Jane Lindskold's Blog, page 33

New Releases! Rocky Insights!

Two New Releases!

Several bits of news, then my insight from the past week.  (There’s also an extra photo!)

As you probably guessed from the image above, I have Book Release News!

Aurora Borealis Bridge, sequel to Library of the Sapphire Wind, is now officially released as both an e-book and a trade paperback.

My friend, award-winning reviewer, Alan Robson, who has permission to not like the same sorts of books as me or even my books (or else we could never have written a column together for seven years), had this to say about the series:

“I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I even stayed up past my bedtime just so I could finish the first book!  It’s an amazingly complex story, quite different from what I expected at the start…. I think it’s very clever, very witty, often funny and really rather subversive in the way in which it turns so many cliches on their heads. Well done, very well done.”

I’ve been writing about the two Over Where books on and off for a while now.  If you’d like to know more, you can read about Library of the Sapphire Wind here.

As for Aurora Borealis Bridge, here’s a longer version of the cover copy that doesn’t have too many spoilers!

Can It Get Any Stranger?

Absolutely!

When Peg, Meg, and Teg were first summoned Over Where, vast and varied life experience (along with wide reading choices) helped them to adjust to a world where they were the only humans, magic was real, ships could fly, and reincarnation was a confirmed fact.

In the company of the “inquisitors,” Xerak, Grunwold, and Vereez, the three newly appointed mentors rediscovered the Library of the Sapphire Wind, and, within it, revelations that transformed the young people’s pasts into a vast tangle of lies and half-truths.

But there are still questions to be answered.  Before they are done, Meg the retired librarian, Teg the archeologist turned mage, and the multi-talented, ever surprising Peg will deal with kidnappings, betrayal, arcane artifacts, romantic intrigues, and the inescapable reality that past lives cast long shadows.

Together, the three mentors and their young allies will uncover the startling truth about what lies on the other side of the Aurora Borealis Bridge—a truth that holds the secret of Over Where, and that will change all their lives forever.

As for the other image there with Aurora Borealis Bridge, I’m happy to announce that at long last, there is a new e-book edition of my novel Child of a Rainless Year available at several popular e-tailers.  Since this WW has wandered on almost long enough, I’ll stop here and save talking about this novel for next week’s WW.

If you can’t wait or have any questions about any of my books, I’m doing a Zoom chat with Parsec, the Pittsburgh area SF/F club this coming Saturday, April 16, at 1:00 pm EST.  Here’s a link where you can sign up: Parsec meeting.   

Oh, and the insight?  It’s related to the picture below.

On Monday, Jim and I came back from Arizona, where we went for my aunt’s funeral.  This photo was taken at one of the rest stops along the way home from Tucson.  I guess it’s proof that no matter how sad the occasion, no matter how tough the road, you can find beauty along the way.

Beauty Along the Way

FF: The Weight of Expectations

Mei-Ling Has Her Suspicions

One thing a lot of my reading this week seemed to be dealing with was the theme of expectations, whether those of a cop who has his mind made up in advance, or those of the “fat kid” or the overlooked “little sister,” it’s been good to think about.

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:

Juniper Wiles and the Ghost Girls by Charles De Lint.  ARC.  Quite enjoyed.  I’ll let you know when it’s released!

Thornwood by Leah Cypess.  Sleeping Beauty retold, this time (it seems retelling Sleeping Beauty is becoming an industry) from the point of view of her constantly overlooked sibling, Briony.  Although the plot is creative, what really makes this book “work” is the subtle handling of the theme of how expectations shape our relationships with family, events, even ourselves. 

In Progress:

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.  Multiple intertwined plots.  So far, my favorite is the perfume shop in New Orleans.

Meatloaf: To Hell and Back by the eponymous performer and David Dalton.  Short and anecdotal, like a bowl of peanuts, it’s hard not to read just one more.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.  Audiobook.  Plot light, so far, but lively, quirky characters more than make up for it.  Well-done aliens always a plus for me.  Non-military space opera setting.

Also:

Smithsonian, the latest issue. 

