Kristin Cashore's Blog, page 61

"The connection so crispy, so clean, so beefy"

My title today is how choreographer and wordsmith Lil' C described an adorable lyrical hip-hop number from last week's So You Think You Can Dance, choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo, danced by Melanie Moore and Marko Germar, and linked to here, because you should really go watch it. It's like an entire romantic comedy plot smashed down into two minutes: the groom is stood up on his wedding day; the groom's best friend (and "best man?") tries to cheer him up; the groom gradually comes to a realization about something significant. Except that we've got two minutes, folks, so nothing is gradual, and certain points need to be demonstrated unsubtly in the most time-efficient manner possible. Truth is, I think I might have had a list of complaints if any other couple had danced this. (It's too soon! He's on the rebound! Is this the time to making big decisions?!) But I've fallen hard for Melanie and Marko (I linked to their statue dance a few weeks ago) and find that they can do no wrong. Plus, cutest wedding-party outfit ever. Thank you, Fox, for making the videos bigger and easier to access. Now could you please make them less grainy?

So, moving on, I was obsessed with Nancy Drew when I was a kid. She was self-reliant, she went where she pleased, she was smart, she solved mysteries! Did you know that in 1959, the earlier books were condensed and rewritten (I understand to make them less offensive and to make Nancy way less plucky)? The original editions from the 1930s (All of them? Only some of them? I'm not sure) have been rereleased by Applewood Books, and I'm reading The Hidden Staircase (originally published in 1930). It's AWESOME. Allow me to share a few gems:

Graciously, Nancy acknowledged the introduction. Rosemary Turnball was an elderly maiden lady, tall and a trifle too thin, but not at all severe-looking in spite of her clothing. She wore an old-fashioned dress, long and wide of skirt and high in the neck, but she also had a kind face, and Nancy was instantly attracted to her. (34-35)

What's particularly funny about that passage is that I'm picturing a woman in, like, her 80s, right? But I just reached page 81, and here's a line about Rosemary and her sister Floretta: "Although nearly thirty years older than the girl, they seemed to look to her for protection."

...Nancy Drew is a teenager. These "elderly maiden ladies" are in their MID-FORTIES.

Also, the original Nancy was a gun-totin' girl.

"I think Dad was wise to suggest that I take his revolver," she told herself. "And I'll take plenty of ammunition, too! Enough to annihilate an army! Though truth to tell, I don't know whether I could hit the broad side of a barn or not." (65)

Oh, Nancy, always with the modesty. We know that if, while driving your blue roadster "with a skill born of long practice" (51), you happened to pass a roadside sharpshooting contest, you would try your best, and your best would lead you to win the damn thing.

The big mystery of this book so far seems to revolve around a baffling series of thefts, strange noises, strange shadows, et cetera in a mansion where all the windows and doors are locked -- so how, in heaven's name, is the perpetrator getting in?

Rosemary shuddered and turned appealing eyes upon Nancy. "Tell me, do you believe in the supernatural?"
"I am almost certain your house is not haunted," Nancy replied firmly. (67)

Wow, Nancy. That's... really reassuring.

Seriously, though, what could be the explanation for these strange disappearances of family heirlooms?

"Have you noticed any prowlers around the house?" Nancy questioned next.
"No, I've seen no one except an old organ grinder, and you couldn't class him as a prowler."
"Still, his monkey might have climbed in a window and taken the articles," Nancy suggested. (37)

Yes, that seems likely. It certainly is mysterious; I've been reading for nigh on 100 pages and I can't begin to imagine how anyone is getting into this sealed-tight house. It's a stumper. Did I mention that the book is called The Hidden Staircase?

Back to my reading, because I have to know how it ends :o)

Pressure and Thanks

I'm using one of my Swedish covers today in honor of Graceling being a best seller in Sweden :o). Thank you to my publisher Semic for making this happen! --->

Today, outside my window, a woman's voice said, "Holy shit! What is that thing?"

