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<title>Catspaw Dynamics eBooks</title><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/index.html</link><description>all it takes to know the power of words is to read them</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2010 Scott Dutton</dc:rights><dc:date>2010-04-07T23:04:16-06:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:52:36 -0700</lastBuildDate><itunes:author>Scott Dutton</itunes:author><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Catspaw Dynamics eBooks</itunes:name><itunes:email>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:category text="eBooks"/><itunes:keywords>science fiction, comics</itunes:keywords><itunes:subtitle>all it takes to know the power of words is to read them</itunes:subtitle><itunes:image href="http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/podcast_channel.png" /><item><title>Design Concept : When the Sky Fell</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Design Concepts</category><category>Non-Fiction</category><category>Science</category><dc:date>2010-04-07T23:04:16-06:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/8e66bcfe0da3f0fabc8e280a4c2039ef-14.php#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/8e66bcfe0da3f0fabc8e280a4c2039ef-14.php#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[You can find out the story behind the cover below.


The Flem-Aths make a strong case for Lesser Antarctica being the site of Atlantis.   Like the world being turned upside down by disaster, looking at the world with Antarctica on top is a key concept of changing our perceptions of geography and history.   It was the only interior title page I considered.


The classical typeface Bembo was chosen for the body text, and DIN for heads and information, a conscious pairing of one of the oldest traditional typefaces and a very modern one.   The ideas presented in the book are ultimately ancient, but it takes a modern perception to appreciate them.   Like The Forbidden Manuscript, special text was set in its own typefaces, though there was far less of it in this book.


The illustrations were updated to full colour, and you can read about their revisions below.


Pulling from many sources is common in scientific texts.   Presenting those references as footnotes or end notes is a major headache in book design.   From the outset, I Ieft a wide outer margin and ran the footnotes parallel to their references in the text.   It is a very flexible and straightforward way to lay them out, and makes them easily accessible to readers.   This was an idea taken from Robert Bringhurst who used it in The Elements of Typographic Style, which is the book on typographic design.


Developing the Cover


The top two covers are the original Canadian hardcover and softcover editions.   The bottom two are UK and US paperback editions.   They&rsquo;re all quite average, with the iceberg images being very clich&eacute;.   The revised edition needed to resonate with the existing audience and readers of speculative science, while rising above the relatively low design standards this segment of publishing usually holds.


The flood was the obvious motif with Atlantis sinking during the cataclysm.   Even though I wasn&rsquo;t going to do a full water cover, exploring various textures and colours of water was a place to start.


Poseidon was the god of Atlantis, and he was another idea to begin with.   This shot of a statue &ndash; with the dramatic upshot &ndash; shows Poseidon as alive and powerful.   On its own, though, it was just a little too dry and classical.


It was simple to take an aerated underwater shot showing turbulence to strip into the background.


With the addition of  some painterly manipulations, the classical feel is maintained without feeling stale.


This led into the first round of layouts.   The running spiral is also a symbol of Atlantis and made a nice decorative element.   The waterfall typesetting &ndash; with the &lsquo;fell&rsquo; suitably separated from the rest of the title &ndash; is set in Clarendon and is a refinement on the title treatment for the original Canadian editions.   The other face used is DIN, which carries through inside the book, partnered with Bembo.


By this point, Poseidon continued his descent to the bottom of the ocean.   This was a literal and illustrative approach, so the next step was to remove the imagery and explore something purely typographic as a way to clear my head of early ideas.


Combining the running spirals into a geometric shape created an interesting focus, and it&rsquo;s hard to go wrong with the weight and elegance of a rich black.


Hints of the blue and gold jewelled water texture.


Bringing back the imagery with real, but abstract, forms melded nicely with the type treatments without being too literal.


This shot of water rippling behind a sheet of glass interested me because of its short depth of field, its coldness and the suggestion of slow motion.   As you saw at the opening of this post, flipping it upside down creates a sense of unease even if you don&rsquo;t realise that the water is on the top and the air is underneath.   This one became the cover because it leaves behind the overly-illustrated and type-heavy covers used in new age and speculative science books.   There&rsquo;s a certain weight and confidence by laying things out quietly and simply.