Live Studio Audience

Me Reading at ASFS

When I was a kid, television shows routinely had laugh tracks, a holdover, I guess, from the days when there were live studio audiences.  Being the sort of person who likes to lose herself in a show or story, I always found these disconcerting.  I mean, this was supposed to be a “real” situation, not a stage show, so who was laughing, and why didn’t the characters react?

Last week, I gave my first live reading since 2019, for the Albuquerque Science Fiction Society.   Since I’d read from the opening of Library of the Sapphire Wind for several virtual cons, including last year’s Bubonicon, I decided to read from a later section: the stealing of Slicewind.

Suddenly, I have a whole new appreciation for that live audience experience.  I’ve done a lot of live readings in my life, going back to when I taught college English, and even before that to when I read to younger siblings or kids I was babysitting.

Readings via Zoom were my first experience with reading to an audience I couldn’t hear.  It was, to say the least, disconcerting, because I couldn’t tell if they were “with” me or not.

Getting a feel for audience reaction doesn’t just involve the obvious things, like someone laughing at what I hoped would be a funny line.  It’s something more.  Even a reading of a serious passage gets a reaction from the audience, even if—maybe especially if—no one makes a sound.

I recently read a mystery novel titled The Broken Vase that featured a violinist “losing” his audience.  The author, Rex Stout, captured how little things—shuffling feet, turning of pages in a program book, restless motion—indicated that the audience (which politely kept its silence, as would be expected for such a performance at that date) was confused and underwhelmed.  These days, I suppose, we’d add peering into the omnipresent phone.

My pleasure at reading for ASFS gave me a whole new appreciation for the readers of audiobooks.  Many of these are actors, and would be accustomed to some interaction with an audience.  Sitting in a soundproofed studio must be as disconcerting for them as reading to a muted Zoom group was for me.

So, let’s hear it for the live studio audience!

FF: Author’s Copies Arrive!

Coco Contemplate the Aurora Borealis Bridge

I wasn’t April Fooling you when I said that the official release date for Aurora Borealis Bridge, print edition, had been set back to April 12th, due to problems at the printer.  (The e-book version should be available as of April 5th.)  However, my author’s copies arrived this week, so it’s possible some brick-and-mortar stores may have their copies sooner.

And, for those of you in New Mexico, remember, I’m presenting tonight at the ASFS meeting.  I invite questions, will be reading from Library of the Sapphire Wind, and I even have a few nifty things to give away. 

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:

Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark.  Audiobook.  Enjoyed.  A good plot, a rich setting, characters I was absolutely rooting for all the way.

The Broken Vase by Rex Stout.  A non-Nero Wolfe mystery.  Despite one element I absolutely could not believe, I enjoyed this.

DreamForge Anvil, issue 7.  A variety of looks at the question of what is the meaning of a life.

In Progress:

Juniper Wiles and the Ghost Girls by Charles De Lint.  ARC.  So far, very hard to put down.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.  Recommended by a friend.  Halfway.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.  Audiobook.  Just started.

Also:

American Archeology Magazine, an earlier issue I somehow missed finishing.

[image error]

I Still Have Questions

Our Yard Last Wednesday

But at least I have some answers… 

First, though a few public service announcements.

This Friday, April 1 (no fooling), I will be speaking at the meeting of the Albuquerque SF Society.  According to their official announcement:

“Jane Lindskold will talk to us about the three novels she has out from Baen Books this year – Library of the Sapphire Wind: Over Where Book 1 in February, Aurora Borealis Bridge: Over Where 2 in April, and A New Clan (Star Kingdom book) co-written with David Weber, in June.  She will definitely answer questions from attendees, and might even read a passage from the first Over Where novel.”

The meeting will begin at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:15 pm) at St Andrew Presbyterian Church, 5301 Ponderosa Ave NE (between San Mateo & San Pedro, south of Montgomery – near Erna Ferguson Library).  See their website under Meetings for further information.

I will have a few nifty little things to give away… And if everyone has already read Library of the Sapphire Wind, I will read from Aurora Borealis Bridge.  And, of course, I’ll be very happy to sign your copies of the new books.  Or even older ones.  I’ll bring my colored pens.

In further news, my website, JaneLindskold.com, has recently had some shiny new additions.  Among these was updating PayPal for the site’s bookshop.  If you’ve had difficulty ordering, you might want to try again.

