What is "Delilah Dirk Four?"

Delilah Dirk Four (or "DD4") will be the fourth book in a series of graphic novels about Delilah Dirk, 19th-century Europe’s premier brash lady adventurer, an international mistress of swordsmanship, master of blade-based conflict resolution and/or instigation. She has a distaste for being cooped-up and a soft spot for good tea.

THE DELILAH DIRK BOOKS

The series currently tells three stories of adult Delilah’s adventures. You’re welcome to start reading those books right now, easily and for free—they’re all over at DelilahDirk.com. They have been Eisner-, Shuster-, and Harvey-award nominees, and the first was both a New York Times bestseller and one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2013. They have received glowing reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and School Library Journal. They are ideal for readers of all ages, though they were designed to fill the Indiana Jones-shaped hole in my own heart, so are a natural fit with middle-grade readers, though I see a lot of appeal for Boat Dads and Horse Girls.

THE STORY OF DD4

Tentatively titled Practical Defense Against Piracy: Ms Nichols’ Primer for Young Ladies, the fourth book takes place in the mid-1790s, when young Delilah is just entering her teen years. With an English diplomat for a father, she has grown up under her parents’ care in cities around the eastern Mediterranean, most recently having spent four years in Istanbul and another year in Smyrna. Now, she is returning to England for the first time since she was a toddler, and at an age when—in her mother’s opinion—she is ready to “enter society,” to make herself known as a young lady eligible for marriage.

Delilah is excited. She has only ever heard stories of her family’s estate, and thrills at the idea of exploring its nooks and crannies. She looks forward to her mother’s lessons, too, assuming that “being a lady” means she’ll get to trade her toy swords for real ones, she’ll get to ride the big horses instead of her usual ponies, and she’ll finally be taught how to sail.

But rumours on the Aegean winds suggest the presence of a new and frightening type of pirate—a small fleet capable of appearing without notice, who sets fire to the seas they sail, whose cruelty is unmatched. Their captain is a living shadow with eyes like hot coals and a voice capable of crumbling the strongest stone fortifications. They kill all who cross them, capture everyone else as slaves, take what they want, and burn what they don’t.

The threat is too much for Delilah’s father. Concerned that his small convoy of three ships would be easy pickings, he demands that they seek safe harbour until they can be bolstered by a more formidable British escort. The nearest safe harbour turns out to be the island upon which his wife, Delilah’s mother, was born. They expect a warm reception, and are disappointed. A fear of pirates has sapped the life from the small town, and the island’s nobility is focused on dumping resources into the construction of new sea defences. It is not the island Delilah’s mother remembers.

How will Delilah respond when she learns that being an English Lady involves less swordplay and more needlepoint? And how will she keep her parents safe when, one night, a dense fog rolls in from the sea, carrying swarms of fireflies that scorch everything they touch, before the lanterns of a dozen pirate raiding parties emerge at the shoreline and creep through the town? If she and her father ride across the island for help, will they make it back in time? She is terrified, but must learn bravery in order that she will not be consumed in the pirates’ flames.

FOR FAMILIAR DD READERS

Right now, DD4 does not feature Selim. I mention this only because I know people like him and his relationship with DD—so do I, it’s one of my favourite features of the other books. That does not necessarily mean we will be losing the qualities he brought to the previous stories. There ought to be some way, I’m sure, to include some level-headed contrast to DD’s impulsiveness, and to provide someone upon who DD can impress her bright spirit.

DD4 will also not feature DD’s flying boat, the Lilaea. I have no excuse. It’s just a victim of circumstance. Other elements of the story will heighten the fantastic aspect of the world. Other elements will operate as embodiments of DD’s freedom.

THE PROCESS

DD4 will be written and illustrated over the course of two years, or at least that’s the plan right now. Previous books were written in their entirety, then illustrated in their entirety. This time, I’m considering finishing it a-chapter-at-a-time, and will be posting work as I go. Ideally, I can afford to do that for free, to everyone, though it’s possible I might limit some or all of it to patrons. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, I’m trying something different from what I’m used to, hopefully in a way that is healthy for the series and which serves readers best!

If you’d like to join me as work progresses, you can:

- Follow @tangocharlie on Twitter for all-purpose tweets

- Follow @delilahdirk on Twitter for Delilah-specific tweets

- Follow the RSS feed for DD4-related blog posts.

- Subscribe to the Delilah Dirk Newsletter 

- Become a patron, here on ol’ Patreon Dot Com!