Liz Williams's Blog, page 17

Update: The Hundred Stories Project

The Hundred Story Project
AVALON RISING - THE HUNDRED STORY PROJECT

Many thanks to all those of you who have contributed via the campaign page or via my LJ link. We're now up to the region of $650 and a huge thank you from both Trevor and myself to everyone for being so generous. The campaign is still running and IndieGogo tell me that they have fixed the issue with the paypal link - I've included my own paypal below in case any contributors have further problems. Just to clarify, there's no minimum contribution for this - you can donate a single buck if you choose!

I'm gearing up to start my bit of the project in January. It's going to be an interesting thing to write!


These are all wonderful legends. But what about the real stories behind Glastonbury, behind Avalon?

In 2006, my partner, Trevor, was diagnosed with throat cancer at an advanced stage. With the help of both modern and alternative treatment, he beat the disease, but it spurred him to return to university and to study. In 2010, he was awarded his BA in History and Classics. Now, he's studying at the University of Winchester, starting a Masters degree which will result in a community archaeology project in Glastonbury - involving local people, involving everyone who is interested in the stories behind this ancient land.

Involving you.

Community is no longer just the people you live alongside - it's global, and it extends both into the past and the future. In order to get this project started, and to fund Trevor's research, I'm starting the Hundred Stories Project. From January 1st, 2012, I'll be writing a story a day, about the people who have lived in and around Glastonbury from Neolithic times. You'll get 7 stories at the end of each week, plus the extra. They'll be short stories, a page for each person, and when the project is finished I'll be binding the stories for display.

Why is this important?

Glastonbury is a focus for many different spiritualities. People come here to find healing, to learn more about how our ancestors thought and worked. In a materialistic modern age, it's a place where magic still happens - and much of that magic comes from the stories and legends of the area. Community archaeology gives us an understanding of our own lives. It gives people from other parts of the world a place of their own in our community. It honours the dead. It means that people are not forgotten, that their stories get told - not just from the power of the human imagination, but from what we can learn from history and archaeology.


What We Need & What You Get

To get this project off the ground, we need $8000 - around £5000 in British currency. This will fund the first stage of the research and enable Trevor to bring members of the community on board, as well as setting up a team to start to look into potential archaeological sites. One possibility is to revisit the area around the Sweet Track, the 6000 year old causeway built across the Somerset Levels.

This platform gives you the option of contributing however little or as much as you want - if you click on the 'contribute now' button, it will give you the option of your own amount.

For your contribution, you'll get the Hundred Stories, from winter to spring of 2012. You'll get regular updates from Trevor on how the community project is progressing. If you can make it to Glastonbury, we'll give you a tour around the hidden places of Avalon: the places visitors don't usually get to see. You'll also get a copy of the archaeological report when it's done and an ongoing involvement in the community project

Other Ways You Can Help

Tell people about the Hundred Stories Project. If you have friends who are interested in history, archaeology, spirituality and stories, let them know!
The campaign is here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Avalon-Rising?a=293522&i=addr

Writing. Lots of writing.

Working on MORNINGSTAR, the final (for the moment) Chen book. It's due in December, but progressing well enough so far. Also, if you are one of the people who signed up for the Worldsoul story subscription, which I told you would be out in time for Xmas, then do not despair - because it will. I'm enjoying writing these and it's getting me to different places in the Worldsoul universe...which is a pretty big universe. You're likely to be getting a couple of demons, several Librarians, a female assassin and an inadvertently dangerous magician, the way things are going now.

A la Ronde

We have had a lovely day down at A la Ronde on Exmouth today, where (Now that would be) Telling, the art installation constructed by Hayley Lock, for which I have done the text, was launched. Great to see the house again, and to take T there, too - it has been a glorious autumn day. We had coffee, admired the house, I did a reading and then we walked around looking at Hayley's fascinating artwork. Both she and I have become quite inspired by the house and I doubt that this will be the last you'll hear of it from either of us. You can visit the project's home here and the ALR section will be up soon.

Many thanks to Hayley and Catherine for making this such a calm and wonderful project (from my point of view!) to be involved with:

http://nowthatwouldbetelling.com/

After this, we drove to Seaton on the Jurassic Coast and had lunch, then walked up through the magnificently named Mutter Moor - beautiful beech woods and ancient droveways, overlooking the silver line of the Channel.

