Lois H. Gresh's Blog, page 11
April 17, 2012
YEAR'S BEST HORROR 2011!
I just discovered dark fairy tale Wee Sweet Girlies from ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS received an Honorable Mention and will appear on the Top 50 list in Ellen Datlow's YEAR'S BEST HORROR 2011.
Ellen is probably the best horror editor in the business. I've admired her for 20 years, so it's a real thrill to be short-listed by her. (Thank you again, Ellen. You're amazing!)
The full list of 2011 Honorable Mentions (Top 50) is here. Check out some of these stories. I'm sure they're all fantastic.
April 9, 2012
Interview with Me #1 on TEEN INK! (wow)
The interview of me on TEEN INK is the #1 Top-Voted Story and Editor's Choice Award today.
I'm floating in writer's heaven this morning.
I'm also extremely grateful to all the readers who email and otherwise tell me (Facebook, twitter, at conferences) that they love The Hunger Games Companion.
Writing is a hard business with few rewards other than knowing your readers are in tune with you. When readers understand the messages in my books and stories, when they're on the same wavelength, it makes my life worthwhile. It keeps me going.
So if you're reading this little blog post and you're one of those kind readers who have written to me, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.
April 6, 2012
Hunger Games: Movie vs. Novel (Part 2)
A few days ago, I posted Hunger Games: Movie vs. Novel (Part 1). This was a lengthy excerpt from an interview I did at HungerGamesTrilogy.net exploring a lot of key differences between the Hunger Games movie and novel.
Here's a second installment--more differences between the movie and novel and what I think about them.
The Avoxes
The Avoxes play a much bigger role in the books. In the movie, they stand quietly with black-painted lips in the corners of rooms and are never even identified as Avoxes. If you haven't read the Hunger Games but you see the movie, you won't know that they are Avoxes and what this means.
In the novel, on the train enroute to the Capitol, a girl with red hair serves cake to Katniss, who recognizes the servant but can't quite figure out where she's seen her. Katniss associates a bad memory with the girl. After Effie and Haymitch explain that the girl is an Avox whose tongue was removed as punishment for a crime, Katniss remembers: she tells Peeta that she and Gale had seen this girl and a boy running through the woods. (p. 82) A hovercraft appeared and airlifted the girl with a net and shot a spear through the boy, then dragged him on a cable into the hovercraft. Although the girl screamed for help, neither Gale nor Katniss moved.
Later in the series, we see more of the Avoxes. I wonder if the subsequent movies will explain their roles or omit them again. Some of the Avox punishment is incredibly gruesome, such as neutering boys. But with PG-13 films, this type of graphic violence probably will be omitted.
The Berries
In the movie, Katniss and Peeta count down to eating the berries, but they don't put the berries into their mouths. In the novel, Katniss actually presses the berries to her lips, and at the last second, the Capitol intervenes and declares both of them winners of the Hunger Games. I haven't quite figured out why the movie omits this detail and am still puzzling through the reasons.
The Crown
At the end of the Hunger Games, Snow places a crown on Katniss' head. In the book, he breaks the crown in half and places one-half on her head and the other on Peeta's head. As with the berries, I haven't been able to determine the reason for omitting this detail from the film, as it makes a lot of sense for Snow to break the crown, symbolizing that he's upset with the fact that Katniss has outsmarted him but he's willing to concede her victory, this one time. It might have been an insightful moment about Snow's motives had it made it into the film.
The Forcefield on the Roof
In the book, forcefields play a big role in the games. We get a glimpse into the role of the forcefields as survival mechanisms--and death mechanisms--when Katniss and Peeta are at the training center. They're on the roof, where nobody can jump off, ie, where tribute suicide is impossible. When he holds his hand out, a zap hits him, and he tells Katniss that an electric field throws people back onto the roof should they attempt to jump off. Later in the books, we learn that these electric fields played a huge role in Haymitch's winning of the Hunger Games, and of course, the forcefields are central to the arena in Catching Fire.
The movie omits this detail of foreshadowing. Anyone who hasn't read the book but who sees the movie will probably wonder why the tributes don't jump off the roof and commit suicide rather than risk almost certain death by torture in the arena.
In Click here to read Hunger Games: Movie vs. Novel (Part 1), I discuss the movie vs. the book in detail, covering these key subjects:
the reapingcharacterization and deepness versus dialogue and actionreduced level of violence in the filmCato's deathGlimmer's deathRue's deathGreasy SaeMadge not giving the Mockingjay pin to KatnissPrim's nightmare in the opening scenethe muttsthe bizarre behavior of the parents not fighting back when their children are takenKatniss' motherthe bread motifDistrict 11's giftI also tell you what I think about the performances of the actors and actresses.
Click here to read Hunger Games: Movie vs. Novel (Part 1).
April 5, 2012
Hunger Games: Movie vs. Novel (Part 1)
Here's an extensive excerpt from the interview I did at HungerGamesTrilogy.net exploring the differences between the Hunger Games movie and novel.
What do you think of the changes made from the book to the film adaptation?
Although there are a lot of subtle differences between the book and the film, both forms work really well for The Hunger Games.
