Late last week I turned in my script for Two Generals. Coming in at 123 story pages, it's the longest script I've written (Northwest Passage was 230-some pages, but written in three chunks of 70-80 pages each).Research was also more intense than anything I'd previously done. Though the book was initially to be based solely on my grandfather's 1943 diary, as things progressed two other sources significantly expanded the scope of the story. First, I was fortunate enough to gain access to the War Diary of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, which provided a wealth of detail (including daily weather reports, orders, etc.) that I never dreamed would be available. And second, I was able to meet Colonel Doug Barrie, who served as an officer in the HLI at the same time as my grandfather, and whose personal memories provided such inspiration that after the first night I spoke to him I began my script again from page 1, because the entire nature of the project had changed.
The book is still a soldier's eye view of WWII, but the story now extends beyond my grandfather's diary of England (which ends on Christmas 1943) and follows him and his best friend into France on D-Day, and all the way through the battl
e of Caen. It's pretty intense.I'm certain there will be some rewriting to do, but I've now largely shifted gears to thinking about the art. The character designs you see here also reflect my current thinking about how I want to handle colour--two-colour, with a sort of faux ink-wash look. I wouldn't be too surprised if the book ends up looking something like the pieces I've posted.
And, of course, now that I'm on to the art stages, there will be a lot more to show here on the site, so check back often for further updates!
