Where / What is the Outer Lands Archipelago?

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:

SIGNED & STAMPED PAPERBACK: The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission ~ An Illustrated Novel by N.G. Swett

$25.00

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

ORDER

New release novel: cover reveal, unboxing and book signing

Three author rituals —DONE! — for “The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission” by N.G. Swett

It surprises me to find that I haven't said much here on this blog about my biggest, longest running project: my novel! I've been working quietly on it for a decade. It's coming out now, ready or not.

You know and I know what authors do when there’s a new book to launch. There are three main rituals:

• the cover reveal

• the unboxing

• the book signing

I performed these virtually and posted the videos (see below).

Thank you to friends and family who helped with the cover design, it made a HUGE difference.

“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…

Poetry of Love?

TikTok video of Stolen Moment, one of the first poems
in the poetry collection Hold Me Tight.

Why A Poem?

At our wedding, our best man advised us to follow the KISS principle: keep it simple stupid — the shortest speech in the history of weddings. Now that we’ve had a lot of time to think about it, that was darn good advice for a twenty-something guy to give.

And now, what could be simpler than a poem?

And did you know, poetry is alive and well? So I thought I’d give it the old college girl try.

Immediately yes! I loved it. I’m a pen and paper note taker, a list writer, a scrapper, a note hoarder.

Labor of Love

This little poetry collection took six months to write and publish. It’s been a labor of love! The main investment was my time and focus.

Cover reveal

So here is the final cover:

Going Wide, Going Global

The book is available in the United States and around the world.

Final Thoughts for Today

I’ve learned so much, and there’s still a lot to learn.

Writing a love poem can lead to the permanent existence of a book of love poems for posterity, what’s left of it.

~ Nan