Of Knights, Wizards, and Both

I recently borrowed a The Knight from a friend. Part one of a duology called The Wizard Knight. Strongly rooted in Norse mythology, this fantasy follows a young boy as he stumbles into a land of fairies and giants, seeking to remember his past and become a hero.

In some ways this is a conventional fantasy, such as Able's origin in our world, but in other ways it is completely new to me. One of these new elements is the plot...or lack thereof. When reading, one usually expects a hook, a stirring rise, and a dramatic peak to the action, before dropping off to a conclusion of some kind. Not so, The Knight. With this story, the main plot seems to take place in the background, rather brought to light by inference as Able, narrating in the first person, throws in comments about grand battles and convoluted politics that happen outside the tedious day to day wanderings of the confused hero.

SEMI-SPOILER ALERT

What we the audience see, Able stumbles out of a cave where an Overcyn gives him a bow string. Then he wanders into a forest and meets an old man who takes care of him. Then he meets a knight who sends him back into the forest where he meets a fairy queen. She turns him into a strapping, handsome man. When he goes back to the knight he gets lost and finds a woman and her baby. Later on he gets a dog. Able leaves the woods and travels to a town and gets on a ship, thinking to lose the dog. He beats up the captain, pirates attack, and the dog catches up. After Able gets wounded the dog jumps overboard to find help and fairies take Able to the sea and teach him the way of water. He climbs a tower and drinks some water. By the time he gets back to the ship, years have gone by. The ship takes him to a town where he goes into a volcano, meets a dragon, and years pass. He finds the ship again, and the dog. Then he goes to become a knight and gets sent on an adventure after picking a fight with the local knights and hunting for the fairy queen. Then the dog comes back.

The actual story seems to pick up sometime in the latter half of the book, but even then, one is not certain what the point of the whole book is exactly. But the great thing is that none of that matters. The story is beautifully written and simply making sense of it all is half the fun. And the magic is rendered in a refreshingly clever way: many books have lately tried to make magic more of a science (Harry Potter comes to mind, as does Howl's Moving Castle and the Warhammer Fantasy RPG) but The Knight takes the magic spells and sorcery cookbooks back to the basics by making magic strange and more elemental. My favorite example was when the fairy queen kisses Able and declares that he belongs to her. Able's response: "I knew it was true." Magic!

Now I'm on to the second book, The Wizard. It promises - for now - to be much more linear, though some of the fairy-land frolicking does come into play from time to time, and seemingly random characters are still cropping up without notice. The dog is back, Able is looking for trouble, and there is still no word from America. I'll write again once I've read to the end.

Madcaps Murder

Some folks have been writing about the recent publication of a "how to" book for pedophiles, so I thought I had heard everything. Not so! While stumbling about on Google this morning I came across an archived article in the New York Times about a publisher agreeing to withdraw a "how to" book for hired assassins.

Way back in 1983, Paladin Press released Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors, ostensibly to benefit "a wide audience, including crime buffs and mystery writers." It also apparently influenced James E. Perry, who in 1993 killed a mother, her 8-year-old son, and the boy's nurse - the child being a quadriplegic. Curiously, in the ensuing case it came to light, a la one of those CIA programs, that the boy's father wanted to inherit the $1.7 million estate that his son had won through a medical malpractice suit. Perry was hired for the job and the rest is history.

Naturally, rather than simply acknowledge Perry's wickedness, someone went looking for the "cause" and targeted Paladin Press, forcing them through a pretty major court case to withdraw the book, despite evidence suggesting that Perry relied more upon his background in Detroit than on the contents of Hit Man. No matter, a quick Amazon search suggests that the book remains out of print, though prior to the book being pulled it had sold roughly 13,000 copies...

Literary Journal Analysis

I recently subscribed to American Short Fiction and The Missouri Review. Both magazines struck me as the standard literary magazine: stories were character driven, built upon deep thoughts and descriptive tale-telling, achieved through the vivid pictures painted rather than the stories told. It was not the story – though these could be quite compelling, such as the one about Joseph Smith below – so much as how the story developed the protagonist.

