Tracy Falbe's Blog, page 77

See my guest post: Independent publishing reveals our long neglected mass creativity

I wrote a guest post for Chris Kelly's blog that went up today.

Excerpt: Because self publishing, or indie publishing as it now styles itself, has become a feasible outlet for many writers, the talent is escaping from the confines of a traditional and orderly literary universe...

Please visit his blog to read the whole article.

Dun Scaith: Independent publishing reveals our long neglected mass creativity - Tracy Falbe Guest Post

The Sword and Sorcery influences of Chris Kelly author of Matilda Raleigh: Invictus

Tracy graciously invited me here to write about my sword and sorcery influences, so I'd just like to say thanks, Tracy.

I've been struggling with this post for a while now. It has been giving me some trouble. I know which books influenced me, sure, but what I've been struggling with is a definition of sword and sorcery. I consider David Gemmell's Deathwalker to have been my introduction to the genre, but that book is considered by publishers and booksellers to be "heroic fantasy."

As opposed to un-heroic fantasy, presumably.

Conan, another great influence of mine, is sword and sorcery, of that there can be no doubt. Again, with Lankhmar, or the Hawk and Fisher series, there is no doubt. With Stormbringer things get unclear, however. This is not about a strong hero facing a strong-minded sorcerer villain, and the question arises: at what point is a new sub-genre created. Elric turns sword-and-sorcery so much on its head that the question must be asked. Is it still sword and sorcery?

I asked the modern world's Gandalf (Wikipedia) for a definition of sword and sorcery and was given this answer. Epic fantasy is about the world being in peril, and sword and sorcery is where the hero battles for more personal reasons. To save his skin, usually.

This isn't a perfect definition, but it works for The Legend of Deathwalker.

When I was younger I had an insatiable appetite for fantasy books. My dad used to keep it stoked with second-hand fiction, and one day he brought Deathwalker home. I wasn't impressed with the cover, and the whole thing looked naff. I mean, a quest for magic crystals? Come on.

A few days later I ran out of reading material, and sat down to my first sword and sorcery romp. Within a week I'd read every Gemmell book the library stocked. I was hooked. Even now, about seventeen years later, David Gemmell's books have had an awesome effect on me. If you consider his first, best, and most famous novel: Legend - it is not hard to draw parallels between that book and mine.

Druss is an old man. He knows if he goes on this last "adventure" he will die. He is famous, the greatest hero of any age. His allies are dead or now stand against him. New allies must be made.

Matilda is an old woman. She knows if she goes on this "adventure" she will die. She did a lot of evil in her youth, and became a hero by default, searching for redemption. She was once famous, but is now forgotten. Her allies have betrayed her. Her enemies now stand beside her.

Clearly, Druss made a lasting impression. There are similarities (and differences, I wasn't writing a gender-swap novel) between the two. Another lasting impression was made on me by Conan. My very first introduction to Conan was the Robert Jordan novels. I don't know if the novels were based on the films, or the films were based on the novels. However it was, neither was particularly good.

And then I discovered the Robert E. Howard version, and loved it. Here was a Conan who I could relate to. A strong man who lived by the sword and took what he wanted; despite his many faults (self-centred, arrogant, sexist, possibly abusive) he never came across as evil, or even as an anti-hero. He was Conan the Cimmerian.

Of all the Conan stories, there were two that influenced me the most. The first was the Frost Giant's Daughter, a beautifully mythic story that doesn't show Conan in a good light at all. The sole survivor of a battle in the frozen north, Conan is approached by an almost naked woman called Atali. She is wearing a diaphanous veil, and he lusts after her. He chases her, his mind set to rape. Her father saves her with a lightning bolt that knocks Conan unconscious. When Conan awakens, he thinks it was all a dream, until he realises that he still holds her veil.