In the not-so-good news, we drove down by the A303 as the M5 was still very slow after last night's awful crash. This is the worst British road disaster in 20 years. The M5 used to be my regular commute last summer and 2-3 accidents during peak periods were not uncommon: it is supposed to be one of the most dangerous roads in the world, although I am not sure why. A couple of years ago Trevor and I were driving back from Bristol and I commented on the sudden rain and fog - only to be told that it wasn't either: it was the unburned petrol and smoke from the Turkish articulated lorry in front, which was on fire. We whacked the fog lights on and pulled past him, as did everyone else, and luckily he had the sense, finally, to pull over and get out of the cab. But driving through thick clouds of smoke, unable to see the car in front except for the dim fog lights, was eerie: T is a good driver, thankfully. The road conditions last night were awful, and I was not surprised that there had been a crash, but am shocked at the scale of it.

Octocon 2012

I'm very pleased to announce that I'll be GOH at Octocon in Dublin, in 2012. Eire here we come! Again. We're planning to spend a few days in the country, and we hope to see you there (myself and Trevor, this is, not the Royal We).

http://www.octocon.com/2011/news/20111104/guest-honour-2012

Update

A few folk have not had the mailout of this quarter's short story subs, so let me know if you are among them and I will re-send.

The God project is finally at the printer's and I am making this a priority for anyone who ordered it and who has been patiently waiting.

I am in the process of doing tarot readings for everyone who is due another reading from the spring sale, and these will be with you shortly as well.

And thank you all for your continued support!

Boosting the signal

From mizkit - who is running a pretty damn cool Kickstarter campaign of her own. You can find it here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/100040609/no-dominion-a-walker-papers-novella-by-ce-murphy

She's only a little short of the trade paperback and you know you want it, so....!

Catie says:

Or there's Matt Forbeck, who's doing a 12 For '12: a novel a month in 2012. The sheer ambitious insanity of that makes me…want to try it myself, of course, but no, I'll let Matt do it. :)

And Laura Anne Gilman suricattus has just launched a campaign for From Whence You Came, a novella set in her Lands Vin universe. You will perhaps recall me squeeing over that world, where the magic is based in wines. I thought it was a brilliant idea when Laura Anne mentioned it years ago, and I basically held my breath all the way through the wait & reading of the first book because the idea was so good I was afraid nobody could quite live up to it with the writing, but Laura Anne *totally* did, and I was and am thrilled with that. So, um, go support her campaign so I can read the novella. O.O :)

*


(Back to me) Pop over to Catie's LJ and check these out. These are all very cool projects, run by authors who are some of the most interesting writers around. I can't stress enough how much of a difference these crowdfunded campaigns make to authors. Sure, we're mainstream and small press published as well. But these projects - as well as the obvious financial benefit - allow us to interact with our readers in a way that hasn't really been seen in publishing before. We're doing something new; YOU are doing something new, and hopefully we are all benefiting from it. Thank you.

New member of the household

...but not in a good way.

E, our lodger, told me that other day that there is a large and rather smug rat in the attic. He has a friend, possibly about the size of a lage cat given the noise that they make, and they are obviously teenage rats, because they get up about 10 pm, chase each other up and down and then go out, probably clubbing, to return around 4.

Also, the rat has stolen E's lollipops, which she bought at Hallowe'en and kept in a bag: it hasn't eaten them, but it has taken them away, one by one. Somewhere in this house is a huge secret stash of lollipops...

We may be getting another new member of the household soon, but this will be in a better way and I will keep you posted (not a human, btw).

Update: The Hundred Stories Project

The Hundred Story Project
AVALON RISING - THE HUNDRED STORY PROJECT

First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who has so generously donated so far - and apologies to everyone who has tried but who has been bounced back! IndieGogo are working on it from their end - it's something to do with their link to Paypal, apparently. I don't know how long this will take, so I am putting a 'donate' button in USD at the base of this post: I'll add any contributions to the campaign when we get it sorted out. You can contribute as little as you wish, by the way: there's no fixed minimum.


We're lucky. We live in Avalon - the setting for many stories, a magical place in the English county of Somerset. King Arthur is said to have been buried here. Morgan Le Fay, so legend has it, sailed to this land after Arthur's final battle. A fairy king is said to live under the Tor. Joseph of Arimathea brought his nephew Jesus here, so the story goes, and planted his staff in the ground so that it became a holy tree.

These are all wonderful legends. But what about the real stories behind Glastonbury, behind Avalon?

In 2006, my partner, Trevor, was diagnosed with throat cancer at an advanced stage. With the help of both modern and alternative treatment, he beat the disease, but it spurred him to return to university and to study. In 2010, he was awarded his BA in History and Classics. Now, he's studying at the University of Winchester, starting a Masters degree which will result in a community archaeology project in Glastonbury - involving local people, involving everyone who is interested in the stories behind this ancient land.

Involving you.

