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Community for science fiction and fantasy author/artist M.C.A. Hogarth.
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Titles: the Jokka Novels

Answering these questions one by one, in posts. So, @madamebadger mentioned the Jokka novels as having evocative titles... here's how I got those.

I wrote Shell back when I was operating on "titles as art" rather than "titles as marketing" notion. I was still in college, or not long out of it, and my primary sense of how to title works was leftover from English literature classes where short story titles, and poem titles, were about themes and artistic considerations, primarily. (I don't think this is wrong, it's just a different way to go about it; most genre short fiction is still titled this way because they aren't meant as standalone products.)

So I named the first book, The Worth of a Shell, after the theme of the novel, which was encapsulated by one of its final scenes. (No spoilers, hopefully, for those of you who haven't read it yet.)

I didn't go back to finish that trilogy until long after I'd become my own publisher, which meant by then I was operating on the 'title as marketing' assumption. That meant all the titles in the series should sound like they belong together. I was stuck with Book 1's title, which wasn't too bad... so I decided to riff on that pattern:

[Article ] noun-related-to-theme [preposition] noun-relating-to-theme

I decided that the thematic images that worked best for Book 2 had to do with Keshul and his relationship to one of the gods (is he the literal pearl, or is something else? I leave that to people to decide). So now I had two:

The Worth of a Shell
Pearl in the Void

Then I needed the pattern again, and I wanted an indefinite article, because the first book had a definite one ("the worth) and the second one had no article. So I wanted 'a' or 'an'. I chose the thematic nouns, again, because they could be applied in multiple ways (which north? What is the bloom? Is it literal? Figurative?) and still be correct, and then went with the indefinite article to make that ambiguity more distinct:

A Bloom in the North

So all the titles have the same rhythm (one-syllable-word beat beat one-syllable-word), with the same structure (noun prepositional link noun), and with rotating articles.

Something you'll notice is that when I was doing the 'title as poetry/literature', the title is a literal callback to something said in the novel. But the later two titles are both a lot less direct; they're not supposed to act like the title of a poem (which often points you at the conclusion/idea you're supposed to take away). They leave a lot more up to the reader, interpretation-wise. There's really only one way to understand The Worth of a Shell from the book's context, but both Pearl and Bloom let you, the reader, decide what the titles mean to you.

I don't think either kind of title is better or worse. It's just a different way of doing things. (And I think that 'title as conclusion/thematic pointer' works better in shorter pieces of art that the reader is more likely to be able to keep entirely 'in memory', so to speak.) I do think the 'all books in a series should have a pattern' is really important, though, and that's something I didn't learn until later.

In terms of the short story collection, it's both a literal in-world reference (early Jokka set out stories with stones painted with letters, stone by stone, outdoors for people to read)... and meant to be evocative (it just sort of sounds cool). It follows the same pattern as the novels (NOUN (preposition) NOUN). And, I had notes that any additional collections should be similar: "Clays Beneath the Sun", "Clays Along the Seas", etc.

Lagniappe: I have no idea if the Jokka covers sell or don't sell the books, and I'm not inclined to change them because they do well enough. But notice that Shell, which is about the relationship between two people, and about the Anadi and the Eperu impulses in society, has the two Jokka on the front cover... but there's only one "trail" away from the medallion they're on top of, because that's how precarious their connection to society was. Pearl has only one Jokkad on the cover because it was about the isolation of one person and his mission, and primarily about the Male actors in society... but his medallion has two trails, because he was connected twice to society, through Roika and the Void. And the final book has three Jokka, because it was about the harmonizing of all three sexes in society, and it has all three trails leading from the medallion, because religion, society, and personal affairs were finally healthfully established.

I suppose one day I might update the covers. But not a priority.

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
October 27, 2021
Cursive Practice Video, to Relax

Or at least, I intend it to be relaxing. Hopefully it delivers.
4:22 minutes

Materials:

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
July 23, 2021
Overview of the First Oil Paint Experiment

In which I talk about the paper, the paint, and the experience of oils versus gouache. Fun stuff, will do more.

