Just give me a couple more throws.
It occurs to me that while I have revealed the cover of the forthcoming volume 4 to Patreons, and celebrated it on varyingly multitudinous social media platforms (Mastodon; Pixelfed; Bluesky), I actually haven’t placed it here, in the pages of this commonplace book. And so:
As a bonus for everyone here, I took one of those large language models out for a spin, prompting it with questions about that which I already knew. Here, for instance, is what it made of the relationship between the Duke and Orlando:
The relationship between Duke Leo Barganax and the Mooncalfe is a complicated and tragic one. They are both characters in the urban fantasy series City of Roses by Kip Manley, which is set in Portland, Oregon.
Duke Leo Barganax is a mysterious and powerful figure who claims to be the Duke of Southeast Portland. He is an ally of Ysabel Perry, the daughter of the King of Elfland and the Queen of the Seelie Court, who is bound by a geas to find her true name. He is also a former lover of the King of Elfland, who betrayed him and left him for dead.
The Mooncalfe is a mysterious and beautiful woman who appears in Leo’s dreams. She is actually a manifestation of the King of Elfland’s magic, sent to seduce and manipulate Leo. She pretends to be his true love and convinces him to help her escape from the King’s prison. However, she is actually working for the King and plans to betray Leo once again.
The relationship between Leo and the Mooncalfe is full of deception, passion, and violence. They have a twisted bond that transcends reality and dreams. They are both obsessed with each other, but also hate each other. They hurt each other physically and emotionally, but also crave each other’s touch. They are both victims and villains in their own story.
How disappointingly heteronormative. —I had it list some other characters:
Some other characters in City of Roses are:
- Ysabel Perry: The daughter of the King of Elfland and the Queen of the Seelie Court, who is bound by a geas to find her true name. She is the one who hires Jo as her courier and protector.
- Beaumont: A mysterious and powerful figure who claims to be the Duke of Southeast Portland. He is an ally of Ysabel and has a history with the King of Elfland.
- Annie: Jo’s best friend and roommate, who works as a waitress at a diner. She is unaware of the magical world that Jo is involved in, but she is loyal and supportive of her friend.
- Tommy: A young man who works as a bike messenger and has a crush on Jo. He is also a friend of Annie and often hangs out with them at their apartment.
- The Gallowglas: A mysterious assassin who is hired by the King of Elfland to kill Ysabel. He is a master of disguise and uses various weapons and gadgets to pursue his target.
- The Soames Twins: A pair of twins who are part of the Unseelie Court, loyal to the Queen. They are mischievous and cruel, and often cause trouble for Jo and Ysabel.
Annie? —I do find it half-fascinating, the extent to which certain—tropes? clichés? habiliments?—are so well-trod the grooves of their tracks can’t help but direct the statistical generation of seemingly plausible text: all power is mysterious; relationships are usually complicated; that which is mischievous is also cruel, et cetera.
But the game quickly palls. I asked it one more question, about myself:
Kip Manley is an author, blogger, and queer activist based in Portland, Oregon. He is best known for his urban fantasy series City of Roses, which is a serialized epic very firmly set in Portland, mixing magical realism with gonzo noirish prose. He has also written a novel called In the Reign of Good Queen Dick, which is a historical fantasy set in Elizabethan England. He writes about various topics, such as literature, politics, culture, and personal experiences, on his blog kiplet.net. He identifies as queer and has created a diverse and inclusive cast of characters in his works.
And there you have it. —Here’s one more image I’ve shared out there, but not yet placed here, for safekeeping: the feuilletons of volume 4:
—posted 242 days ago
Ah, now that I know that every time you ask one of these a series of 5 to 50 prompts, you’re pouring away just over 16 ounces of water, I’m feeling guilty about this silly little experiment, and yeah, that’s done, no more.
