Jane Lindskold's Blog, page 18

So Very Busy!

Ruffled Feathers!

It’s been a busy time with the release of House of Rough Diamonds (third book in the Over Where series, which started with Library of the Sapphire Wind and Aurora Borealis Bridge) on September 5th, and it’s going to be busier!

I feel rather like the hawk in the photo, feathers going all directions.  The photo was taken from our office window last week before temperatures dropped and a cool bath was apparently very appreciated.

Recently, I’ve done several interviews, including one in print format with Paul Semel.  You can find that one here.  I also did a wild and fun live one with H.P. Holo last Saturday. 

Want to ask questions fact to face?  Next up is P-con where I’m one of the Guests of Honor, along with Charles E. (Chuck) Gannon.  The programming includes a Q&A where questions will be pulled out of a hat, and augmented by questions from the audience.  There will also be a Coffee with the Guests of Honor event on Saturday morning.  Tickets are needed for this event.

Panels include some nice complicated ones on a wide variety writing-related topics, as well as fun ones about things like cats in SF/F and cussing (not together, although I think there might be some justification for that!).  I’m also doing a reading, and probably having a signing session.  The dealer’s room may not have a book vendor, but you’re welcome to bring books you purchased elsewhere.  Even if you don’t have books with you, I can sign a post card for you!

On Sunday, there will be a live tabletop roleplaying game (not a LARP or live action roleplaying).  When I heard that the adventure would be an outdoors one, I decided that I would play Firekeeper, the protagonist from my “Firekeeper Saga,” better known as “the wolf books.”  I am looking forward to channeling her, as well as to sharing a gaming table once again with Chuck.  Jim will also be participating, playing a druid—who is also a cactus nature spirt, with traits of both a barrel cactus and an ocotillo.

There are more local to New Mexico events coming up, but I’ll save them for later Wanderings.

Right now, it’s time for me to for me to marvel at our suddenly cooler temperatures, and turn some of my awakening energy to getting ready and even to writing!

FF: Wonderful Extras

Mei-Ling Pounces

Serendipitous this week was how much of my reading contained opportunities to reflect not just on the stories but on the different ways stories are told, and how publication concerns can impact a tale.  See below for details.

For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.  The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.  I was glad to see some of the frequent commenters back again with really interesting reading lists.

Completed:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  Not sure why many reviewers thought this “unique” and “original” as I’ve been able to call every plot point and the characters fit defined tropes.  That said, well-written, especially the narrator’s internal journey.

Agatha Christie: The Lost Plays.  Audiobook.  Three plays written for radio.  They were good, but the wonderful extras on this audiobook were several interviews and speeches—including several by Christie and one by one of the radio drama actors—were included.  These were all excellent and provided some fascinating details.

Unexpected Guest from a play by Agatha Christie, adapted to a novel by Charles Osborne.  Interesting choices that leave the underlying bones of the play quite visible. 

The Golden Ball and The Hound of Death by Agatha Christie.  Audiobook.  Two short story collections, one focused on more or less normal people and their moral and ethical challenges.  The other definitely tinged with supernatural elements. 

The Magic Talisman by John Blaine.  (A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story.)  Written in the late 1960s and probably intended to be the closing book in the series, this was not published until 1989.  In the late 1960s, ESP was still considered a legitimate “SF” topic.  However, although the book does have it, it also has some really neat material on other material.  Also interesting was the theme of the female characters insisting on having a role, something that would have been unheard of when the series began in 1947.  Another “wonderful extra” this week was the afterpiece by Hal Goodwin, the author, in which he goes into the details of the book’s publication history

In Progress:

The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. An early venture into fantasy, this contains an after piece about some of the influences on the novel.

The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi.  Illustrated by Graham Greenfield with maps and charts by James Cook.  This 1980 tome is a delight, encompassing everything from speculative utopias (and dsytopias) to OZ to works by LeGuin, Tolkien, and Lovecraft.  Articles are presented in a “tour guide” fashion, rather than being dryly academic.  Nicely indexed.

Also:

A few Sherlock Holmes short stories in audio, and a marvelous article on the role of cats in Japanese culture, folklore, and mythology.

House of Rough Diamonds Is Out!

New Release!

September 5th, 2023 was the official release date of House of Rough Diamonds, the third book in my Over Where series, which began with Library of the Sapphire Wind and continued in Aurora Borealis Bridge.

House of Rough Diamonds ventures more deeply into the interior of the Library of the Sapphire Wind, a location that is pretty much a subterranean ruin.  Here’s a relatively spoiler-free teaser:

Beware the Book Wraith!

