Things I Like – Part 1

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I’ve talked about Parke Godwin as a person before, but now I’m going to concentrate on his legacy a bit. He tried out science fiction  (see The Masters of Solitude written with Marvin Kaye) but he really hit his stride with historical fantasy. I rank his take on the Matter of Britain at the very least in a league with Rosemary Sutcliff’s, and I do not say that lightly. My first exposure to this area of his work was The Last Rainbow, a take on the legend of St. Patrick, a subject I didn’t think I cared a whit about until I read his version. Parke Godwin came from a theatrical background (he was an actor long before he became a writer) and you see it in the care that goes into the creation of every one of his characters. They are never around just to serve the plot, a failing you’ll often run into even in the best of other authors’ work. Each and every one has, for want of a more appropriate term, stage presence. If a tinker shows up on page 234 for one scene only, you can bet he has a backstory, his own reasons for being where he is, and you’re likely to remember him when the book is done. There are no throwaway characters in a Parke Godwin Book.

Next up is Firelord. This is the beginning of the diptych of Godwin’s take on the legend of King Arthur. If I had to single out any one book as Parke Godwin’s masterpiece, this would proabably be it. Godwin’s take on the story of King Arthur takes him from Celtic tribal prince to a soldier in the last days of the Roman Empire’s influence in Britain to war commander to king. The fantasy element is always slight enough that one could ignore it, up to a point, but it’s there in a way that makes sense. Even Merlin plays his part, though he’s not who you might think he is. It’s a unique take on the legend, and I’m not giving any more away, so read it yourself, if you haven’t already. You’ll note above that I said “probably” his masterpiece. The only reason I’m a bit wishy-washy on that is because I waffle between Firelord and the second book, Beloved Exile. If Firelord is mainly Arthur’s story, then Beloved Exile is Guenivere’s. Specifically what happens after Camelot falls, a time period given fairly short shrift by most accounts of the story, maybe because the early tellers saw that as the end, but there are no endings, not really, and there was no way in hell that the Guenivere of Firelord was going to be retiring to a nunnery, then or ever. Which book is my favorite rather depends on what day you ask me.

There’s a lot more I could talk about, but then I don’t want to spoil it for anyone just getting into Godwin’s work. I will point out that you don’t want to overlook either Waiting For the Galactic Bus or The Snake Oil Wars, Godwin indulging his comedy chops with the linked stories of two extremely advanced aliens who get “temporarily” stranded on the Earth and the extreme mess they make of the place. There’s his one collection of short stories, The Fire When it Comes, including the World Fantasy Award-winning novella of the same name. There’s Tower of Beowulf. There’s his marvelously off-center take on Robin Hood—Sherwood, and Robin and the King. There’s…well, lots. Unfortunately a great many of these are out of print, but editions are available, and I’d jump on them while they are. You wouldn’t be disappointed by any of them, and if you are, well, we have nothing to discuss.

What I Would Have Said

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chaI had originally planned to make some anouncements about changes to the web site. I’m still going to do that, but a little less so. Sorry to be cryptic, but I had a plan, as so many of us do, and then the plan got changed. You know the old saying, “You want to make God laugh? Tell God your plans.” Even a former Southern Baptist, agnostic Buddhist-curious animist like me can get behind that one.

Ahem. Where was I? Right. Changes. Well, one change. It’ll be a little one. I plan (there we go again) to add a page which will probably be called “Things I Like” since I believe in truth in advertising. I even believe in truth in politics, though it’s only revealed by accident, and usually with dire consequences for the one who so trips up. Regardless, reviews and such will still appear in the main blog, but I’m going to create a separate page, probably mostly books and authors that have been significant to me over the years, with links to their work when there are links available. Maybe some comment as to why it’s there. I’m still figuring that part out. Oh, well. It’s my blog and I’ll put whatever occurs to me at that moment. One thing I do promise is that I will be consistently inconsistent.

And a final note–The ebook sale will be ending today. Thanks to all who participated.

