Jane Lindskold's Blog, page 23

Snack-Sized

Regular and Snack-Sized!

When I mentioned to someone that Library of the Sapphire Wind and Aurora Borealis Bridge were out/coming out soon in mass market paperback, she looked puzzled.

“I thought the originals were paperbacks?”

“Those were the bigger paperbacks: trade paperbacks.”

“Oh!  The snack-sized,” she replied, revelation dawning.  After we both finished laughing, she went on to say apologetically, “I’m sorry.  I haven’t read those yet.  I’m not really into kids’ books.”

“They aren’t kids’ books,” I said.  “I mean, there’s no graphic violence.  Except for one scene in Aurora Borealis Bridge, anything sexual is more implied than shown.  But I wouldn’t say they’re kids’ books.  The material is a lot more than ‘coming of age,’ themes, unless you consider the fact that three of my characters are learning that being over fifty doesn’t mean life is over.”

“But colors on the covers,” she protested, “and the animal people.  That’s what made me think they were for kids.”

I swallow a really, really deep sigh, because I like this person.  “The coloring on the covers is because that’s the color of the aurora borealis.  Now, I realize that­—unless they’re presented as aliens, like the Kzin—a lot of people do demote anything with animals or animal people, but…”

“I wasn’t demoting!”

“Assuming?  Whatever.  I’d hoped that given how I handled wolves and intelligent animals in the Firekeeper Saga, I’d gotten beyond this assumption.  It’s weird.  There’s a long mythic history of animal people that is definitely not for kids.  Would you say fauns and satyrs are for kids?”

“With all the sexual stuff?  No!  My aunt has a cup she bought in Greece with a satyr… “The description that followed was definitely not G.  Or P.G.  I’m not sure about R.  Might not have been R, either.

“Okay.  How about Anubis or Thoth or Bastet?

“The Egyptian gods? No…”

“Or various representations of Coyote or Raven?”

“I get your point…”

“Then I’ll stop lecturing.  Promise.  But there are a lot more examples.  And, teaser time…  This actually has something to do with the story.”

“And I’ll give the books a try…”

So, there you have it…  Library of the Sapphire Wind, Aurora Borealis Bridge, soon to be followed by House of Rough Diamonds.  Available in trade paperback, e-book, and soon the “snack-sized” version at the book seller of your choice!

FF: What?

Dandy and Digger

This week I’m mostly continuing material from last week, and greatly enjoying.  Digger is even better than the last time I read it.  Just to quote one small bit: “The Shadowchild just… follows me around.  And asks me ethical questions.  Hard ethical questions.”  Funny and absolutely true all at once.

When I think about it, ethics is an underlying theme in all of this week’s reading.

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. 

Completed:

“High Times in the Low Parliament” by Kelly Robson.

In Progress:

 Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook. 

Digger by Ursula Vernon.  A massive graphic novel.  Will make you laugh and cry and think. 

Also:

Finished, the latest Archeology magazine, moving on to Smithsonian. 

And more Nebula nominated works.

The Reality

Mei-Ling Multitasks

This week began with my turning in the short story that has been obsessing me for the last several weeks.  The title is “The Owl’s Cry,” and I’ll let you know if it is accepted, as well as where you may be able to find it.

With Bei and Fu and the fate of the five aunties no longer crowding my brain, I’ll be sliding back into the further adventures of Stephanie Harrington and associates in the yet-untitled fifth Star Kingdom novel, which I’m writing in collaboration with David Weber.  A New Clan (aka SK4 for those of you who have been reading these Wanderings since that book didn’t have a title either) is now available in a wide variety of formats, including hard cover, ebook, audiobook, and pretty soon now, mass market paperback.

Of course, somewhere in there, my writing on SK5 is likely to be interrupted as the next Over Where novel, House of Rough Diamonds, goes into production.

What?  Don’t know about Over Where?  It begins with Library of the Sapphire Wind and continues in Aurora Borealis Bridge, available in trade paperback, ebook, and, soon, mass market paperback.  We’re hoping for an audiobook, too.  Nag your favorite audiobook producers so they know you want it!  House of Rough Diamonds carries on the story.

