How You Dune?
Hello, friends! I hope you all are doing well as March 2024 draws to a close.
I can’t believe City of Spores has already been out for a WHOLE MONTH already! It’s crazy to me. I’m so thankful for each and every one of you who have grabbed a copy of my weird fantasy noir novella! The review count on Goodreads, especially, is growing, and I can’t tell you how exciting that is to me—it’s really helpful in terms of getting more eyes on the book. So if you have read City of Spores, but haven’t left a review or rating on Goodreads or Amazon, please do! Every review helps.
And if you haven’t already picked up a copy of City of Spores, you can find links to a couple different purchase options here.
I’m slowly making progress on the first draft of my dark fantasy novel, Black Coral. As of this newsletter, I’ve passed the 50,000 word mark, so I’m officially in Novel territory! This is a BIG milestone for me, as it’s the longest thing I’ve ever written (so far), and I’m super excited about it. I probably have another 5,000 to 15,000 words to go before the draft will be finished.
In other news, I participated in a local author showcase at Blend Coffee Bar in Ashburn, Virginia on March 7th, which was a lot of fun! I got to be part of a round table discussion with local authors Susan Quilty, J. Denison Reed, and my bestie, B.C. Lienesch; we talked about our writing habits and gave some insight into the creation of our books.
Speaking of author events—I’ve got another one coming up! For those of you in the Northern Virginia area, McKay’s Used Books in Manassas is hosting me for a signing/meet & greet on Saturday, April 6th, 2024, from 11am to 3pm. If you’re in the area, please drop on by—I’d love to see you! I’ll have paperback copies of City of Spores and Goodly Creatures available for purchase, and will be more than happy to sign them for you, too. Hope to see you there
So, have any of you seen Dune: Part Two yet? I’ve seen it twice already, and it’s a genuine MASTERPIECE, in my opinion—and I say that as a MASSIVE fan of the Frank Herbert novel (Dune and its sequel, Dune Messiah, were formative texts for me both as a reader and a writer, so they hold a very special place in my heart).
© Warner Bros./Legendary PicturesPart Two was hands down the best theater experience I think I’ve ever had—just a perfect mix of sound and vision. I highly recommend catching it in the theater if you can, especially an IMAX screening. It absolutely blew me away, both from a technical standpoint and a story standpoint.
Speaking of story…
I’m about to get into spoilers, so if you haven’t seen Dune: Part Two yet (or if you haven’t read the Dune books), please SKIP past the SPOILER ZONE marked below.
***SPOILER ZONE BEGINS***Dune: Part Two is one of those rare film adaptations that actually IMPROVES upon the book it is based on. What do I mean by this?
Well, with Dune the novel, Frank Herbert famously intended Paul Atreides’ story to be a warning against messianic figures and religious fanaticism, but anyone who has read Dune knows he missed the mark a bit. Yes, the themes are there for sure, but they are somewhat obscured by the fun space fantasy adventure of it all, and as such, a little easy to miss. Herbert himself admitted this: He’s on record as saying that he wrote Dune Messiah, the direct sequel to Dune, to make his points clearer to those who missed what he was trying to say with the original book. (My personal experience actually mirrors this: When I first read Dune as a teenager, I fell in love with it for its incredible world-building and the thrilling adventure; the deeper themes went over my head. It wasn’t until I read the incredible Dune Messiah, and then during my re-reads of Dune as I grew older, that I was able to fully pick up what Herbert was putting down.)
Denis Villeneuve, the masterful writer/director of Dune: Part One and Part Two, uses this knowledge of Herbert’s intentions and Herbert’s dismay with the reception of his own novel to craft something that, while streamlining the book for a cinematic adaptation, actually fulfills Herbert’s original intent. Thus, Part Two improves upon Herbert’s book by reworking some elements of the story for the film (and drawing on elements from Messiah) to dismantle the “white savior” tropes of the original book and to make it VERY clear that Paul is NOT that—by the end of the film, as Paul’s transformed into the messianic Lisan al Gaib, he’s taken his first steps not as a savior, but as a full-blown religious tyrant, a false messiah, igniting a universe-spanning holy war in his name. The way Villeneuve captures this on screen—and the way Timothee Chalamet depicts it—is absolutely CHILLING.
So as someone for whom Dune was—and is—such an important part of my journey as a reader and writer, I could not be happier. I’m honestly in awe of this film. It’s that good.
***SPOILER ZONE ENDS***Anyways, yeah, get thee to a movie theater and see Dune: Part Two!
What I’m Reading: God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert; The Art and Soul of Dune by Tanya Lapointe.
What I’m Watching: Invincible Season 2 (Prime); X-Men ‘97 Season 1 (Disney+); The Office (Peacock); Toast of London (BritBox).
What I’m Listening To: Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue; Mastodon - Emperor of Sand and Hushed & Grim; Hans Zimmer - Dune: Part Two (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
Signing OffWell folks, that’s it for March 2024. Thanks again for stopping by and reading.
Take care, and stay strange!
—Austin