I leaned toward the window and yelled, "It's a turkey!"

Yes, both the neighborhood turkey and noisy conversations about the neighborhood turkey have become so common in these parts that I didn't even need to look out the window to know what she was talking about. I'm really becoming fond of this guy. My favorite is when he's perched on a fence or a low tree branch, as if he were a mere sparrow. (He's a really big wild turkey.) I wonder if he's tired of astonished reactions yet. I try to act very blasé whenever I see him, to give him a relief from all the pressure to be astonishing.

Speaking of pressure...

Pressure is a funny thing. When I'm not working, sometimes I feel the pressure of work, of timing, of deadlines and schedules, pressing down on me. But when I am working, it goes away. I've noticed that while pressure can have less-than-wonderful effects on my appetite, dreams, and ability to rest (for example), it doesn't have any effect on my work. It doesn't make me work faster or slower or for fewer or more hours in the day; it doesn't make my work better or worse. The outside pressure needs to go away in order for me to clear my head for writing, and I'm not sure why it goes away without too much trouble, but it does. In this way, the pressure is nothing. It can't touch me where it hurts.

I think that if this ever changes -- if the outside pressure starts to affect my work -- that will be the day I take a break from writing for the outside world. Luckily, there are a few things a writer can do to limit the outside pressure -- or at least, to limit how much of it actually makes its way through the barriers to touch her. I try to do these things. And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank my editor and my agent at this point. Both of them are blessedly patient with me, both of them understand my process, both of them know I don't dawdle, and both of them have made themselves into walls for my sake, holding back the pressure, dealing with it themselves rather than passing it on to me, and hiding it so that I can't see it.

Just one of the ways in which I'm a lucky, lucky writer.

Back to work.

"Jarndyce and Jarndyce drones on."

As often happens, I've got tons I'd like to blog about and no time. Ack! So, quickly, I've got two recommendations to offer:
A book called The Brothers Story, by Katharine Sturtevant. Loved the characterizations, loved being inside Kit's head while he works through a whole lot of things.If you like BBC productions of old books, you have GOT to watch the BBC's 2005 production of Charles Dickens' Bleak House. Gorgeous. Heartbreaking. Perfect cast for the job. (My subject heading is a line from the book.)
Re: the recent news from New York, I also have a photo to share:


Have a good week, everyone. Wish me luck, for I'm burning the midnight oil.

Good News to End the Week

New York State, I love you lots.

These Are the Creatures in Your Neighborhood

A few days ago, while walking down a nearby street, I came upon an enormous wild turkey. It was rather a surprising sight in the middle of Cambridge, Massachusetts. A confused man was taking pictures of it. We had a little chat about how confused we were about it.

Later the same day, I was walking through the Harvard Business School campus and this big crowd of people went by. Several people in the crowd, at several points, began dancing when they saw me, waving their arms around, sticking their legs in the air, and saying hello to me. I smiled at them politely, all the time secretly wondering WTF was going on. Were they a dance troupe? And drunk? Later, I passed a reflective window and realized I was wearing my t-shirt that says "ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN THROUGH INTERPRETIVE DANCE."

Next (it was quite a day for encounters), I was walking along Memorial Drive -- probably the most trafficked road around, crowded with very fast cars -- when suddenly, the traffic came to a complete halt. Why? Because about 40 geese and goslings had decided to cross Memorial Drive, taking their own sweet time, stopping to honk a bit, changing their minds and turning around to go back, changing their minds again and turning forward to continue on, perhaps pecking at a few tires. It made me so happy. This happens here all the time. Busy commuters are adorably patient about it. It's appropriate that Make Way for Ducklings takes place in Boston.

As I write this, I'm sitting by an open window. I just heard someone on the street yell to someone else, "Are you expecting a lot of rain?" (It's a very sunny day.) I looked out the window and saw a woman holding a huge rolled-up umbrella in one hand and holding a toddler by the other hand. "No!" she yelled back, gesticulating with the umbrella. "I just wanted to be prepared for the wild turkey!"