The Revised Illustrations


The original drawings, prepared by the Flem-Aths and their original publisher Stoddart, were clean and crisp.   But, as they did not have the budget to do full-colour illustrations, the graphics didn&rsquo;t have as much depth or punch as they could have.   Ebooks and modern illustration techniques remove those barriers without adversely increasing costs, and add greatly to the richness of the ideas presented in the book.   I kept in mind the great information design of National Geographic when I redrew the existing pieces and added to them with new drawings in the same style.


Unfortunately, this project ended before it could come to market.   It is presented here as an example of my design thinking.


When the Sky Fell and original illustrations &copy; 2009 by Rand & Rose Flem-Ath


Book design and revised illustrations &copy; 2009 by Scott Dutton
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Design Concept : The Forbidden Manuscript</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Design Concepts</category><category>Fiction</category><category>Novels</category><dc:date>2010-04-06T23:26:57-06:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/46e128ad9019c44f6a991098214cbe1c-13.php#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/46e128ad9019c44f6a991098214cbe1c-13.php#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Using the idea of the manuscript throughout the book allows the reader to become involved with the text in a way that a standard typesetting run would not accomplish.   Starting with the cover, I had previously thought of commissioning a standard painting, or manipulating photo imagery, for the idea of the mass-market paperback look.   Instead, the idea of the physical book, old and worn as a symbol for the secrets long hidden now being exposed, is slightly off-beat and unexpected, setting it apart from the mainstream.


Careful attention was paid to the typography throughout the book, and the interior title page sets the tone for the text itself.   Adobe Warnock Pro is a large typeface family that is beautifully cut and it serves as the main face for the book.   It is placed on a pale cream background with a muted red for the accent colour to echo books created in antiquity.


The floriated &lsquo;I&rsquo; is part of a free library of scans taken from old books in the public domain.   I made it the centrepiece for the first chapter.   Chapter 1 starts on page 1, which was important because &ndash;


Instead of traditional chapter numbers, the physical page number is set as a chapter title, further extending the idea of the book as the manuscript itself.


Where there were opportunities to use special text, it wasn&rsquo;t enough to simply set it as block quotes.   It was a natural extension of the manuscript idea to set these special sections in their own faces, choosing typography that reflected the personality and purpose of its part in the story.


Unfortunately, this project ended before it could come to market.   It is presented here as an example of my design thinking.


The Forbidden Manuscript &copy; 2009 by Rose & Rand Flem-Ath


Book design &copy; 2009 by Scott Dutton
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Assignment : Earth</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Science Fiction</category><dc:date>2010-04-03T22:34:50-06:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/dc9933b067b0d5c67166e1d3f426c49a-12.php#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/dc9933b067b0d5c67166e1d3f426c49a-12.php#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[By the time it became a pilot within a series, Art Wallace had added his own ideas to the original concept, and created a series bible and the final script with Roddenberry.


As a result of being shoehorned into the Trek universe as a way of getting it on the air, &AElig; never got the chance to establish itself on its own.   The irony of course is that we would never have seen it otherwise.   Unfortunately, the series never materialised.


Since then, &AElig; has been well treated as a specialty within Trek with books by Greg Cox, and comics by Howard Weinstein and John Byrne.   But regardless of the form, it still involved relating to the Trek universe first.


Where Trek talked about the Sixties using metaphor and symbolism as a way to get social issues around the restrictions of the time, &AElig; had the potential to speak more directly to the audience.


I think it still can.   While Trek chronology has our current time period as leading up to the Third World War and projects its idea of utopia into the remote 23rd century, we live in the world that descends from the real 1960s, and it's still pretty messy here.   The idea of an agent of another culture that wishes to help us while we struggle to work it all out is still a very interesting concept.


In writing this adaptation of &AElig;, I removed the scenes that did not involve the core &AElig; cast, bridged where there had been cutaways to Trek, and added to the material with a larger back story for Seven.   As much as I love Star Trek, Assignment: Earth is strong enough to stand on its own.