The word I would use to describe American Short Fiction would be “edgy,” a feeling that seemed to permeate the whole magazine, even its matt finish. Covers featured interpretive art and photography, including odd themes such as two pair of hands exchanging a bloody knife and a little girl holding dead birds by the feet. The editors of American Short Fiction placed a great deal of importance on themes, as evidenced in the introductions: the Summer 2010 issue focused on “rights of passage” Fall 2010 issue focused on short fiction, including some interesting flash fiction. The content was deeply introspective. The Woolly Mammoth Carried Me Home had nothing to do with woolly mammoths and everything to do with coming of age while losing a parent to cancer – among other things, such as balloons, toy cars, and wiener dogs choking on the same. Diviner, on the other hand, followed the wooing of a country girl by Joseph Smith, as watched by her disapproving, but ultimately defeated father. In Madmen, the narrator did not like how the hands on paper doll streamers merged together. Field Trip drew many visual and ideal parallels between goats and people, ending with a stillborn kid goat.

I should think the audience of American Short Fiction would be deep thinkers and those who like to read challenging ideas. The concepts presented in Field Trip, for instance, were possibly open for interpretation, but were curious in a disturbing sense. The reader was presented with a strange billy goat with a blue tongue, who bred with the young ewes, one of which birthed a stillborn kid at the end of the story. Strange as this spectacle was, the teacher leading the school group of which the narrator was a member was herself pregnant, leading the reader to wonder what sort of message was being delivered. Similarly, the author of Madmen tackles the taboos of puberty in young girls, occasionally straying towards the graphic in a way that challenges accepted norms, contributing to the edgy, rough appeal.

The Missouri Review, on the other hand, while keeping a certain edge, seemed to favor works that were a little more straightforward and story-like. Covers hinted at adventure and more challenging themes, featuring photographs of risk-takers, artistic renditions of people turning flips out of trees and off of precarious chairs. Selection of materials in The Missouri Review was more varied, allowing for essays, fiction, and poetry, though each issue did have a somewhat focused theme, such as “life’s buffetings” or the “dark or destructive forces in human nature.” Content was also rather introspective, though narrative events had more place there. The Church at Yavi followed an ex-husband and wife as they relived their experiences with a rebellious daughter and visited the place of her death. I Think You Think I’m Still Funny depicted the stress a young man felt in the presence of his immature, stoner buddy from school. The poetry was very literary in that it was not easy for me to follow and was structured for those who wish to make sense of what they read, rather than have it presented in catchy rhythm. Happily, in between the melodramatic stories, the editors had the magnanimity to insert cartoons to lighten the mood.

With these things in mind, I envisioned the audience as being those people interested in human dramas on a leisure level. Stories were slow paced and the dramas unfolded at their own pace, giving the reader plenty of time to take everything in. It was interesting to watch the elderly couple traverse the South American countryside in a seemingly vain attempt to solve their daughter’s death (they didn’t) and though it was hard to tell if the narrator changed in any way, as is the usual formula for a story with beginning, middle, and end, his character was certainly developed along en rout. Similarly with I’m Still Funny, the main character’s personality did not really develop so much as get revealed through his interactions with the rather static antagonist/best friend. Both examples depicted characters in a progressing setting, rather than a linear story with a plot, but within each of these stories the drama unfolded to reveal the characters in their entirety.

Back to the World of Print

I have not given Seth Abramson much love in my other observations, so I'll start with him today. Most of his blog has lately been taken up with "hiatus" videos, but there are plenty of links to his Huffington Post articles, which are pretty recent. I looked at his 6 Myths About the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts wherein he takes on some commonly held notions. I won't do a play by play, but the gist is this: Creative Writing MFA's aren't to be sniffed at. Many programs are fully funded and others provide a great deal of moolah to those accepted. That said, not everybody is accepted and many MFA programs are more selective than the leading ivy-league schools, and MFA programs are not a place to get a book deal so much as a place to develop one's skills - if that does not sound like your thing, then don't worry, one does not need an MFA to get published. But if that is your deal, then pick a program based upon the student/faculty ratio and its level of involvement, not the celebrity of its teachers. And don't worry about losing your style to "the mold." Most MFA students are in their twenties, so they are reluctant to alter their developed styles.

Janet Reid was in a similar boat, posting mostly short spots and links to other articles. But there was one amusing post about the Amtrak shutting down en rout to some editorial venue or other and another post that caught my eye: haiku query letters. Reid saw it on another blog and re-posted some of the suggested haikus, leaving me sorely tempted to send a serious query letter in the form of Japanese poetry.

