A New Project

So... I'm working on a little just-for-fun side project that may or may not find its way into The Novel someday. It's based on a painting that I found whilst browsing this cute little pirate-themed souvenir shop down in Seaport Village.

Here's the painting:

The pirate reminded me sooo much of Ryenne. I want to write the scene that's happening there. I've got ideas formulating, percolating in my brain-tubes, but it's going to take me more than the afternoon to get them out. So I thought I'd talk about the idea for today's post...and maybe, just maybe, I'll have the scene itself to post tomorrow.

The biggest thing I'm having a problem with is finding the right card game. So far, my research has said little about pirates playing poker (not that I know how poker works anyway). It has mentioned gin rummy and a French card game called "piquet." Unfortunately, I do not know how to play either game, and it's hard to understand the rules when you're reading them (without examples) on Wikipedia. Gin rummy sounds easier to learn than Piquet, but wiki said that it's much much more complex than it seems. That works both for and against me. A complex game suggests higher stakes than a simple one. The stakes I'll be writing about are HUGE. ENORMOUS.

It works against me, though, because I don't know the intricacies of the rules, which will make it harder to describe.

Who wants to read about card game rules in a story, though, right?

I guess we'll see how this turns out. Hopefully it's good, because I really want it to be. I'm excited about it. Why, exactly? I'm not sure. But I am.

EDIT: Never mind about Gin Rummy... it was invented in 1909, or so my research has led me to believe. I think I'm going to go with Piquet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piquet)