Making it Up

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MorningRainbowThe new Story Time page is “The Last Romantic” (MYTHIC #1, 2006) a first-person account of the dragon and the sleeping princess from the dragon’s point of view. Which, now that I think about it, is something I did once before, with “A Thing or Two About Love” (Wizard Fantastic, 1997). This one is just a tad different. You’ll see what I mean if you read both.

I do remember where this story came from. It was back when we were living in north Alabama and some of my co-workers were arrowhead hunters (not, I hasten to add, pot-hunters. No one was robbing graves or digging pristine sites). It’s just that, every spring during plowing, it was pretty common for arrowheads to turn up in the fields, and the farmers usually didn’t mind people looking so long as they asked first. I tagged along on one such trip. Didn’t find a lot, but saw the places where the native tribes had naturally settled, started thinking about what it must have been like, being pushed out from the places your families had lived for generations. What sort of hope one might look for, and so the story.

It’s just the way my mind works. Or at least how it worked back then.

To Those Who Wait

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Heavenly Fox - eBook1You’ve heard the old saw, “Good things come to those who wait.” And of course, bad things as well. “Good” and “Bad” are matters of perspective. Something happened late last month that I consider very bad. However, it may lead to good things eventually, perhaps even better than matters would otherwise be. I just don’t know. Time and perspective are required, so I’ll wait for both, in the sense that I’m paying attention for when they arrive. In the meantime, I’m not waiting for anything. I’m doing my job and trying to accomplish things I consider important, so perhaps when more time and perspective have arrived, I’ll be ready for them.

That’s the key, of course—it’s not about waiting. It’s about being prepared. Doing your work, no matter what else may be going on in your life. Sowing the fields. And while you’re busy not waiting, crops can suddenly appear. Within the last week I’ve sold one new story and given permission for two reprints: one for production as a podcast and another for reprint in a new Mammoth anthology. More details when everything is set and ironed out. The new story is called “The Manor of Lost Time,” and, pending editorial approval of some relatively small revisions, it’ll be published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies, probably in late spring.

None of which would have happened if the work hadn’t already been done. I’ve told this before but it certainly applies here–I remember when one of our old writing group comrades, then still unpublished, was marveling at those of us who were selling—sporadically, sure, but selling—“Any day you check your email or go to the post office, something good might come to you.” When I pointed out that, on any given day, it was more likely that nothing at all would happen, she rightly dismissed that. “But it might. I can’t imagine what that’s like.” I understood what she meant, since I’d been on the other side too for a lot of years. Yet even then you’re laying the foundation, plowing the fields. Preparing for what may yet arrive.

Now and then, you get a sprout. But not if all you do is wait.

Leaving on My Mind

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ATGOH-Proof CopyThere’s a chance we’ll be moving either late this year or early next. Nothing’s decided or settled yet, but at the moment all signs are pointing to a change. These days I find myself taking long hard looks around my library, trying to decide what things I merely like and what things I actually need. There’s usually a disconnect there, when you really do look. Sure, you may like having a complete set of the old Encyclopedia Brittanica, but do you really want to lug it to another state in the back of a car that’s already too small? If taking it means leaving something else, what then?

It’s a little hard to think of it in terms of revision when it’s your life you’re talking about, but the process is pretty much the same–decide what matters. Get rid of what doesn’t. Sure, you may have thought that was a cute scene and it was fun to write, but does it really serve the book/story? If you took it out, would the reader notice? More importantly, would the reader (if they ever found out) appreciate the fact that you didn’t bring the pace to a halt while your characters become pointlessly witty with one another? Do you really need to lug all those words to the next draft where you know you’ll be asking yourself this question again?

As with the clutter of accumulation, personally I find revision empowering, as in “Sure, the story is good. I can make it better.” We can make our workspaces and our lives less cluttered, too. All it takes is to consider what you like, and what actually matters, and knowing the difference.

The book sale continues, probably through April but no guarantees. I am nothing if not capricious. I have, however, added my ebook releases for the Kobo and Nook as well as the Kindle. This doesn’t, of course, include anything released by TOR or Prime. Those are under their publishers’ purview. You do what you can.