So… I’ve written a few Maratse stories. That might be a bit of an understatement, and I suppose I know it is when I look at a the above image of the omnibus editions. So far, I’ve written 24 novellas about Maratse. I tend to think of the novellas as behind the scenes or background stories, written primarily to get to know Maratse and to help me write the novels. I relax when writing a Maratse novella. It’s like coming home and visiting an old friend. We’re both getting on a bit now. Maratse’s birthday is July 3rd, 1979, so he’s a few years younger than me (six, but who’s counting?).
He’s a quiet fellow, passionate and unstoppable when suitably incited into action, but reluctant to engage or be engaged in conversation. He grunts more than he speaks, and I love him for that. Of course, choosing the right “voice” for Maratse is difficult when he says so little. However, he has been known to be unnaturally loquacious in one or two novellas, often when talking about dogs and ice.
Typical.
The question I often ask myself is will there be more Maratse novellas in the future? The answer is yes, and probably, and then definitely, when I feel a story coming on. Who knows? It might just be that the cheeky teaser covers for future omnibus editions might be published in the future… especially as novella #25 is already “in production”. 😉
I use covers as inspiration and motivation to produce stories, so you’ll have to forgive this glimpse into the future. Number 25 might be “in production” but three more omnibus editions is 12 more novellas!
I’m useless at maths but that’s… ah, that will be 26 novellas…
… deep breaths…
I guess I’ll be spending a lot of time with an old friend!
Chris