In the novel, Suzanne Collins exposes the reader to what Katniss is thinking, so we view a lot of the world through Katniss' eyes. Because the author writes the novel from a very close third person perspective, she deepens the characterization and intensifies the reader's experience. The reader learns more about the characters and what motivates them as well as learning more about the world of Panem and how it works.
In the movie, Katniss' thoughts shift to dialogue and action. It's much harder in film to expose a character's opinions and prior knowledge about situations and other characters. Film makers like to keep the action moving to maintain the audience's attention.
Here's an example, one of many. Early in the novel (page 13), the reader learns how the reaping system works directly from Katniss, who tells us that at age twelve a person's name is entered once, at thirteen his/her name is entered twice, and so on up to age eighteen. In addition, each person—aged twelve to eighteen—can choose to enter his/her name into the reaping pool one time for each family member. Those who are the poorest and most desperate for food tend to enter their names as much as possible. For each additional entry, the Capitol gives the family tesserae worth a year's amount of meager grain and oil for one person.
In the novel, Katniss points out that at age sixteen, her name is in the reaping pool twenty times. Eighteen-year-old Gale's name is in the reaping pool forty-two times. Katniss has entered her name on behalf of her mother and Prim, both of whom she must feed. Gale has entered his name on behalf of his mother, two brothers, and sister, all of whom he must feed.
These explanations are set in the midst of dialogue with Madge, who doesn't have to enter her name more than absolutely required. Gale treats her coldly because Madge is fortunate enough to be the Mayor's daughter and hence, privileged. Katniss' kind personality is revealed when she comments that it's not Madge's fault, and then she goes on to describe the unfair reaping system to the reader.
In the movie, it doesn't happen this way at all. In the forest with Gale, Katniss asks him how many times his name will be in today's reaping. He tells her that his name will be in the lottery forty-two times. She comments that he has two brothers to protect. So here, the audience doesn't know (unless they've read the book, of course) exactly how the reaping system works and why Gale's name is in the reaping pool forty-two times.
I could list a couple dozen additional examples.
On the flip side, the movie would be bogged down and slow if cluttered with a lot of deep thoughts and introspective moments.
The balance of action versus emotion is perfect in The Hunger Games film. By shifting Katniss' nightmares to Prim in the opening scene, the film makers instantly make viewers think of Katniss as strong, assertive, nurturing, caring, and loving. By removing Madge from the stage and inserting a brief scene in which Greasy Sae (we assume) provides her with the Mockingjay pin, the action sequence speeds up compared to the written form. While I missed both Madge and Greasy Sae (otherwise omitted from the film), I figured they were sacrificed in this first movie to keep the action moving.
Again, I could list a couple dozen additional examples.
Another aspect of the film that's different from the book is that the level of violence in the film is greatly reduced. This is because the film is rated PG-13. Had the violence been as horrific as in the book, the film would have required an R rating.
One example is Cato's slow death by mutt at the end of the Hunger Games in the book. In written form, Suzanne Collins emphasizes how slow and torturous his death is, how finally, Katniss puts him out of his misery with an arrow to his skull only to see what's left of him: "the raw hunk of meat that used to be [her] enemy." (page 340)
In the movie, the sequence is much quicker. The mutts—who by the way, don't look anything like the mutts in the novel—attack Cato, and very quickly, we see only his face before Katniss pulls back her bow to send the arrow into him. We don't see "the raw hunk of meat" at all.
Another example is Glimmer's death, again much more graphic in the novel than in the film. In the book, her tracker jacker stings are described as huge orange balls with green pus flowing out of them. Her limbs are bloated, and Katniss barely recognizes the dead Glimmer as being the beautiful, golden girl from District 1. In the film, we see some mild bloating of Glimmer's hand, her blotched dead face, but we don't see the graphic depiction of death that Collins supplies in the book.
On page 143 of the book, Katniss tells us that Titus from District 6 ended up being a cannibal who ate the hearts of dead tributes in the Games several years ago. We don't learn anything this extreme in the movie.
Yet again, I could list a couple dozen additional examples.
On film, it was much clearer just how bizarrely unresponsive the parents were as their children were dragged to the Games. Katniss' mother was like a stone statue, her face unmoving much of the time, no tears and somehow showing no regrets and no remorse. As a mother, I didn't understand her reaction in the film. I would have tried to save my own children no matter what the cost.
Certainly, Katniss' mother is shown in a very similar way in the book. However, because everything is layered deeply and internalized through Katniss' characterization, we also know as readers that her mother is an experienced healer who helps the wounded and sick of District 12. She's not quite as flat as portrayed in film.
In the novel, after Katniss lays Rue to rest with a wreath of flowers around her head and flowers in her hands, District 11 gives her a gift of bread, something possibly never done in the history of the Games: a gift of this magnitude to a tribute in another district. Katniss says, "My thanks to the people of District 11." Later, "conflicting emotions" cross Thresh's face when he kills Clove and doesn't kill Katniss, sparing her from death this one time in thanks for her caring of Rue. As readers, we know that in Catching Fire, Peeta graciously supplies District 11 with a month's allotment of bread each year.