For all you paranoid writers out there (that's me as well), the Urban Muse has got a nice list of ideas to protect your beloved ideas from other authors and untrustworthy editors. The post mainly caters to freelance authors, though I suppose that the rest of us can glean some useful info from the list. The main idea is to protect original ideas during the pitch (that is, when a freelancer offers to write for a magazine or similar publication), when the editor could take the offered idea and either write it themselves or have another author do the same. Suggested protections are contracts, credentials (only YOU can do it!), researching editors, and good old fashioned friendship.

For those of you living near Port Moody, there is a writers' group that the Beacon Blog just mentioned. They've some openings for new members, though it seems the deadline was the 14th of this month. Still, this group might be a neat recourse, so look them up if you're interested!

Cynsations has another interview out and this one is about a new series called Samurai Kids. Apparently based in a realistic world, the story is about an samurai dojo for the community outcasts, chief among them a one-legged boy who wants to be a samurai. The story sounds like an interesting mix of Japanese details and American values, wherein the feudal era is mixed with the age-old tale of misfits banding together to overcome any obstacle. Throw in some teen samurai Olympics and a rival team that goes by the intimidating sobriquet "the Dragons" and we're all set for some swords and sandals in the far east. I was critical in my last post of those series that try to fit with a fad, but since I am a sucker for such imports at Rurouni Kenshin and Naruto, I may just give Samurai Kids a chance.

Finally, the Blue Rose Girls have a post up to discuss the roles of editors at writers' conferences. These events are exhausting to work, but great fun at the same time. Booth duty is the main thing for editors, which entails maintaining the booth itself (and getting water for those working at it) and helping those who approach with anything that they need (information, sales, advice, etc.). Naturally, there is the program of the convention itself that demands attendance, but such is usually left to the senior editors. Perks of the job.

Youtube Interviews

I watched some video interviews yesterday, wherein several writing teachers were asked questions regarding their experience with publication.

First up was Robin Becker, who revealed that she queried ~70 agents before settling on Janet Reid (whom I've written about). Becker used agentquery.com to locate candidates. What she published was a zombie novel and she is currently working on a thriller, though I can't recall if it is at all related - I think not. Becker was pleased to break into the published world with a zombie novel because the genre is big right now. She said that while twitter and facebook may not be ideal publicity tools for beginning writers, they are certainly good for keeping up with trends.

Becker used the word, "workshoppy," to describe certain works that focus on form over story. To her, story is the most important thing.

Mark Spitzer got published by sending out his works like a machine. Sure, he made mistakes (addressed to wrong editor, anyone?) but had to learn not to fear the indignant reactions from publishing houses. He likes to think about quantity over quality for beginning authors, and about stirring things up in the literary world; get noticed! One of the tricks he used was to write a chapbook and send a nice copy out to publishers, allowing them to publish whatever they fancied or to even review it, should the mood hit them. Spitzer likes to work on more than one project at a time; he is currently writing a teen-post-apocalyptic story (hey, it's popular right now!)

Garry Craig Powell may be British, but he enjoys topics about the American South. He had an easy time getting published when he wrote about blues while on a trip down that way. Powell's strength is his ability to network and he has got some things published under the auspices of Dave Eggers and found an agent through another contact in New Orleans. He had some good things to say about indie presses, likening them to indie films, while the mainstream is becoming like Hollywood.

John Vanderslice was first published in his college's literary magazine. When he felt ready he began researching more journals and began sending out submissions to five or six journals at once. All authors are encouraged to keep files on what they've published and what is being sent out at any given time and Vanderslice likes to use the old-fashioned file drawers. He keeps two types of files: one categorized by the names of the journals he is soliciting, with the stories that are sent there all alphabetized; and one file on stories, with each of the journals solicited listed in alphabetical order. He finds that the best time to send out submissions is in the fall, as there is a better chance that the publishers are open to material at that time.

Reviewing Ariel Gore

I just recently finished Ariel Gore's book, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead. It sounds all fun and fancy, but I found the content to be a bit like the title: fun, but just a hint morose.

You see, the funny titles is based upon the death of a friend of Ariel's, as she explains in the preface. Alli wanted Ariel to help her with advice about writing and getting published, but life got in the way and before they could meet Alli had a seizure and died. How to Become a Famous Writer was inspired by that tragedy.

First the bad news: if you have read very many "how to" books on writing, section one of the book is old news. It talks about writing generally and covers a lot of ground, so that could be a good thing if one chooses to read just this book and no other.