Anyhow, that is the reality of being a professional writer, rather than a happy hobbyist.  You have numerous projects—all of which you’re likely very attached to in one way or another—competing with each other for your time, each with its own deadline.

So, off to see what Stephanie wants to get up to next.  Later!

FF: Once Again

Persephone on the Dark Divide

It’s Nebula award season, and once again, I’m reading some nominated works.  First on my list is “High Times in the Low Parliament” by Kelly Robson.

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. 

Completed:

The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney.  Vivid setting, interesting characters, and some fine plot twists.  I scored an ARC of this, but I’m happy to announce you can get it as a new release.

The Dark Divide by Carrie Vaughan.  Novelette.

In Progress:

 Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  Just started.

Digger by Ursula Vernon.  A massive graphic novel.  Just starting a re-read.

Also:

The latest Archeology magazine.  Almost done.

Recharging

Kumihimo Beaded Necklace

Last week, when I was reading Illuminations by T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon), I came across a couple of lines that really spoke to me.  Rosa has just asked her uncle how an artist can replenish the “heart” that has gone into a drawing.

“You must feed your heart,” said Uncle Alfonso.  “With beautiful things and places you have never seen and books that bring you joy.  Then your heart will grow back and you can paint again.”

(Side note: While the book is ostensibly a middle-grade Fantasy/Horror novel, it actually has a lot to say about the various trials and tribulations of being a professional artist.)

While my art isn’t painting, I absolutely understood this.  Since I’ve been pretty worn out lately, it was a good reminder that I need to take time to recharge or I won’t be able to write, no matter how the deadlines loom.  Oh, I could put words on paper, but they would not be the right words or the best words.

In this day and age where social media, in particular, often treats writing or drawing or any other form of art as a sort of race—How many words did you write this week?  How many stories did you sell?  Did you make your deadline?—it is easy to forget the joy, the heart, and all the rest.

How do I recharge my creative energy?  For one, I read, as those of you who follow my Friday Fragments know.  I do various crafts.  My current “go to” is kumihimo with beads, but I’ve been feeling a desire to pull out my polymer clay.  I garden.  I play role-playing games, which for me are a great reminder that storytelling is fun.

Although I don’t really feel like going on a trip, I’ve resolved that as the weather improves, I’m definitely going to take time away from my desk to go to the Botanical Gardens and watch Spring unfold.  Time “wasted” won’t be wasted at all, because I’ll write better, and feed my heart from which all the good stories come.

It beats the alternative which Rosa’s grandma describes very well.  “…you will lie around and mope and pick at your food for days until your family is sick to death of it.”

How do you recharge after a hard week? 

Tons of Research

Roary Illuminates

This week most of my reading time went to research for a short story I’m writing.  I enjoyed doing the research, actually, but it is why my list hasn’t changed much.

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. 

Completed:

Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon).  Re-read before bed because the Cooney can be just a little too vivid for peaceful dreams.

In Progress:

European Travel for Monstrous Gentlewomen by Theodora Goss.  Audiobook.  Excellent reader.

The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney.  Vivid setting, interesting characters, and some fine plot twists.  I scored an ARC of this, but I’m happy to announce you can get it as a new release.

Also:

The latest Archeology magazine.  Now reading about re-analysis of a burial of a neolithic shaman.

Still Inside Out

Persephone Tanked

My life is still rather like a cat in the guinea pig tank: more than a little crazy.

However, it’s not bad.  Jim’s shoulder is healing nicely, and he should move to out-patient PT this week.

I’ve found time to write, splitting my efforts between a short story with an upcoming deadline and the next of the Star Kingdom novels with David Weber.

I even saw a coyote out for his constitutional when I was coming home with the groceries. 

Now, off to do a bit of research, then back to writing.

FF: Odd Times to Read

Mei-Ling Sniffs

Jim is healing well, and thanks all of you for your kind words.  I’m finding odd times to read, like when he’s in the shower and I’m waiting to dry his back.  It works!

