Once upon a time, there was a man who had an image in his head, of a faun walking through a snowy wood, carrying parcels and with an umbrella held above him. And the man decided one day to write a story about that image, a story centered around some children sent away from London during the Blitz. The man was C. S. Lewis, and that story was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first of the Chronicles of Narnia to be written and published. The seven Narnia books – in internal chronological [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: The Thirteenth Child
October 19, 2012 By 10 Comments
This was a really excellent book. On the Amazon scale, I'd give it four-and-a-half stars (unfortunate that Amazon doesn't permit half-star ratings to be given out) First-person protagonist "Eff" (her first initial; her actual name is hardly ever mentioned in the book) is the eponymous Thirteenth Child, one supposedly born with cursed magic and destined to go bad according to many in her society. Her plight is made worse by the fact that she is the elder twin sister to a fourteenth child, her few minutes younger brother [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: Robert A. Heinlein
October 15, 2012 By 3 Comments
In some ways it seems almost pointless to write this post; what could I possibly write about Robert Anson Heinlein, good or bad, that hasn't been written a thousand times before? Heinlein isn't, like Doc Smith, a forgotten legend; nor is he, like Schmitz, a man who failed to quite get the fame he might have deserved. He is, instead, a titan of the field, one of the few names that dominated the genre for multiple decades and whose fame at least sometimes strayed well outside of the limits of that genre. Reams upon reams have [ Continue reading... ]
Here’s my Albacon Schedule!
October 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Finally have my schedule for Albacon (which is next week!!!)Friday, October 19th:8:00 PM Ice Cream Social: Hey, come visit, eat ice cream. MMM. Ice cream. Room: Cole/Church10:00PM: Anime Films You Should See At Least Once: From the text, it seems that this also includes series. Let's see what people recommend! :) Room: ColeSaturday, October 20th: (a very busy day)10:00AM: Reading (for a full hour!): I'll be reading from Phoenix Rising, and maybe something else. Room: Reading. How apropos!12 Noon: Signing: Come get me to write in your copies of [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: Laura Ingalls Wilder
October 8, 2012 By 8 Comments
Most of the great influences on my life and writing have been science, science fiction, and fantasy. I've been the quintessential "geek" since I was very little. But there was one set of books which were tremendously important to me and my family, the story of a world that seemed both familiar and alien, told through the eyes of a child who was roughly my age when they were first read to me: the "Little House" books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. (ONLY the books; the less said of the TV show, the better) Laura grew [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Prince of Bryanae
September 4, 2012 By 25 Comments
Prince of Bryanae is a self-published novel that does everything right. It starts by having a fast-moving, well-written story as its core and reason for being, but in addition the author, Jeff Getzin, has gone those extra miles that, sadly, few self-published authors seem to realize are necessary; he has obviously had professionals provide him with editing and layout as well as a well-done cover painting, and the result is a fully professional novel that can sit proudly next to anything the big houses produce. I will admit [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Terry Brooks’ _Shannara_
August 13, 2012 By 6 Comments
In 1976, I first entered the world of the Lord of the Rings, and my hunger for epic fantasy was suddenly insatiable. In 1977, I saw this huge book with a group of people – human, elven, and dwarf, I thought – around a sword in a stone. A book titled The Sword of Shannara. I immediately grabbed it up – the first of many purchases Mr. Terry Brooks would convince me to make – and took it home. There were obvious similarities to The Lord of the Rings – many of them quite deliberate. But there was a great deal that was [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Rising: Chapter 27
August 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Let's check in and see what our other heroes were up to... ----- SourceURL:file:///Macintosh%20HD/Original%20Writing/Kyrie/Phoenix%20RTF.rtf Chapter 27. The door to the meeting room crashed open, rebounding from the wall and being caught again by the massive scaled arm that had flung it wide. Poplock was the first to speak, as Tobimar found himself momentarily speechless at King Toron's fearsome snarl of anger. "Oh. Bad news again." The casual tone breached the [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Rising Chapter 26
August 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Well, Phoenix had succeeded... but not everyone had survived... ----- Chapter 26. "Good travels to you, ayr-kin," Tinna said quietly, as she lit the apex point of the Five-Fire under Kimsha's body, the point to the East and the rising sun. "May the One and the Four receive you well, and forgive you the missteps along the path and the misfortunes that led you to this end. Chromaias, receive Kimsha of Waycross in your House of the Five Ways; as he wished, so we have done." Kimsha's [ Continue reading... ]
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