I was also a bit bogged down by the numerous interviews with different writers. I suppose each interview corresponded with a section (Margaret Cho's interview was spliced into the chapter about self-promotion) but for the most part the writers seemed to mainly give their two-cents on the writing life, which did not offer up much to me (that said, the interviews in part 3 were another matter entirely, as I'll explain shortly).

Another point of concern would be the profuse indulgence in dirty language and the attention given the gay publishing world. The F-bomb is dropped quite liberally and writers for "queer" literature are featured several times throughout the book. To me, it just begs the question: if I were to be interviewed, would Ariel have introduced me as "straight"? No, so what's the point?

Now for the good news: the down and dirty of the publishing world is where it's at in this book. Parts 3-5 offer advice on self-publishing, big-name publishing, and self-promotion, respectively. I found part 3 the most helpful, especially the chapters about Zines, a field that is pretty new to me. Given our technology today, self-publishing is insanely easy, making the real challenge simply getting recognized. Set aside a week's pay at minimum wage and you can have a stack of lovely published works sitting on your coffee table. But getting your name out there is the key, so those three sections are a gold mine of information.

Publicity may be my weakness, since I'm just not inclined to stand out on a street corner in a gorilla mask and tutu (p.257) but there are many options that would not have come to mind otherwise, such as newspaper and radio interviews, roadtrip readings, and getting a book banned. Ariel encourages her readers to be shameless because, after all, you'll (maybe) never see any of these people again and now they know where to find your stuff. I guess one just has to follow what one would do naturally (ie, no tutus for me).

Update to Sergeant York

I heard back from the folks at Simply Charlotte Mason, and they have granted me permission to post a selection from my chapter submitted to their American history project. Please note that there has been no editing done on their end and the chapter will not be published for another year.

Taken from Corporal York Defeats the Machine Gun

"On the morning of October 8, Corporal York and the men of Company G look out across a broad field, over a mile wide with no cover to hide behind. The Germans are guarding this field zealously, because beyond this place lies the railroad that the Americans hope to capture. To lose this supply line will mean a great deal of trouble for the Kaiser, so the German commanders have placed their infamous machine guns along the ridges on the other side of the valley; they mean to keep it at all costs. The Americans know this, but all they can do is carry themselves like men and brave the field."

O Frabjous Day!

I never thought that I would wind up writing for a textbook, but that's life, I suppose.

Back in September Simply Charlotte Mason, a homeschool resource provider, was running a contest for its collaborative American history project. Entrants were encouraged to submit a chapter of 1500+ words on a subject in the 1900s for use in a new textbook on that time period.

The challenge was to write a "living book," something of which the educator Charlotte Mason - for whom the site is names - was very fond. Living books make their subject matter come alive, rather than spitting out dry facts. Since this was how I was educated, I thought I'd contribute.

I chose Sergeant York of WWI fame, a man that I read about in Albert Marrin's THE YANKS ARE COMING. The story had thrilled me at age 16 so I can only imagine how it would invigorate a young child. In writing the chapter, I turned to my good friend Charles Carleton Coffin for inspiration and wound up writing everything in the present tense. It was great fun and I sent it out figuring that at least I had done my part. And you know what? It got accepted! The textbook will be published sometime next year and all contributors get a complimentary copy. O Frabjous Day!

I'll ask around and see whether it would be appropriate to include an excerpt for the public's viewing. I'm new to this whole thing, so now that SCM owns the rights I may need their permission.

If you want to follow Simply Charlotte Mason you can either use the link above or check out their related blog.

Once A'more

It's been a month, so let's see what everyone is up to out there. Janet Reid has a link on her blog about NaNoWriMo, which I am doing - after a fashion, stretching the time limit out to three months with 55k words instead of the usual 50k in 30 days. Not exactly the same, but I'm quite enjoying myself! So maybe that is not the best way to begin this, because the link sent me to Murderati and the article on NaNoWriMo is rather dour, all doom and gloom, "write a book for her." Though perhaps they have a point: that stories are often written for those who need an escape. Lord knows I find escape in my writing, once those juices are flowing.

Well, perhaps The Beacon Blog will prove more uplifting. Ah, yes! Here we are encouraged to be professional with our choice of addresses, none of that soccergurl49, please. Why? Because you will be lost amidst the shuffle when your editor/agent goes looking for your name. What's more, she even suggests getting "your own" email, that is, one for which you pay, not a free service.