No one is at all sure what a book wraith might be, but whatever it is definitely has the battered tomes in the Library of the Sapphire Wind very worried indeed.

Figuring out what a book wraith could be is hardly the least of the challenges that the newly formed House of Rough Diamonds will face as the motley assortment of members—including three women who are literally “out of this world”— attempt to secure ownership of the Library.

Enemies old and new, both within and without the contested property, will strain the Rough Diamonds ingenuity and resources, forcing the small group to recruit new and possibly dangerous allies.

Swords flash and spells fly, secrets are concealed and revealed, in this latest installment of the series of which Publishers Weekly said “This vivid, magical tale is sure to please” and Fantasy and Science Fiction recommended for its “fascinating cast of characters moving through an inventive and wondrous world.”

The “out of this world” women are (for those of you who haven’t started the series yet) Meg Blake, Peg Gallegos, and Tessa “Teg” Brown, three women who were summoned “Over Where,” and have become very invested in the lives of the friends they made there.  I had a great time writing this, and I hope you will have at least as much fun reading it!

As I recover (more slowly than I would like) from oral surgery in the middle of August, I’ve making more progress getting materials ready for a new e-book edition of my novel The Buried Pyramid.  Even more fun has been roughing out notes for a fourth Over Where novel. 

Next up on my calendar will be P-con, a new convention in Texas, where I’ll be co-Guest of Honor with my long-time friend, Charles E. (Chuck) Gannon.  P-con begins on September 15th and goes through September 17th.  You can find more information at their frequently updated website.

I hope to see some of you there!  Now, off to write a few more notes about the curious city of Lioll.

FF: Back On

Persephone Looks to the Skies

I’m back on antibiotics which seem to be making me sleepy (which is weird).  Overall, very satisfied with how I’m healing up after oral surgery.  With Bubonicon, I didn’t do as much reading, but I did do some.

For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.  The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.  I was glad to see some of the frequent commenters back again with really interesting reading lists.

Completed:

Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie.  Audiobook.  Wodehousian characters meet pulp intrigue, complete with masked criminals.  A re-read, but I still giggle at so many of the lines and the ending has a great twist.

Newton’s Cannon by J. Gregory Keyes.  Published in 1998.  Alchemical alternate history.

In Progress:

The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi.  Illustrated by Graham Greenfield with maps and charts by James Cook.  This 1980 tome is a delight, encompassing everything from speculative utopias (and dsytopias) to OZ to works by LeGuin, Tolkien, and Lovecraft.  Articles are presented in a “tour guide” fashion, rather than being dryly academic.  Nicely indexed.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  Not sure why many reviewers thought this “unique” and “original” as I’ve been able to call every plot point and the characters fit defined tropes.  That said, well-written, especially the narrator’s internal journey.

Agatha Christie: The Lost Plays.  Audiobook.  These seen to be plays written for radio.  Finished the first one.

Also:

Not much…  I’ve been writing a lot of notes for my possibly next Over Where novel.

Rats! It’s Over!

Mass Signing!

Bubonicon is over for another year.  I had a great time, and managed to make most of the con without melting into a little puddle of tired.

Favorite things?  Getting to read from House of Rough Diamonds to an audience who must have liked it, because even though the novel isn’t quite yet out, one of the booksellers sold out of the first two books in the series (Library of the Sapphire Wind and Aurora Borealis Bridge) and another nearly did, even with sending back to their warehouse for more copies.

I was on two great panels: one on naming characters, the other on rejection.  I also was able to once again join in on the fun of SnackWrites, where the writing prompts went between the bizarre (“an army of flaming plasma hamsters” and “liquor, power tools, and sex: my pandemic diary”) to a tribute to the late Suzy McKee Charnas that asked us to include both vampires and horses in our pieces.  It was amazing how many people came up with very different ways to make these work, and all with only five minutes in which to come up with an idea and write.

Unfavorite things?  Nothing the con could do anything about, but the hotel’s smaller programming rooms were brutally cold.  I actually left one panel I had been planning to watch because I was too cold to sit still.  And, yes.  I had a jacket. 

So, Bubonicon is over for another year, but your chance to visit with me in person isn’t quite over.  September 15 to 17, I’ll be at P-con, a new convention in Texas.  Since it’s a new con, I’m looking forward to a more intimate gathering where it will be possible to actually talk to people, as well as be on panels, sign books, and maybe even take part in a “in front of a live audience” RPG.