The second was Red Nails. I'm not going to sum it up here, since Tracy did a fantastic job of that recently (http://www.herladyshipsquest.com/2010/08/original-conan-adventure-by-robert-e.html )

These two stories are completely different; one is a myth, the other is as sword and sorcerous as it is possible to get. What I took from the first one was that a battle can be against nature – in Invictus, Matilda rides an ornithopter (a pedal-powered flying machine) in a storm, and I described that as I would describe any fight. What I took from Red Nails... well, the story is told from the POV of one of sword and sorcery's most kick-ass females, Valeria the pirate. Matilda might be 72 years old, but in Invictus she goes up against clock-powered robot assassins, vampires, demons, Germans, golems, an unstoppable, immortal monster and more. So she's pretty bad ass.

I have the omnibus volume of Stormbringer, the 12th omnibus in the Eternal Champion series. It holds six different Elric novels. It took me a while to get into Elric, but now I'm a big fan.

Can I deny the effects of the Melnibonéan prince on my fiction? Possibly, but this wouldn't be much of a blog post if I did. And he's had an effect – in a sense, Matilda's demonically possessed revolvers are Elric's sword, Stormbringer. In another sense, they're not. Nothing's that easy.

Consider again the definition of sword and sorcery. It might fit every book described above, yet according to that definition Invictus is epic fantasy. Except it's not. I've read enough sword and sorcery to know when I'm writing it, and Invictus is certainly sword and sorcery, as were most of the books that influenced it. At some point, the question of genre becomes meaningless. It really is little more than a marketing device. In my opinion, Invictus is as every bit a sword and sorcery book as Red Nails, and who cares if there's not a single sword in it? It doesn't matter that Invictus is set in Edwardian England, less than a hundred years ago (but in an alternate reality of Britain).

I think it's sword and sorcery, and I wrote it. If you want to make your own mind up about it, you'll find it here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/23917

I'm doing a three week blog tour, and at the same time I've let guest bloggers run riot through my blog. Tomorrow I'll be interviewed at http://jesscscott.wordpress.com/posts/ Jess C Scott's blog, whilst today Rachel Thompson is on my blog http://dun-scaith.blogspot.com/ as is a constantly updated guide to my blog tour.

The blog tour is going to be great, and the only valid reason for missing it is that you opened Invictus, and couldn't switch it off.

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Thank you so much for the great guest post, Chris. Welcome to the addictive world of fantasy writing and publishing. Anyone with at least one functioning eye and an internet connection can start reading the generous sample of Invictus at Smashwords.

Movie Review: Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp

John Dillinger is the sort of outlaw born to have movies made about him. The 2009 film Public Enemies directed by Michael Mann takes this folk hero, killer, and "public enemy number one" and skillfully presents a story about much more than a notorious bank robber.

The super actor, legend in his own time, Johnny Depp takes on the role of John Dillinger, and, as expected, produces a nuanced performance that is both low key and cocky. John Dillinger was famous in the 1930s for daring bank robberies in which his gang would burst into a busy bank, well dressed and armed with machine guns, empty out the vault, and roar away in a fast car. Dillinger made for great newsreels with his public relations ploys of giving bank customers their money back. But his fame was assured by his skill at busting out prison and jail.

Dillinger in his day enjoyed folk hero status because he was looting and embarrassing banks that were institutions much reviled during the Great Depression. He lived openly in Chicago enjoying fancy clubs and the silent protection of a sympathetic public.

As if a movie with Johnny Depp in it is not enough to guaranty quality, Christian Bale, another wondrous talent, plays the role of Melvin Purvis the federal lawman put in charge of hunting down raucous law breakers of the era like John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. Purvis is promoted to this position by J. Edgar Hoover who is the director of the Bureau of Investigation and very keen to expand the bureau's influence by taking out these high profile outlaws.

The script of Public Enemies makes the point that the media hoopla about bank robbers, especially John Dillinger, was being leveraged by the federal government to expand its law enforcement reach with the passage of a new crime bill.