In the film, after Katniss lays Rue to rest with flowers in her hands, District 11 doesn't supply the gift of bread, and while Katniss turns to stare into the Capitol's cameras, she cannot thank District 11 for the gift. In the film, Thresh appears almost angry as he tells Katniss he is sparing her this once, he doesn't come across as conflicted and as tortured a soul as he does in the book. He's a more three-dimensional character in the book. As viewers who have read the entire trilogy, we wonder if Peeta will supply District 11 with the bread in the second film, hence satisfying an important motif and theme of the entire Hunger Games trilogy: bread as hope, bread as sustenance, bread as in Panem et Circenses.
I could probably write 50-100 pages about differences between the book and film. So I'll stop here before I end up writing a sequel to The Hunger Games Companion on the web.
Overall, the film worked, and it worked well.
The amount of graphic detail in The Hunger Games film sufficed. When I saw the movie (twice so far), the audience was packed with people of all ages, ranging from little kids cuddled in horror next to their parents right on up to grandparents and senior citizens. If anything, the film bordered on horror for the little kids in the audience.
The level of emotion was gut-wrenching, and had the movie ramped up the heart-breaking scenes any further, I fear half the audience would have cried through the whole movie. Teens and people in their twenties were glued to the screen, just as I was glued to it. Many of us (including me) sniffled and openly weeped when Katniss volunteered in Prim's place, when Rue died, when Katniss and Peeta snuggled in the woods.
The choice of actors and actresses was perfect.
The interplay of Capitol glitz versus harsh poverty in the districts was portrayed beautifully.
Who do you think has the most impressive performance in the movie?
This is a very hard question to answer. So many performances were so dead-on perfect that I'll have to cheat and discuss all my favorites.
Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss was ideal. Her face showed the perfect level of toughness, intelligence, determination, kindness, and even gentleness.
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket was ideal. Her face showed the perfect level of hypocrisy, bouyancy, and gaiety coupled with an almost bewildered and motherly tightness. On some level, did she actually care about Katniss and Peeta? Her wild hair, makeup, and outfits were so perfect that a lot of us think that Academy Awards should go to The Hunger Games for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup.
Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy: what can I say? Perfect. He grew as a slobby drunk who didn't care about his district tributes, thinking they were dead no matter what he did, to a still-drunk guy who looked and acted sharp, who thought clearly, and who did everything he could to help Katniss and Peeta win sponsors and come out alive. The evolution of Haymitch as a character was very well done in the film.
Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman: again, what can I say? Again, another perfect choice. The insanely huge smile with the giant teeth! The crazy blue hair! The concerned look on his face, as if he cared, while he talked during the Games as if the whole affair were simply a college football game or a reality show with no serious consequences.
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta surprised me. I didn't like the character of Peeta an enormous amount in the book. He came across as almost too caring and sweet, too soft. But in the film, I adored Peeta. He was strong, intelligent, caring and sweet but not soft. Josh Hutcherson turned Peeta up a notch into a true film hero.
Briefly, I must mention Liam Hemsworth as Gale. Reading the book, I pictured Gale as wiry, tall, strong, and tough. In the film, Gale's part is greatly reduced—that is, he's not on stage much, and all we see of him is a grimace here and there as he feels jealous about Katniss' growing relationship with Peeta. He packs a lot of muscle in the movie, not quite as I personally pictured him while reading the trilogy. But that's not as important to me as wondering whether his role will be greatly increased in the forthcoming films.
Click here to read the entire interview at HungerGamesTrilogy.net.
Click here to read Hunger Games: Movie vs. Novel (Part 2) on this blog.
Hunger Games: Movie vs. Novel
Here's an extensive excerpt from the interview I did at HungerGamesTrilogy.net exploring the differences between the Hunger Games movie and novel.
What do you think of the changes made from the book to the film adaptation?
Although there are a lot of subtle differences between the book and the film, both forms work really well for The Hunger Games.
In the novel, Suzanne Collins exposes the reader to what Katniss is thinking, so we view a lot of the world through Katniss' eyes. Because the author writes the novel from a very close third person perspective, she deepens the characterization and intensifies the reader's experience. The reader learns more about the characters and what motivates them as well as learning more about the world of Panem and how it works.
In the movie, Katniss' thoughts shift to dialogue and action. It's much harder in film to expose a character's opinions and prior knowledge about situations and other characters. Film makers like to keep the action moving to maintain the audience's attention.
Here's an example, one of many. Early in the novel (page 13), the reader learns how the reaping system works directly from Katniss, who tells us that at age twelve a person's name is entered once, at thirteen his/her name is entered twice, and so on up to age eighteen. In addition, each person—aged twelve to eighteen—can choose to enter his/her name into the reaping pool one time for each family member. Those who are the poorest and most desperate for food tend to enter their names as much as possible. For each additional entry, the Capitol gives the family tesserae worth a year's amount of meager grain and oil for one person.
In the novel, Katniss points out that at age sixteen, her name is in the reaping pool twenty times. Eighteen-year-old Gale's name is in the reaping pool forty-two times. Katniss has entered her name on behalf of her mother and Prim, both of whom she must feed. Gale has entered his name on behalf of his mother, two brothers, and sister, all of whom he must feed.
These explanations are set in the midst of dialogue with Madge, who doesn't have to enter her name more than absolutely required. Gale treats her coldly because Madge is fortunate enough to be the Mayor's daughter and hence, privileged. Katniss' kind personality is revealed when she comments that it's not Madge's fault, and then she goes on to describe the unfair reaping system to the reader.
