the idea that women are one of the more valuable trade goods. And the idea that someone would take John Norman's books a little too seriously. And the idea of one group going pagan because it was well suited to a subsistance farming life.


The SCA


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This is where a lot of the primitive skills we write about come from. This is where the wildpack gets some of its structure (and furniture). This is even where the promise White gives Barbarossa comes from, “'Til death takes me or the world ends” is a fealty oath. White's brick oven on the back of his truck is patterned off one Lady Lorraine was using one long-ago Lilies War.

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