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The Shadows over Hammerhead Cove Issue Two


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Woah... lots going on there @D'Artagnon. Hahaha.

I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far.

So, of the questions you've asked that I can answer, that give nothing away (;)); 'tombola' looks like it's been corrected from my spell check and I've missed it (damn it!).  The correct term in tombolo which is a small island connected by a strip of land to the main island.  Your thoughts are correct concerning my choice of the word.  As Doyler explained to Kibu in his brief history lesson back in "Welcome to Halpin Hope" the two seperate earthquakes that the island had suffered descimanted much of what was once the thriving whaling town of Hammerhead Cove, leaving only the thin spit of land that is the tombolo's neck and the portion of the town that makes the mainland.  The etymology of the word is Italian and derives from the Latin tumulus (mound).  I focused in on using tombolo to describe it because it sounds so much tumble (which is what most of the town has done over the years).

The choices of names hold personal connotations. A young me was 'awakened' one Sunday morning in 1995 when I first saw a re-run of Flipper on TV.  Yes!  Luke Halpin was my first love. hahaha.  And I still have a great deal of love for the show.  Even now when playing Sim City or when creating my own first city in Civilization the name of the town is always Halpin Hope.  (I also love alitteration an awful amount).  Some of the other names on the island tie into this affection for Flipper.  The Ricks Observatory is named for the character's surname on the show and Norden Hill for Tommy Norden who played his littlle brother Bud.  The two H towns are not coincidental (again my alliteration affection), because of it's geographical appearance and because the words Hope and Cove conjuore very different connotations.  I also have a healthy fear of sharks - particularly Hammerheads.  haha.

The Island itself was left unnamed by the first settlers (for a reason) but for the purposes of the regular folks of Halpin Hope it's always just been the towns name that they use when they refer to the island.  The size and shape is based on a slighty larger version of Stewart Island New Zealand, using some of the geographical components of the Big Island of Hawaii.  And you're correct that most of the island's interior is too rugged, filled as it is with forrest covered hills and the occasional lagoon, so pretty much everything is crammed around the coast.  (I'd upload the awful awful awful map I've drawn to keep everything straight in my head but there are still secrets to come).  Essentially I've picked up Stewart Island and dropped it into the ocean 160 miles South East of San Francisco while giving it Hawaii's geology, flora and fauna.  What's going on on that island of mine I wouldn't want to inflict on a real place.

Again, thank you for taking the time to read, I genuinely mean it when I say that comments and the such are much appreciated.

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You are right to have a healthy fear of hammerhead sharks.  They're mean, nasty buggers.

Luke Halpin was an early crush of mine as well.  When I was very young, my father was stationed in Roosevelt Rhodes Naval Station in Puerto Rico, just outside the city of Ceiba, not far from the capitol of San Juan.  We only got one local TV station that played English programing about half the time, other than the AFR station on base.  So we got limited contact with regular pop culture.  Flipper was one of the few shows we got that was relatively recent.  The running joke among the adults was that we had time traveled 5 years into the past.  And who couldn't fall in love with a mostly shirtless guy named Sandy who had his own dolphin?

I keep telling myself that I will post a simplified map of Canterbury one day.  I have rough ideas of where the characters live.  In some cases, more than rough.  A few are addresses I know for different reasons.  Some are just places with a certain look and feel.   The castle over the lake does exist, just as described in Coupe.  The Y and the pizza shop also exist, although the Y i describe was gutted by fire and rebuilt.  It looks totally different than I remember.  The stone bridge (Basillier Bridge) on Main Street is also there, actually named after a distant cousin of mine who was the first boy from the town killed in Viet Nam..  The Watch or Watching Rocks is a formation that does exist, but I moved it from a couple miles east.  It was so cool to see the first time that I had to include it.  I just thought it would be far too far to make young Maxy walk just to get to his "thinking place" on foot.

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And I thought the previous chapter was ominous!  What has poor Takeru gotten himself into?  Certainly looks like the sorts of things a kid in love will do for the object of his affection, even to the point of ignoring spooky, even obvious signs of danger.  Hammerhead Cove sounds like a place taken from where it should be and dropped somewhere else.  It has elements of New England or San Fransisco from a bygone age dropped into the Pacific and then let to go instead of kept up.

And then the shop keeper lady, and the fishmongers... *shudder*

It seems the mysteries are about to have several answers come to... well, can't really call it light, now can we?  But I'm guessing that more questions will be raised as answers start to turn up.

And that fountain across from the church (minus it's spire cross) was highly disturbing.  If such is the fate of those at the school, one wonders what poor Toby has had to call his home, much less his life.  If that Ms. Myercough is the nurse, the boys at that home/school would have more warmth from an ice cube.  I fear that the headmistress, as yet unseen, is an even colder fish than the nurse.  I have the feeling Taki is about to realize just how far over his head he is.