The ebook is a free download here.


And you can find out how this pilot episode for a series that never came to be was made by visiting AssignmentEarth.ca.


&ndash; Scott Dutton
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Design Concept : The Exploration of Space&#x3c;BR /&#x3e;by Arthur C. Clarke</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Design Concepts</category><category>Non-Fiction</category><category>Science</category><dc:date>2010-03-05T22:56:43-07:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/ea3f7d5cfe10584997a120f0ee22039e-11.php#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/ea3f7d5cfe10584997a120f0ee22039e-11.php#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The first one would be the late Sir Arthur C.   Clarke's The Exploration of Space.   First published in 1951, this was the book that predicted satellites and shuttles, and described the major concepts which included escaping from Earth's gravity and re-entering its atmosphere (in one piece).   It was the primer for all that would come after it.


So why not bring it back in print?   The text remains clear and accessible, and with an update in its design packaging, adding the wealth of imagery now available to us, modern audiences would find it appealing.


The first cover concept (above) is conservative.   There have been many space books with covers like this, so it sits in the middle of the pack.   With an image of Earthrise from the Moon, dramatic on the black, you really can't screw it up.   Futura for the title is an easy choice with its cleanness and mathematical precision.   Clarke's name is set in Zapfino for that literary touch.


Another choice is to reverse the black of space books and put it on white.   A red planet combined with a negative image of an eclipse is a more graphic image.   The Gotham typeface is elegant like Futura but not quite as rigid.


And sometimes you just want to have fun.   The typeface is Refrigerator.


Moving into an era of ebooks, it would be practical and desirable to offer books with multiple covers and interior design variations to reach different markets.   Freed from having to print thousands of copies, design should take on a stronger and more diverse offering.   Each of these covers would appeal to different market segments.


Below are two of the original interior pages and their simple line drawings.


And below are revisions to those drawings that would suit the black or white cover.   For the more youth-oriented cover, it's an easy modification of the vector art files to suit that style.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Design Concept : The Man in the High Castle&#x3c;BR /&#x3e;by Philip K. Dick</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Design Concepts</category><category>Science Fiction</category><category>Novels</category><dc:date>2010-03-05T22:38:03-07:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/d75419ca174712b000f013d20d033952-10.php#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/d75419ca174712b000f013d20d033952-10.php#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Above is my idea of what would make a good cover for the book.   I designed the first version of it a few years ago, and it was done in response to a number of covers that said little about the content and tone of the book.


The background of the story's events is based upon what would happen if Germany and Japan had won the Second World War.   They divide up the United States, with Germany east of the Rockies, Japan to the west.   Through the eyes of a number of characters we see what happened to the world in this alternate reality 20 years after the war ended.


Using an alternate reality has become a staple of science fiction, good and bad, but Dick used it not for the "Oooo, what if&hellip;" factor, but to comment on the state of American society as he saw it then.   And as such, the book may use a speculative element, but I've always thought it does not truly fall into the science fiction category.   So when I see it being marketed to a science-fiction-only audience with imagery and design that excludes anyone outside that genre, I don't think it's doing the book's potential readership a service to understand its value.


I drew upon the language of military maps that we've all seen in historical documentaries and I combined it with the Taoist symbol (yin and yang).   The I Ching plays an important part in the characters understanding that the world should not have been the way it is.   The symbol also shows the 'dance' America's occupiers are locked in, and it roughly shows the border between their territories.


The world is in decay, hence the aging of the image.


Below is the back cover for my version.   After that, we'll look at some of the published covers over the years.


While Dick is better known for being a middle-aged man with a greying beard, this photo of him was on the back cover of the first edition of the book.   I thought it good to show Dick as he was when he wrote it.


These are the two covers that introduced me to the novel.   The one on the left says a lot about Japan, while the one on the right is all about the Nazis.   Trying to capture the message of the book without talking about the many dualities, the Japan-Germany one being only the most obvious, doesn't really work.


