Jennifer Allis Provost's Blog, page 26

Almost Turkey Time!

Is it odd that all I crave is cranberry sauce? Holiday food holds no appeal for me. Seriously, I'm the only one I know who loses weight this time of year.

Well, I have been without my laptop for ten days now, and I feel like jumping out a window. Being that I'm on the first floor, I'll refrain for now. I'm considering buying one of those teeny-tiny laptops as an emergency backup, in case such a tragedy as this ever occurs again. However, I am reacquainting myself with the myriad wonders contained in the local library.

So what have I been doing during this technological isolation? Well, I've read four books, and I'm halfway through the fifth. The fifth, The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint, is also the best of the lot. In my opinion he is the king of urban fantasy, and the rest of us just hope to approach his level. I wonder if he sees faeries and goblins in everyday life.

I've also managed to work on those deleted scened from Rise of the Deva'shi. The first two are up on Smashwords, link below. The first, Nightwatch, can be read without having read Rise of the Deva'shi. Three more deleted scenes are forthcoming. Did I mention they're free?

The joys of technology

Lets talk about those inventions that impact our lives in a significant manner. Some are so common that we don't even notice them: glass drinking vessels, electric light bulbs, paved roads. Can you imagine slicing your own bread? Well, not all that long ago everyone sliced their own bread, chopped wood, and there weren't any dry cleaners. However, I want to discuss a different invention today, what I believe to be the greatest invention of modern times: the USB flash drive.
 
According to Wikipedia (I know, bad place to get info but hey - this is a blog post, not my thesis) Trek and IMB began selling USB flash drives commercially in 2000. It had a storage capacity of 8 MB, way more than floppy disks. Who remembers floppy disks? I sure do, and I remember all the bad jokes that went with them.
 
Why am I so enamored with the USB drive, you ask? Of course, my faithful readers will recall the Great Laptop Fire of 2010. My screen never fully recovered, and I was plagued with threadlike black vertical lines. The screen finally gave up the ghost this past weekend and was rushed to the computer hospital. After a quick triage, it was deemed salvagable. And, my four years worth of writing stored within said laptop has emerged unscathed.
 
Not that I'm the untrusting type (and where we brought the laptop - Computers & More in Amherst, MA - does excellent work) but I wanted all my precious files backed up before we dropped it off. I was scouring the house for blank discs when I recalled my USB flash drive, faithful compantion of my college days. On my lone flash drive I have now stored the full five book series of the Chronicles of Parthalan, my in-progress urban fantasy, various art projects, and a short story about fire faries. Oh, and Zombie Love Song, since everything's better with zombies.

November Resolution

Well, I've made a resolution. I know, such things are typically done in January but hey, November is a perfectly good month. The resolution, since you asked, is to post once a week. Hopefully, the posts will be interesting.



In writing news, I'm reworking the query for Blood of the King yet again. I promise, I'll start submitting eventually. I've also finished the zombie short story and will start submitting that soon. Before Christmas, even.



And last but not least, following are some pics of the wonder twins in their Halloween costumes. May the force be with you!

Pumpkins and whatnot

Halloween, my favorite day of the year, has come and gone. This year was especially nice since it was the wonder twins first Halloween. They went as (of course) Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. They didn't seem to mind the costumes all that much, however trick or treat did not go as planned. Well, it did - until it started to snow! Luckily, my husband ate the candy so quickly it had no chance to freeze.
 
In other news, my dear friend Ann got hitched this past Saturday! I could not attend, being she is a 4 hour drive from me and for the life of us we couldn't figure out what to do with our dog. Still, she managed to get married without my guidance. She claims to love the blog, so lets see if she notices her picture here:




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I don't know how I'm going to make it out there for a visit. Anyone know a good dog sitter?

News!

As ya'll know, titles are something of a stumbling block for me. But I couldn't call the next installment of the Chronicles of Parthalan the prequel to the sequel forever, even if it is catchy. Originally I wanted to call it Ish h'ra hai, but there's something to be said for not using made-up words in a title. I know, the bookstore is packed with classics sporting made-up words as titles: Belgariad, Narnia, Prydian. While I hope that the Chronicles of Parthalan may someday be described as a classic of speculative fiction, that milestone won't be reached for some time. Definitely not before next week.



The next title I seriously considered was Heir to the Sun. I even thought it was a clever play on words. Problem was, people just didn't get it. The title refers to a character descended from the sun god. Actually, there are two characters descended from the sun, but one doesn't have their lineage revealed until the end, and the whole story hinges upon this character's parentage. I still like the title, but if no one understands it but me well, then it's not a good title, now is it?



On to the third and current title: Blood of the King. It's catchy, evocative, and oh-so-fantastical. It refers to the line of succession for Parthalan's kings, either by heredity or spilling the king's blood. Seeing as the king is the Big Bad, I'm thinking this may be the title we stick with.



The other title I really liked (more than Blood of the King) was The King Must Die. But guess what - a quick Google search revealed that there's already a well-known book by that very title, written by Mary Renault. Maybe great minds do think alike!

Comicon recap and New Cafe Press Store!