And Poppa John's presence on the road to Hammerhead Cove... What can we read into that based on his conversation with Toby, earlier. 

Now i have to wait for the next installment....

Fantastic imagery and sensory overload.  Very engrossing read.  This and the previous chapters have been my favorite so far.  I am anticipating that the next one will join these last two in that category.  Well done!  Carry on!

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Thank you for your kind words @D'Artagnon.  I'm really chuffed that the story is keeping your attention and that you're enjoying it. :)

I have to admit that I really enjoyed writing the chapters actually set in Hammerhead Cove.  Writing under the guise of "pulp" lets me layer on the atomsphere really thick - so I'll be sitting and giggling as I type while coming up with the most unpleasent and creepy things I think I can get away with.  The ones that fit the story anyway. 

Your assertion that Hammerhead Cove could be parts New England Towns and San Francisco from a bygone age are quite correct.  I looked into Whaling towns in New England during the 18th-19th C and sketched out what I thought they might be like if crossed with SF (due to the location of the Island) and then just left to rot in the intervening years.  So, well spotted Sir. 

I actually dreamed about that fountain, naked boy, hands coming out of the water, lacivious faces and all.  I don't remember the context of the dream it appeared in, only that I woke up while staring at it and needed to pee. ha. 

Again.  Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.  It means a lot to me.  :)

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I said from the first that I thought you must be kin to D'Artagnon. After chapter 7, I was quite sure we needed to do a search of both your families to find the connection. I mean, a door creaks open in a dark room while another door is being pounded, and then oh BTW end of chapter. Then, you follow that with Toby swimming with Taki on his back about to give out and there's a light . . . BAM! end of chapter.

Gives a break, Please!!! LOL

Oh, and everything that D'Artagnon said I agree with.

Keep it up! 

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Yep... Sorrynotsorry.

@D'Artagnon When I first saw the email with your comments I actually thought 'Oh no! Did I go too far?' and then thankfully I read the rest of your post. haha.  Two of my most beloved authors Patrick Ness and Andrew Smith are masters at making me scream at the book about how unfair or not cool some route they took was and I love them for it, so I thank you very much for your reaction there! lol.

@Jeikor Maybe we are... as I work my through his writing on CR (currently on Educating Alex) I can see certain notes that we both like to hit.  So if not kin, we're in the same band certainly.  Although after this story ends he may ask me to leave, lol.

Thank you both for your kind words.  I was very unsure how this chapter would go down but your reactions have made it worth the anxiety, :)

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I am expressly not going to post any spoilers in this brief review.  I will say this; another writer friend of mine often says "there aren't always happy endings."  And while this story still leaves shadows over future issues, there is some hope to it.  And you wrote it in grand fashion, using a combination of internal pacing, illustrious word choice and mood that enhanced the overall story.  You have quite a way of tugging at heart strings, sir.  Well played.

The ending had me gasping in tears.  Poor Taki.  Something like this often completely changes someone. I mean the lesson is obviously that you should listen to your instincts and the warnings of your friends and elders before leaping into something you know nothing about, but the cost...

I am glad at least that Toby gets a second chance.  He's shown he's far nobler than his upbringing.  Pappa John showed considerable mercy.  I just wonder what the repercussions of Toby living now in Halpin Hope will be.  And will he and Taki remain friends (and maybe more, since I sense both of them had been leaning that way towards each other) after all of this.

Again, well played.  Loved the chapter and the story and the characters.  Here's hoping there is more to come.  I fear our little island has great troubles ahead of it.  And I think we're all pulling for the little guys in what is looking like a massive and still growing drama.  Thank you for sharing this with us.

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Thank you @D'Artagnon  I'm glad that you enjoyed this chapter and the story as a whole.  There is much more to come and the end is never really the end, it's just the point where that particular story needs to rest.

Some new questions that you've picked up on - most of which will find answers in the next couple of issues the others... well you know by now that I like to keep some of them dangling in the stream like baited hooks.

Your kind words are, as ever, very much appreciated.  I'm never sure if anyone is actually reading, so your comments make it worthwhile :)

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  • 1 month later...

Not exactly the image i had in mind when imagining Tobias, but still has a subtle charm.  It does capture Toby's sort of derpy, gangly personality.  Very nice artwork.  You can see certain traits from his father (no spoliers!) in the image, too.  Kinda wondering what the other boys look like.  Part of me is very interested in Doyler's odd marks when his skin gets wet.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Isn't the best part the an... tici... pation?

Fear not, It's not been forgotten about.  It's a plot heavy issue and was giving me a headache so I took a little break, during which a friend asked me to write something unrelated to RotWaAofS (which I'm nearly finished and will send send to the castle once finished).  By way of apology for the extended wait I'll post the first third of the first chapter in the teaser section and you can tell me if it whets your whistle. ;)

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