This is the third-and-final part of the after-story notes for Daikaiju Attack.
Click here to read Episode 1. Click here to get “Daikaiju vs. Cthulhu” – a Daikaiju Attack story!
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PART THREE: FINAL CHALLENGES
Somewhere amid all the planning and writing and characters taking over the story, I had to work up the logo, banners, episode headers, mock-covers, and all the other materials to illustrate Daikaiju Attack. Just another day at the office for ye olde author/artist.
Now you might think that writing a story on the fly like this would mean forsaking the usual rewrites and editorial process.
Maybe some authors would work that way, but not me. I’m way too much of a control freak for that. I rewrote every episode at least twice before posting it.
Additionally, my amazingly patient wife and a rotating cast of friends, fellow authors, and editors went through every chapter—sometimes more than once. (Thanks to the Alliterates and the Keno Writers for putting up with multiple readings of the book at our monthly meetings, and to David Annandale for stepping in frequently.)
After the editing, I would read and correct each chapter, again, just before I posted it. And, often, I’d correct that whole chapter set—again—when working on the weekly episode. The end result is that some of episodes of DA have been rewritten eight or more times before publication.
Which is not to say that we’ve have caught every typo and mistake. “Live” publishing would not be truly live without some margin of error.
But in these days of staff cutbacks at the big publishing companies and newspapers, I believe that the editorial work on Daikaiju Attack will stand up favorably when compared to today’s print and online media.
And the story totally rocks!
So if you’ve been waiting to read my giant-monster epic until after the whole thing is done, or if you’re one of those people who likes to read the end-notes of a book first—Now is the time to start reading!
After all, the monsters are waiting!
Will there be a sequel?
Probably.
Though writing a weekly serial can be exhausting, I have ideas for the next four major storylines, with notes for more tales beyond that.
Plus, the new Godzilla (2014) is just over a month away as I write this.
How inspiring is that?!
Right now, though, I’m going to take a deep breath before starting in on the next storyline.
If, however, you want some immediate kaiju gratification, you can find the official prequel for this series in a book called Cthulhu Haiku 2. The story is entitled “Daikaiju vs. Cthulhu,” and it features deep backstory for some of the DA characters. (If you don’t want to pick up the whole anthology, I’ll be releasing “Daikaiju vs. Cthulhu” as a solo e-book later in 2014.)
For now, though, here’s a few final notes about the story to send you on your way…
All the places in Daikaiju Attack are real (aside from X-Base and the characters’ homes and associated areas), and I’ve attempted to portray all these places accurately.
But… I’ve never actually been to Japan, so I’ve had to rely heavily on internet research and Google Earth for accuracy. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how long it takes to get from City A to Place B, where the Goragon meteor could land so Aki could drive down a nearby highway and see it, and other such details. If you have correction suggestions, I’d be happy to hear about them—unless they really screw up the story. (Grin.)
Yuriko Hoshi is an actual movie star who was featured prominently in several Godzilla films, including my favorite (after the first), Mothra vs. Godzilla, a.k.a. Godzilla vs. the Thing, and she really did star in a film called Campus A-Go-Go.
When I decided to include her as a guest at the Tottori beach party, I also decided to mention a film from 1965 that she’d appeared in (since the DA series is set in 1966). It was just happy coincidence to stumble across such a suitable movie, though one beta-reader suggested I change the name of Rin’s band because of it (too many “go gos”). Sadly, I have not been able to track down a print of Campus A-Go-Go to actually see it.
That’s all for now. I’m sure as you read (or re-read) the story you’ll find other bits of trivia and in-jokes.
Hopefully, all that will keep you amused until I get around to writing the next story.
Remember you can always reach me through my website if you have questions or suggestions.
Or if you want to send me on an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan.
I think I might give up some of my hermit-time for that.
Banzai – Stephen D. Sullivan
April 4, 2014
All contents TM & © 2014 Stephen D. Sullivan. All Rights Reserved.