In the movie, it doesn't happen this way at all. In the forest with Gale, Katniss asks him how many times his name will be in today's reaping. He tells her that his name will be in the lottery forty-two times. She comments that he has two brothers to protect. So here, the audience doesn't know (unless they've read the book, of course) exactly how the reaping system works and why Gale's name is in the reaping pool forty-two times.
I could list a couple dozen additional examples.
On the flip side, the movie would be bogged down and slow if cluttered with a lot of deep thoughts and introspective moments.
The balance of action versus emotion is perfect in The Hunger Games film. By shifting Katniss' nightmares to Prim in the opening scene, the film makers instantly make viewers think of Katniss as strong, assertive, nurturing, caring, and loving. By removing Madge from the stage and inserting a brief scene in which Greasy Sae (we assume) provides her with the Mockingjay pin, the action sequence speeds up compared to the written form. While I missed both Madge and Greasy Sae (otherwise omitted from the film), I figured they were sacrificed in this first movie to keep the action moving.
Again, I could list a couple dozen additional examples.
Another aspect of the film that's different from the book is that the level of violence in the film is greatly reduced. This is because the film is rated PG-13. Had the violence been as horrific as in the book, the film would have required an R rating.
One example is Cato's slow death by mutt at the end of the Hunger Games in the book. In written form, Suzanne Collins emphasizes how slow and torturous his death is, how finally, Katniss puts him out of his misery with an arrow to his skull only to see what's left of him: "the raw hunk of meat that used to be [her] enemy." (page 340)
In the movie, the sequence is much quicker. The mutts—who by the way, don't look anything like the mutts in the novel—attack Cato, and very quickly, we see only his face before Katniss pulls back her bow to send the arrow into him. We don't see "the raw hunk of meat" at all.
Another example is Glimmer's death, again much more graphic in the novel than in the film. In the book, her tracker jacker stings are described as huge orange balls with green pus flowing out of them. Her limbs are bloated, and Katniss barely recognizes the dead Glimmer as being the beautiful, golden girl from District 1. In the film, we see some mild bloating of Glimmer's hand, her blotched dead face, but we don't see the graphic depiction of death that Collins supplies in the book.
On page 143 of the book, Katniss tells us that Titus from District 6 ended up being a cannibal who ate the hearts of dead tributes in the Games several years ago. We don't learn anything this extreme in the movie.
Yet again, I could list a couple dozen additional examples.
On film, it was much clearer just how bizarrely unresponsive the parents were as their children were dragged to the Games. Katniss' mother was like a stone statue, her face unmoving much of the time, no tears and somehow showing no regrets and no remorse. As a mother, I didn't understand her reaction in the film. I would have tried to save my own children no matter what the cost.
Certainly, Katniss' mother is shown in a very similar way in the book. However, because everything is layered deeply and internalized through Katniss' characterization, we also know as readers that her mother is an experienced healer who helps the wounded and sick of District 12. She's not quite as flat as portrayed in film.
In the novel, after Katniss lays Rue to rest with a wreath of flowers around her head and flowers in her hands, District 11 gives her a gift of bread, something possibly never done in the history of the Games: a gift of this magnitude to a tribute in another district. Katniss says, "My thanks to the people of District 11." Later, "conflicting emotions" cross Thresh's face when he kills Clove and doesn't kill Katniss, sparing her from death this one time in thanks for her caring of Rue. As readers, we know that in Catching Fire, Peeta graciously supplies District 11 with a month's allotment of bread each year.
In the film, after Katniss lays Rue to rest with flowers in her hands, District 11 doesn't supply the gift of bread, and while Katniss turns to stare into the Capitol's cameras, she cannot thank District 11 for the gift. In the film, Thresh appears almost angry as he tells Katniss he is sparing her this once, he doesn't come across as conflicted and as tortured a soul as he does in the book. He's a more three-dimensional character in the book. As viewers who have read the entire trilogy, we wonder if Peeta will supply District 11 with the bread in the second film, hence satisfying an important motif and theme of the entire Hunger Games trilogy: bread as hope, bread as sustenance, bread as in Panem et Circenses.
I could probably write 50-100 pages about differences between the book and film. So I'll stop here before I end up writing a sequel to The Hunger Games Companion on the web.
Overall, the film worked, and it worked well.
The amount of graphic detail in The Hunger Games film sufficed. When I saw the movie (twice so far), the audience was packed with people of all ages, ranging from little kids cuddled in horror next to their parents right on up to grandparents and senior citizens. If anything, the film bordered on horror for the little kids in the audience.
The level of emotion was gut-wrenching, and had the movie ramped up the heart-breaking scenes any further, I fear half the audience would have cried through the whole movie. Teens and people in their twenties were glued to the screen, just as I was glued to it. Many of us (including me) sniffled and openly weeped when Katniss volunteered in Prim's place, when Rue died, when Katniss and Peeta snuggled in the woods.
The choice of actors and actresses was perfect.
The interplay of Capitol glitz versus harsh poverty in the districts was portrayed beautifully.
Who do you think has the most impressive performance in the movie?
This is a very hard question to answer. So many performances were so dead-on perfect that I'll have to cheat and discuss all my favorites.
Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss was ideal. Her face showed the perfect level of toughness, intelligence, determination, kindness, and even gentleness.
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket was ideal. Her face showed the perfect level of hypocrisy, bouyancy, and gaiety coupled with an almost bewildered and motherly tightness. On some level, did she actually care about Katniss and Peeta? Her wild hair, makeup, and outfits were so perfect that a lot of us think that Academy Awards should go to The Hunger Games for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup.
Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy: what can I say? Perfect. He grew as a slobby drunk who didn't care about his district tributes, thinking they were dead no matter what he did, to a still-drunk guy who looked and acted sharp, who thought clearly, and who did everything he could to help Katniss and Peeta win sponsors and come out alive. The evolution of Haymitch as a character was very well done in the film.
Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman: again, what can I say? Again, another perfect choice. The insanely huge smile with the giant teeth! The crazy blue hair! The concerned look on his face, as if he cared, while he talked during the Games as if the whole affair were simply a college football game or a reality show with no serious consequences.
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta surprised me. I didn't like the character of Peeta an enormous amount in the book. He came across as almost too caring and sweet, too soft. But in the film, I adored Peeta. He was strong, intelligent, caring and sweet but not soft. Josh Hutcherson turned Peeta up a notch into a true film hero.
Briefly, I must mention Liam Hemsworth as Gale. Reading the book, I pictured Gale as wiry, tall, strong, and tough. In the film, Gale's part is greatly reduced—that is, he's not on stage much, and all we see of him is a grimace here and there as he feels jealous about Katniss' growing relationship with Peeta. He packs a lot of muscle in the movie, not quite as I personally pictured him while reading the trilogy. But that's not as important to me as wondering whether his role will be greatly increased in the forthcoming films.
Click here to read the entire interview at HungerGamesTrilogy.net.
April 4, 2012
Two Nice Reviews of The Hunger Games Companion!
As a writer, I feel wonderful when readers "get" what I'm trying to convey in my books. When readers email me or post nice reviews of my books or stories, it makes all the hard work more than worthwhile.
So I'm very pleased to note that two more nice reviews have popped up about The Hunger Games Companion!
Here's an excerpt from the first review:
I've noticed lately that there are more than a couple books, guides, companions devoted to The Hunger Games trilogy out now, particularly since the movie has been released. They're all a little bit different, but I have one in particular that I want to share with you today.
A couple of my favorite chapters [from The Hunger Games Companion]:
Chapter Eight: Killer Kids: How Responsible Are They? -
This chapter talked a bit about Katniss as she made the shift from a hunter to a killer. She began by hunting small animals for her family to eat and gradually made a shift to hunting and killing other young people to stay alive while in the Games. Those that have read the entire trilogy can realize Katniss' full shift from hunter to killer as they think back on Catching Fire and Mockingjay, and the events and reasons in those books that may have caused Katniss to kill.
Chapter Nine: Hype Over Substance: A Mirror Of Modern Times -
This chapter deals with the reality TV portion of the Games and the associated hype in the Capitol and within parts of Panem. The author speaks on the 'image' that was given to Peeta and Katniss for the televised portion of the Games celebration and its contrast to the the carnage and savage hunting inside the actual Games. She then compared the 'real vs fake' to several television shows that are popular in today's culture.
Ultimately, this is an interesting book if you are a fan of The Hunger Games trilogy, and I am amazed at the amount of time that this author must have spent on it. I think it would appeal to older YA and adult audiences, and I think it would be great for discussion or as a guide for someone who is leading a reading group or teaching these books in a class.
Click here to read the entire review at Into the Hall of Books.
My thanks to Asheley!
Here's another nice review that popped up today:
Finished The Hunger Games Companion by Lois H. Gresh. I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
As the title would lead you to believe, this is a companion to the Hunger Games series. (Coolest of all are Appendix A--which details the various ways the world could end--and Appendix B--further reading for fans of the Hunger Games trilogy.)
Each chapter is devoted to a different aspect of the series (for example weapons, the nature of evil and medicines and poisons). Each chapter also has sidebars on doomsday predictions (which I loved) and examples in history (which were interesting but not as cool as the doomsday predictions--I think I'm just way too in love with those for my own good).
The two chapters I liked best were the ones that delved into whether that society could happen and the one about how responsible the children/tributes were for their actions. While I read for entertainment more than anything else, I do enjoy actually thinking about what I read, and these were discussions that I've had with my friends. (Especially about how responsible the tributes were.) While yes, obviously things would not go well for them if they flat-out refused to go (and I'm pretty sure their friends and family would also suffer), odds are they'd end up dying anyway. Of the 24 tributes, 23 end up dead. (Except, of course, in the first Hunger Games book.)
I'm not sure this would be considered required reading, but it was the perfect thing for me to get a few days after seeing the movie.
Click here to read the entire review at KellyVision.
My thanks to Kelly!
ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS now $4.99 on Amazon
In my first e-publishing adventure, I posted the e-version of ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS on Amazon.
The e-version is $4.99!
You can also obtain a $4.99 copy of ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS from the Book View Cafe.
And of course, the printed Chaosium, Inc. version is still available on Amazon, too.
