Blog Roll

Every now and then someone sends you a link where you go: "Yes—that is so how it is."  This is one of those links. Penned by Chuck Wendig and titled "Six Reasons You're Not Ready To Be A Professional Writer" it elicits that funny mix of both humour and "ouch" that articles do when they hit the nail on the head. So enjoy—and be aware: this really is how it mostly is. Here's an excerpt from the opening salvos:

" "I want to be a writer when I grow up."

Sure you do, kid. Sure you do …

… And I'm here to tell you that you might not be ready. You might earn a big red stamp — *fwomp* UNFIT — on your Authorial Acceptance Exam. Not sure if you've got what it takes to carry the pens? To churn and burn through barrels of ink? To march forth across the bleached and cracked earth with only your word count on your back?

Let's check you out, then …"

Click here to read the full post.

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Sean Bean as Ned Stark

You may recall that on April 4 I posted about the forthcoming HBO series A Game of Thrones, based on the George RR Martin novel of the same name. Well, 'tis forthcoming no more: the first episode (of 10, I believe) has aired in the States and editor Diana Gill has done a great report of her reactions and thoughts on the HarperVoyager blog.

" … So the hype about the HBO Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's fabulous Age of Ice and Fire saga, was both fabulous and awful.  Fabulous, because the books are amazing, and the trailer felt right. Awful, because fantasy epics are so rarely done well on screen–for every LOTR there are 10 painful, sophomoric special effects sequences masquerading as stories …

.. The cinematography is gorgeous, and I loved the opening sequences (of course, I also adore maps). This first episode, like the Lord of the Rings movies, hits exactly what epic fantasy should feel like–grand, sweeping, and epic. It's bigger than you can contain, stark terror and brutality besides honor and moments of beauty. We're barely into the series, but it gets the feel right …

I get the feeling she's clicking the "like" button on this one. But to read Diana's report in full, click here.

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And probably my favourite blog post recently? Patricia Briggs (who writes the Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series) did a post on the Orbit blog titled Mercy and her Friends in My Back Yard. Why did I love it? I found something very evocative in Patricia's description of the voices of coyotes, dogs and wolves in and around her prairie backyard—her writing really made me want to hear them for myself.

Here's a snippet: "Their laughing voices aren't beautiful or powerful, the way a wolf's is, but they are incredibly cheerful.  There are several dens of coyotes who live in the field behind our house, eating the mice who live in the nearby orchards and vineyards.  The pioneers used to call coyotes "prairie song-birds".  I keep their voices in my head as I write about my little coyote shapeshifter. There are other voices I hear as well."

To read the full post, click here.

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And other than that, I hope you're all enjoying the Easter break.