Seems it's moved in for good and is gaining a reputation.

Hope you're all well on this Monday, and enjoying the creatures in your neighborhood. :o)

No Blogging Juice

But I can share some awesomeness. First, want to see the views from an astronaut's camera?<br/><a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/vide..." target="_new"title="View From An Astronaut's Camera">Video: View From An Astronaut's Camera</a>Next, here's something that cracked me up (click to enbiggen): Thanks to The Riot for creating it, and thanks to Hydrodynamically Captivating for bringing it to my attention.And finally... maybe SYTYCD is getting tired of illegal youtube videos, because they've finally starting posting videos of the most recent dances on their website. It's a teeny little screen (could we have them a little bit bigger, please?) AND I'm sure the routines won't be up forever, so while you have the chance, go to the SYTYCD website and click on the down arrow to the right of the "Video Extras" box until you see "Melanie and Marko," then hit play. To paraphrase something David Letterman said once, if this dance routine doesn't drop you, you ain't hooked up right. Watch the others, too, of course, if you like! There were lots of good ones last night. But this one with the statues is an example of the reason I keep watching SYTYCD, despite the copious bullshit, like tonight's judging decision for example HRRRUMPH. Careful, judges, your manipulation is showing. HRRRRUMPPH! *ahem*

Your Sun Is Lighting My Moon

So, years ago, when I started an email correspondence with my lovely Australian publicist, we discovered that not only had he and I both studied at Sydney Uni at the same time, in the same program, possibly even taking the same lectures -- but I'd worked at the pub where he'd gone to drink beer! Isn't it funny that I had to come back home, finish college, go to grad school, write a book, and get an Australian deal for us to get to know each other?

I got to meet Brendan in person during the Sydney leg of my trip. We went back to our old stomping grounds for dinner -- the Nag's Head, in Glebe. It was so surreal. Every time I rounded a corner, memories came rushing back.

I can't remember if I made a point, before this Australia trip, of explaining here on the blog that when I was in college, I spent a year in Sydney. I think I may have failed to do that! I studied English at Sydney Uni, lived in Darlington, screwed up people's orders at the Nag's Head, got into a lot of mischief, walked down to the harbour frequently, and traveled. It was a wonderful year.

One thing I *didn't* get to do during that year was spend much time in Melbourne, so both legs of this trip were a delight. In Sydney, I stayed with a wonderful writer friend ("wonderful writer friend" = "person who is a wonderful friend AND a wonderful writer." Like Charlotte, you know) and didn't worry about running around doing a million touristy things -- because I'd lived there before. I got to revisit old haunts and old favorites, calmly savoring the beauty of this city. (There may be no sight more beautiful at the end of a 12-hour plane ride than Sydney through your airplane window.) In Melbourne, I got to be the tourist -- with a second wonderful writer friend, also an American, also a tourist! We tore up the town. THE WHOLE TRIP WAS SMASHING.

A huge full moon was hanging over the city skyline one night as we drove into downtown Sydney. The thing about a full moon in Australia is that it's my family's sun, as they experience day on the other side of the earth, that's lighting up that moon. And now that I'm back home, I think about how the sun of my Australia friends is lighting up my moon :o).

I picked up a couple guys in Melbourne.

















The I took them to the register, bought them, packed them in a box, and sent them away to their intended recipients.

Yes, King Tut was in Melbourne! Or, rather, his stuff was. Tut himself was in Egypt, I believe, where he belongs. King Tut's stuff? Breathtaking.

This blog post is all over the place, so I may as well end by embedding this hilarious clip from the Tony Awards. It involves Hugh Jackman, who's Australian, so that makes it relevant, right? Thanks, Sam, for the link.



Closer to home -- before I go, there's a book just out that I recommend: The Lost Crown, by Sarah Miller. This is beautiful and heartbreaking historical fiction about Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, a.k.a. the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II.

For my next blog post, I'm going to try for some structure.

