Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 103

Stories in the Stars, Part 3

Well, well. After all these ‘true dragons’ coming around, I suppose I hardly qualify to talk at all. But old Nisha*, she knows a thing or two.

What do you mean, I’m not a dragon? You humans — always thinking you have the right to name things. You invaders might have driven the dragons out of the Cragmaw Mountains, but I’m still here. So stop interrupting and you might learn something.

I’m sure you heard Cazarluun going on about the grand myth of draconic origins. Me, I’m more interested in dragonkind continuing into the future. The constellations that matter to me are somewhat… basic.

Take the one you named “Leo.” To us dragons, that’s The Horse. It’s one of our favorite foods. What you call “Ursa Major and Minor” are The Bison and Calf. “Monoceros?” The Antelope. All of them are delicious meals. You see, the purpose of the constellations is to show us dragons what’s safe to eat. I trust you’ve noted that I haven’t named any of the human-like figures as a food. Frankly, there’s not enough meat on a human to be worth hunting. Except for hatchlings, of course.

Well, aren’t you clever? Yes I did say “us dragons.” I can see you don’t believe it. A harmless old lady like me! Just sit there for a minute and I’ll show you. Perhaps you’d like to meet my hatchlings?

* Old Nisha, a.k.a. Carnisha, is the main character in my short story, “Hoard,” published last year in the anthology The Dragon’s Hoard, edited by Gabrielle Harbowy, for Sky Warrior Books.

The Book of Dragons, by E. Nesbit

I’m bringing you a blast from the past today, a rare example of Victorian children’s writing that has survived to the modern day. Edith Nesbit was British, born in 1858, and a life-long rebel. She married a socialist writer and was involved in the political causes of the day, including women’s suffrage and worker rights. She was a shocking figure who smoked in public, wore her hair short, and generally showed disdain for Victorian social conventions.

Nesbit began selling poetry at age 15 and continued all her life. It’s a mark of her strong personality that she wrote under her own name rather than her husband’s, which would have been Mrs. Hubert Bland. Yet it’s also telling that she chose to conceal her gender by using her initial, E. Nesbit. Even today, some of our greatest women writers, like C. J. Cherryh and J. K. Rowling, do the same thing.

Amid the constant scramble of writing to keep her family fed, Edith Nesbit made a pioneering contribution to children’s literature. In 1890 there was very little writing specifically for children, and that was mostly sermonizing about how to live a proper British life. Nesbit combined fantasy — fairy tales were big in Victorian literature — with more realistic elements of child behavior and modern life. She referred to real places, such as Crystal Palace, and her child characters were often naughty before their basic goodness won out.

The Book of Dragons is a collection of Nesbit’s short stories, all combining kids, magic, and dragons. Remember that this is Victorian literature. There’s a lot of passive voice. Characters are either good or evil, and not much suspense about the outcomes. All the dragons have just one goal: to eat everyone in the world. Yet Nesbit has great verve, humor, and invention. In many ways, her stories reads like precursors to Roald Dahl and the Oz series of her contemporary, L. Frank Baum.

Of the eight short stories collected here, “The Island of the Nine Whirlpools” is a favorite. A loyal queen is sent to visit a witch by her husband, a stern and unloving enchanter/king. The queen asks to get a baby, sort of like ordering draperies for the palace, but makes a small omission and receives a girl instead of a boy. The king is irate and basically never forgives the queen. The tale strikes me as a poignant comment on women’s lives in the Victorian Era, when men owned everything and women and children struggled to be heard.

Although popular in her time, Nesbit is no longer well known. Her works do survive in “classics” editions by Dell Yearling, or you might find her in a used book store near you. If you like Baum or Dahl, they’ll be worth the hunt.

Stories in the Stars, Part 2

Greetings, mortals. It is I, Cazarluun the Majestic, Guardian of Venge Hill and Defender of the Light. As a true dragon*, I shall enlighten you on the nature of the constellations.

Mortals have given various names to those figures drawn by the stars. They are a hobjob, frankly, of humans, animals and fantastic beasts, all tossed upward with no rhyme or reason. Allow me to explain that there is, in fact, a solemn story written in the heavens.

Let us begin with what you call “Cepheus,” a supposed king among humans. Look carefully at the shape, flat on one end and pointed on the other. You will see, as we dragons do, that this is The Egg, and it lies at the center of our most sacred legend.

Near The Egg is a longer, twisting shape called “Draco” by humans. In this case, you’re very close. Mother Dragon is her name, and she keeps watch to protect her precious egg against any who would harm it.