I don’t have a final schedule yet, but there have been suggestions of events like Coffee ‘n Chat or a brunch as well.

It’s uncertain if there will be a bookseller on site, so you might want to bring your own books with you.  I will have postcards and bookmarks, and I’m donating some books—including a few ARCs and proofs—to the convention’s auctions, but I’m not planning to serve as a book vendor.  I’d rather be chatting than worrying about making change!

Hope to see some of you there!

FF: Recovery Mode

Roary Asks Coco About Toadling

I’m still in recovery mode, but doing a whole lot better as the week has progressed.  Up days and down days mean that I did a lot of reading this week.

For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.  The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.  I have missed a few of my more regular commenters over the last few weeks and hope it’s because they’re sprawled on a beach or in a mountain retreat with a good book or three.

Completed:

Labyrinth’s Heart by M.A. Carrick.  Third in the Rook and Rose fantasy series.  Intricate as the labyrinth of the title; a fine resolution to the triology.  This was book was one of my “get well” treats to myself.  There’s a Kickstarter on-going for the completely original “Pattern Deck” of cards that is a key element in this series. 

The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  A different angle on her “World of the Five Gods” setting; although not the first written, the first chronologically. 

Poirot Abroad by Agatha Christie.  Audiobook.  A collection of early Poirot tales.

Thornhedge, by T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon).  A fine novella with some nice twists.  I liked Toadling very much.  The story has a “once upon a time” feel, rather than the immediacy of some of the author’s more immersive works, such as last year’s Nettle and Bone.  I feel I must note, given the publisher’s price, this is short, even for a novella.

In Progress:

The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi.  Illustrated by Graham Greenfield, with maps and charts by James Cook.  This 1980 tome is a delight, encompassing everything from speculative utopias (and dystopias) to OZ to works by LeGuin, Tolkien, and Lovecraft.  Articles are presented in a “tour guide” fashion, rather than being dryly academic.  Nicely indexed.

Sampling various novels, haven’t quite settled down to one.

Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie.  Audiobook.  Wodehousian characters meet pulp intrigue, complete with masked criminals.  A re-read, but I still giggle at so many of the lines.

Also:

Just finished the most recent Archeology magazine, now reviewing what will be (for me) the final issue of Vogue for a while.  I started for the photos, stayed for some interesting reporting, and now am leaving as both have become formulaic and even (sadly) dull. 

Finally, several Sherlock Holmes short stories.  Enjoyable, even though I think I could have recited them along with the audiobook narrator.

Rare Opportunities

Getting Ready!

Unlike many authors, I don’t travel to a lot of conventions.  However, you’ll be able to find me out and about both in late August and mid-September.

This coming weekend (August 25 to 27), I’ll be at Bubonicon in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  This year the theme is Across the Multiverse (Alternate Dimensions, Parallel Worlds).  You can check out their website here for information, up to and including panels, rules for the costume contest, art show, and all those other good things.

My schedule includes a panel on the intricacies of naming characters, a reading (look for a sneak peek at House of Rough Diamonds as well as a giveaway exclusively for those who get up in time to be there), a panel on handling rejection, and one of my favorite events, the “SnackWrites” writing challenge.  I’ll also be at the Mass Signing, and probably hanging around during the day.

One hint…  While Bubonicon’s headlining Guests of Honor are always interesting and fun, New Mexico has an amazing community of local authors, many of whom (schedules permitting) attend the convention.  This year is no exception.

Then, in September, I’ll be one of the two writer Guests of Honor at P-con a new convention in Texas.  Details are being sculpted into form as I type, but there’s one thing I can tell you about for sure.  The other writer Guest of Honor, Charles E. (Chuck) Gannon, and I have been friends since I was an undergrad.  I expect we’ll have a lot of fun talking about our different routes from two kids who shared the same big dream to where we are now.

Also, although he’s SF GOH and I’m Fantasy GOH, we both have recent novels in the other area.  I expect we’ll have fun with that.

Hope to see you at one or both of these events!

FF: Soft Food and Wolf’s Rain

Roary as…???

This week I had two molars pulled and a bone graft.  These knocked me down fairly hard, so I spent a lot of time reading.  I also had to switch my audiobook because I couldn’t handle the main character’s anxiety attacks.  I’ll go back to it.  I’ve read before and really like it.

For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.  The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.  And it’s also a great place to tell me what you’re reading—anything goes, not just SF/F!

