This will start May 29 at A Dribble of Ink.

Welcome to the Daggerspell Reread and Review Series, with Aidan Moher (your humble editor/blogger) and Kate Elliott (author of lots and lots of cool novels)! We thought it would be fun to bring two different perspectives (someone who’s read the series, someone who hasn’t), and explore Daggerspell together, comparing notes and reflecting on a series and world that are held dearly by many readers. We’re also hoping that, if you’re not familiar with Kerr, you might discover a new favourite author.

If you are so inclined, read along with us. I’m very excited about this.

Again, the introductory post about what we are doing and the schedule find here.

Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.

 
 
Spending almost a whole week with Frenchman Hervé Tullet for Dublin Writers Festival got me thinking lots of new things. Such as... how I'd look in thick, round specs. But also it made me want to push myself in a few different ways, like focusing on the conceptual side of my book as much making nice pictures. Hervé and I have a very different attitude to painting; I love making pictures, whereas he loves coming up with ideas and then quickly filling in the necessary images to make the ideas happen. His artwork can look a lot messier than mine, but his mental process is much cleaner.



Click for more under the cut!Collapse )
 
 
Since the ceaseless 'making' of his world extended from my father's youth into his old age, The History of Middle-earth is in some sense also a record of his life, a form of biography, if of a very unusual kind. He had travelled a long road. He bequeathed to me a massive legacy of writings that made possible the tracing of that road, in as I hope its true sequence, and the unearthing of the deep foundations that led ultimately to the true end of his great history, when the white ship departed from the Grey Havens.
So I have come to the end of The History of Middle-earth, with this volume. The first two-thirds are about the composition of the appendices of LotR; the rest brings together some short essays, mostly unfinished. Two of these are rather interesting. "The Shibboleth of Fëanor" looks at how the original 'þ' became 's' in Quenya but remained 'þ' in Sindarin, as in the name Sindacollo, the Quenya version of Thingol; Sindarin itself is a Quenya word, the Sindarin calling themselves the Egladhrim. There is also an intriguing late set of thoughts on the true identity of Glorfindel, who appears in quite different contexts in both LotR and the fall of Gondolin; one fascinating possibility is that he actually was killed in the First Age but allowed to return from the Halls of Mandos to accompany Gandalf on his mission, which would explain why the Nazgûl are particularly perturbed by him.

There is also the fragment of The New Shadow, a sequel to LotR which clearly wasn't going anywhere; it is a story of boyhood orchard-robbing near Minas Tirith which didn't quite come together. It's been rather instructive to see the number of false starts Tolkien made on what might have been substantial works - The Lost Road, The Notion Club Papers, and his various attempts, all pretty unsuccessful, to tell the story of Ëarendil. These are not journeyman pieces; they were mostly written when Tolkien was already a published author. Fortunately, of course, he had the luxury of abandoning lines of writing that were just not working out (though he went back to Ëarendil several times over). But it's worth remembering that  many good pieces of writing have quite a lot of less good writing from the same pen behind and below them, most of which we readers will never see.

Most people will either buy all twelve volumes of The History of Middle-earth, or none of them. My recommendation for the curious is to try the tenth of the sequence, Morgoth's Ring, with its essay on elf sex among other interesting fragments. As for me, I've got John Rateliff's two volumes about The Hobbit on the shelf, and a few other bits of Tolkieniana; so I shall not get bored.
 
 

"Honestly," Nettie said, shaking her head again. "The lies people tell themselves and call it the truth."
These wee Puffin Doctor Who ebooks are having a good run right now. Here we have the celebrated Patrick Ness, delivering a very solid tale of two marginal teenagers in wartime Maine, finding themselves dealing with a peculiar fad for truth-telling gadgets which turn out to be alien tech, with a mysterious celery-wearing stranger and his scandalously dressed companion all mixed up with it as well. This is the first of the books in this series which is not told from the tight narrative viewpoint of Doctor or companion, and all the better for it.

 
 
 
 

Short listed for this year's Hugos, this is another in Talbot's alternate history of Grandville, where most people are anthropomorphised animals and England is only now recovering from two hundred years of French rule after defeat at Waterloo. As well as taking us to the dark heart of political conspiracy, with overtones of Tintin (and also, frankly, Dangermouse), Talbot reflects art history too in his distorted gaze; the character here illustrated is one Jackson Pollo, and he refers in an afterword to the CIA's funding of Abstract Expressionism. It's a witty, absurd and also rather bleak story. I will find it tough to choose between this and Saucer Country for the Hugo.

 
 
 
 

Telling history through things is what museums are for.
This brilliant book accompanies the brilliant series of podcasts which I listened to a couple of years ago. It is the same hundred objects from the British museum's collection, but this time in dead tree format. The individual talks, which were 11-14 minutes on the radio, are down to 5-7 pages here, so I think quite substantially cut; but what we get in return is pictures of the actual objects, which radio cannot give. Actually in most cases I felt I actually had got a fairly good impression of the objects' appearance from listening to the audio version, but there were a couple where the picture does make a big difference - the sexually explicit Warren Cup, and the extraordinarily detailed mechanical galleon of Augsburg. Anyway, it is all very nicely done (though I did notice as I browsed the maps at the end that none of the objects is from, er, Ireland).