In a Wednesday Wanderings a few weeks ago, I mentioned various things I was musing about.  One of these was when would the flickers vanish and the quail reappear.

 I am happy to announce that last Sunday we saw the first quail, and the flickers are still around, so evidently, they overlap.  We have also heard our first toads of the season.  Our neighbor’s apricot trees are in full bloom.  I guess it’s officially Spring.

As to another of those musings, I’ve decided that rather than having “gotten used to” fifty-degree temperatures shifts, I’ve simply come to rely on New Mexico’s weird weather as a source of amusement.  This last week was particularly good: Wednesday we had about four inches of snow; by Sunday, the temperature hit 87 F.

I haven’t gotten around to baking using rose water as an ingredient.  I’ll let you know if I do!

Our Yard on Sunday

FF: Over the Next Few Weeks

Mei-Ling Admires

Over the next few weeks, those of you attuned to such things may notice works from the Nebula ballot being listed.  A few notes for would-be detectives.

A work not being listed does not mean I did not look at it.  I might have done so and not chosen to complete.  (The reading time is ridiculously short for such a long ballot).  I might not have been able to obtain a copy, since the days when publishers were able to routinely send out works under consideration are long gone. 

And my general guideline (listed below) for short fiction remains the same.  I usually only mention my reading of shorter works if something blows me out of the water.

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:

Prospero’s Children by Jan Siegel.  Lush description, different worldbuilding.  Second part has a dreamlike element that will work for some, not for others.  Overall, I’d read more by this author.

A Storm of Horses: The Story of Artist Rosa Bonheur by Ruth Sanderson.  This lushly illustrated biography (written for a younger audience, but perfectly enjoyable by this adult) takes the saying “a picture speaks a thousand words” very seriously.  Each illustration is packed with detail that augments the grammar school level text.  “More About Rosa” adds to the initial material, and is written for a somewhat more advanced reader.  The final pages include additional resources.  This is the sort of book that grows with the reader.

In Progress:

Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark.  Audiobook.  Over half-way done.  Haven’t had as much audio time as I’d like, but so far, I’m definitely enjoying.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.  Recommended by a friend.  Just started. 

Also:

American Archeology magazine.  Some very interesting articles in this one, although I really did quibble with the statement that the reason an older mare would have been kept was as breeding stock.  I wonder what the writer would have said if the remains in question had been of a male horse?  Might they have included a gentler animal for beginning or older riders?  A pack animal?  Maybe even a pet?

Do You Dream?

Persephone Dreams

The other day, someone was complaining to me about books in which characters dream, and then “Those dreams turn out to be, well, dreams.  Not anything significant.  Just dreams.”

It turned out that the person I was talking with was one of those who “never dreams,” or, if they do, they don’t remember their dreams, which, as a case in point, is pretty much the same.

I, on the other hand, dream a lot.  I dream in full color, with sound, scent, taste, sensation all full on.  I often remember my dreams, or at least part of them. 

Take the other night…  When the alarm went off, I was in the middle of the following dream:

Jim and I were watching a new-to-us anime.  (From the art style, I’d guess it was from the 1980s.)  It featured two warring factions in a space opera type conflict.  This particular scene focused on an idealistic young pilot fighting for the greedy plutocratic oligarchy.

Following a particularly brilliant battle, in which he shot down a lot of the opposition, he is complimented over the “radio” by his commanders.  In the background, he hears lots of nasty comments calling the other side “losers” and the like.

He switches off his radio and says to the empty air: “I do not mock my enemies.”

Or rather, that’s what the subtitles say.  I’m listening to the dialogue, and I make out enough of the mixture of Japanese and English (not uncommon in some anime) to realize what he actually said.  I turn to Jim and say, “Did you catch that?  What he said was closer to, ‘Farewell, my honored nemesis.’”

At this point, the alarm went off.  And, yes, I really dreamed all of that.  No continuity was added.  I could feel Jim’s hand warm around mine.  I could hear both the background sounds of our house, and the different sound of the television.  I remember this one as well as I do because, when the alarm went off, I struggled to remember it so I could tell Jim.