The story also emphasizes the technological advances that were changing society. Purvis makes a big deal about using careful methodology and evidence collection to track Dillinger. But the point is not limited to the law enforcement side. Larger technological advances are taking place in the criminal world. Telephones have allowed crime organizations to set up elaborate multi-state gambling operations that bring in tens of thousands of dollars every day. This new advance in crime systems is shown as the reason John Dillinger and his kind became obsolete. Their high profile bank robberies and constant shooting of people bring law enforcement heat down on the crime bosses. In contrast, the switch to the back office telephone operations only requires paying off a few local officials. These quiet crime systems make way more money than robbing banks.

John Dillinger is cast out from his own criminal world. He is a working man replaced by machines and left to fend for himself in a hostile world.

On the law enforcement side of the story, Melvin Purvis is quietly dismayed by the tactics to which he must resort in order to trap Dillinger. Suspects are openly tortured, and Purvis's morals must yield to larger forces. His technological approach to crime fighting ultimately proves insufficient and only the medieval giving of pain and various other threats deliver the results he needs.

Public Enemies is a real top shelf movie. It never drags. Every scene is captivating. The lead actors are commanding. The settings and costumes are authentic. The personal stories are woven skillfully into the larger political and social forces. As for the character of John Dillinger I appreciated how the story did not take the trite approach of making him out as some misunderstood person who wished he could be good. He liked robbing banks. He liked the easy money. He liked being famous and chatting with reporters. He thinks it's never going to end and he can do anything. Of course it's not true, but it's great while it last, just like this movie. 

Inspired by Celtic heroes, Chris Kelly takes to the indie publishing field

Author of the upcoming fantasy adventure Invictus: Matilda Raleigh, Chris Kelly proclaims that the fiction produced by Scathach Publishing gives readers entertainment that's not necessarily mass market. The name Scathach comes from warrior maiden of Celtic myth who instructed men in the martial arts and the "friendship of thighs" which is also good to know.

Fresh from the embraces of his shield "maiden" muse, Kelly is working to drum up interest in his upcoming novel.

From Kelly's blog Dun Scaith, he said of his fiction:

My books exist on the fringe, publishing the interesting things, the fantastic things, the edgy, passionate, gritty things that are just a little unmarketable for the mainstream publishers.

Kelly is conducting a blog tour through the independent writing and reading scene, and he will be writing a guest post for Her Ladyship's Quest on Thursday October 7th. He'll explain his sword and sorcery influences. As long as he does not conjure some sinister internet wyrm that crashes our computers, his guest post should be interesting. I'm looking forward to publishing my first guest blogger.

I read the previews that Kelly has offered of his upcoming novel and they proved to be immediately captivating and creative. Read previews from Invictus: Matilda Raleigh at Smashwords.

Why dressing up in Halloween costumes is so much fun

Of all the holidays on the calendar, Halloween is the one most about having fun and expressing yourself. The Halloween costume you choose represents a decision to liberate yourself from your regular persona. Inevitably your Halloween costume expresses something about your personality or taste or opinions. Halloween offers both children and adults a safe and fun way to experience the world from a different perspective.
This act of liberation triggers excitement. It is like that first day of vacation when you experience freedom from your daily routine. When a group of people in costume gets together, their shared excitement enhances the feeling for every individual, resulting in a heightened sense of fun.

A little dash of anxiety adds to the excitement as well. When you dress up in a costume, especially something daring, you will feel some nervousness about presenting yourself to your peers. There is always that little nagging insecurity that makes you wonder if people will disapprove. But of course you go ahead with the costume anyway because it's all right on Halloween. The anxiety melts away once you see how much everyone enjoys the costume. Even if it was daring, or gruesome, or risque, people who know you will likely admire your daring and enjoy the fact that you are not truly one hundred percent a boring person who never takes risks.

Beyond the people who know you are the people who do not know you. Parading yourself to strangers on Halloween steps up the fun. Because you are in costume, people unacquainted with you have only your Halloween costume by which to judge you. You are a clown, or sexy nurse, or axe murder victim. That's it. This delightful anonymity coupled with costume weirdness accelerates the Halloween fun. When you are party hopping and bar hopping on Halloween, people laugh and comment happily on all the costumes they see, speaking to strangers as they go. This delightful energy is unlike anything on any other day of the year. People like seeing society transformed into a wonderland of alternative individuals. People who dress up for Halloween fill every town and city with a parade of avatars, and, for a few hours, release society from the grinding imperative to conform.

