Last Glorious Gasp

(For more of my writing, click here.)

"The wind is cold, the year is old, the trees whisper together..." ~The Incredible String Band, "Witches Hat"

Autumn is a heart-tugging time for me. The languid heats of summer have all but faded from memory and winter haunts the future like a vengeful spectre, ready to strip the branches naked and cover the once-lush fields with frost. But the Now is all blaze and fullness, harvest and riches; a time for meditation and reflection and summing-up. The other day while wandering about I encountered this tree and stood with it for a while, enjoying the kinship.

CK

(Photo taken during Michaelmas Term at Cambridge, UK. Colors are actual, not enhanced.)

 

My Journey Now

“Succès d'estime: a success in terms of critical appreciation, as opposed to popularity or commercial gain” [definition courtesy of the Oxford Dictionaries].

   WorldCon takes place in Chicago this weekend--the great annual gathering of authors and aficionados of science fiction and fantasy, where the Hugo Awards are handed out. My only WorldCon was in San Jose a decade ago, shortly after Wysard and Lord Brother were published, and it was fabulous. I attended as a guest professional and took part in panel discussions, critique groups, greenroom socializing and epic parties, making new acquaintances and reuniting with people I'd previously met at my first-ever such event, Norwescon. The ConJose Wiki entry gives an idea of how exciting it was. As a final flourish I celebrated my birthday in the unexpected company of a terrific bunch of kindred souls.

     Thanks to Facebook, which didn't exist when ConJose took place, I can keep in touch with fellow inkslingers from those days. Since then we've moved into a time of wondrous and sometimes distressing changes. Like many others, I've been delighted to be able to give my books a new digital lease on life at Amazon and elsewhere, but faced with the ever-increasing publication inundation, the resultant pandemonian clamors for reader attention, and the recent revelations concerning some authors' extreme measures to secure fame and/or fortune, I'm seeking the quiet lately. My energies are focused on writing new books, but it's a deep pleasure to reflect that the Ryel Saga has achieved what I consider true success. What I wanted most was to create something beautiful to give the world; and that which I craved, I accomplished thanks to invaluable others who read me for the love of it and asked for nothing in return. To be accorded praise after being read with care is the greatest honor a writer can ever experience, and to have it said that I might be remembered in years to come is fame enough for a lifetime.

Honored,

CK

I've Got To Be Meme

     It isn't a normal Facebook day without at least a half-dozen memes adorning my news feed, usually of pets, babies, or well-known entities either cartoon or political being cutely off-color and/or insistently sentimental. Wishing to join in the fun, I've tried my hand at concocting my own with the help of my vast collection of images and that free PhotoScape software I can't praise enough. Here's one I made yesterday, inspired by childhood memories of gazing up in awe and hoping I too might someday shine:

And here's another, more colorful and with a dash of naughty:

     To pass Facebook censors I cropped the above picture to obscure the fact that the Tibetan god and his consort are locked in ecstatic yabyum, but everyone knows dang well what they're doing.
     More to come, very likely. Feel free to pass them around, and to click the Facebook button on the upper left of this page if you like.


Namaste,


CK




    
     

Hair-Tearing-Out Time

     I can't believe it's been this long since I last blogged. So far summer has kept me busy in far too many non-writing ways, but now that things have calmed I can give the work I love--or rather works, which are stacked up like planes over Heathrow just now--my full attention.
     I'll get around to discussing the reason for this post's title, but first I want to thank my new readers from these last couple of months, to whom I owe the acquisition of my new Acer netbook which I love so much I feel like carrying it around in a baby sling. Small, light, tough, perfect for travel...you bet I'm grateful.
     And now to the problem that inspired this post. I'm having a terrible time coming up with the right title for the third part of the Ryel Saga. The prequel (an almost complete first draft at present) already has a name--Starklander--and will be a stand-alone dealing with Guyon Desrenaud and his adventures in the North and in Almancar, predating the events touched on in the first two volumes. But Part Three will cover entirely new territory, bringing in the two Art-cities of Elecambron and Tesba, hitherto only mentioned in passing--the bleak citadel of ice and the lush paradise of the senses, where Ryel Mirai and his erstwhile enemy Michael Essern seek a solution to the dilemma that concludes Lord Brother. Michael's brother Yvain Essern, the Count Palatine of Roskerrek, will also figure in the story, as will Riana the One Immortal, along with other characters from the first books and new key players. So I need a title that will suggest both deep divisons and close alliances at work in a world where magic runs both deadly cold and ardently hot. I love a challenge, but this one's tasking me. 
     My urban fantasy Queen of Time has been pulled from publication while it undergoes revisions, which should be complete early next month. Although I'm not exactly new to the game I've taken to heart the expert advice to novice writers by con acquaintance David Brin, and am re-starting the action in medias res where it should be. Anyone wishing a PDF of the new version to replace the old need only e-mail me once it's ready, which I'll announce here.
     Lots more to work on after that, but my next post will deal not with what I'm writing, but those influences that make my writing what it is.

