I just had a nice long phone conversation with a reader / beta-reader about some of the more technical details of utilizing military vernacular for many of the things in Privateer Tales. Specifically, I was trying to come up with a rank structure that was easier for the non-mil. crowd that didn’t insult the mil. crowd at the same time. I feel like we made good headway and in the end, I think we have something that is realistic, but not over the top.
At the same time, he mentioned that some of my ship classifications were out of order. Initially, I wasn’t buying it, but when I started researching it with him, I folded my position quickly. Simply put, I had a few ship classes poorly positioned. Probably the most egregious were cruisers and corvettes.
As it turns out corvettes just aren’t as big as I’ve suggested and cruisers are generally bigger . So what’s an author to do? Easy, I’ll make sure we have it right and then put it in the forward of Give No Quarter and use corrected references going forward. I’m sure going to miss those corvettes, though.
I’m avoiding using Matt’s full name just yet, until he’s had a chance to review my new list and make sure he’s okay with his name appearing on the blog. The following sheet is close to what we’ll end up with.
Class
Tonnes
LOA-Meters
Examples
Dart
< 10
Tug
80
20
Adela Chen
Cutter
150
30
Sterra’s Gift
Sloop
300
40
Hotspur
Corvette
500
40
Banny Hill ( parley)
Light Frigate
1,200
50
Cape of Good Hope
Frigate
1,800
120
Justice Bringer, Peace Bringer
Light Cruiser
4,000
100
Fist of Justice, Hammer of Justice
Destroyer
6,000
140
Crusier
8,000
150
Heavy Cruiser
14,000
200
Walter Sydney Adams, Theodore Dunham, Hipparchus
Battleship
18,500
250
Dreadnaught
42,000
600
Bakunawa
Platform
12,000-really long
Oh and for a quick update… I just passed 24,000 word mark in Give No Quarter. I’m hoping to be past 40,000 by the end of January and writing complete by mid March. By adding the Audio Book, Life of a Miner and Wizard in a Witchy world, I’ve been extremely busy, but I couldn’t be having more fun!
The artwork above is a 3d rendering of our new destroyer by artist Elias Stern. Please check out his work at deviantart.com as Lord Doomhammer. The model is just a taste of what’s to come and take it from me, you’re going to love what he’s come up with for Give No Quarter’s cover.
Happy Reading!
Jamie