Katherine Langrish's Blog, page 40
January 4, 2012
New Year's Resolution
Well, this is what my desk looks like this morning. Which is actually healthy and a good thing: it means I'm getting back to work, and am therefore surrounded by a clutter of files, notes, and piles of reference books. And I can't find a pen anywhere...
I'm happy, and very busy, because I'm writing a new book at last and I want to get it finished by the summer. This doesn't mean I won't be blogging, but it does mean I've got to be very organised about my time. And lurking here on the blog are all the fascinating 'Fairytale Reflections' written by generous and wonderful fantasy authors such as Juliet Marillier, Susan Price, Mary Hoffman and Megan Whalen Turner - to name but a few. And who has time to go back through the blog to find them? So, beginning this Friday, I'm going to re-run them. (And there may be a few surprises!) On top of that, I'll be writing fairly regular new posts whenever something springs to mind on fantasy, folklore, myth and children's literature. Oh, and today I'm over at The History Girls writing about historical research and the importance of world-building in all sorts of fiction.
New year's resolutions have a name for being broken, so I'm not making any, but what I wish for myself and to all of you this year is Resolution itself - determination to work and succeed -
'To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield'.
Happy 2012 !
December 28, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - Eighth and Final Fit
December 23, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - Seventh Fit
December 20, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - Sixth Fit
PREVIOUSLY: the Agony Aunts advised Jason that the lovely witch-princess Medea was willing to help him - but when they warned him against assuming she would betray her nation, Jason made the mistake of insulting them. How far WILL the infatuated Medea go? READ ON...
Will the path of true love ever run smooth? Can Princess Medea defy her father again? Or will Jason have to sneak back to Greece unfleeced and empty-handed?
TO BE CONTINUED...
Will the path of true love ever run smooth? Can Princess Medea defy her father again? Or will Jason have to sneak back to Greece unfleeced and empty-handed?
TO BE CONTINUED...
December 16, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - Fifth Fit
PREVIOUSLY: Jason's voyage across the Aegean was made much more troublesome by the presence of the Agony Aunts, whose trenchant 'advice' caused him to lose at least two members of his crew. Will Flora, Agatha and Harriet do any better in the Land of the Golden Fleece? READ ON...
. Will Jason capture the hand and heart of Princess Medea? Will he succeed in winning the Golden Fleece? Or will he simply be eaten by the dragon? TO BE CONTINUED....
. Will Jason capture the hand and heart of Princess Medea? Will he succeed in winning the Golden Fleece? Or will he simply be eaten by the dragon? TO BE CONTINUED....
December 13, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - Fourth Fit
Previously: Jason was shocked to discover that his sponsor Hera had sent her erstwhile cronies, the three Agony Aunts, to join his expedition to find the Golden Fleece. What impact will the new arrivals have on him and his crew? READ ON...
A tricky voyage for the heroes, but worse is to come. What will happen when the Argo reaches Colchis? Will the Agony Aunts really come into their own - counselling Princess Medea?
TO BE CONTINUED...
A tricky voyage for the heroes, but worse is to come. What will happen when the Argo reaches Colchis? Will the Agony Aunts really come into their own - counselling Princess Medea?
TO BE CONTINUED...
December 9, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - Third Fit
Previously: Furious with Zeus for his continual casual adultery, Hera sent Hermes to the Land of the Hyberboreans to fetch her auld acquaintances the Agony Aunts. NOW READ ON...
What effect will these Agony Aunts have on the Argo's hapless crew? How will a bunch of muscle-bound heroes cope with all this female advice? TO BE CONTINUED...
What effect will these Agony Aunts have on the Argo's hapless crew? How will a bunch of muscle-bound heroes cope with all this female advice? TO BE CONTINUED...
December 6, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - Second Fit
What will happen when the Agony Aunts join the Argo cruise? Will Hera and Hermes convince Jason to take them on board? TO BE CONTINUED...
December 2, 2011
Jason and the AgonyAunts - First Fit
What will Hermes find in Hyperborea? Will he make front-page news? And what will happen when he meets The Agony Aunts?
TO BE CONTINUED....
November 30, 2011
The Agony Aunts are arriving!
Harking back to my recent series on Mystical Voyages, you may remember that when my very own Argonautical hero, David, set off on his voyage across the Mediterranean in Tim Severin's good ship Argo, I sat at home like Penelope, having neither the requisite muscle power to row one of these huge oars - or indeed the equipage to use the toilet facilities. In a bit of genuine reconstructive archeology, the crew discovered the purpose of that mysterious little wooden nubble you can see half way down the ram. Apparently visible on some ancient paintings, it was incorporated in Argo's design, and turned out to be there to help you keep your footing while you do whatever you need to do directly into the sea.
Anyway, to keep myself busy and not too jealous, I whiled away some of my spare time writing and illustrating a Voyage story of my own: 'Jason and the AgonyAunts: a silly tale in eight fits', which I gave David when he got back and which I'm going to post on this blog over the next few weeks. (For anyone unfamiliar with it, an 'Agony Aunt' is the cheery British term for an advice columnist in a magazine or newspaper.)
I'm not a trained artist, as will become rapidly apparent! - but I can get the occasional likeness, and I had a lot of fun making this little book or booklet. More important though, I've finally got down to writing a new long fantasy. I know you'll all understand that I'll need to give most of my concentration and time over the next few months to that. I've don't want to stop blogging - and I won't! - but perhaps the Agony Aunts will amuse some of you as much as they did me, when they visited me for the first time rather more years ago than I care to count - and well before I was a published writer.
So please enjoy the Agony Aunts, whose story will be delivered in weekly installments beginning this very Friday and lasting into the New Year. I'll be popping in and out regularly, so please do leave comments, as I'd love to know what you think of Flora, Agatha and Harriet's adventures with Jason, Medea, Zeus and Hera.