Community is no longer just the people you live alongside - it's global, and it extends both into the past and the future. In order to get this project started, and to fund Trevor's research, I'm starting the Hundred Stories Project. From January 1st, 2012, I'll be writing a story a day, about the people who have lived in and around Glastonbury from Neolithic times. You'll get 7 stories at the end of each week, plus the extra. They'll be short stories, a page for each person, and when the project is finished I'll be binding the stories for display.

Why is this important?

Glastonbury is a focus for many different spiritualities. People come here to find healing, to learn more about how our ancestors thought and worked. In a materialistic modern age, it's a place where magic still happens - and much of that magic comes from the stories and legends of the area. Community archaeology gives us an understanding of our own lives. It gives people from other parts of the world a place of their own in our community. It honours the dead. It means that people are not forgotten, that their stories get told - not just from the power of the human imagination, but from what we can learn from history and archaeology.


What We Need & What You Get

To get this project off the ground, we need $8000 - around £5000 in British currency. This will fund the first stage of the research and enable Trevor to bring members of the community on board, as well as setting up a team to start to look into potential archaeological sites. One possibility is to revisit the area around the Sweet Track, the 6000 year old causeway built across the Somerset Levels.

This platform gives you the option of contributing however little or as much as you want - if you click on the 'contribute now' button, it will give you the option of your own amount.

For your contribution, you'll get the Hundred Stories, from winter to spring of 2012. You'll get regular updates from Trevor on how the community project is progressing. If you can make it to Glastonbury, we'll give you a tour around the hidden places of Avalon: the places visitors don't usually get to see. You'll also get a copy of the archaeological report when it's done and an ongoing involvement in the community project

Other Ways You Can Help

Tell people about the Hundred Stories Project. If you have friends who are interested in history, archaeology, spirituality and stories, let them know!

The Hundred Story Project

AVALON RISING - THE HUNDRED STORY PROJECT

We're lucky. We live in Avalon - the setting for many stories, a magical place in the English county of Somerset. King Arthur is said to have been buried here. Morgan Le Fay, so legend has it, sailed to this land after Arthur's final battle. A fairy king is said to live under the Tor. Joseph of Arimathea brought his nephew Jesus here, so the story goes, and planted his staff in the ground so that it became a holy tree.

These are all wonderful legends. But what about the real stories behind Glastonbury, behind Avalon?


Involving you.

Community is no longer just the people you live alongside - it's global, and it extends both into the past and the future. In order to get this project started, and to fund Trevor's research, I'm starting the Hundred Stories Project. From January 1st, 2012, I'll be writing a story a day, about the people who have lived in and around Glastonbury from Neolithic times. You'll get 7 stories at the end of each week, plus the extra. They'll be short stories, a page for each person, and when the project is finished I'll be binding the stories for display.

Why is this important?

Glastonbury is a focus for many different spiritualities. People come here to find healing, to learn more about how our ancestors thought and worked. In a materialistic modern age, it's a place where magic still happens - and much of that magic comes from the stories and legends of the area. Community archaeology gives us an understanding of our own lives. It gives people from other parts of the world a place of their own in our community. It honours the dead. It means that people are not forgotten, that their stories get told - not just from the power of the human imagination, but from what we can learn from history and archaeology.


What We Need & What You Get

To get this project off the ground, we need $8000 - around £5000 in British currency. This will fund the first stage of the research and enable Trevor to bring members of the community on board, as well as setting up a team to start to look into potential archaeological sites. One possibility is to revisit the area around the Sweet Track, the 6000 year old causeway built across the Somerset Levels.

This platform gives you the option of contributing however little or as much as you want - if you click on the 'contribute now' button, it will give you the option of your own amount.

For your contribution, you'll get the Hundred Stories, from winter to spring of 2012. You'll get regular updates from Trevor on how the community project is progressing. If you can make it to Glastonbury, we'll give you a tour around the hidden places of Avalon: the places visitors don't usually get to see. You'll also get a copy of the archaeological report when it's done and an ongoing involvement in the community project

Other Ways You Can Help

Tell people about the Hundred Stories Project. If you have friends who are interested in history, archaeology, spirituality and stories, let them know!

The campaign is here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Avalon-Rising?a=293522&i=addr ,/lj-cut>

Update

The latest set of short stories and the Chen novel - now in its fourth instalment - have just gone out to subscribers. Can you let me know if you haven't received anything and I'll re-send. Once again, thanks for all your support!

I sometimes feel as though all I do on here is inundate people with campaigns, but it really does make a difference. I'm going to be launching something new very soon, but this is a little different: it will be a crowdfunded projct on a sponsorship basis, so you aren't tied into a fixed amount. More details later.

In other news, November has dawned sunny and remarkably mild: we escaped to Exmoor yesterday after a particularly manic Samhain weekend and the South West scenery is finally beginning to look autumnal.