For the most part, all the work in my gallery is related to A Flock of Ravens, and because people continually ask about the project, I decided that a simple FAQ would be the best way to answer any questions. However, I don’t want to give away too much information since the project still isn’t complete and most likely won’t be for quite some time.

Project-Related Questions:

Q: What is A Flock of Ravens?
A: It’s a screenplay series that I’ve been working on for the past two or three years. Basically, it’s my idea for a manga series, only in script-format.

Q: How long is it?
A: There are 20 volumes, each 50 to 70 pages in length. I have NO intention whatsoever of doing prequels or sequels. 20 volumes is already kicking a dead horse.

Q: What is the current status of the project?
A: Incomplete… Although all 20 volumes are done, there is still a lot of editing that I need to do. I finished the first round of editing February 14, 2008 (checking for grammar, spelling, continuity errors, awkward dialogue, as well as some major and minor scene adjustments). There will most likely be two more rounds of editing since there are still some scenes I may want to take out/put in and I know I want to clean up the dialogue a bit more. I may even make some name changes.

Q: Where can I read this story?
A: Nowhere. It’s not online. It’s in script-format, which is very dull and awful to read. Though I normally wouldn’t ever let anyone suffer through that, I do hope to eventually put the scripts online so I can get feedback. Ideally, AFoR would end up as a manga, but I lack the abilities to bring it to life as I imagine it and, depending on the artist, I’m not entirely comfortable letting another artist illustrate it. Instead, it will mostly end up as a book series… maybe? I’m not sure yet. Depending on the feedback I get, it may stay in script form. But the point is, as of now the story isn’t online.

Story-Related Questions:

Q: What’s the story about? As in, what’s the plot?
A: This is the question I really don’t want to answer because it would take me way too long if I ever went into detail… and I’m honestly paranoid about people stealing my ideas. So, rather than give you a plot summary (because I couldn’t summarize A Flock of Ravens in under 50 pages), I will tell you some of the general concepts. The story for the most part focuses on the dark side of human nature. Other important themes are death and immortality, but there are no vampires in the story. I can promise you that much. The general idea for A Flock of Ravens was inspired by Goethe’s Erlkoenig, or rather, the general Erlkoenig myth. Go read about it on wikipedia if you’re not already familiar with it: [link] Other influences were, unfortunately, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. And about the title, I can’t explain it because then I’d probably wind up giving away too much information.


Q: When and where is the story set?
A: Don’t let my character illustrations fool you. A Flock of Ravens is NOT set in 18th century Europe. Aside from the appearance of the characters and such, it has nothing to do with the 18th century. The story isn’t even set in the real world. It’s all fantasy. The fantasy world in the story is simply based on 18th century Europe… almost like a parallel world/mirror image, if you will. But trust me, A Flock of Ravens isn’t set in the real world.

Q: Okay, if it has nothing to do with the 18th century, then why base the fantasy world off 18th century Europe?
A: The vast majority of fantasy stories either have some sort of medieval/Renaissance/Asian setting or influence in their character designs. I don’t like using medieval or Renaissance type settings/character designs because they’re overdone and I find them boring. And as much as love Asian cultures, everyone expects you to draw kimonos and yukatas the minute you start drawing manga-styled characters. I’d rather stick to something that I’m truly interested in, which would be the 18th century. And even though it’s fantasy, I try to keep the costumes as historically accurate as possible because I’d just feel weird and uncomfortable with “altering” them.

Q: What time period are the costumes based on? 1780s?
A: The vast majority of the costumes are based on fashions from the 1780s. However, there are also a good number of costumes based on early through mid-1790s costumes. And some characters even wear very early 18th century clothing. It’s fantasy, so I see no reason to limit myself to certain costume styles; I’m not aiming for historical accuracy. Plus, there are certain characters that I’ve always associated with certain styles.

Q: What’s the genre?
A: The story isn’t set in the real world (which makes it fantasy), but there isn’t really any magic. For the most part, it doesn’t really fit into the fantasy genre. It’s more like a combination of dark fantasy and traditional gothic horror… maybe it’s even a bit of a revenge tragedy. But whatever it is, it’s dark. So yeah, it’s not really something kids should read.

Q: Who are the main characters?
Major characters are: Fallyn, Nathair, Rowen, Nell, Baen, Faing, Angelo, Giles, and Skena.
Minor characters are: Draven, Teva, Brennen, Rhys, and Vivian.

There are also many miscellaneous characters who come and go with each volume. However, even the characters who appear for only one volume are important and often greatly affect the plot of the story. These characters include: Nevyn, Nairne, Daegan, Selden, Paxton, Shaylon, Oriana, and many others.

Q: Do you have character profiles anywhere?
A: Yes, of course. Right here: [link]

Q: Why do your characters have such random/strange names?
A: Yes… I have been asked this before. And the reason for the odd names is simple: when I first started working on the project, it was more fantasy-inspired than 18th century-inspired. So… when I was naming a lot of the characters, I picked mainly Celtic, Irish, and Scottish names (a lot of traditional fantasy names come from these backgrounds). But as the story progressed and I got more into the 18th century, I started to pick a lot of English and French names. Mainly, I just picked whatever I thought sounded interesting.

So, I hope this FAQ answered some of your questions.