Thank you Locals supporters! Your contribution to my art war chest here is what's powering these experiments and videos. For now I'm keeping them public but I may start doing some subscriber-only videos if you all are interested.💖

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
July 17, 2021
Video Review: Oil Painting Papers

My initial review on receipt of the three oil paper products I ordered: the Canson pad, the Rembrandt block, and the Arches single sheets.

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
November 09, 2021
Alysha Misc

Thanks for your comments yesterday on the business post... all very provocative, in a good way. I'll try to respond to all of them today.

Some Alysha misc now, since I'm gearing up for the results of the Kickstarter!

Petrov is giving away coupon codes for every book in the Alysha series (and has some leftover coupons for Marda and the business book). You can pick those up here (and please do! The books are bought already, someone should use them!) https://twitter.com/PetrovNeutrino/status/1457344535843987461

Our own @JudasComplex sent along a sample of the Faith in the Service audiobook, which I've attached for your delight! I... haven't had a chance to listen to it. Don't ask me about my past week and a half or so. Putting it here will guarantee I get to it.

After hearing the amused comments during the livestream, I went ahead and added all the ship type illustrations I have inked from the 90s to the wiki. Glory in the rampant adorableness of their anthropomorphic stylings! See those ...

Alysha Misc
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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
April 12, 2021
The Jaguar's Heart 7: We Are Not a Monolith

A little comedy today, at least in the link. Transcript follows.

Hi, all. Welcome to this episode of The Jaguar’s Heart.

A while back I was introduced to a comedy sketch about Cuban coffee by a Mexican comedian, Gabriel Iglesias. ( The sketch begins with him greeting all his fellow Latinos and then backing up to say ‘but we’re all different, aren’t we’ which is a segue into a demonstration of how different Hispanics speak Spanish.

It is hilarious. First, because I am a Spanish speaker and a linguistics hobbyist, and his portrayal of various accents resonated with my experiences in trying to make sense of them myself… Not always easy, since from culture to culture, slang and accent are often totally different (and sometimes grammar! Spaniards use a grammatical construct that has died out in many other Spanish-speaking countries, the plural “you.”)

I also loved it because the Cuban coffee part is real. I grew up with Cubans. I know how we are....

The Jaguar's Heart 7: We Are Not a Monolith
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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
March 25, 2021
The Jaguar's Heart 6: Hatespeech

One of the most common things I hear (and say) right now is "the asymmetry is the story." Here's one about how none of us are innocent of the sins we hate in others.

Hi, all. Welcome to this week’s episode of The Jaguar’s Heart.

It’s been weeks since the Baen’s Bar incident and I’m still thinking about it... because the longer I do, the more I feel, overwhelmingly, that it’s obvious that the problem is deeper than “this forum was saying stuff that offended us.” We have to back up to the glaring fact that people on opposite sides no longer consider each other human. Nothing I say will matter because the people disagreeing with me don’t think I’m human. They have denied my humanity; they have not bothered to listen to my beliefs, or have fake-listened to them in that way that people do when they’re so ready to prove you wrong that they’re only using your speech to provide talking points for their own ideas.

We have forgotten how to listen.

Increasingly, we have also ...

The Jaguar's Heart 6: Hatespeech
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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
February 25, 2025
The Best Laid Plans of Chimerical Jaguars

I am supposed to be launching the Kickstarter for the second Jokka collection this week. In fact… my planned date for that was… yesterday.
You will note that I have not launched the Kickstarter. That would be because the Ai-Naidar showed up, and while they didn’t do anything as uncouth as punch me in the face, they’ve laid me out anyway, like a boxer down for the match. Most of you have noticed the eruption of meta-conversations on patrelocals, and probably knew before I did what this portended. But I’ve had occasional clusters of visits from the Ai-Naidar before without needing to write another story in the canon, and honestly I thought their next story was going to be written four years ago, and it didn’t happen. I have lots of notes, but no book.

Well, now I am two chapters into a book. Not a long one, I don’t think. And not the one I planned (of course). But I don’t think I’ve had an idea eat my brain this completely in years. I am once again so full up with Stuff that I am ...

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
January 29, 2025
January Updates!

