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Recommended: A Tale of Two Planets
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I did an early read of Birgitta! It was excellent, in an incomplete state. Glad to hear another opus has followed. Will check it out.
Here's a sample:Katja
At the head of the table, Executive received another copy, frowned, sending the papers off the table into a nearby bin. "So," she said, pouting, "we're building a roundabout. A very small roundabout. But still, enough to actually enter? And positively make it out of? And—the now existing carrefour, it's a dangerous carrefour?" Not wholly sure of the standpoint here.
"Mildly dangerous," offered Katja.
"Yet, it makes people upset?"
"Mildly upset."
"You're aware, there are no vehicles on the Port?"
"There's the occasional emergency vehicle, an ambulance—sometimes a kick-bike, and," flipping a page, "robots. Robots move, and the boxes— The boxes need transport. Right now, they're bouncing off heels, crossing paths with trunks and skirts. And then we have cleaning carts, trolleys, Carry-Ons, and the like—the little wheels in themselves are not the problem. Still, they need—directing."
Executive took a deep breath, not a sigh, but a pause-maker. For emphasis. Breaths are great for emphasis. Push the air through the nose and one's got oneself a dealbreaker. Or a laugh. Air-through-nose could always mean a laugh. "Are people complaining? They demand a change?"
"Indeed, they do," continued Katja. "Building a roundabout will give unspecified changes to unspecified demands."
"So, accordingly?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Rather."
Executive cleared her throat. Had to variate her breathing, pushing the emphasis through other parts of her head. "It's a very small roundabout. Won't it be crowded?"
"It will."
"And people will be upset?"
"Most likely, Ma'am."
"Hm, I see—" Executive kept up her pouting, turning multiple copies without reading them. "Good. Carry on then, make the changes civilization expects."
"A standstill would be harmful," added Katja. "As long as there's change there's effort."
"I'm glad to hear that. That's the way to demonstrate influence, through action."
Hi there,Thanks for commenting on my book. As I'm Swedish, and born under the law of Jante ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_... ), I am forbidden to say anything nice about myself. But my book is pretty great. People die, though it's supposed to be funny, however that works.
Thanks for liking it Maurice, thanks a million.
/SL
S.L. wrote: "Hi there,Thanks for commenting on my book. As I'm Swedish, and born under the law of Jante ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_... ), I am forbidden to say anything nice about myself. But my ..."
The law of Jante huh? I've never heard of it. We have something similar down where I live, except we're too humble to give it a name.
Dunno where everyone else is. Been very quiet here lately.
"I am forbidden to say anything nice about myself"Ah, how well I know the pain that S.L. shares, the agony of genius oppressed by the requirement of humility laid upon Great Souls by little ant-people.
I too suffer the super-nova of creativity to be hid beneath the bushel-basket of pointless social reserve. How I long to grab the throats of the masses and shout 'Behold my works ye tiny and despair!'
But no; I suffer the slings and memos of outrageous insult as time and again lesser minds are trotted forth upon the world stage, while I sit in the dark and damp of my cubicle. Alone, so alone...
Well. But enough about me. Hi, S.L. !
Maurice wrote: "The law of Jante huh? I've never heard of it. We have something similar down where I live, except we're too humble to give it a name."Oh, it's universal, then, NZ being my polar opposite (geographically). None of us are allowed to boast, but then, how..? Never mind, Internet is No Man's Land - not even a part of the Universe, I think - so, let's have all the braggadocio we can muster. At least here at CLOG. I'll start.
I'm a clever little figure, just starting my career as a renowned writer. You'll be amazed at my imaginative perspective and snickering language (yes, even the linguistic oddities are cool, Maurice said so), especially my dialogues. Dialogues are my thing. My latest book, A Tale of Two Planets, offers all. Free for all to read, up on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/1402596...
Thanks everyone, for having me.
SL
Raymond wrote: "Ah, how well I know the pain that S.L. shares, the agony of genius oppressed by the requirement of humility laid upon Great Souls by little ant-pe..."Indeed, Mr Raymond. Also, to make matters even more complicated, there's the Brasklapp ( a "Brask Note" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Brask ) which means I have to finish each sentence explaining I didn't mean to denounce myself in such a good way. But, like Maurice said, at least we (up north) had the courage to name it. Well done.
Mod
I've been hiding in a bushel-basket, composing insulting memos. Well, that and dealing with some time-consuming family problems. Sorry. I will return to my clogs as soon as I can.
Hi Rob, good to know you are still among us. Any word on a publication date?
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"Spring" is all they've told me. I'm not sure what happens between now and then...
Does anyone remember WriteOn? The Amazon-sponsored Authonomy clone that closed down not long after it started – presumably when Jeff Bezos belatedly realized that his evil masterplan to take over the world didn’t need to bother itself with authors after all?
Well, about the only good thing that came out of WriteOn was S.L Jones and her book Birgitta the Nun. She now has a new one – A Tale of Two Planets – that is up on Wattpad (https://www.wattpad.com/story/1402596...)
S.L’s writing defies easy description. Birgitta takes place in a bubble of alternative reality that echoes the real world in odd and subtle ways, whereas A Tale of Two Planets is an intricate contraption of a novel, a Rube Goldberg machine, except that it burrows through time and space in ways that a reality-constrained machine could never manage. It’s bouncy and full of fun, endlessly inventive. One of those books where the joy of reading lies largely in the details.
Is it comedy? I’m not entirely sure. It’s certainly not slapstick (except occasionally when it is), nor really satire (only sometimes). I suppose you might call it observational humour (except for all those times when it’s not).
The metaphor I finally settled on was the uncanny valley. Not quite of this world, but nor an obvious fake. A Tale of Two Planets sits right in the middle of the valley. Not a good place to be if you are building an android, but the perfect setting for a novel.
Whatever it is, it appeals to me. So if you are looking for something very out of the ordinary to read…