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Dear Outer Lands Librarian
Dear Outer Lands librarian is a blog post for librarians in the Outer Lands Archipelago including Long Island, Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod among others. It offers the illustrated novel ‘The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission’ for their collections and patrons and describes its appeal to Outer Lands readers and art lovers. It offers links to reviews and international purchasing options through the 4seasonshelf Project and Ingram Spark.
From an Outer Lands author with a book for your collection:
‘The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission’ an illustrated novel
A special shoutout to the librarian in the Outer Lands Archipelago — Long Island, Block Island, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Manhattan, and more.”
An Adventure Begins, Heroes Wanted
Set in the Outer Lands Archipelago, the contemporary modernist illustrated novel is perfect for adult Outer Lands readers of literature and art lovers, who will recognize the beautiful four season setting and island life. About progress, justice, camaraderie and the healing power of storytelling, the book is very much created by and for these extraordinary times.
IndieReader calls the illustrated novel “a cataclysmic adventure.”
The novel’s plot is character-driven, neatly woven together, and multi-layered.
The adventure begins as the world is on the verge of falling apart. The Clerk narrowly escapes the city through the relocation services of the Org and is assigned a reconnaissance mission to its Outer Lands territory. The reader is recruited as the “Ink Drinker” to go along.
Flying to the Outer Lands territory, the duo is forced to make a crash sea landing. They ride a 50-year wave ashore to a terribly beautiful island. Not only must they deliver and pick up dispatches, now they must follow signs to a bridge. From the beach, they enter into a small coastal farming town. As if under an enchantment or spell, they embed with neighbors along a country road and go through a cascade of events and challenges in order to complete the mission.
“This is as much a call to action as it is a story,” said author N.G. Swett. “The world being what it is, a direct connection between writers and readers is essential. The novel came together over the last decade as all hell broke loose in publishing and new alternatives appeared. I specifically added design features in my novel to help readers take a chance on a new book in indie publishing. It’s an adventure, and I want the reader to get in. The language is easy, the plot moves, the type is large, and I even painted illustrations. I made the decision to only publish it in print for the sake of a quality reading experience and the sense of reality and personal connection we get from carrying and holding a book. But the biggest thing is that I added the reader to the title and story itself as the ‘Ink Drinker.’ Together we complete the mission.”
Readers who finish “The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission” join a growing league of heroes who got the assignment and completed the mission.
A list of 20+ book discussion questions is available for groups and book clubs.
N.G. Swett is a New York multimedia communications pro with extensive experience in all facets of the industry including environmental and financial communications in New York City; regional multimedia marketing and public relations for private clients; and news and feature writing for the New York Times, the East End Independent, and Dan’s Papers. Swett’s advocacy has helped families, local small businesses and professionals, downtown revitalization, and shelter pets. Ten years ago, at 50, Swett started new creative projects including the novel, painting and poetry while learning the ropes of ecommerce and self publishing.
Swett lives on Long Island with her husband, two grown children, and a large dog. She studied political science at SUNY Binghamton and attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City.
Available Globally Through Ingram Spark
The new release 2026 illustrated paperback novel, “The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission,” is available internationally through Ingram Spark.
The novel is published as part of Swett’s 4seasonshelf Project and is represented by Great Peconic Communications, the author’s own media company (est 1995).
Currently, signed and stamped first edition paperbacks are available at the 4seasonshelf.com online shop (USA orders only). There are no plans for an ebook or hard cover.
Where / What is the Outer Lands Archipelago?
The Outer Lands Archipelago along the American east coast is an inspiration for author and painter N.G. Swett. The islands, which include Long Island, Block Island, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod and many others, share a unique ecology, history and economy. In this blog post you can find a Google map, an excellent library resource, and examples of creative works by N.G. Swett including a poem, short story, videos, and the illustrated novel ‘The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission’.
The primordial islands that shape the 4seasonshelf Project, including the illustrated novel ‘The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission’ by N.G. Swett
Credit: Google maps and graphic design by N.G. Swett and 4seasonshelf
The Ice Age islands along the American northeast coast share ecology, history and economies. It’s a rich area creatively as well, a place that seems to speak to those who live there and visit. It inspires the author and painter N.G. Swett, especially the 4seasonshelf Project.
The islands include Long Island, Block Island, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and many more.
Wonderful book on the subject:
The Outer Lands by Dorothy Sterling and illustrated by Winifred Lubell
This richly illustrated and well written book details the natural history of the Outer Lands Archipelago. It can be found in the collections of most libraries in the Archipelago!
More about the Outer Lands Archipelago
How can a place inspire us? Here’s an example, a short rhyming poem by N.G. Swett for the 4seasonshelf Project
Continues >
Even more about the Outer Lands Archipelago
Enjoy a few videotaped moments on an Outer Lands ocean beach HERE.
Take a little bus excursion with Nan to an Outer Lands fishing village HERE.
Read a prize winning short story by N.G. Swett that was an early version of the first chapter of the illustrated novel ‘The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission’ : HERE.