Namaste,


CK
     
     

     

Another Spring Freebie - PenTangle: Five Pointed Fables

     Spring always jump-starts me. The winter doldrums get packed away along with the woolies, and inspired by emergent beauty I become energized and impatient. I have half a dozen unruly writing projects tugging at my virtual skirts, each clamoring for my full attention, plus a house that will never ever be the clean and orderly haven it could be if I didn't write. Between divvying out quality time among the brain-brats and attempting to confer a modicum of order on my cluttered and chronically maintenance-deferred domicile, I try to fit in some advertising of my various inked wares. 
     I'm almost invisibly discreet when it comes to pluggery, therefore I thank very much the many ebook sites that got the word out and helped me give away ~7000 Kindle copies of Wysard and Lord Brother during my March promotion. I also thank everyone who downloaded either or both books, and the many kind people who purchased copies when the promo ended. Being read is truly a humbling wonder, and I'll never forget to be grateful.
     My latest giveaway is PenTangle: Five Pointed Fables, a collection of short fiction. All of the five stories save one were previously published in ezines; I didn't seek a venue for The Heart's Desire because it wasn't the sort of thing I normally write, although some people might think it the best yarn of the lot. 
     I created the cover of PenTangle myself, using a divine free program called PhotoScape and five of my favorite fountain pens that wouldn't hold still for their photo until I applied two-sided tape. I love the retro snazz of the end result:

The stories in PenTangle: 

     The Kind Gods - Did the old gods really die? A warrior seeks answers at the burial-mound of his greatest enemy. A Norse-themed elegy, first published in Bewildering Stories.    
     The Heart’s Desire - A government scryer's life is a prison until she and her bodyguard discover the ultimate secret language. This story is my first attempt at near-future slipstream, and I loved writing it. 
     Last Laughter - A cautionary tale about a wicked court jester and his comeuppance, first published in Silver Blade Fantasy Quarterly. 
      Regenerated - Cela always hoped she’d find Jorgen again someday…but was this really Jorgen? A tenderly bitter tale of love and giant lizards, first published in Quantum Muse. 
     Everafter Acres - Happily Ever After isn’t always perfect, but dark knights can be illuminating. A wry autumnal satire first published in Luna Station Quarterly.

The giveaway ends Wednesday, April 18. Namaste and happy reading,


CK

Celebrate!

By happy coincidence it's World Book Day and I'm spotlighted on D. P. Prior's blog! Check it out at http://dpprior.blogspot.com/, and while you're there enjoy Derek's entertaining posts and links to his well-reviewed fantasy fiction. Please feel free to buy one of our books in honor of the holiday... :-)

 

Absolutely Favulous

See anything different about my blog? (Hint: it's on the address bar.)

I'm having fun with favicons lately. Blogger has a generator of its own, but it's easy to make a personal version for your website. Just visit this favicon generator and watch it create your tiny picture and the code to go with it. My own favicon, seen up close, looks like this:

It's a stylized plum blossom (ume), and it ties in with my love of things Japanese and the word 'kari,' which in the kanji for plum means 'pure.' Kari is my nickname, and I used to sign the the 'i' with a five-petaled flower (still do, now and then). I may change the design later on in favor of something with a letter K, but for now this will work charmingly.

Precious Sails

"Lutes, Laurels, Seas of Milk, and Ships of Amber." ~Belvidera in her mad scene, from Thomas Otway's tragedy Venice Preserv'd (1682)

      As with the duck of the adage, there's been a lot of flurry beneath the seeming serenity of my life lately. I've been writing and publishing other things besides this blog, which explains the long stretch since my last post.
       The other day I dusted off a work in progress that made me think of the quote that heads this post, which in turn led me to recall the Schatzkammern, Wunderschranken, and cabinets of curiosities that were popular in England and northern Europe during the 16th through the 18th centuries. I've always loved such collections, and make a point of seeking them out when I travel. By far the most memorable--breathtaking, really--have been the fabulous Green Vaults (Grünes Gewölbe) at the royal castle in Dresden. Never before or since have I encountered so many precious things gathered in one place--the most lavish, glittering, gorgeous assemblage of objects, truly 'beauty too rich for use,' since every item is meant to be admired solely for its combination of costly materials and exquisite workmanship.
      The driving force behind the Green Vaults was Augustus the Strong, a cultivated lover of the finer things who spent immense sums on art, palaces, and amours (he was said to have enjoyed more than three hundred mistresses, and kept a gallery of their portraits to record his conquests). His penchant for magnificence coincided perfectly with the opulent age in which he lived, and under his direction the Green Vaults filled with masterpieces of the Baroque wrought in gold, silver, enamel, jewels, and other precious materials. I don't remember a ship of amber, but there was one of ivory.

      The pride of the Vaults is The Court of Aurangzeb, a masterwork in precious metals, enamel, and gems depicting the enthroned sultan surrounded by his entourage. More than a hundred tiny figures, all about three inches high, are depicted in exquisite detail. It took eight years to make, and cost the price of a castle. Click the image for a larger view.

    Here's a delicious detail:

      As I examined the gorgeous toy--or rather knickknack, since it had no earthly use save to be marveled at--I thought of Augustus' legendary cousin King Charles the Twelfth of Sweden, and how that energetic, impatient, intelligent young soldier might have reacted to such wanton extravagance. Compared with Augustus' lush wigs, gemmed silks, rampant libido and reckless excess, the celibate Charles with his cropped hair, stark uniforms, ascetic nature and unswerving purpose was an object lesson in the virtues--and hazards--of severity. My novel will describe those two remarkable and entirely opposite men, and I'll definitely include a scene in which Charles gets a tour of the Green Vault; he once paid Augustus an impromptu visit in Dresden, blithely disregarding the fact that he and his cousin were then at war with one another. Augustus, ever the gentleman, greeted Charles cordially, and let him depart unhindered.
      Since I haven't the means to construct a Schatzkammer of my own, I keep one in the domed vault of my cranium. As with Augustus' collection, not much of mine is really useful, but it's a constant and ever-added-to trove of marvel and delight. Ideas and images from every place and time, all sorts of odd bits of information and out-of-the-way anecdotes, poetry, history, art, myths and legends, theater, music, languages, journeys, loves and passions...infinite riches from years of observation and countless books, that make my writing what it is. All my life I've been careful about what I stick in my brain, and now, in times like these, I cherish my mind-hoard all the more.