Beyond The Egg is what you call “Cygnus the Swan.” To us this is The Heron, Mother Dragon’s trusted companion. Finally, you have dubbed another extended constellation as “Hydra.” In fact, this is Father Dragon, hunting food for his beloved mate.

As the story tells, many animals had heard that Mother Dragon was guarding a great treasure. They thought it was gold or a talisman of power. In fact, it was far more precious — it was The Egg. Mother Dragon did her best to drive them away, but there were too many of them. She grew exhausted by her efforts.  The Heron flew to find Father Dragon, who returned just in time to stop the greedy animals from stealing The Egg.

Be grateful, mortals, that I have shared such wisdom with you. 

* Cazarluun is another dragon character who appears in Lucy D. Ford’s forthcoming short story collection.

Notes From a First Time Front Yard Farmer – No Really, the Geese are Nice

Hello, everyone! I’m off to the Democratic Caucus this morning, but here’s an entertaining piece from one of my favorite blogs, Ducks and Chickens.

Ducks and Chickens

Hagrid has always been one of my favorite Harry Potter characters.  Even though he is clumsy, and a bit goofy, his heart is always in the right place.  Everyone needs a Hagrid in their life.  Since I’ve gotten geese, I’ve been thinking about him a lot.  He loves all these magical creatures, and doesn’t see them the same way as everyone else.  Other people think of them as mean and super dangerous.  Hagrid just wants to understand them, take care of them, and have them as companions.  Everyday I feel more like Hagrid, and it’s not just because I’m clumsy.

Remember when Hagrid wanted a dragon, and won an egg in a bar bet?  He was excited, and doing everything he could for Norbert, while Harry and his friends looked on in horror.  If Malfoy hadn’t seen the illegal baby dragon, I bet Hagrid would have him still.  You know…

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Stories in the Stars

Humans of many cultures have looked to the night sky and found pictures among the stars, then spun tales of who or what these constellations represent. But those stories are all from the human perspective. Today I have a special guest, an actual dragon,* to share a dragon’s version of these star-stories.

Yes, hello. I am Tetheus, a sea dragon from the land of Aerde, and I’ve come to correct your silly human notions about the constellations. We sea dragons were swimming the deeps of Aerde for centuries before any of your kind put a canoe in the water. We know a thing or two.

Let’s start with some of the figures most commonly labeled as human. There’s the one you call “Orion the Hunter.” We dragons known it as The Knight, a warning of human aggression against dragons.

There’s another you call “Hercules,” a hero who slew the monstrous Hydra. Really? Just look at those arms and legs flailing — he’s obviously running for his life. That’s why we dragons know him as The Peasant.

Finally, there’s “Andromeda,” who’s allegedly being sacrificed — to a sea dragon, of all things. (I’ll have you know we sea dragons only eat fish!) In our telling, this is The Witch. Witches are often victims of human superstition. They think they’re sacrificing witches to us sea dragons, but we have found them to be excellent and faithful allies.

Well, that’s enough for now. Come back in a day or two, after my nap, and I’ll share more of our star-stories.

* Tetheus is a character in “The Dragon Stone,” one of the short stories in Lucy D. Ford’s upcoming collection.

Dragons Vs. Drones

Today I’m sharing an advance review by a young reader. It appeared in the blog of a friend, Jennifer M. Eaton. Her son reviewed the book, Dragons Vs. Drones, by Wesley King. Just the title makes me want this book, and a review straight from the audience is great to hear.

Check it out here.

The Dragons of Heaven, by Alyc Helms

Here’s a fun debut novel that mashes up Chinese folklore, urban fantasy, comic book heroes and martial arts adventure in a lively package. The main character is Missy Masters, street magician and descendant of a famous super-hero, Mr. Mystic. Good old grandpa has been missing for a while when Missy suddenly inherits his powers. She can control shadows and travel through a mysterious Shadow Realm inhabited by demonic beings who really want a yummy human snack.

Missy attempts to take up her grandfather’s name and career, but discovers  how difficult the life can be. After barely escaping a super-battle, she heads out to China in hopes of finding the immortal dragon who once trained her grandfather. She does, and then becomes embroiled in the complicated dynamics of a dragon court where the most powerful beings have very little use for humans.

The plot braids together two stories, “then” (her years in China) and “now,” her life since returning to San Francisco. There’s plenty to enjoy in the martial-arts battles, scary-cool creatures from Chinese myth, a slightly scary super-hero organization, and the race to save the world from an evil dragon, Lung Di.

It’s a fun read, with lots of banter, moderate violence and sex. If you like urban fantasy or martial arts, this one is worth checking out.

 

Dragon Attacks Welsh Castle!