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"Riveting stories with mind-bending ideas intensely creative!" --Catherine Asaro, Nebula-Award winning author of The Ruby Dice
"An extravagant gift...devastating genius...and oh, that story, "Debutante Ball" in a perfect literary landscape it would now be as well-remembered as Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'."
--Adam-Troy Castro, SCI FI, official magazine of the SYFY TV channel
"Lois Gresh is a terrific writer and this collection is a terrific book for anyone who wants to read the best in science fiction, dark fantasy, dark humor, and horror."
--Robert Weinberg, Winner of Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA
"Lois Gresh makes me scared of things I've never been scared of before. In person, Lois seems so nice and ordinary...but in her writing, she's *evil*."
--James Alan Gardner, Winner of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial award
"Intensely memorable stories...shocking, funny, disturbing. A uniquely gifted writer whose work I have admired for many years."
--Charles Platt, former editor at Avon books & senior writer at Wired
"If you're hoping for surprisingly quirky takes on reality combined with cleverly worded fiction, you're in the right place. One of the cleverest writers out there."
--Nancy Kilpatrick, editor of Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead
March 31, 2012
Why is the Hunger Games so popular with teens?
Yesterday, I did several Hunger Games interviews. I decided to post a few excerpts here and will provide links to the complete interviews (which are much more extensive) as soon as they're online. ------------------------------------
The power of The Hunger Games is in its messages, and in book form, in the power of its writing.
First, teens are acutely aware of bullying, harassment, shows of status, and the power of adults over their lives. Those of us who are adults can easily remember what all of these things feel like—and depending on our professions, we may still experience some of them from time to time.
As President Snow says in the film, "Hope is the only thing more powerful than fear."
Teens must hope that the future will be better. Parents must hope that the future will be better. In today's world, everyone's worried about jobs, health care, housing, education, and simply survival. Will our children be able to survive in today's world, much less tomorrow's world?
The Hunger Games brings these fears and these hopes into full focus.
Second, both teens and adults are acutely aware of the division of "haves versus have-nots," that is, the 1% of people who control all the riches and the 99% of people who increasingly struggle to provide for their families.
The Hunger Games brings this division into full focus.
Third, both teens and adults want to be true to themselves. We want to feel free to express ourselves freely, and in real life, much of what we say and do feels stifled to the point of claustrophobia. God help us if we say the wrong thing. God help us if we displease the wrong person. A huge theme in The Hunger Games is "to thine ownself be true." Katniss and Peeta both struggle with this issue against the backdrop of a reality television program in which they must fight to the death. Will Peeta stop being himself? He wonders. Can Katniss pretend enough in front of the cameras to win sponsors? She has to try really hard to do it.
Fourth, absolute power corrupts. When adults stifle teens too much or try to control their every move, teenagers don't like it at all. Nobody likes to be told what to do all the time. Nobody likes to be under anyone else's thumb. In The Hunger Games, the Capitol has complete power over everyone. In the first novel and movie, it's President Snow and his cronies, and later in Mockingjay, it's President Coin.
And fifth, it seems there are no boundaries to human cruelty and human caring. Again, we all know this as a truism. It never ceases to amaze us when somebody—a stranger or even a close friend—turns on us out of the blue, attacks and harasses us for seemingly no reason, maybe out of selfish motivations or greed or… fill in the blank, folks. As with the Capitol, there are no boundaries to human selfishness and cruelty. As for kindness, Katniss and Peeta are both supreme examples of the best we can be as humans. Katniss takes care of Rue in the Games. Peeta's willing to sacrifice himself to save her life, and vice-versa. This is true kindness, and it never ceases to amaze us in real life when someobody—even a stranger—goes out of his or her way to make our lives a tiny bit better.
March 30, 2012
My Life as a Writer -- at Book View Cafe
On March 20, I joined the Book View Cafe, a cooperative of professional authors helping each other create, promote, and sell their own e-books. We have some amazing luminaries in science fiction and fantasy such as Ursula K. LeGuin, Vonda McIntyre, Linda Nagata, Brenda Clough, Jay Caselberg, Judith Tarr, Sarah Zettel, and lots more. Many are New York Times Best Sellers, as well as Nebula and Hugo winners.
The Book View Cafe released the e-version of my Chaosium print title, ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS for only $4.99! This is a collection of 26 dark science fiction and fantasy stories. ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS was on the HWA Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot for Best Collection of 2011. If you like science fiction, you can read TWO FREE STORIES: CAFEBABE and Watch Me If You Can.
In addition, founding BVC member K.E. Kimbriel interviewed me about my life as a writer. Kathi did a fantastic job as my BVC mentor, and pulling together the e-version of ELDRITCH EVOLUTION, Vonda McIntyre was amazing, brilliant, and wonderful in all ways.
Here's an excerpt from Kathi's interview:
Kathi: If you have missed the work of writer Lois Gresh, you're in for a treat. She's one of the rare people working today who has not only been lauded by critics and peers (nominations for the Bram Stoker, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, and International Horror Guild Awards) but has reached the New York Times Bestseller List multiple times. Lois is known for SF, Horror, YA and also her Companion books for other popular worlds. Her latest hot seller is The Hunger Games Companion. I'm pleased to introduce you to Lois and to her new e-book Eldritch Evolutions. Welcome, Lois!
1.) How did you become involved with Book View Cafe?