While we're talking about professional attitudes, The Urban Muse suggests reclaiming some of the house for one's own. Granted, she works out of the house, so I suppose that one's office is subject to one's working conditions. But the idea is sound and the pictures are excellent and motivating. And really, it is all about getting the most and best work done, and doing it right. So whether you do like Miss Muse and redecorate your house, or like King and curl up in a broom closet, take whatever environment you have a clean it up!

Blue Rose Girls have got a post up answering a couple questions, one of them about children's books and dummies. For those who are not familiar with "dummies," they are the rough sketches for picture books, like a graphic novel's first thumb sketches. The text for the book is complete and ready for print, but must be carefully laid out on so many pages (often ~32) for the sake of printing and other needs. I found this post helpful because I'm interested in a few of my stories possibly becoming picture books and it will be good to know what to expect. Here, it was asked whether one should indicate the action if it is not made clear. Rose Girls said "yes," sketch it or write it in the margins if it is important enough and carries the story along.

Over at Cynsations there's an interview with Kiersten White, author of Paranormalcy. As I'd never heard of the book and suspect that I am not alone, here is a synopsis shamelessly ripped from that post:

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Okay, so I really should be objective, but let's be honest: my first reaction to this was, "not again." No, it's not the teen romance or the inevitable angst or the prom-night maiden on the cover (although I admit she is quite the bombshell). Actually, I'm just getting a bit tired of the "teens deal with teen problems and teen angst in a fantasy setting." Ever since Harry Potter, it seems as though the world is swimming in a steady deluge of genre fiction from the teenaged point of view. And why not! I'm sure they sell out routinely. But is it not enough that Twilight and Percy Jackson had to jump on the bandwagon? Even though the tales young masters Potter and Jackson are rather masterful (I honestly can't speak for that shady Cullen fellow), one must question why the world feels the need to follow a winning trend.

But then, I suppose I just answered my own question there!

Krishna on the Street

I was walking to the bus stop this afternoon and found a friend talking with a middle-aged man in a ball and bedecked with sling bags and backpacks. As I stopped to await my ride, the man turned from my friend and asked, "Are you a student here?"

When I replied to the affirmative he continued, "Are you interested in knowledge?" and pressed into my hands a medium-sized hardback with a glossy cover that read The Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Though curious, I handed it back, replying, "Can't say I'm interested in Hindu knowledge."

"But this is Ultimate Knowledge."

So began our discourse. Judging from a later wikipedia search, I'd hazard that the man was a Hare Krishna, because he identified himself as a monk who had taken vows of poverty and was a disciple of a disciple of the crouching Hindu priest pictured on the back cover. "He is a Realized Soul," the man claimed, "and this is ultimate knowledge." My friend and I exchanged looks and prepared for the debate.

It seems that academia has lied to us, though in what way the disciple did not specify. The book in his hand was one of two books written by the hand of God, not through a man, so it is perfect, and has been perfectly transcribed and translated throughout time. How do we know that it is legit? Because we are told so by the Realized Souls, which are some kind of holy men that are recognized by the "symptoms" of their enlightened state of being. The disciple claimed to take his belief in a scientific sense, and that the particular author of his offered book had all the signs of being such a man.

One thing the disciple wanted to stress is that this was not about changing our faiths, but about gaining the truth, pointing out the Gita's means of breaking the chain of life-to-death. By now I was very interested, not by the antiseptic sting of knowledge within reach, but by the inconsistencies of his claims. We pointed out to him that to accept such a "truth" would indeed clash with the doctrines of the Christian faith.

No, he assured us that the Bible addressed reincarnation as seen in one of the disciple's questions regarding the blind man, "who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" I found this to be a bit of a stretch to claim that the Bible supports reincarnation, to say nothing of Jesus' reply, "Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him" (John 9).

But of more concern was the man's reassurance that we were not going to change our beliefs because Jesus was recognized by the Hindu religion since he studied in India while a young man (though this is hardly possible) and that his name was in the "guest book." I found this problematic, since having his name in the guest book implies that Jesus is a guest at the heavenly party, whereas I believe that He is the party. I tried to make this clear, but the disciple suddenly got defensive and said that it was clear we were not interested and that he'd try his luck elsewhere, then he left after wishing us well.