Giant dragon statues seem to be a thing in Britain these days. Another large advertising sculpture was unveiled at Caerphilly Castle in Wales on March 1st. In this installation, the head, claws and wingtips of a big red dragon appear to emerge from the moat of the picturesque Medieval castle. With golden glass eyes and steam wafting from the nostrils, it’s a truly amazing sight.

The pieces were made by Wild Creations, a prop maker based in Cardiff. It took about six weeks to model, mold the fiberglass, and paint the set. The same company also created an installation at Cardiff Castle last year, which appears to show a giant rugby ball embedded in the castle wall.

It’s all part of Cadw’s Historic Adventures, a tourism campaign aimed at promoting visits to Wales’ historic castles. If it wasn’t on the far side of an ocean, it would sure work on me!

Check out the full article, with progress photos, here.

Rambling Recap

I’m so glad I went on my ramble last week about dragons, zombies and dystopian fiction. I got much more response than usual. Thanks to all who commented, even if you disagreed with my theories about apocalyptic fiction.

To update my self-publishing plans, I have been reading and studying the process, figuring out which stories to present, who the audience will be, and so on. My budget and schedule are slowly coming together. My plan at the moment is to publish ten of Lucy D. Ford’s fantasy short stories. Half of them were in my podcast, The Dragon King, back in 2012. The others are newer and have a slightly more contemporary tone. It should be a great collection for kids in 4th to 6th grades, or adults who enjoy the fairy-tale style.

After setting up this blog post, I’ll start inquiring about cover and interior art. I’ve gotten to know a number of illustrators during my years involved with SF clubs and conventions, so it will be fun to get in touch with a few old friends. As I always say, stay tuned for more information.

After all this, I can’t stand to leave you dragonless, so here’s a fun news story from Britain. It appeared that a gigantic dragon skull had washed up on a Dorset beach in 2013. Charmouth Beach is on the famous “Jurassic coast,” where many dinosaur fossils have been unearthed.

Alas, the dragon skull turned out to be… an advertising sculpture! It seems one of Britain’s media streaming companies, BlinkBox, was about to release the third season of Game of Thrones. I’ve been searching around to see if the sculpture still exists, and where it might be now. If anyone has the information, I’d love to hear from you.

Yet More Rambling

In my last two posts, I rambled on about dystopian fiction and how it plays a developmental role for young readers as they move toward adulthood. I also mentioned the different types of dystopian fiction directed to adults, which involves zombies, conspiracies, and other material that reflects adult concerns. Finally, I get to my point! Which is my theory is that dragons used to be what zombies are now. Stick with me while I talk this through.

I recently had a conversation with a teacher at the school where I work, about a Fouth Grade boy who wrote a story where a hero shoots zombies. The teacher was dismayed by the violent and inappropriate content of the boy’s story. I said to her, “Look how common zombies are in entertainment right now. Books, comics, movies, TV, video games — they all include zombies. This boy is probably writing what his parents were watching on Walking Deadthe night before.” “Could be, but it’s still inappropriate.”

Believe it or not, this is what got me thinking and comparing between dragons and zombies. In every era, there are fictional villains everyone loves to hate and who are considered appropriate targets for violence. You know them — bandits, goblins, wolves. Criminals have broken the law, so it’s okay for superheroes to beat them up. Wolves are dangerous, so it’s okay for hunters to kill them. And, yes, dragons are a menace, so it’s okay for knights to cut their heads off. Currently, zombies are both dangerous and (depending on the story) contagious, so it’s okay for video gamers to shoot them.

So, similarities between zombies and dragons. 1) Hideously ugly. Zombies are bloody and maimed, maybe with a few parts falling off. The greatest dragons were also awful to behold, like Hydra with her nine heads. 2) Horribly powerful. Dragons have breath weapons and zombies can overwhelm almost any defense, given time. They both are really hard to kill. 3) Not very smart. Modern readers are accustomed to super-smart dragons, but the classic dragons, like Fafnir, were creatures of instinct rather than intellect. And, as we all know, zombies are constantly searching for brains because they don’t have their own.

Dissimilarities? Sure. Dragons are much, much bigger. Zombies don’t fly, unless they’ve snuck onto an airplane. People mostly run away from them, whereas they actually look for dragons due to the lure of rich hoards.

Long ago, dragons were the ultimate monster. People who were safe at home told heroic stories about dragons and brave knights. They passed stories around like comic books, and talked about them the way we talk about zombie movies. What dragons were then, zombies are now — the ultimate monster everyone is afraid of.

Well, what do you think? Are zombies the new dragons?