Last but not least, order the contemporary illustrated novel with an Outer Lands setting:
Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Written and Illustrated by N.G. Swett
Illustrated Paperback
Copyright 2026 by N.G. Swett
292 pages
First Edition
Escape artist | “Summer Waltz” by NG Swett | acrylic painting (& video)
“Summer Waltz” by NG Swett 2024 | 14x11” acrylic on canvas board
I herein reveal…
what made me want to paint this scene
what I was trying to express
how I think it came out
how I made the video (below)
and more
Heat wave! It’s been so hot.
As much as one wants to go outside and enjoy the summer, IF it’s cooler inside, then one would like to stay inside.
By looking out the window at the beautiful summer day, one can feel FOMO — the fear of missing out. Summer is here, but it won’t be forever. Summer is the season to recreate, enjoy life, and take it easy. If not now, when??
What made me want to paint this scene
I spotted this lovely scene out the window and I thought I would set up my paints as if I were outside painting, only I would do it inside where it was cooler.
I saw a chance to play around with the indoor and outdoor scenes and have some fun with paints — and my smartphone!
The scene outside the window was so summery, breezy and lovely.
And the scene inside the window was also lovely. A bouquet of flowers that our daughter brought sat on the dining room table near the window. The striped curtains fall around the scene like theater curtains.
But there was also something not so lovely: the feeling of not really wanting to go out into the extreme summer heat, feeling a captive inside the house because of that. Of separation from nature. Of watching and waiting. The emptiness of the lounge chairs on the lawn and the chair at the table…
What I was trying to express
The process of painting the two scenes together in one painting — one a kind of outdoor plein air scene and another as a kind of indoor still life — showed me a few things:
initially I felt fear and trepidation, which is visible in the video — doubt that I could make a good painting or a good video
the sense of aliveness in the natural world I try to capture using a dabbed impressionist treatment
gratitude and appreciation for a longtime home, a place near and dear to my heart and where my family lives, albeit a more staged and less changing indoor setting
longing, yearning and meaning of empty chairs but also of possibilities
challenged — demarking the window screen as the focal point, the exact place where indoor and outdoor meet; it picks up sunshine along its thin silvery grid lines
defiance! The curtains lent themselves to a modernist, expressionist treatment — very satisfying! Like, I could make these curtains more exact or prettier, but I just did ‘em how I felt like doing them
the lovely flowers, though challenging in their detail, came through best for me using some abstraction
How I think it came out
I mean, I like how the painting and the video came out. Works for me! I always think it’s a miracle when my painting ends up looking like anything at all, let alone forming a complete picture.
I really had fun with the digital and video tools, too.
Here is the video:
How I made the video
Here are some notes about how I made the video:
I videotaped with my smartphone and a tripod
I edited the video in Canva
the waltz soundtracks are all from YouTube’s free audio library (for YouTube use only)
the scenes of me inside the painting are done with the image of the painting overlaid with a video of me with the background removed
“More Babies!” — video with short rhyming poem, artwork
by New York poet NG Swett
Just a quick video post today, including a couple of extra pieces of material:
notes about the substance of the poem
when and how I wrote it
creating and posting the video
The substance of the poem
The billionaires, plutocrats, oligarchs — some are calling for more babies.
Women should have more babies, some say. Women shouldn’t be able to end a pregnancy under any circumstances, some say. Life is too… precious!
Over a lifetime, families can easily shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars per person for taxes, health care, child care, education, shelter, food, transportation, weddings, and finally assisted living. The willingness to pay is only limited by our means. The value of a statistical life was estimated at $7.5 million in 2020 according to FEMA. Oh how the shareholders must drool at a number like that!
Other happy civilized countries don’t have things set up this way. Every heartstring we have is tapped for all it’s worth. Every fear stoked for our last dime.
There’s pushback on social media to this idea of women as livestock, especially among women. But the good news for the owner class is that they can mute ‘em with algorithms. (Studies show that social media is terrible for women’s mental health, especially secular liberals.)
Scientists proved that the human race is stripping the planet of resources, causing mass extinction, and polluting it to the brink of extinction. So do we really need more people? Or should we get our house in order first?
Writing the poem
So this all tickled my funny bone a little, so I jotted down this little rhyming poem in a big black journal that I’ve been using lately for sketching and writing.
To illustrate the poem, I pulled up a painting I did some time ago of a made-up plutocrat, “One.” It’s from a series of mini acrylic paintings I made as art therapy to get me through writing and editing my first novel — a very, very challenging project! The paintings are all illustrations from scenes of the novel.
In the painting, One lounges god-like across a royal-looking chair in front of a glass window at night. You can see a bridge lit up behind him. The rug under his shiny black boots is a rough map of the Outer Lands Archipelago.
Making the videos
I made a short video in two formats, wide and vertical mobile. I added two audio tracks, one with the sound of a typewriter and another with the sound of an eerie lullaby…
I’m placing the wide format video here on 4seasonshelf.com first.
Then they will go on the billionaires’ platforms…
