L. Jagi Lamplighter's Blog, page 43
December 17, 2013
Brad Torgersen Interviews Me Toda For His “Catching Up With…” Series
Brad asked some great questions, so it was a fun interview:
An Excerpt:
BRAD: With the Prospero books, you have conjured a quasi-mystical reinterpretation of a classic story. Would you call yourself a classical fantasist, and to what degree do you “wax Shakespearean” in any of your books?
JAGI: I fear the only degree to which I “wax Shakespearean” is that I quote Shakespeare occasionally. Ariel, in particular, repeats some of his lines from the Tempest and then continues in like vein for a bit.
Truthfully, I stumbled into writing about Shakespeare almost accidentally. I have always been a fan of The Tempest, partially because I have a cousin named Ariel. When I had a chance to join an Amber roleplaying game, I decided to play a girl name Miranda who lives on an island amid airy spirits. I chose this because it struck me as amusing.
The game did not last very long, but I liked the character. So I started writing about her. Originally, there was very little Shakespeare in the story. Just a reference or two to characters from the original.
However, my many years experience moderating roleplaying games included weaving background material into the active plot. Automatically, as I continued to revise the Prospero’s Daughter series, I started going back to the original play and drawing more of it into the story. By the time I was finished, the series actually was a sequel to the Tempest, with the events of the novel building directly upon the events of the play.
So, no. I don’t think of myself as a classical fantasists. It happened more by accident.
On the other hand, I did choose to attend St. John’s College—the Great Books program, where I steeped in the Classics the way a teabag steeps in hot water. So, I may be more of a classical fantasy writer than I think!
Read more:
http://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/catching-up-with-l-jagi-lamplighter/
Signal Boost Tuesday — Prospero Regained in Trade Paper!
I was about to post about another author friend when I realized that today is the release in Trade Paper of PROSPERO REGAINED, the final book in my Prospero's Daughter series.
For financial reasons beyond the ken of mere mankind, Tor released the first two in paperback (mass market size) and the third one in the larger Trade Paper format.
The Prospero Family is scattered across Hell, each in the place of punishmen for their besetting sin. Miranda must trek across the Inferno itself and gather them together, against all odd, if she is to have even a prayer of a hope of saving her father, the Dread Magician Prospero by midnight on Twelfth Night.
December 16, 2013
Caption This!
Today's entry. Best caption wins!
Caption This Winner
We had more trouble than normal picking a winner. So it's a tie:
What's so odd about this? It's just a vixen wearing a fox.
and
Shortly after this photo was taken, the fox pictured was splashed with red paint by a member of the AETP.
December 12, 2013
Mab’s Hand Guide to Surviving the Supernatura
Mab here, Prospero Inc. company gumshoe.
As part of my campaign to protect you woefully-uninformed humans from your own folly—in hopes of saving even one of you from an elf-induced death, or worse—here is some of my gathered wisdom concerning the supernatural world.
Read. Pay attention. And maybe you’ll live.
For those of you who are just coming in, we’ve started with Tsukumogami, Japanese household objects that wake up after their 100th birthday and become animate.
Name: Biwabokuboku
Description: An animated biwa, which is some kind of Japanese short-necked fretted lute, used in storytelling. Once they come to life, they will only allow themselves to be played by special people.
Where To Find It: Nowhere, if you're lucky. Otherwise, the music halls of Japan
Frequency: Low, unless your are a Japanese musician storyteller.
Danger Level: Physical—low; Spiritual—will play your ear off. Seriously folks. People have lost ears.
Mab’s Eye View: Frankly, these pose no danger to the average joe, except that you might feel like an idiot if you run your fingers over the strings and no sound of any kind comes out. But then again, considering that they walk around on legs, why would you do that?
Though, come to think of it, where do they get those legs? Maybe the ‘special guy’ who can play it gets his head sucked into the body of the instrument and, from that day forth, has the head of biwa. Seriously, Folks, you don’t want to mess with that. Even your ugly head is better than a biwa-head.
Also, a good player can use a biwabokuboku to ensorcel the unwary. Humans are so easy to enchant with magical music!
Stay away from biwabokuboku…and for safe measure, I wouldn’t listen to music at all, if I were you.
Nearly Brilliant (A blog)
Another interview with me. I think this one is still offering a Kindle copy of my book to some commenter.
December 11, 2013
Wright’s Writing Corner: On Angels Reboot
In honor of Christmas, here’s a reposting of my article on writing about Angels.
Some things are intrinsically hard to write about. Angels may be one of those things. I have almost never seen them done well in fiction. I have, however, read really stirring accounts of people who believe that they have seen real angels. While I have no way to judge the veracity of their stories, I can feel the power of the narrative. It come with a sense of awe and wonder.