We all have many aspects inside, but society requires us to mostly be a predictable and conforming member. But on Halloween, the rules are thrown out. You can express your identity in any fun or creepy way that suits you. The power of costumes to transform the energy of a group has been known since the first shaman pulled a wolf's head over his face. Costuming on Halloween brings people from all areas of society together to share this ancient form of identity release. Most of us are glad to take off the costumes at the end of night, exhausted by the fun yet renewed by the experience and ready to return to a socially normal state. 
Learn more about Halloween and consider some ideas for Halloween costumes at my website Making Fear Fun.

I found two new blogs for book readers

Hundreds of thousands of books are published every year. Finding the ones you actually want to read requires some media monitoring. Like many other readers, I find that following a few select media channels will expose me to a good variety of titles. For readers looking for some fresh blogs to follow and learn about new titles I recommend these two:

Smashwords Books Reviewed

This is a fairly new blog published by Neil Crabtree author of Believable Lies where he selects titles from Smashwords.com to review or recommend. His purpose is to provide publicity to independent writers. This blog was recently added to the Kindle blog system. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being interviewed for Smashwords Books Reviewed. Neil asked me some probing questions and really made me dig a thing or two out of my memory. This blog focuses on ebook titles, but some of them will be available in print as well.

Daniel L. Carter

Daniel L. Carter is the author of The Unwanted, the first book in a planned science fiction trilogy. His blog however is becoming a hub of author interviews, blog features, and an all around great place to surf around checking out new books, both fiction and nonfiction. He invites book authors and bloggers to interview with him, which I of course indulged in. Daniel and I discussed my blog Her Ladyship's Quest today.

Last weekend I downloaded the sample of The Unwanted and had a chance to peek at a few pages. I really liked it and plan to load the rest of the sample onto my ebook reader. His writing has a smooth flow and I can sense how comfortable he is with his chosen medium.

Book Review: Feng Shui for the Soul by Denise Linn

Author website: Denise Linn

I had been aware of feng shui in a very basic way for years. The concept is a fascinating one. Although I am hardly qualified to actually explain it, I can attempt to summarize feng shui by saying that it is the employment of purposeful methods to assess, enhance, mitigate, and/or harness the natural forces acting upon us in our environments. Mostly it is used to design, arrange, and decorate interior spaces but it is not limited to them. Gardens and landscapes can ...

DVD Review: The Shadow in the North starring Billie Piper

People who appreciate the actress Billie Piper would enjoy watching the television adaption of Philip Pullman's novel The Shadow in the North. Piper stars as the heroine Sally Lockhart in this 2006 BBC-WBGH Boston co-production for public television's Masterpiece Mystery! series.

This DVD caught my eye at my public library because Billie Piper was in it. Like millions of other people, I know her as Rose from Doctor Who, and I really enjoy her acting. She is able to convey both broad-shouldere...

Paradise Lost by John Milton set to be next big fantasy movie epic

Don't worry kids, epic poetry might turn out to be cool in 2012, if we're lucky.

The 1667 poem by John Milton that chronicles Satan's war with God, his expulsion to Hell, and his revenge upon God, achieved by corrupting humanity, has long been a source of good quotes for bad guys. The most famous quote by far is "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven." Late last year I had the pleasure of diving into this classic and found it to be very compelling reading, especially because I like the ...

Writer's Digest October issue affirmed my life as an independent fantasy writer

I've read Writer's Digest for years. As a teenager I used to pour over its articles about how to write query letters and dream of having novels published. Then as an adult I would dutifully study the advice in the magazine about how to get published. Although I find no fault with the advice provided by the magazine. It is honestly provided by industry experts, but everything in the October 2010 issue was decidedly discouraging from the point of view of a fantasy writer.

Writer's Digest did not...