For the past 5-10 years, I've been suggesting to other writers that the SFWA website include an e-bookstore for professionally written science fiction and fantasy. As I envisioned it, active SFWA members could band together as a cooperative and sell their e-books. I saw no reason to give middlemen 70% (or more) of our profits simply to upload documents to the web. Had I not been employed 60 hours/week as well as writing fulltime, I would have tried to make this happen.
At WFC, I happened to share a room with Nancy Jane Moore, a member of BVC. I told her about my idea, and she told me about BVC. Apparently, a like-minded group of professional science fiction and fantasy writers had already banded together as a cooperative to sell their e-books. I immediately asked Nancy if I could join BVC, and she kindly passed my name along to the membership. So here I am, and thank you to Nancy and everyone else!
2.) What is it about the BVC organization that appeals to you?
I like the idea of a cooperative of professional authors helping each other create, promote, and sell their own e-books. I've already been fortunate to have help from some incredibly nice people in BVC. That these people also happen to be SFF writers I've admired for a long time is an added bonus, and in many cases, quite a thrill.
As noted above, I see no reason to give e-publishers a huge percentage of authors' profits simply to upload documents to the web. From what I've seen, e-publishers don't add enough value to take this much money from authors. E-publishing contracts tend to "rape the writer," as I call it. It makes more sense for us to work as a cooperative, help each other, and avoid "rape the writer" contracts.
3.) What made you pursue writing fiction? Did any particular writer inspire you, and if so, who?
As a child, if I dared whine that I was bored on rainy Saturdays, my mother would say, "Go read the dictionary. It'll give you something to do." I found that I loved the rhythm of words, and I became very fond of the thesaurus. I spent a lot of time reading library books as well as an ancient set of encyclopedias that my mother kept in the hallway outside my bedroom. My mother wanted to be an English teacher but gave up her dreams when she got married. She made sure I knew how to use "will" versus "shall" and "who" versus "whom" when I was in kindergarten.
My father constantly read science fiction novels from the library. These were all classics by men such as Hal Clement, Frederik Pohl, and Isaac Asimov. In his early teens, my father dreamed of becoming a science fiction writer. On Sundays, I watched Tarzan, Godzilla, Hercules, and other old science fiction movies on TV with him.
In addition to my mother's English drills and my father's love of science fiction, I grew up with another strong influence, a fascination with science. At age 6, I wanted to design rocket engines. By 13, I wanted to become a biochemist or geneticist, and this desire continued until I was in my early twenties. By then, I'd accidentally become an engineer-programmer, working 60 hours/week while attending college at night--for the first two years in chemistry before switching to computer science.
The classic science fiction writers of my father's age inspired me to write stories with female scientists. I grew tired of reading about male scientists who did all the fun stuff while the girls poured coffee and fed the brains.
At age 9, I wrote a 55-page science fiction story; at 12, a 220-page "report" about ancient Egypt; at 16, a 250-page book about poverty; at 22, a 500-page novel; at 23, a 400-page novel; and during college classes, I wrote horror stories featuring my professors.
By the time I was in my early twenties, a girlie engineer who worked almost exclusively with men, I discovered a new crop of science fiction writers, including women.
But the writer who made me want to spend my nights writing my own stories was William Gibson. He was my hero. He was like a rock and roll star. He wrote hard-edged cyber stories that made all the metal in my lab come alive. I wanted to explore that terrain. It was very exciting.
Overall, I was strongly influenced by many writers, including but certainly not limited to AE van Vogt, HP Lovecraft, Jack Williamson, A. Merritt, Clifford D. Simak, Edwin A. Abbott, Robert E. Howard, Roger Zelazny, CL Moore, Henry Kuttner, William Hope Hodgson, Murray Leinster, Edgar Rice Burroughs, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Walter Jon Williams, Nancy Kress, Kathe Koja, Maureen McHugh, Ursula K. LeGuin, Allen Steele, Greg Bear, Terry Bisson, Anne Rice, Pat Cadigan, Ted Chiang, and James Patrick Kelly. I'm probably forgetting to mention a lot of other writers whose work I enjoyed, and if we shift forward in time, I can easily add a lot more names.
4.) ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS contains hard science fiction stories as well as dark fantasy, mysteries, horror, and humor. What led you to write in such diverse genres?
Science almost always drives me, along with characterization. I like to tell stories about people and creatures, what drives and motivates them, how they change and why, how their actions influence events.
Early on, I thought my stories were too "weird" for the straight tastes of magazines such as Asimov's and Analog. I thought of my stories as sitting on genre boundaries. I may have been wrong, I don't know. Some of these "weird" science fiction stories are Where I Go, Mi-Go, Psychomildew Love, Mandelbrot Moldrot, Digital Pistil, and CAFEBABE. My most recent sale–to anthology Eldritch Chrome--is dark science fiction with a weird twist.
5.) Do you think your "voice," the thing that stamps your writing as uniquely yours, changes from book to book, story to story--or can you already see themes and phrasing that reoccur in your work?
My voice has matured over time. In the beginning when I was selling only short stories, I experimented a lot with style and rhythm. A common theme was the need for freedom and independence.