I went home to look up this book he offered us. It is a translation of the original Bhagavad Gita, with extensive commentary and other notes. Curiously, it seems to be a somewhat radical book, arguing for a caste system under "perfect" rulers. I don't know. Perhaps I'll do a proper book report one day.

Calvinists

It has long been my fondest desire to contact Bill Watterson, author of the famed Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. Along with Gary Larson's Far Side and sporadic adventures with Prince Valiant, Watterson's work inspired my grad-school mind and encouraged me to take up my pencil to draw.

Years later, I am writing more than I illustrate, but my love for Spaceman Spiff is no less. So I looked up Mr. Watterson to say "thank you." In doing so, I discovered the truth that my parents were too gentle to reveal: the man is a real-life recluse. A wikipedia search laundry-listed the people Watterson has turned down for interview, but in a fit of optimism I went over to Andrews McMeal Publishing, where The Complete Calvin and Hobbes is being published. To my horror, their contact page solemnly explained, "we are sorry to report that at Mr. Watterson's request, we do not forward such correspondence his way for the sheer fact that he would be unable to keep up with the overwhelming demand."

Well phooie. I am still praying about whether I should send something on the off chance that it might break through, or that at least it could bravely return, branded UNDELIVERABLE. But until I screw my courage to the sticking place, here is my letter:

Dear Mr. Watterson,
You probably do not remember me. Some years ago I sat down on the couch with my mom and she read to me a story about Spaceman Spiff. It was funny, even though I did not understand all the words, and I decided to write to you. So I dictated a letter, which my mom wrote out for me, duly signing it, at my request, "your little Calvin man." So, now that I know how to write myself, I thought I'd drop you a line. Thanks for Calvin and his tiger, they were sources of years of entertainment!

Sincerely, Maxism

The Barry-man

I was first introduced to Dave Barry back in high school when my mom produced a copy of Dave Barry is from Mars and Venus. I was hooked thereafter and soaked up every copy we had. Indeed, my family seemed to go on a Dave Barry spree, and before long we have a pretty substantial library.

There were many good memories from those books. Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys was a present to my dad, but once he saw the ribald humor he set it aside and, knowing my love for the author's work, said, "I'd like for you to not read this one." I replied, "Ah, I finished it a week ago." And on a more thoughtful note, Dave Barry Does Japan helped me along with my own trip to that country.

So a few weeks ago I picked up a brochure from the local theatre and turned to the guest speakers to discover Dave's picture grinning at me. Holy Moses! Word spread quickly across the campus and before long a handful of friends had gathered for a group date to the "lecture." I even picked up a couple guys en rout, who responded to my offer with, "Dave who?"

Heretics.

To my immense relief, Mr. Barry was an excellent speaker - you know how some folks are brilliant on paper, but just eh on stage? - and, despite the fellow providing running commentary in the back row, Dave had us rolling within seconds. Some of his stuff was straight from his books and though I don't call myself a complete Barry nerd, I was pleased to be able to pick them out, and yes, they were just as funny.

As for the obligatory book signing, I picked up a copy of Peter and the Starcatchers from the sales table. It should be a good read, judging by the first chapter, and received rave reviews from my female classmates last year. Dave was kind enough to sign it, "For Max, my idol."

But that's not the half of it! Head over to Dreaming of Mercy to follow her own take on the visit: she got to have dinner with the guy! There is a pre-dinner post up and I'm expecting to see something of a debriefing soon.

Correspondence

Superlative news, Brian Jacques has written me back! I stopped by the post box to check my junk mail and lo! within was a glowing envelope graced with a "Redwall" embossed postage label from Liverpool. I saved it for last - some might call it a short coming to not simply tear into that mail one actually wants, but I prefer to savor the moment - and carefully snipped it open in the fashion shown me by a sweet Thai girl back in high school.

Inside was a stationaried and watermarked letter dated "08 October" and addressed to me by name! Oh joy~! The note itself was very much in character with Jacques other works, wherein he thanked his fan for continued interest and assured me that he was still writing. The Sable Queen came out a few months ago, so perhaps I'll drop by the library and pick it up.

My thanks, Mr. Jacques, for taking the time to reply!