Last Saturday at this time I was in New York eagerly awaiting Comic Con to open its doors. The convention was AWESOME with a capital AWE! My sister in law and I got to meet one of our all-time favorite authors Jeaniene Frost, who was approachable, witty, and nice enough to sign some books and take a picture with us crazy chicks. But that was only the beginning, and let me tell you if I had any idea of the amount of schwag we would have been presented with I would have brought a bigger bag. Actually, we got two tote bags that were still full to bursting. Other items I'm especially excited about include Pariah by Bob Fingerman - not only did he sign it, he drew a picture of a zombie on the title page! And Bloodthirsty by Flynn Meaney, which is about a teen boy who's allergic to the sun, but when all the girls in school start swooning over sparkly vampires he decides to present himself as a bloodsucker. Hilarity ensues.



On the Chronicles of Parthalan front, I have shut down the store associated with this website. If you'd like to purchase a print book, the links here (http://jenniferallisprovost.com/Where_to_Buy.html) can direct you to retailers who offer much better shipping rates. Also, if it's not in stock at your local Barnes and Noble you can order it and pick it up in the store - and they won't charge you shipping! Rise of the Deva'shi can be ordered by any retailer, but i don't know if other stores offer the same free pickup deal. Oh, and we are always stocked at The Spiral Bookcase in Manayunk, PA!



If you're in Western MA or relatively close, drop me a line. I can always get you a hand-delivered copy. I don't charge shipping, b ut I do enjoy coffee.



But what about the merchandise, you ask? Fear not, I have opened a merchandise site here: http://www.cafepress.com/Parthalan



We have five designs right now that can be put on shirts, hats, water bottles, wall clocks, and I plan to add more styles. Why, you can even get a dog shirt! My canine, Rocket, grudgingly lets me put clothes on him when it gets cold. As Soon as I wrestle him into a Rise of the Deva'shi shirt, I'll post a pic. Promise.

Reviews, Interviews, and a Sock Monkey

Here's the latest review of Rise of the Deva'shi, done by Paula aka the Phantom Paragrapher:



http://thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com/2010/09/rise-of-devashi-jennifer-allis-provost.html



I love her blog! She covers a wide range of genres and her reviews are thorough and unbiased. Of course, i am a bit biased



And here is an interview I recently did for Soley Fictional. the blog is run by author NK Kingston - check her out, folks, her work is excellent. Here's the interview link:



http://significantkinks.solelyfictional.org/?p=718



And last but certainly not least, here's a picture of my friend Tara wearing a sock monkey hat created by mother.



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Happy Saturday!

Random musings

Finally - this heat is gone and fall is approaching! Fall is without a doubt my favorite time of year; apple picking, pumpkin picking, and cider drinking are among my favorite activities. And there is Halloween, the greatest of holidays! One fall activity I do not partake in is pumpkin carving. Pumpkins are so cute on their own, and I just can't bear to rip out their guts. I know, I know, they're only vegetables, but they're cute vegetables.



On the writing front, the second book is still bei...

Don't judge a book by its genre

As I finished rereading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I realized that I have a confession to make: I used to be a book snob. In fact, I have been a book snob at several different points in my life, encompassing several different genres.

 

I have been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember, so whenever I adopted a genre as my own I set out to conquer it. My first attack of snobbery occurred when I was in my early teens and I would only read comic books. First, there was the mutant craze, then I would only read independent comics or manga. (Ironically enough, I can hardly get through manga today. But I digress.) During this phase I discovered the glory of Elfquest, and let me tell you the first 20 issues of Elfquest are some of the best storytelling you can get your hands on, and the art is fantastic.

 

Then Elfquest was rereleased as a set of graphic novels (the rerelease is the secret device used by all publishers to get us to buy the same thing twice and darn it, I fall for it ever time), and this led to my graphic novel phase. Watchmen, Frank Miller's Dark Night, and a few Robotech titles are examples of what I was reading then. Of course, graphic novels only get you so far, and I soon made the transition from graphic novels to science fiction and fantasy.

 

Actually, this was my second go-round with fantasy. When I was eight or nine I discovered the Lord of the Rings in my local library, and plowed through them over the summer. That led to the Chronicles of Prydia, the Chronicles of Narnia, and probably a few other chronicles as well. Incidentally, there was a horror phase around the same time that abruptly ended when I read Stephen King's IT and ended up having to sleep with the lights on for a week.

 

Earlier forays into fantasy aside, I now only read titles by those who had been proclaimed 'masters of their genre'. I read Zimmer Bradley, Heinlein, Hebert, LeGuin, Asimov … I could go on and on. I effectively ignored new releases, preferring instead to let others sort through the bazillion books published each year and find the good ones. Some categories were far beneath me, and I refused to read young adult titles (children's books in disguise), anything with a vampire (too cheesy for a serious reader like me) and anything that had been made into a movie.

 

You all know what an epiphany is? Mine occurred when I realized that I no longer eagerly waited for a new release, that everyone else was excitedly checking out blogs to see what their favorite author's were working on, and that I breezed by the new release table as if it was contaminated. So I loosened up, read a book I randomly picked out from the fantasy section, and haven't looked back.

 

My advice to you all is to leave the snobbery behind. Read that book your sister in law recommended, even though it has a vampire. Pick up a random book from an author you've never heard of just because you like the cover. And never, ever discount a book just because of its genre. You may miss out on the next Harry Potter.

 

Don't judge a book by its genre

As I finished rereading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I realized that I have a confession to make: I used to be a book snob. In fact, I have been a book snob at several different points in my life, encompassing several different genres.

 

I have been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember, so whenever I adopted a genre as my own I set out to conquer it. My first attack of snobbery occurred when I was in my early teens and I would only read comic books. First, there was...