Somehow, that sense almost never appears in depictions of angels in fantasy and science fiction. Depictions of angels in genre literature and media is almost universally negative. They are the real bad guys, while demons are misunderstood, emo, moody hunks. Or they are weak. Angels are rigid. Angels are hand-wringers. Angels are boring.
Only the ones who fall in love…emphasis there on the word fall…are even the slightest bit interesting. When they fall, then they get to be the cute scruffy hunks.
Not sure this one falls in love, but…scruffy hunk!
A perfect example of the way angels are often handled is Neil Gaiman’s Angel Islington from Neverwhere. I love Neverwhere, but Islington is just a villain, and not even a particularly inspiring one. Still, Islington does stand out in my mind as the archetypical example of that kind of wimpy evil angel that seems so popular now. One sees these angels in books and TV shows. They are also popular in a certain kind of movie.
Why?
Well…a number of reasons.
First of all, it is hard to have a powerful force of good and still have a story. Because the logical question then becomes: well, if they are good, and then are powerful…why haven’t they solved all the problems?
Interesting question.
Problem is that the author has to answer that question in a way that makes sense in his story world. Not that easy to do.
A popular answer is: the prime directive. “We angels cannot interfere in the squabbles of men because…we are too benevolent. You must use your free will.” Angels do not interfere for the same reason that parents don’t interfere when their older son is beating their younger son at Monopoly and the younger one is in tears. The adult might comfort the child, but he does not win the game for him. That would not be fair.
In real life, this may make sense, but it is hard to make it satisfying in a story. In real life, letting go of the grip of the world around us and turning to God may be a goal…but in a story, we, the writers, need to do the opposite. To suck people into our imaginary world, to get them to suspend their disbelief. It is difficult to keep the reader in a story where we are telling the reader that the happenings are not important enough for the real good guys to bother with.
A word about real life. I have often wondered how traditional Christians can buy the ‘we don’t interfere like a parent’ theory…when losing the game means going to Hell. I think they must use a different explanation. I do understand how it would work in according to my church—where Hell is a state of mind you can escape from if you turn to God—or in the world of Near Death Experiences, which also seems to include a Hell one can be prayed out of.
But if Hell is real and permanent? Well, I might not stop my older son from winning the game…but I’d sure stop him from hurting or killing his brother!
But back to the world of fiction.
There are other ways to solve the dilemma. When it was my turn, I turned to some ideas from my church and from C. S. Lewis and decided that Heaven and heavenly things were more substantial than earthly things, not less so. So, when the angel comes into the world, it begins to warp around her and seem flimsy. She can only stay a little while…like a child’s contraption that an adult would break if he climbed into it. So, the parent can only come help for a moment, when the child is really stuck. Otherwise, they have to figure it out on their own. This gave them a slightly stronger reason for not hanging around.
Are angels ever done right? Yes, occasionally, they are. When the spirit of a true testimonial of God’s messengers in our life is brought to the story. Christmas stories often capture this mood.
One of my favorite angels was Rafe Kovick’s Christmas appearance on the soap opera Port Charles. Back in December of some year about a decade ago, I was working out at the gym in front of a large bank of TVs and I started watching this soap opera…only time I have ever watched one. It had on it this character who looked like a scruffy bad boy, only—he was an angel. And instead of all the terrible things that usually happen on soaps, this one month, in honor of Christmas, the angel would come by and something unexpectedly good would happen.
(He was really there to hunt a vampire, but he could pause to perform a few other miracles as well.)
It was just delightful to watch. Every day, something else uplifting occurred. I loved it.
As soon as Christmas was over. The angel fell in love, fell, and became uninteresting. But he was so cool when he was an angel!
I have a lot of angels in the Rachel Griffin series. Some are good angels. Some are very good. Some are only so-so. One idea I borrowed from the friend who originated the idea is that very few angels understand how humans think. (Think of how adults often don’t seem to understand children. Now imagine you’d never been a child, never did anything wrong. How easy would it be to understand them?) Therefore, even when they try to help, sometimes they just make things worse.
So, you can see why their Father might have set rules for how they are to interact with men.
Also, another popular idea that I also take advantage of is: when angels act, demons are allowed to act, too. So angels don’t want to interfere unless they have to, because they give their enemies license to do something.
This particular option appeals to me, because I see things that remind me of this in real life all the time. Think of how a good idea tends to get distorted when it becomes popular. That’s a bit like an angel (message from God) being warped by demonic interests.
Stories that follow this format could be quite interesting. Sadly, there are not a lot of them.
So…what is your favorite handling of angels in literature or media?
Delightful New Review!
