The Sky Falls š„
and a lighthouse.
Welcome!
To the June edition of Paper Moon.
It includes Northern Sky and the publication thereof, a nano-sized shuffle towards the screen, and a content warning: I am becoming slightly obsessed with lighthouses.
Note for Paper Moon newbies: AI slop relief is provided as standard, in the form of a few words about something tangible, touchable and ungenerated. In April, this was the birth of special FX in film, in May, adventuring on the cusp of the www.
In June, the aforementioned lighthouses.
Northern Sky.
Goodbye Summer Solstice, hello Northern Sky, which publishes TODAY! š„
Two years after Outpost 9 wobbled onto the public stage, The Incredible Machines of Thinkery trilogy - a grand total of 192k words of hopeful horrificness - is now complete! Northern Sky is officially on the planet!
ā¦ Iāve had a sneaky peek at the pre-order numbers, Iām truly feeling the loveā¦
šš Thank you!
Amazon(co.uk) is - at the time of writing - still being a total d**k about the listing for Northern Sky. But flogging Amazon links, when there are loads of gorgeous indie bookshops to choose from, is a filthy experience. So sod Bezos, who wonāt even notice my lack of reverence as he wallows in his billions.
All the info I do have for Northern Sky is below, thank you!
Screenwriting.
In other Thinkery news, my script for the TV pilot (shit, that reads so confidently, like itās a done deal. It really isnāt.) has reached the Quarter Finals in the Emerging Screenwriters Competition!
This is likely as far as itāll get, as the list of Quarter Finalists is huuuuuugeā¦
In previous years, folks who have reached the Semi Finals have secured deals with the likes of Netflix. Hope burns eternal.
Allegedly.
Paper Moon.
Juneās anti-AI-slop article is about the fantastical birth of a brave idea.
The Eddystone Lighthouse.
The first Eddystone Lighthouse was built in 1698, and it was the first lighthouse ever to be built in the open sea. This is it, here,
I bloody love this picture. Blink, and it glitches from historic building into Jules Verne. And then back again. Like it canāt decide if it wants to belong to fact, or fiction. Lighthouses are supposed to be smooth, slim cones - I know this to be true as a Ladybird book indoctrinated me when I was about 6. They are also supposed to be striped in red and white, with seagulls flying in an aesthetically pleasing pattern overhead.
The Eddystone Lighthouse was none of those things. It was wooden, and octagonal in shape - eight vulnerable angles that the seas could slap with gusto. It had a weathervane (unsure of the methodology here, surely any ship close enough to see it would already be on her way down to Davy Jones), ornamental scroll work and the access ladders were on the outside. An overhaul in 1699 saw the addition of more height, carved wooden candles and inscriptions in Latin. It does have the feel of a lighthouse, if Tim Burton designed lighthouses.
In all fairness, Eddystone had to carve its own surreal path into existence, because in 1696 no-one knew what a lighthouse was supposed to look like. Pre-Eddystone, designer Henry Winstanley was better known for inventing whimsical gadgets - including the āWonderbarrelā that served hot and cold drinks from the same container - than engineering. An imaginative mind was clearly higher up the fundersā wishlist than an architectural one.
Eddystone was built between 1696 and 1698, and survived until the Great Storm of 1703. During those five years, facing the full wrath of the sea armed mostly with a weathervane and some Latin, it did what it was asked of it, albeit rather flamboyantly. No ships were wrecked on the Eddystone rocks.
In 1697, mid-build, the French captured Winstanley. They released him when they realised what he was up to, and Louis XIV declared grandly (you can totally see the wig), āFrance is at war with England, not with humanity.ā
I really like lighthouses.
Their sole purpose is to be a beacon for all.
Pharologist. A person who is bedazzled by lighthouses.
Thank you for reading, much luv n plenty of peace āļø
Linnhe x
Dates for your diary.
The Incredible Machines of Thinkery, cake, me, and a pen.
Sat 04 July - The Appleby Hub, Cumbria. 1pm-3pm
Sat 11 July - The Book Nook, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria. 11am-1pm
Sat 18 July - DRAKE - The Bookshop, Stockton-on-Tees. 2pm-4pm.
Capatilistic clickbait.
Northern Sky - kindle & paperback
Futureās End - kindle & paperback
Outpost 9 - kindle & paperback
Reference links:
Seashaken Houses by Tom Nancollas