Randutiae and Housekeeping for a Thursday

A few people have asked me for my reaction to the Wall Street Journal article by Meghan Cox Gurdon called "Darkness Too Visible." (Here's the subhead: "Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?") So, here's my reaction: Seriously? This again? I don't have time for this. I have a book to write. *closes tab and gets back to work*Relatedly, here are two (thoughtful and patient, unlike mine) responses I like a lot: Laurie Halse Anderson's "Stuck Between Rage and Compassion" and Linda Holmes's "Seeing Teenagers as We Wish They Were: The Debate Over YA Fiction" on the NPR blog. *reads them. Nods. Closes tabs and GETS BACK TO WORK*
A friend picked me up at the airport the night I returned from Melbourne. When, at an intersection, he (correctly) turned into the right lane, I had a brief moment of terror and cried out. This is more of a freakout than I ever had while I was in Australia and people kept turning into left lanes. I guess I was expecting my instincts to be broken there. Not at home, though! Luckily, I seem to have gotten my "we drive on the right" instincts back, and also, for the most part, my sleep. Though now I am sleeping endlessly instead of not at all, which is okay, seeing as it's WAY better for me and also more fun.I have been meaning to link for ages to the Dreamwidth community accessibility_win. This is a community of people with disabilities giving tips for day-to-day accessibility improvements that people might not think to provide otherwise. Anyone with a disability is welcome to post, and anyone can comment. However, please read the rules before diving in.A thank you I should have extended ages ago: thank you to my Italian readers who voted Fire the winner of the Xanadu prize in the category Terza media (and second place in the category Prima superiore)! I was in Australia when I got the news, and I was very happy. Thank you!I have been watching Ballykissangel, Series 5. I have my problems with this show, but with the exception of Series 1, I do generally find it relaxing. In the last episode I watched, Danny (played by Colin Farrell) called his girlfriend Emma (played by Kate McEnery) and told her to come over quick! It's an emergency! When she got there, the emergency was that his pig wasn't acting like herself and kept giving him reproachful looks like it was his fault. I find it calming to watch an extremely young and adorable Colin Farrell fall apart with worry for his pig.That's all for now. Back to work!

Who rides the wrecking ball into our guitars?

Hi everybody. I'm still here, and I even have a list of things I want to blog about, but I have no time. In lieu of a real post, here are a couple of new covers I've loved recently. The first is for the Polish Graceling, published by Nasza Księgarnia. According to Google Translate, the title means "Chosen," which is appropriate, I think! Click to enbiggen.


The second is the French mass market pocket edition of Graceling, published by Orbit-Livre de Poche. I think she looks like an 80s rocker, which I love :o). I also adore her dagger.


Can't you just see Katsa putting turquoise highlights in her hair and caking on the mascara before going off to catch dinner?

I've uploaded a few new covers to my cover gallery -- check it out if you like. (I wonder, if all the Katsas on all the covers battled each other, which one would win the fight?) I hope to be back on track with the blog soon. Sorry for the dry spell, everyone!

(PS: Does my title ring a bell? It's from Starship's "We Built This City." And for the record, Katsa would never ride a wrecking ball into someone's guitar, unless it was an evil guitar. ^_^)

Still Here

Hi everybody. I'm still here, and I even have a list of things I want to blog about, but I have no time. In lieu of a real post, here are a couple of new covers I've loved recently. The first is for the Polish Graceling, published by Nasza Księgarnia. According to Google Translate, the title means "Chosen," which is appropriate, I think! Click to enbiggen.


The second is the French mass market pocket edition of Graceling, published by Orbit-Livre de Poche. I think she looks like an 80s rocker, which I love :o). I also adore her dagger.


Can't you just see Katsa putting turquoise highlights in her hair and caking on the mascara before going off to catch dinner?

I've uploaded a few new covers to my cover gallery -- check it out if you like. (I wonder, if all the Katsas on all the covers battled each other, which one would win the fight?) I hope to be back on track with the blog soon. Sorry for the dry spell, everyone!