The cover on the left is the original hardcover edition released by G.P.   Putnam's Sons in 1962.   The one on the right is a paperback from the late 1960s.   I didn't see this one until after I had come up with my design.


Penguin came up with a number of relatively relevant covers.   The one on the left most likely capitalised on the resurgence of interest in Dick's writing after the release of Bladerunner in 1982.   The movie by Ridley Scott was loosely based on Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.   Like many, this was my introduction to Dick's work.


Two more recent Penguins.   The one on the right is particularly evocative, and replacing the stars with swastikas is a nice touch.


This pair tells me I'm going to be reading something very science fiction-based, and perhaps it will be trippy and surreal.   If I'm buying it based on the cover, I'm going to be disappointed with what I read inside, and if I might be interested in what is actually in the book, these covers certainly don't give me any indication of it.   In fact, they'll push me way.   The only way these covers succeed is if I already know what I'm looking for.   It is self-referential marketing to people who are already buying this kind of book.


More of the same.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Marc Weston Comments</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Return to Barsoom</category><category>Science Fiction</category><category>Novels</category><dc:date>2009-12-09T22:36:20-07:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/944a6c3217f9c9a58b521d643662a374-9.php#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/944a6c3217f9c9a58b521d643662a374-9.php#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Having said that, I would now like to say&hellip; Thank you for bringing my childhood hero into the 21st century.   I like having John Carter as more human than super human.   The comparison between the old world values and the modern is a great touch.   I did find it a little preachy in parts, in regards to the environment, but we could all be a little more concerned with our own plight here on Earth.   I think rebuilding Barsoom is going to prove a lot easier.


Ras Thavas was always one of my favourite characters, nice to see him in the thick of things.


A great read, I think Burroughs would have approved.   Great characterizations, fleshing out the old and developing the new.   I look forward to reading the second installment.


Thank you again,


Marc Weston


Townsville, Queensland


Australia
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Bill Caldwell Comments</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Return to Barsoom</category><category>Science Fiction</category><category>Novels</category><dc:date>2009-11-03T20:23:05-07:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/e464216160f396669ece1c9f52006b0d-8.php#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/e464216160f396669ece1c9f52006b0d-8.php#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[You write a very good story, sir!   I found myself pulling for the various characters and losing track of time as the story drew me on.   I especially enjoyed the use of The Gods of Mars data that Barsoomians are more directly related to plants than are Jasoomians.   I never thought of it that way before. ...  And that it would only attack the women!   Wow, what a way to hit the red men who make such idols of the beauties.   The intermixture of modern and Barsoomian data to explain the condition of the planet to 21st century eyes was very smoothly handled.   The loss of the ochre moss and the resulting dust storms is a colossal touch!   Oh, and you described the yellow tower of Lesser Helium, something that has long been in my imagination along with its scarlet twin in Greater Helium.   Thank you for including it, even in its ruined state.


I thought the gradual erosion of the Heliumetic empire's ethical behavior was classic.   And somewhat inevitable considering they were caught up in their own mindset.   Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak should have heard Dejah Thoris' impassioned speech to Lorquas Ptomel and Tars Tarkas way back when.   They might have learned something as well as the fact that she wasn't just a pretty face.   It seems Jasoomians just have enough difference to break the mold of their thinking.   And helping us to realize John Carter was brave but unimaginative in matters other than warfare and rescue adventures was sadly necessary.   Thanks for making Dejah Thoris three dimensional now!


I liked Sakoma Nu and the gradual transformation of his character. ...  He, of them all, seems the most in tune with Jasoomian modes of thought.   I'd like to learn more about him and his own story.


...Someone with imagination, insight and ideals tempered with a sense of history and the foibles of humanity.   I'm hoping we don't have to wait 20 years to learn about how he, Rajan Parl and Sakoma Nu are going to find the cruiser hidden near the moon.   And what they'll do once they find it.   Or who they'll find has run across it about the same time as they do.


I could ramble on about the story.   I suppose you know by now that I'll be reading it again to pick up on things I missed the first time.   It's a very good read, Scott.   Thank you for being willing to share it with us.   Do you have plans for a sequel?   I think you'd have a ready-made audience.