 
 
 
 
24 May 2013 @ 04:37 pm

http://www.jim-butcher.com/posts/2013/jim-at-miscon-this-weekend

http://www.jim-butcher.com/?p=1544

Jim will be at MisCon in Missoula, MT this weekend! The full schedule is here, but here are the events that may most interest Jim’s readers:

Being a Published Author . . . (Writing)
Fri 2:00 – 2:50 PM, (Great Hall)
Pros and Guests: Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Rhiannon Held, J.A. Pitts
Moderator: J.A. Pitts
Learn about some of the things no one told the panelists about being published. What surprised them, both positive and negative about their newfound status?

Writers’ Workshop Meet and Greet (Writing)
Fri 4:00 – 4:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Carol Berg, S. A. Bolich, Larry Bonham, M. H. Bonham (Maggie), Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Brenda Carre, Diana Pharaoh Francis (Di), Deby Fredericks, James Glass, Rhiannon Held, Andrea Howe, J.A. Pitts, Joyce Reynolds-Ward, Peter Wacks (pjwacks), Parris ja Young
Moderator: Justin Barba
Participants and Critiquing Authors get together to meet and discuss how the workshop works. They’ll also discuss workshops in general, and how to take criticism. Even though he’s not critiquing manuscripts, Jim Butcher will add his 2 cents. Open to anyone interested in the Writers’ Workshop.

Opening Ceremonies (Geek Discussion)
Fri 7:00 – 7:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Paizo Publishing , Justin Barba, Jim Butcher, John Compton, Adam Daigle, Dragon Dronet, Kyle Elliott, Dave Gross, CthulhuBob Lovely, Ryan Macklin, Theresa Mather
Moderator: CthulhuBob Lovely
Attend our opening ceremonies and watch CthulhuBob cry. Also find out what’s happening at MisCon 27.

Jim Butcher Book Signing (Writing)
Sat 10:00 – 11:50 AM, (Hotel Lobby of Doom)
Pros and Guests: Jim Butcher
Moderator: Justin Barba
Jim will sign books. This is a controlled event, and is limited to 3 items per person per trip through the long line. Jim will only personalize one item per person.

Plot, Plot, Plot (Writing)
Sat 2:00 – 2:50 PM, (Great Hall)
Pros and Guests: Carol Berg, Jim Butcher, J.A. Pitts, Patrick Swenson
Moderator: Carol Berg
What is plot? How is it different from storyline? How do you keep your writing moving fast? Our experts will share what they know.

The Dresden Files: a Discussion (Geek Discussion)
Sat 4:00 – 4:50 PM, (Upstairs Programming 1)
Pros and Guests: Beth Stoops
Moderator: Beth Stoops
An affectionate discussion/hint of roast of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Series.
[Note: Why is this at the same time as another of Jim's panels? We don't know either.]

Private Eyes in Fiction and Real Life (Writing)
Sat 4:00 – 4:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Carol Berg, Jim Butcher, John Goff, Peter Wacks (pjwacks)
Moderator: Jim Butcher
How do you put a little mystery in your fantasy and science fiction? In addition to discussing the fictional side of private eyes, John Goff, a private detective for 12 years, will bring some realism to the table.

Working With Licensed Intellectual Properties (Gaming, Writing)
Sat 5:00 – 5:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Paizo Publishing , David Boop, Jim Butcher, John Goff, Dave Gross, Ryan Macklin
Moderator: Ryan Macklin
A discussion of the issues and pitfalls of working with someone else’s property and dealing with fan expectations of said property.

Dystopia/Utopia (Writing, Gaming)
Sun 10:00 – 10:50 AM, (Great Hall)
Pros and Guests: Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Diana Pharaoh Francis (Di), J.A. Pitts
Moderator: Diana Pharaoh Francis (Di)
We’ve heard a lot lately about post-apocalyptic dystopia, but what about utopia? Could utopia ever truly exist? Could a story exist within a utopia? If so, how do you write about conflict in a world where conflict is minimized? Or IS that the conflict?

Snarking Up Your Characters (Writing)
Sun 11:00 – 11:50 AM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Carol Berg, Jim Butcher, C.J. Cherryh, Diana Pharaoh Francis (Di)
Moderator: Jim Butcher
Who would Malcolm Reynolds, Harry Dresden, and Tyrion Lannister be without their snark? Join us to learn what it means to be snarky, how to add snark to your characters, and how to write perfect one-liners.