Completed:

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  Standalone sequel to The Curse of Chalion.  Minimal spoilers for the former.

The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. Despite being released as a “supernatural romance” novel, it’s more supernatural and a lot less romance.  In fact, it’s flat-out creepy!  Very much enjoyed.

In Progress:

Labyrinth’s Heart by M.A. Carrick.  Third in the Rook and Rose fantasy series I have much enjoyed.  This was one of my “get well” treats to myself.  There’s a Kickstarter on-going for the completely original “Pattern Deck” of cards that is a key element in this series. 

The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.

Poirot Abroad by Agatha Christie.  Audiobook.  My soft food read while recovering.  A collection of early Poirot tales.

Also:

The most recent Archeology magazine.  Reading the short sampler portion.

We also finished the anime Wolf’s Rain, which was recommended to me after I commented that the manga had not impressed me and several FF readers suggested I try the anime.  Overall, I enjoyed and was particularly impressed with the animation of the wolves.  It’s post-apocalyptic and there are major (but mostly not gratuitous) character deaths, especially in the final four “OVA” episodes, so don’t go here if you’re not ready for that.  Stop with episode 26.  Also, you can skip the four “recap” episodes.

Not (Just) A Romantic Gesture

This Is Dedicated…

The other day, I was happily showing a friend a copy of my forthcoming novel, House of Rough Diamonds.  She leafed through the opening pages and paused at the Dedication page.

It reads (in case you wonder): “For Jim, who knows what makes a house a home.”

“I noticed,” said my friend, “that you always dedicate your books to Jim.”

“Well, sometimes to Jim and to someone else,” I clarified, my sense of detail coming to the fore.

“I think that’s a lovely romantic gesture,” she said with a slight sigh.

I chuckled dryly.  “Oh, it’s more than that.  If there’s anyone who deserves to be given special thanks when a new book comes out, it’s Jim.  Not only does he put up with me through the chaos of the pre-writing stages, but he listens to the weirdest things as I’m writing.  I mean, sometimes I’ll read him a particular paragraph or even a couple of lines, just because I particularly like it.  Or sometimes I might run a couple of versions of a sentence by him to get his opinion as to which flows better—and all of this for a book he has no idea what it’s about.”

“Seriously?”  My friend put the copy of House of Rough Diamonds down and stared at me, then over at Jim, in disbelief.  “You don’t tell him?”  After I shook my head, she looked at Jim.  “Really?”

It was Jim’s turn to chuckle.  “Really.  I sometimes have a vague idea, especially if she had to write a proposal in advance, but Jane doesn’t like talking about a work in progress.”

“I don’t,” I agree.  “It ruins the story for me.  That’s one reason I don’t belong to any writers groups.  Getting feedback on a work as it’s evolving would ruin it for me.”

“She once wrote a book,” Jim went on, “that even I almost didn’t get to see.”

“What?”

“Asphodel,” Jim clarified.  “She wrote it as an experiment, and I don’t think she even planned to type up the draft, but I got curious, because she was so absorbed and happy.”

“So I typed it,” I put in.  “He loved it.  So I read it in small installments to my gamers, who are also SF/F readers, and they really liked it.  And then I indie pubbed it, because it’s solidly strange, and I didn’t want to make any other than copy edit sort of changes.”

“And Jim got the dedication on that one, too.”  A statement, not a question.

I walked over to the book shelf and pulled out a copy.  “’For Jim, Who understands the value of dreams and visions.’”

“Remarkable…”

“Yeah,” I agreed.  “Which is why I use those dedications to remark.”

FF: We Had Rain!!!

Roary Out-Elegants Alan Grant

Temperatures are down into the high nineties and we actually had 7/10 of an inch of rain.  I can hardly believe how much more perky I feel.  As I type this, I hear thunder rumbling to the east.

For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.  The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.  And it’s also a great place to tell me what you’re reading—anything goes, not just SF/F!

Completed:

To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey.  Vivid characterization and a nice twist at the end.

The Crossing by Ken Ikenberry.  Time travel novel set during the American Revolution.  Loosely tied to Eric Flint’s 1623 project, but readable by someone with no knowledge of that series.

In Progress:

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  Stand alone sequel to The Curse of Chalion.  Minimal spoilers for the former, since it happens subsequent.  I’m almost done, but this is a long one!

The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. Despite being released as a “supernatural romance” novel, it’s more supernatural and a lot less romance.  In fact, it’s flat-out creepy! 

Also:

American Archeology.  Almost done.  Reading the book reviews.