Ever since I got the word last August that Parke Godwin’s health and faculties were in decline, I knew I was going to have to write this post sooner or later. It was perhaps selfish of me that I wanted it to be later. Much later. I had dreams of receiving one more of his witty letters, finished with that flourish of a self-caricature he always drew after the closing, even though we’d long since switched to email and those caricatures were gone. Then I thought of my father in law, who I loved dearly, telling me, not too long from the end, “I’m so tired.” I understood what he meant then, though I tried to pretend that I didn’t. His body was just worn out and it was time to go, and it was the same with Parke Godwin. “Pete” to his friends, who were legion. I was proud to count myself among them. Continue reading
Author Archives: ogresan
Review — The Sorcerer and the White Snake
The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011, Directed by Ching Siu-tung, starring Jet Li)
Those who have read my review of White Snake, Green Snake will find a lot of parallels in this movie, and that is not a coincidence. The Sorcerer and the White Snake is another retelling of the Chinese legend of “Madame White Snake” and if anything follows the details of the legend even more closely than the previous movie. Here the monk Fahai is given a more prominent role (played by Jet Li, so no surprise there) and to make room the comic relief Taoist priest is dispensed with altogether. Fahai has great spiritual powers (and is the “sorcerer” of the title, though “priest” would be more accurate) and is the abbot of a monastery. Assisted by an acolyte named Neng Ren (Wen Zhang), he travels the area to battle the demons that threaten the people there. Early in the movie we see Fahai battle and defeat an ice harpy with Neng Ren providing the comic relief. Once a demon is defeated, it is trapped in a sort of limbo to contemplate its sins, possibly for eternity. As the two travel they see evidence that a bat demon is attacking people in the local village, and this creature is their next target.
Warning: There will be spoilers. Continue reading
Going Pro
I was out of town most of last week on a business trip that didn’t give me a lot of access to my normal online channels, but I did find out that I’d sold a new story while I was out. I sometimes get asked about that, meaning the experience of selling a story. “Doesn’t it get old? I mean, after 20-30-40-50+ short story sales, doesn’t it get a little ho-hum?” Continue reading
In Which I Am a Sadistic Rat
I really don’t like thinking that I’m a sadistic rat, mind you. I mean, I know I’m a long way from being a good person–keeping in mind that I have rather high standards in that regard–I’m far too aware of my own shortcomings, and all the times I knew what the right thing to do was…and didn’t do it. So no, I don’t consider myself a particularly good person in the sense of being a credit to my species, but a “sadistic rat”? Isn’t that a little harsh?
No, not really. See, I’ve been working on a writing project in plot resolution mode for a bit. It’s slowing down the actual word count, but it’s a necessary step. And the question “What’s at stake for my hero in this?” quickly morphs into “What is the absolute worst thing I can do to him?” And I thought of something diabolical. Nasty. Heart-breaking. I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not the “sadistic rat” part. That came out when I realized that the absolute worst thing wasn’t actually the absolute worst thing, because I had already done the absolute worst thing to him that I could do in a previous adventure…which wasn’t the absolute worst thing either, because it occurred to me that the absolute worst thing was something I’d done to him even before the reader ever met the guy, something that continues to haunt him until the present situation and will beyond it, assuming he survives.
So, not the “absolute worst thing” I could do to him, because I’d already done it. Twice over. But pretty damn bad. And, yes, I’m going to do it. The story needs it, and the story always comes first.
I am a sadistic rat, no question. It goes with the job description.
Double Down
CW Phoenix 4
It’s not often I get two author’s copies on the same day, but it happened last week as I found my contributor copies of Clockwork Phoenix #4 and The Mammoth Book of Angels and Demons crammed into my P.O. box together. I’m in loads of good company but other than that I’m not going to namedrop–follow the links above if you want to know all the goodies. For my part there’s an original story, “Beach Bum and the Drowned Girl” in CW4, and a reprint of “Sanji’s Demon” in MBOAAD. I’m being totally objective and unbiased of course when I tell you that you really should pick up both of them.
A&D
Richard Parks 