Reading: Jim Butcher (Writing)
Sun 1:00 – 1:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Jim Butcher
Jim will read from one of his recent works. *If the weather is nice, this panel will relocate to the BBQ Area*

Writing Yourself Into (and Out of) Corners (Writing)
Sun 4:00 – 4:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: M. H. Bonham (Maggie), Jim Butcher, John Goff, Dave Gross
Moderator: Jim Butcher
“Jack scoured the alley for a brick, a broken piece of glass—anything he could use as a weapon. But the alley was as bare as his backside, which he now pressed against the wall blocking his escape. He’d have to remember to thank Pallermo for that little jape. The thug behind the wheel hit the gas…” In this panel we’ll talk about how to write your character into a corner (literally, figuratively, emotionally), and how to get them back out again.

Jim Butcher Q and A (Writing, Geek Discussion)
Sun 5:00 – 5:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Justin Barba, Jim Butcher
Moderator: Justin Barba
A question and answer session with Jim Butcher. If time permits, he will take moderated questions from the audience.

Jim Butcher Book Signing (Writing)
Mon 10:00 – 10:50 AM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Jim Butcher
Moderator: Justin Barba
Jim Butcher’s signing is moderated, and we will maintain a STRICT 3 item maximum per person–zero exceptions. In order to keep the line moving, Jim can only personalize one item per person per trip through the line.

Author Book Signing (Writing)
Mon 11:00 – 11:50 AM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Carol Berg, S. A. Bolich, M. H. Bonham (Maggie), David Boop, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Brenda Carre, C.J. Cherryh, Jane Fancher, Diana Pharaoh Francis (Di), Deby Fredericks, James Glass, Dave Gross, Rhiannon Held, J.A. Pitts, Timothy Quill, Patrick Swenson, Peter Wacks (pjwacks)
All authors are invited. Jim Butcher’s signing is moderated, and we will maintain a STRICT 3 item maximum per person–zero exceptions. In order to keep the line moving, Jim can only personalize one item per person per trip through the line.

Breaking Through Writer’s Block (Writing)
Mon 1:00 – 1:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Jim Butcher, Dave Gross, Rhiannon Held, Patrick Swenson
Moderator: Jim Butcher
How do the pros beat writer’s block? They will share tips, tricks, and the best ways to cope with a writer’s worst nightmare.

Writing Fight Scenes and Arguments (Writing, Fight Demo or Class)
Mon 2:00 – 2:50 PM, (Containment Room)
Pros and Guests: Larry Bonham, Jim Butcher, Dragon Dronet, J.A. Pitts, Chad Volpe (The Fin)
Moderator: J.A. Pitts
We can talk about conflict until we’re blue in the face, but how do you write the details? Better yet, how do you know the right details? What’s the best way to write a sword fight? A fist fight? An everyday argument? You may have seen the fighting all weekend, now come learn how to translate that into words.

Closing Ceremonies (Geek Discussion)
Mon 3:00 – 3:50 PM, (Great Hall)
Pros and Guests: Paizo Publishing , Justin Barba, Jim Butcher, John Compton, Adam Daigle, Dragon Dronet, Kyle Elliott, CthulhuBob Lovely, Ryan Macklin, Theresa Mather, Chad Volpe (The Fin)
Come see CthulhuBob cry for joy and catch a sneak peek at what’s in store for you next year at MisCon 28 May 2014.

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Google Analytics informs me that you just hit my site three different times looking for sheet music for the Le Vent du Nord instrumental “Petit rêve III”!

First of all, hello to someone who’s clearly a fellow fan, as well as being musically inclined!

Second, sorry I have no leads on such a thing, though I’m right there with you: it’s a beautiful tune and it’s high on the list of Le Vent things I want to learn to play myself! I’m having to amuse myself with trying to transcribe Le Vent tunes by ear. The only Le Vent instrumental I’m aware of that has sheet music available online is “Gigue à trois”.

Third, hey, drop me a line, I’d love to hear from a fellow musically inclined Le Vent du Nord fan! And I MAY be able to help you out if you want to learn to play “Petit rêve III”. I can sort of play it by ear, and I could probably transcribe it!

And for the rest of you, I’ll just take this opportunity to be amused at how it’s an indicator of how much I post about Quebec music AND about Le Vent du Nord that apparently people have started hitting my site pretty frequently looking for data! *waves cheerily to all her fellow Anglophone Quebec music fans out there*

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

 
 
We lowered the price on these PERFECT SPECIMEN books in honor of my new books coming out this summer.  The new ones are romantic suspense and romantic/football comedy,  so no UFOs or aliens in them.

So if you've been thinking about reading alien-abduction romance but didn't want to pay full price, here we go! Oh, and an alien geneticist from another galaxy is the bad guy, not the hero, in both books. So same threat, two different heroes and heroines! Oh and technically PS happens before PS-B, but I tried to write them so the order didn't really matter, so it mostly depends if you like your heroes as archaeologists or lawyers. (Oh and I think these are more sci-fi than romance anyway, so fair warning!) Thanks for taking a look!

Brietta (2)


 
 
Current Mood: excitedexcited