...I first found Barsoom via the gift of a 1918 first edition of The Gods of Mars from a neighbor way back in 1963.   She thought a junior high boy might enjoy the story.   The terrible part was getting to the end and not knowing what happened!!   In '63 the paperback editions of Ace and Ballantine had just begun to be released and I had no bookstores in the wilds of rural Missouri to search through.   And who knew if there even was a sequel, after all, 1918 was a long time ago, even then. ...  It was a long wait of about a year before I found that Thuvia had been reissued and then Warlord was discovered. ...  They've occupied a treasured place in my library and are always fun to reread every now and again.


Let's hope the upcoming movie by Pixar does the stories justice.


...I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and the story behind your interest in ERB's writings.   It seems like we all started early.   I started with the Tarzan Ballantines with the Neal Adams covers, and continued on with the Michael Whelan-covered Carters.


My very first ERB book experience was in the elementary school library in the mid 1970s where they had a set of the Gino D'Achille-covered Carters.   I took one look at The Chessmen of Mars cover and didn't want anything to do with it. ...  Of course, I now have a complete set of those.


To answer your question, yes, there will be a second book, continuing the survivors' attempts to save Barsoom.   Look for The Spaces Between sometime in the future, hopefully in a timespan less than decades.


Andrew Stanton &ndash; the director of the upcoming John Carter of Mars film for those that haven't been following the news &ndash; is part of the Pixar crew.   I hope that means he'll respect the source material, but you never know given the disseminated decision-making process large projects like this have.   I've been let down so many times in recent years by films that were adapted from books or comics I had invested myself in.   I have a hard time understanding why studios don't build on the source material to engage a vocal, established fan base that could do them only good by word of mouth, and then expand on the material to include people new to the story.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fan Forums on the Net</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Return to Barsoom</category><category>Science Fiction</category><category>Novels</category><dc:date>2009-11-01T13:25:18-07:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/c540f52198bd9f62ff383c6e9a3002e6-7.php#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/c540f52198bd9f62ff383c6e9a3002e6-7.php#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[On the other hand, it means that the only way for new material to be added is after someone has been exposed to it, and that primarily means larger, commercial ventures that can be obviously seen by a sizable audience.   For the small, independent project like Return to Barsoom, there's no chance to create the ground swell by saying, "Hey, you might be interested in this," and build by curiosity and word of mouth.   If we can't tell you about it, how can you be interested in it?


True, we could join the forums and build up our presence (there are three or four forums of note) to enable us the opportunity to be allowed to promote the book, but that seems counterproductive to the writing process.   If we're in there all the time talking about our other science fiction interests, well, we're not making our books, which is the point of us being here.


So, if any of you are on message board forums, we hope you'll take a moment to start a thread in the appropriate area if you liked the book.   This project only succeeds if we talk to each other about it.


Thanks for listening.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Marooned</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Return to Barsoom</category><category>Science Fiction</category><category>Novels</category><dc:date>2009-11-01T12:23:08-07:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/40a5a46ea6c70222c539a291fab8a655-6.php#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/40a5a46ea6c70222c539a291fab8a655-6.php#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Paul at the Marooned blog was kind enough to give Return to Barsoom a plug.   He focuses on science fiction, fantasy and horror books on Mars, as well as NASA missions to the planet.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Bill &#x26; Sue-On Hillman</title><dc:creator>ebooks@catspawdynamics.com</dc:creator><category>Return to Barsoom</category><category>Science Fiction</category><category>Novels</category><dc:date>2009-11-01T12:22:44-07:00</dc:date><link>http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/c2f3bfda10ed974f6cced80609694bcc-5.php#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://eBooks.CatspawDynamics.com/community/community_files/c2f3bfda10ed974f6cced80609694bcc-5.php#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Bill & Sue-On Hillman are heavy hitters in the online world of Edgar Rice Burroughs.   ERBzine.com is only one of their many sites dedicated to ERB and his work.   Well worth the look.   Dig deep enough there and you can find the early version of Return to Barsoom.
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