Pierce Oka wrote a terrific and amusing review of The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin. He also did some gr
eat fan art pictures of some of John's characters and some of my Prospero characters, which I will post occasionally over the next week or so. But for now…
Mr. Oka also kindly scanned in the pictures for me: Gaius Valiant in all his glory!
Excerpt from Mr. Oka's delightful review:
The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is not a book to be read at funerals. Within the first chapter or two you will begin cracking up, holding back tears of laughter, and all your relatives will turn to look and see you reading a YA novel when you should be paying attention to the moving eulogy on your Great Uncle Stanley’s love affairs with golf and sharkboxing, the latter of which got us all here in the first place, but at least he died doing what he loved.
December 10, 2013
Signal Boost Tuesday — The Christmas List!
Today, I am posting a few recomondations that might make good Christmas presents.
Romance:
The Ruby Brooch by Katherine Lowry Logan
A paramedic goes back in time to Independence, Missouri, to solve a family mystery. Her quest is jeopardized when she meets a lawyer who resembles the ghost who has haunted her since childhood.
http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Brooch-Katherine-Lowry-Logan/dp/1475266227
A Bed of Thorns and Roses by Sondra Allan Carr
"I may be a monster, Miss Tate, but I am not a beast."
His new secretary looked unconvinced. How could he blame her? His mask had her trembling like a frightened rabbit. Yet what lay beneath was far worse. The sight of his face had already killed one young woman.
He well understood Miss Tate's fear. If only she understood his. Because as disturbing as she found his gruesome appearance, he was far more terrified of her beauty.
This is a historical romance, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast—without magic, that I really enjoyed. I loved both the story and the richness of the historical period.
http://www.amazon.com/Thorns-Roses-Sondra-Allan-Carr/dp/1492908096
Christian Thriller:
Orion by Tony Ross
David Johansen thought he'd escaped the violence of his past. He had no idea how wrong he was. Faced with a killer's deadly ultimatum, and trapped in an overcrowded, snowbound hotel, David must protect both a frightened young woman and the people of the small town he calls home…while confronting the darkest secrets of his heart. Orion is the suspenseful, page-turning sequel to the award-winning Victor: The Reloaded Edition.
http://www.amazon.com/Orion-Tony-Ross/dp/1626466688
Fantasy:
Red Caps Queen by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
Biker Chick faery meets the Roller Derby!
The Hunt is On! When strength becomes weakness… And hope becomes doubt… As the past collides with the future…hard… Can Suzanne-Wild Hunt biker chick and one-time member of the fae High Court-stand strong as her world falls apart? She survived an assault by redcaps, an all-out battle with the High King's armies, and her first encounter with roller derby… but how will she fare against her inner demons? Caught in the midst of a transformation she scarcely realizes and does not understand, her hard-won convictions are tested as never before. Suzanne is left with only one question-what if they're wrong? The truth could mean the difference between saving her sanity and losing her soul…
http://www.amazon.com/Redcaps-Queen-Danielle-Ackley-McPhail/dp/1937051064
Thieves’ Quarry by D. B. Jackson
This is the second book in the Thieftaker Chronicles, which I recommend. It is urban fantasy in 1766 Boston.
Ethan Kaille isn’t the likeliest hero. A former sailor with a troubled past, Ethan is a thieftaker, using conjuring skills to hunt down those who steal from the good citizens of Boston. And while chasing down miscreants in 1768 makes his life a perilous one, the simmering political tensions between loyalists like himself and rabble-rousing revolutionaries like Samuel Adams and others of his ilk are perhaps even more dangerous to his health.
http://www.amazon.com/Thieves-Quarry-Thieftaker-Chronicles-Jackson/dp/0765327627
Zephyr by R. J Tolson
Rousing adventure of a young boy coming of age in a magical world.
Seventeen years ago, in the island village of Dentro, lived a large and powerful demon. With just a howl, mountains were obliterated. With the help of an outsider, the chief of Dentro destroyed the demon and sealed its dark power within three powerful ancient weapons: a spear, a shield, and a sword. After leaving the unwelcoming village, the man who had helped destroy the demon took the sword in an effort to keep the village and its people safe.
Months later, a villager bore the son of the outsider. Carrying the child of a stranger was in violation of a sacred village law, and everyone knew whose child the boy was. Born into a village filled with hateful people, Zephyr grew up not knowing why he was so hated. With no friends, and eventually no family after the passing of his mother, Zephyr was forced to survive by himself as an outcast.
Zephyr's only wish was to make his mother proud and force the village to recognize him–while surviving in a world filled with demons, paranormal abilities, love, hate, and undiscovered lands.
http://www.amazon.com/Zephyr-West-Wind-Chaos-Chronicles/dp/0615686435
