Unless you’re one of the people to whom the Grand Design was handed on a platter, “meaning” is where you find it. And when one is in that particular karmic space, one finds the strangest things to puzzle over. For instance, I’ve been going around and around over possibly the stupidest, least consequential questions in all creation: why do I have no problem re-reading an old story series but balk at watching TV re-runs?
Rediscovering My Inner Fanboy
I signed the contracts this morning, so I can go ahead and announce that “Skin Deep” from Eclipse 2 has sold to Witches: Wicked, Wild, and Wonderful, a (partly) reprint anthology from Prime Books due out next March. The editor is Paula Guran, and I’ll be sharing a ToC with Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman, Ursula Le Guin, Tim Pratt, Margo Lanagan, Elizabeth Bear, Tanith Lee (see the link for the complete ToC) and that’s just for starters.
See, I’ll also be sharing a ToC with Andre Norton. Andre Norton was one of my very first influences; I actually discovered her before I read Bradbury or Heinlein, and my novel A Warrior of Dreams is dedicated to her, as well as Lord Dunsany and H.P. Lovecraft, for reasons that should be clear to anyone who reads it. Pardon the “squee!” but sharing a book with Andre Norton invokes my inner fanboy. We don’t see him that often, but nice to know he still lives here.
Drop the Lamp and Back Away Slowly
Everyone’s read that type of story, and you know the ones I mean: Deal with the Devil, Genie in a Bottle, Magic Fish, Magic Ring, et many ceteras. And anyone who has read that kind of story must come to one reasonable conclusion, and that is, if you come across any kind of wish-fulfulling object and actually make a wish, you have to be out of your ever-lovin’ mind. Continue reading
Review: Firelord by Parke Godwin
Firelord by Parke Godwin, Morrow/Avon edition 1994.
This is probably the most definitive version of the legend of King Arthur published in the last thirty years, in my opinion. Godwin has done his research, and traces Arthur’s origins from a high-born Romanized Briton in the twilight years of Rome’s presence through his rise to power and the creation of a well-organized, effective kingdom that is capable–at least for a while–of holding back the encroachment of the Jutes, Saxons, Angles, and other mainland tribes. If Arthur actually existed, well, it could have been like this.
Good as his research is, that’s not what makes this book so worth reading. Godwin has the natural ability to bring his characters to life in a way that few other writers can match. There are no “minor characters” in a Godwin book. Everyone is there for a reason, and everyone has their own story to tell, be it Geraint, Lancelot, Guenivere, Isolde, Tristram, even that legendary whipping-boy King Vortigern gets his due. Everyone is at once larger than life but very recognizably human, and all play their parts for good or ill according to who they are and what they think is best. Godwin doesn’t stray too far from the broad outlines of the story of Arthur, but within that outline he has all the room he needs. Highly Recommended.
Another Writing Exercise
One more bit of fluff from the Java Ink writer’s group. The challenge this time was to write a flash around the premise “Bad news solves all problems.” Not that I accept the premise, mind you, but as an exercise, I went with it. This one didn’t take fifteen minutes. Might have taken fifteen seconds.
First Child: “Mommmm! She took my doll!”
Second Child: “Did not! It’s MY doll!”
Mom: “Girls, just so you know–your father won’t be around anymore. I killed him. He was bugging me.”
Children (in harmony): “Never mind!”