Some quick updates! First, and most notably, the next Kickstarter will launch sometime in February (late, probably) for a second Jokka collection. You can sign up here to be notified of launch: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mcahogarth/the-smell-of-intelligence-and-other-stories

Second, I’m wrapping up the writing on the gamelit novel, and have started work on the cover art, in the hopes of having that ready soon. First readers, take note! I’ll be asking for help for this one soon. I expect the book will be available direct in March, with retail launch in April.

Third, having discovered how to set up forums, the Discord now has a forum section for live-reads, for people who want to share their jaguar-book-reading experience as they’re doing it (and for people who’ve already read the books to enjoy). If that kind of thing is your jam, stop by and check it out—we have threads for Princes’ Game, Zafiil, and the Jokka books currently active.

Fourth—despite not really ...

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
January 14, 2025
Back in Time Tuesday: The Huntress Engaged

Going back the late 90s with this color pencil piece of one of my old D&D characters. The goal at the time was to imitate a Renaissance portrait of the kind I was studying in college, which often had pastoral backgrounds with Renaissance-style architecture in the distance. I wanted to see if it could be done with pencils, rather than paint, and it was a pretty good attempt...! I liked that the dragon friend also has designs on his tail and wings.

This edition of Back in Time Tuesday is free, so share it if you wish!

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
February 02, 2024
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Gamelit Novel Index

The chapter titles are all a mess. But this is the proper order so far:

Gamelit 1 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4241337/gamelit-novel-first-chapter

Gamelit 2 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4255477/gamelit-novel-last-bit-of-chapter-1

Gamelit 3 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4267366/gamelit-novel-chp2-part1

Gamelit 4 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4267371/gamelit-novel-chp2-final

Gamelit 5 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4298755/gamelit-novel-chp-3-part-1

Gamelit 6 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4330428/gamelit-chp-3-part-2

Gamelit 7 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4331116/gamelit-chap-4-pt-1

Gamelit 8 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/4361942/gamelit-chp-4-last-bit

Gamelit 9 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5215305/gamelit-novel-chapter-3

Gamelit 10 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5244861/gamelit-novel-10

Gamelit 11 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5271216/gamelit-novel-11

Gamelit 12 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5301971/gamelit-novel-12

Gamelit 13 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5326625/gamelit-novel-13

Gamelit 14 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5360605/gamelit-novel-14

Gamelit 15 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5385714/gamelit-novel-15

Gamelit 16 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5418577/gamelit-novel-16

Gamelit 17 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5444360/gamelit-novel-17

Gamelit 18 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5475518/gamelit-novel-18

Gamelit 19 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5502726/gamelit-novel-19

Gamelit 20 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5530518/gamelit-novel-20

Gamelit 21 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5558728/gamelit-novel-21

Gamelit 22 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5586451/gamelit-novel-22

Gamelit 23 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5613544/gamelit-novel-23

Gamelit 24 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5642711/gamelit-24

Gamelit 25 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5668799/gamelit-25

Gamelit 26 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5693714/gamelit-26

Gamelit 27 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5722853/gamelit-27

Gamelit 28 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5747793/gamelit-28

Gamelit 29 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/5772301/gamelit-29

RECAP RECAP Gamelit 29.5 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6386873/gamelit-29-5

Gamelit 30 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6398055/gamelit-30

Gamelit 31 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6411958/gamelit-31

Gamelit 32 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6432688/gamelit-32

Gamelit 33 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6457957/gamelit-33

Gamelit 34 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6481325/gamelit-34

Gamelit 35 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6501493/gamelit-35

Gamelit 36 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6542961/gamelit-36

Gamelit 37 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6563733/gamelit-37

Gamelit 38 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6590629/gamelit-38

Gamelit 39 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6612520/gamelit-39

Gamelit 40 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6635635/gamelit-40

Gamelit 41 - https://studiomcah.locals.com/post/6662873/gamelit-41-potentials-potentialing

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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
March 07, 2025
Gamelit 44
the call
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mcahogarth@mcahogarth
March 03, 2025
Meta-Conversations: History, Part 1
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