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. 

Completed:

The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss.  ARC.  A friend recently recommended Goss’s short fiction, especially her fairytale retellings, so I felt very lucky to score this ARC.  I very much enjoyed.  The collection itself is a new release.

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  Set four years after Warrior’s Apprentice.  Miles is out of the academy, but no better at subordination than when he went in.

Paladin’s Hope by T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon).  The third of her books about the surviving paladins of the mysteriously deceased Saint of Steel. 

In Progress:

European Travel for Monstrous Gentlewomen by Theodora Goss.  Audiobook.  Excellent reader.

The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney.  Vivid setting, interesting characters, and some fine plot twists.  I scored an ARC of this, but I’m happy to announce you can get it as a new release.

Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon).  Re-read before bed because the Cooney can be just a little too vivid for peaceful dreams.

  Also:

The latest Archeology magazine.  Almost done.  As a desert dweller, I enjoyed the long article on water management through many ages and many cultures.

Motion and Visual Poetry

Vibrant!

Last week, we got a peek at Tom Kidd’s cover art for House of Rough Diamonds.

It features Grunwold (stag), Vereez (fox), and Xerak (lion) with Heru the xuxu flying high guard, and the ship Slicewind soaring overhead.

I always enjoy seeing how an artist will interpret my work, even if it doesn’t match my own vision.  One thing a lot of authors miss is that a cover is not an illustration, it’s a tool.

Let me quote Tom Kidd’s eloquent discussion of the topic:

“I liken book covers to poetry because of their limitations (flat rectangles of colors and type) and the importance of them to communicate. They should capture the feel of the story even though stationary/stagnant images that suggest movement, emotion, and story, something to make a person wonder about the book. Covers aren’t typically scenes from the book but a scene that could happen that says something true about the characters, location, or the action. Sometimes I’m left with something that was never described but had to have happened.”  (FB message, 2-19-23)

When I saw the covers for Library of the Sapphire Wind and Aurora Borealis Bridge, well before I’d ever been in communication with Tom Kidd, this was precisely how I felt.  The art differed in detail, but the spirit of swashbuckling adventure was absolutely right.  And his choices of detail were delightful.  One of my favorites was Peg fighting using her knitting needles.  She never does that, but she absolutely would should the situation arise.

This latest cover is a perfect example of the cover that “could happen that says something true about the characters, location, or the action.”  You can see the trust between the characters, get a feel for how they approach problems.  (Vereez is definitely the most impulsive of the trio.)  I like how Xerak’s mane is groomed, and he would definitely love those arm bracers. 

I also love how Tom Kidd uses fabric to create a sense of motion.  All three of his covers for me feel like scenes in motion I could walk right into.  Given the choice of dully static or vibrant, both Vereez and I absolutely forgive him for putting her in a dress, which would not be her choice of combat attire. 

As we get closer to the release date, I’ll talk more about what House of Rough Diamonds is about, but for now I want to give people a little more time to read the first couple of books, so there won’t be any spoilers!

Racing About

Roary Rests After Racing

This week has been full of racing about as Jim has his two week plus rechecks.  All the medical people seem delighted by how nicely his surgical incision is healing, but it’s really too early to do much with the mobility of the replaced shoulder.  It is great that he can use the hand, though!

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. 

Completed:

Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  Enter Miles who talks his way out of just about everything and has yet to learn about consequences.  Well, he’s only seventeen…

In Progress:

The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss.  ARC.  A friend recently recommended Goss’s short fiction, especially her fairytale retellings, so I felt very lucky to score this ARC.  I’m nearly done, and have very much enjoyed.

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  Set four years after Warrior’s Apprentice.  Miles is out of the academy, but no better at subordination than when he went in.

Paladin’s Hope by T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon).  The third of her books about the surviving paladins of the mysteriously deceased Saint of Steel. 

Also:

The latest Archeology magazine.  Finished off the AARP mag as well.