What’s up in publishing

Taking a look at Blue Rose Girls, a recent post caught my eye about an event held at the Boston Public Library. It was a festival celebrating children’s authors, featuring such greats at Neil Gaiman and Jerry Spinelli. The officious tea party was apparently a pretty big to-do, with kids dressed for Sunday and four student representatives giving awards to the honored authors. The thing that caught my eye was that it was a awards ceremony FOR KIDS. According to the blog entry, there were more kids at the library than there were adults, and judging by the speech delivered by Grace Lin, it was pretty uplifting and encouraging to literary children. She said the same sort of things that one hears all the time – wrote something, got rejected, wrote something else, and persevered – but I can imagine that, coming from a published author, this meant a lot to the young listeners.

In another post, Libby told some anecdotal stories about child-like logic, wherein children think very hard about something and come to an oftentimes incorrect or perhaps unrelated conclusion. She also mused about how wonderful such logic is to adults (or alternatively boring) and wondered why it is that such logic is not written about more often. I concur and admit that I love such stories. Kids say the craziest things and think nothing of it, and that I think is one of the glories of children’s writing, that stories can be told from a child’s perspective. I do believe that Peter Pan was a classic that very reason.

Cynsations offered an interview with new author Matthew J. Kirby who recently published The Clockwork Three. Being a sucker for good cover art, I stopped by thanks to the image of a clockwork golem in a style somewhat like a cross between the covers of the Spiderwick Chronicles and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Below the teaser outline was a short interview that concluded with a note on getting an agent. The first great leap of new authors, no? I’m still there, myself. But it was interesting to see that a new face was being asked about his style, what he did to nab his agent. In a nutshell, the two of you need to click, and it never hurts to network. Network, network, network.

And speaking of agents, Janet Reid (an agent) had a post up about interns. One can imagine what the stereotype must be for interns, and there must be some Twitter discussion going down about a tactless intern ragging on the manuscripts with which he/she gets saddled. I like to expect the best in people, but it does not take me much imagination to fear the Intern. How can one expect them to really give one’s precious work due credit? If interns are the filter through which manuscripts are passed, then how can we authors expect to ever get anything past the confused freshman and through to the agent? Fortunately, Agent Reid comes to the rescue of her own interns and interns generally: apparently their inexperience makes them great filters. After all, they don’t know when to put something down, they strive to work hard, and they come pre-equipped with enthusiasm enough to match Chihuahuas with ADHD. Good news for the rest of us, anyway.

Over at The Beacon Blog, Julie Ferguson has a few things to say about mugshots and bio material for authors. Basically, she encourages us to use common sense and do these things “right,” but the fact that she brought it up at all was telling. This digital world with which we interact demands that we “sell” ourselves effectively. Case-in-point: I love that little bathrobe kitty up in the corner of this page, but I highly suspect his days are numbered. Though I’m still in the “avoid stalkers” mindset when it comes to pasting my name, face, and address all over the net, some minor changes may have to take place once I’m published and the riotous fans and competing publishers wish to contact me. that said, I’ll probably be waiting a little while before coffee cat goes…

Lovely segue, this: Urban Muse has written on how Facebook can give a leg up to one’s freelance work. Cue the big “duh” moment; it’s a networking site. Sure we all knew that, but sometimes it takes a blog post to alert the unsubtle masses (and here I’m preaching to choir* of me) to the fact that what they are already doing will almost certainly help them along the elusive road to success. Facebook uses include general networking (duh), idea generation, and advertising – after all, what is the book of faces but one big advertisement, be it advertising you, your friends, or a dating service?

But wait, what’s this I see in the guest blog list? “How to Write a Memorable Bio”? Why yes, please! Kenji Crosland says here that one must answer the following: “What’s your mission,” “where did you come from,” “what have you done,” “what are you doing now,” and fill in with a personal quirk. Most excellent, Crosland-san, I’ll get right on it!

In other news, a Columbia professor has taken creative writing to a new level by generating a prodigious fib regarding the achievements and glory of said school. Freelance journalist Seth Abramson has more on the story.

-----
*Word of the day: I miss-spelled “choir” as “quire” on the first go and discovered that it is really a word: a set of 24-25 sheets of paper of the same size and quality. Neat, huh?

Liberty

I love history, because history makes for some good reading. And if there is one history book that I truly love, it is The Story of Liberty by Charles Carleton Coffin. We used this as a textbook when I was in high school.

First published in 1879, the book chronicles the struggles of mankind to resist tyranny and seek after personal freedom, most often the freedom to worship God as one sees fit. Beginning with the Magna Charta, and ending with the first American colonies, Coffin touches on a tremendous amount of Western history, from Martin Luther's 95 Theses to the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, from the Inquisition to the Armada and Sir Francis Drake, from Papal corruption to the youth of Captain John Smith.