I’ve often been asked what were my earliest experiences with writing fiction.  When I answer, I always need to qualify my reply.  While I don’t recall really trying to write fiction until high school or college, I’ve been a storyteller for as long as I can remember.  Much of this goes back to trying to relate my dreams to my sister, Ann, who sometimes gently accused me of making it all up.

I wasn’t making it all up, but I was probably trying to provide continuity where there was none, which, if you think about it, isn’t bad training for becoming a writer.

Yes.  I’ve dreamed about my characters.  And, yes, I’ve written short stories based on dreams or taken in part from dreams: among them are “Between Tomatoes and Snapdragons,” “Behind the Curtain of Flowers,” and some elements from “On the Edge of Sleep.”  All of these are in my short story collection, Curiosities.

The Albuquerque Adepts had their first appearance in a dream as well, although it took Jim pointing out to me that the dream I’d just told him would make a great short story.  I wrote it and it appeared as “Hell’s Mark” in the 1997 anthology, Wizard Fantastic.  So, in a sense, I’ve been to that nightclub that has an entrance to hell… So, do you dream?  Do you remember your dreams? 

FF: I’d Like to Read

Perspehone Considers How

Most of my reading time this week has been writing time, which I don’t mind at all.  After all, I write the stories I’d like to read.

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.  Two of the series I’m trying right now are due to FF reader mentions.

Completed:

Life by Keith Richards and James Fox.  Memoir.  Audiobook.  Finished this just as the Stones announced their next tour, named 60 for the number of years the Stones have been together. 

Highway of Eternity by Clifford Simak.  Structure is a bit peculiar, but he pulls it together by the end and I found the ending satisfactory.

In Progress:

Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark.  Audiobook.  Prologue and two chapters in.

Prospero’s Children by Jan Siegel.  This one’s been sitting on my shelf for a long while.  Decided to give it a try. 

Also:

Finished Smithsonian.  Still reading Jim’s ms.

Slowdown at the Aurora Borealis Bridge

Dandy Thinks This is Dandy

The dog did not eat my book.

Late last week I was informed that the trade paperback of my forthcoming novel, Aurora Borealis Bridge, the sequel to February’s new release, Library of the Sapphire Wind, has been delayed to April 12, 2022.

The e-book version will be available on April 5, 2022.

The reason for the delay of the trade paperback edition is supply chain issues at the printer. 

Really….  I did my homework!  So did the editor, the production team, and the great folks who weighed in along the way.  Tom Kidd did a terrific job with the cover art.

No dogs were injured in the course of this delay, and we will do our very best to get physical books into the hands of any and all who would like them as soon as possible.

In the meantime, there are always electrons.

Consider this a great opportunity, if you have not already indulged yourself, to read Library of the Sapphire Wind, to meet Meg, Peg, and Teg.  To set sail on the Slicewind, with Grunwold at the helm, and Vereez and Xerak handling the lines.

Now I shall go back to my usual scheduled writing…  I’d like to thank all of you who weighed in last week with information about rose water in cooking.  I haven’t had a chance to give it a try, but you can bet I’ll let you know how it goes once I do!

FF: Distorted

Mei-Ling and Roary Spar Over Who Gets to Read It First!

This week’s reading list is distorted in that a lot of my reading time is going to helping my husband, Jim, with a review of a novel he’s been working on.

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.  Two of the series I’m trying right now are due to FF reader mentions.

Completed:

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson.  Book Three in the Skyward YA series.  I’ve liked this series, but this book seemed more like an outline for a book, and the main characters parodies of themselves.  In his afterword, Sanderson mentions a lot of redrafting.  That said, if you get to the end, I think you will find it satisfying.  I did enough that I’ll read the next in the series.

In Progress:

Life by Keith Richards and James Fox.  Memoir.  Audiobook.  Reaching the stage where he recounts clashes with Mick.  Audio is well presented, with different readers, including Johnny Depp and Richards himself.

Highway of Eternity by Clifford Simak.  I can’t remember if or when I read this, but it sounds good.  I love a lot of Simak’s work.

Also:

The latest Archeology magazine was very interesting.  I’m now looking at a very slim Smithsonian.  Apparently, the paper shortage is hitting them.