Episode 2: You Have No Idea

Notebook pics and quality dog content... 🐕

Welcome to the Pub Dates newsletter! We’re so glad you’re here.

This newsletter will be released as a companion to each podcast episode, and we’ll use it to share the visual elements of our discussion — from mood boards to design sketches, from photos to secret giveaways just for subscribers, there’ll be plenty to find in each issue.

In episode two, we talked about where ideas come from, and where these ideas came from. All while accompanied by our podcast partner, Jack the dog, who is brought to you by tummy rubs and every crumb we’ve ever dropped.

Jack appreciates all your edible contributions to his pay packet.

We also talked about what kind of tails we’d have, because we can’t be professional all the time (any of the time?), and we would like to know what kind of tail you would have, and why. No, really.

Now, on to the content we promised! Kate mentioned that the idea for Nightbirds showed up during a hike. She and her now-husband were camping around the Pacific Northwest, and it so happens he caught this picture of a Kate who’s in a very good mood, because she’s just had an idea…

Kate, having an idea.

She scribbled the idea down that night, and still has the notebook that captured those first, fateful words… You can click on the image to see a larger version of the pic.

Amie talked about windjammers, so we’re including a picture of one of those below. (Source) Doesn’t it inspire you to take to the high seas yourself?

She also talked about the moment the idea for The Isles of the Gods struck—of scribbling in her notebook to the point of being antisocial—and it turns out writers are packrats, because she has her notes on the novel as well, scribbled on a trip to the US in 2013…

Keegan didn’t end up banished to a monastery—a different fate awaited him in the current draft—but in every other respect, he remained more or less the same. Sometimes characters just show up fully formed, it seems.

And that’s it for this episode! Next episode, we’ll be talking about how we created our worlds, and some of our favourite parts of them. See you then!