Michael Swanwick's Blog, page 81

Image Book 46

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I think I was just being silly here, coming up with a mock diagram that made no literal sense.

Then again...

The text reads: If this disturbs you, why are you here? Not a bad question.



Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 29 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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APSA Day Two

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Woke up at 6 a.m. and started dealing with business correspondence. Soon I'll go down for breakfast and out into APSA. Did I mention I have to give a speech today?

No pix, alas. Next time I go overseas, I must make sure I have the proper software for uploading snapshots in a usable format.

And from the Image Book . . .
 
Okay, now we're cooking. I cut an image from a fashion magazine and pasted it over one from an art mag. You'll note I cut off the arms. Normally, that would make the figure look mutilated and powerless. But by my reading, this one is only made stronger and more threatening. Whatever this entity is (and she's not human), she doesn't need arms. If she did, she'd have them.

The text reads:

She was there already. She
was not there.

WHY NOT?

Which is just me thinking out loud.



Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 31 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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Another Planet Science Fiction

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So I'm in Beijing for the Another Planet Science Fiction Conference. A lot of my Western friends, like Allen Steele, Crystal Huff, and Derek Kunsken (among others) are here too, and new ones as well. Also Zhao Haihong, whom I esteem highly as a writer.

The conference is in full swing. More about it when I can.


And from the Image Book . . .

The image comes straight from an REI ad. No alternations needed.



Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 32 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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Pinocchio in China

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Today, I arrive in China. I'll be exhausted, so I'll go straight to my hotel. And I believe the guests of the Another Planet Science Fiction Conference will have a party/gathering tonight. So if I don't get around the serious work of blogging, please forgive me.


And speaking of the Image Book . . .

The text reads:

More than anything, pinocchio wanted to be real. A boy, a pupppet, a plank of wood careless by parts over & over. Until it (something) all colors without (something) fo any of them at all. BUT HE WANTED TO BE A REAL BOY!!!

Not sure what Pinocchio is doing here. But he never made it into the novel."


Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 33 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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And As Always . . .

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I'm on the road again! This time, I'm off to China for Another Planet Science Fiction Conference in Beijing. I'll keep you posted if I can. But there are no guarantees in this life.


And from the Image Book . . .




Another two-page spread! One is a creature from my subconscious. The other is a gas mask sculpted in marble.


Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 34 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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Wednesday Image Book

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Two pages from the Image Book because I was working out a single character. This is one of Caitlin's fellow dragon pilots. They're a dangerous bunch.

And tomorrow I leave for China! That will be an adventure.


Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 35 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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Tuesday Image Book

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Today is election day in Philadelphia, so once again I'm working the polls. It's a primary election, so there won't be the crowds and excitement of (say) a presidential election. But it is a self-evident truth that democracy is important and those who value their freedom will support it. On this I and the loyal opposition on the other side of the aisle are as one.

Oh, and don't forget to vote!


And the picture up above . . . ?

Okay, I admit it. There's a lot of sex crawling around inside this novel--but the bulk of it occurs under the surface. Where it's the most disturbing. So that's okay.


Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 36 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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Vagueposting

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Wow. Do I have a lot on my plate? Yes, I do. And since it's not the time to reveal what I'm talking about, I guess I'm vagueposting. Is that a word? I'm sure it is.


And up above, my from Image Book . . .

A male dryad, apparently.

The bulbous irruption below him in the bottom of the canister from the previous page.


Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 37 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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A Vision of the Goddess

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There she is--the Goddess Herself. Just as Helen saw her in yesterday's post. Direct sightings of the Divinity are rare and dangerous. When Moses saw God on Mount Sinai, it left a physical mark on him. (In the Middle Ages, it was thought the mark took the form of horns. Which is why Michelangelo's Moses has two sharp nubbins poking out of his hair.)

The Goddess is taken very seriously indeed in this book. Even if the idol of her is obviously a pressurized gas canister.

The text reads:

This was the Goddess in her aspect as Death, the Negator, the refusal of consolation. Her silence spoke loouder than words.

Death, too, is taken very seriously in this novel.

Neither the above text nor yesterday's made it into The Iron Dragon's Mother. But they were a crucial part of the ideation, I think.


Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 38 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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Helen Sees an Idol of the Goddess

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In a cave in the desert, Helen came upon an idol of the Goddess. It was carved of black granite. Or else it was cast iron. Either way, it was faceless, breastless, sexless. It rose up from the ground as a cylinder sloped inward toward a blunt, cylindrical head [I surely meant rounded here], was symmetrical at all heights. Reflections played upon its rough  finger-smudged surface.

              --A Dream

I forget whether this was an actual dream or meant to be a dream in the novel. To the side, I scrawled l. u. proper phrasing. The l. u. means "look up," and the curl at the end means "ing" in m own private semi-shorthand.

Waking, she recognized the idol as something she had seen as a very small child--a propane tank, perhaps?--and been inexplicably terrified by. On reflection, it seemed to Helen V. that what she had been terrified of was the simple, implacable fact of existence.

If the first section came from an actual dream, this was a waking continuation of the dream-image.

There's also a nude with the caption "Idol of the Goddess."

Oh, and Helen V. is the other protagonist of the novel. It's complicated.

Tomorrow I'll show you what Helen saw. 


Above: For those who came in late, my latest novel, The Iron Dragon's Mother, will be published in 38 days. To draw attention to this fact, I'm serializing the Image Book I made to help me imagine a strange world for the book.
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