If you are looking for a comprehensive text of world history, you won't find it here, and be warned that Coffin is not terribly forgiving of the Catholic establishment of the era, sitting solidly in the Reformation camp. But don't let any of this stop you from picking the book up. Coffin's style is brilliant, charged with feeling and irony, without becoming preachy. He "tells it like it is," giving the straight facts, often in the present tense (i.e. something like, "Elizabeth is now the queen, but she has many enemies in Europe"). Though The Story of Liberty runs the serious risk of making you hopping mad at tyrants everywhere, there is always a silver lining; for every defeat and for every penalty laid upon those who choose to think for themselves, there is hope of a better future.

Letters for Redwall

If you have never heard of "Redwall," think Stewart Little meets The Hobbit. Written by British author Brian Jacques, it is a series of children's novels set in a fictional world populated solely by woodland creatures. The action usually takes place around Redwall Abbey and typically depicts a new Tolkien-esc horde of rats, weasels, and other vermin trying to take the abbey, which is heroically defended by the abbey mice and their patron saint, Martin the Warrior.

That's just a rough idea.

When I first picked up Redwall about ten years ago, I was enthralled by the range of story-telling in those pages. A veteran of The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, I expected a lot from fantasy, and Mr. Jacques delivered in splendid style. The prose are simple enough for children to read, but not under-written or dull, the descriptions are vibrant (Jacques LOVES to write about food especially), and the action was astonishingly vivid. Though not disturbingly graphic, battle scenes are not for the squeamish, as foxes, badgers, rats, voles, moles, hares, otters, mice, and squirrels crash together in scrums worthy of Brave Heart. But the blood-letting is not the complete story, as most of the tale revolves around the swashbuckling adventures of Redwall's inhabitants and their allies.

Mr. Jacques began publishing in the mid-eighties, and is still going strong, with another book (The Rogue Crew, I believe) slated for 2011. But the man was born in 1939. Seeing that prompted me to write a long-delayed thank-you to this outstanding author, because thanks to him, I began writing in the first place. Lewis and Tolkien introduced me to worlds beyond worlds, but it was Jacques who convinced me to put pen to paper.

So thank you, Mr. Jacques, for writing such outstanding adventure tales for children! Thank you for every sea-faring otter, for every unctuous stoat, for every towering badger lord. Thank you for fights and food and enduring friendships. My hat is off to you, sir.

If this has you interested, be sure to check out Mr. Jacques official site, complete with a store, book chronologies, and other information.

Lifestyle

In my latest perusings of Making a Literary Life, author Carolyn See advised her readers to “pretend” to be a writer. What in the wide, wide world of sports? I do not pretend, woman: I do!

Oh wait, moving on, she makes a very good point; that is, what your muse wants your muse should get, i.e. mountain vistas, cocktail parties and wild boat rides down the Nile. Naturally, this advice could render some adverse results. Infidelity, embezzlement, and boarding actions by Somali pirates come to mind. But in terms of tailoring your life and personal self-image to your writerly tastes, I am intrigued.

So let’s see, what does my writerly self look like? I like the idea of long sleeves, since they lend their wearer a sense of sophisticated sobriety – chill short sleeves are good, but sanguine by comparison, long sleeves are alert. I’ve got those and the glasses – rectangular in the style of my inner, hip professor.

Notebooks are a must, both lined for journaling and blank for sketching. Got those too. Now I just need an office, with wood-paneled floors, and wood baseboards, and wood trim in every corner – even trimming the ceiling – a small, but cozy fireplace; a big swivel chair that reclines so that I can prop one foot on the heavy oak desk when conducting an interview, pipe in hand – selected from my collection of handmade antiques – imposing wooden shelves on at least two walls – all my books will be leather bound, even the paperbacks, courtesy of a custom leatherworking shop – and one of those large, revolving globes that sits in a three-legged frame. To say nothing of the human skull resting near my right hand for those truly morose moments of imaginative fervor.

Lifestyle-wise, I’d like bodyguards in turtlenecks, blazers, and khaki slacks, though only for those black tie events that harbor lurking assassins. And speaking of death, unless I die in bed with “rooooooosebuuud” preceding my death rattle, I’d like to be standing at the epicenter of a cataclysmic meteoric impact.

Review of "Making A Literary Life," by Carolyn See