After moving to book form, my style became more clipped and less experimental. My first novel, a thriller called THE TERMINATION NODE co-authored with Robert Weinberg, featured a female engineer-programmer struggling for freedom and independence. I concocted a financial crime for the book along with a backbone of technical detail. I followed with three young adult adventure-fantasy novels. Last year, I tried experimenting with structure in science fiction novel BLOOD AND ICE.
My thriller TERROR BY NUMBERS (June 2011) is aimed at people who love to watch James Bond movies. Action action action. Lots of suspense along with crazy villains and a Wall Street crime that could really happen.
I tend to write very close to character. This means I sit inside the characters' heads, I ride them, and they unleash the stories upon me. As the characters and I roll along, I oversee everything as an editor, but the characters are always in control. I try not to let them get out of hand.
6.) What have you learned from your own writing? To what concepts, intentional or not, do you think you've exposed your readers? (Tolkien's species, such as hobbits and sentient trees, having tolerance for each other. Heroines and heroes with almost inhuman patience, etc.)
This is a tough question. I know that my early writing alleviated a lot of personal pain. I laughed and cried while writing the three young adult CHUCK FARRIS novels. Some of the stories, such as SMOKESTACK SNOUT NEUROLOGY, are quite personal, and oh yes, I laughed and cried while writing that one.
My fiction definitely reflects my thoughts about how people should treat each other. For example, I strongly believe we should try to be kind and help each other, not for personal reward but rather because it's the right thing to do. I strongly believe we should try to be ethical, meaning we don't steal other peoples' ideas while knifing them in the back, we don't screw them over to get ahead or to give ourselves a good laugh. My heroes and heroines tend to reflect these ideals. My villains, of course, have entirely different standards of conduct, although they often think they're on the moral high ground.
I understand pain, and this is probably why many of my stories feature characters who must overcome pain. I know how it feels to be paralyzed for years. I know how it feels to be the victim of stalkers and harassment, of people who pretend you don't exist, of people whose joy comes from hurting others, of bigots, of greedy bullies.
On the flip side, I also understand happiness, and this is probably why many of my stories feature characters who strive to find happiness. I know how it feels to be loved. I know how it feels to love. I know how it feels to act with the best intentions only to fail.
I don't think writing fiction has taught me these concepts, but it has helped me explore them. In the end, writing fiction is all about story and character.
7.) Has writing taught you anything you didn't expect?
Writing requires constant learning. Even if I live to be 100 years old, which I highly doubt, I won't know a tenth of what I'd like to know about writing.
I didn't expect to be obsessed with writing for this long. My teachers always told me that I was destined to be a writer. In fourth grade, I told my teacher that I did not want to grow up to be a writer because "writers starve in the gutter." I actively tried not to be a writer at the companies where I worked, but somehow, seemed to gravitate to writing everywhere I went. I've always said that writing is a sickness.
If you're driven to write, you're going to do it despite the difficulties. I had a 60-hour/week job, went to college at night, had two children, was a single mother, and wrote books and stories in the middle of the night simply because I felt compelled to do it. I don't think I had any choice in the matter.
Read the entire article here at Book View Cafe…
March 23, 2012
Join us Live at Sirius XM Radio Hunger Games Fan Show
SiriusXM Book Radio hosts live, interactive Hunger Games Fan Forum
Fans have read the book and seen the film; forum allows them to have their say!
SiriusXM will host "The Hunger Games Fan Forum," a live, interactive broadcast event for true fans of all things Hunger Games, based on the hugely popular young-adult book by Suzanne Collins, on Monday, March 26, at 8:00 pm ET on SiriusXM Book Radio channel 80.
TO PARTICIPATE:
#SXMhungergames
call in number 877-723-5723
If you want to reach me during the event to ask questions & make comments, here's my twitter -- @lois_gresh
A dream come true for any fan, the forum's panel of experts includes Lois Gresh, author of The Hunger Games Companion: The Unauthorized Guide to the Series;
Adam Spunberg, host of The Hunger Games Fireside Chat Podcast and TheFandom.net and Jenn Nguyen, Lionsgate appointed Mayor of District 8 and owner of wildly popular and highly-trafficked peenisseverlark.tumblr.com.
An intimate audience of devoted fans will meet at SiriusXM studios to talk about The Hunger Games movie, book and all things Panem. The panel will be hosted and moderated by Book Radio's Kim Alexander and Broadminded's Molly Dedham. Fans from all across North America are encouraged to tweet their questions about #SXMhungergames in anticipation of the forum to the hosts: @kimalexander80 and @MollyDedham. In addition, fans will have the opportunity to interact with the show's guests by calling in live at 877-723-5723.
"The Hunger Games" centers around sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen who lives in post-apocalyptic Panem. The country holds an annual event, which gives the book its title, in which one boy and one girl from each District are selected to compete in a televised battle with only one survivor!
"The Hunger Games Fan Forum" airs live on Sirius XM Book Radio channel 80 from 8:00 pm-9:00 pm ET on Monday, March 26, with encores airing Wednesday, March 28 at 10:00 pm ET; Friday, March 30 at 6:00 am ET; and Sunday, April 1 at 8:30 pm ET.
TO PARTICIPATE:
#SXMhungergames
call in number 877-723-5723
If you want to reach me during the event to ask questions & make comments, here's my twitter -- @lois_gresh
