Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
E-mail from Martha Coyote:

I always read the blurbs at the front of a book, [no particular 
reason], and I was struck with Harlan Ellison's quote in the front of 
the PB of 'The Last Continent'. He got it in a nutshell.

"Terry Pratchett is more than a magician. He is the kindest, most 
fascinating teacher you ever had."

Wruite on!  Martha
  

    
To Lisa, via Linda,

I didn't know this!  Should I know this?

Terry
  

    
To Martha, via Linda

I wouldn't trust Harlan on that one.  But he was very nice about the
Bromeliad Trilogy.  Come to think of it, fun though DW is and has
been, I'm probably happier with the YA books..

Terry
  

    
The research thing...

I remember talking to Alan Moore at a signing of The Watchmen, and 
someone asked him how to become a comics writer. Alan replied that 
the kid should read. Everything. Not just comics. Especially not 
comics.

I'm not a writer. I don't want to be a writer, but that's advice 
I'd repeat to everyone.
  

    
I'm very happy to know that you are going to be writing further on
Vetinari. My favorite Vetinari book is Jingo because he gets out of the
palace and is in different setting. We see him doing things "off the
cuff" so to speak. And find his philosophy for government is just as
workable in dealing with the man on the street. I must admit that I
laughed out loud at the picture in my head watching him skip and
juggle.

Your books have inspired me to read about things I'd not read in
depth. I bought a book on the Anthromorphic Personifications of Death.
Can't remember right off what the actual name of it was and who wrote
it but I realized as I read the various personas that people have
thought of Death that your Death came from several different places.
Here there was the skeleton; there is the dressed in black; and over
this way is the scythe and over that way the white horse. Also, in
Reaper Man, Death tells Mrs. Flitwick(sp?) that he is famous for
dancing. This puzzled me when I read it but in this book, there was a
short bit on the Danse Macabre and a light went off to connect to that
statement. Also, the author did a piece on Death in modern fiction. She
dealt with Piers Anthony and with your Death. This lead me to buy the
Piers Anthony book but I can't say I enjoyed it as much as yours. His
is too depressing and anxiety and guilt ridden. 

I enjoyed your YA books and sent The Bromeliad to my sister for my
niece and nephew. The Johnny Maxwell's are good also and I have
recommended them to people at work who have children. When my grandson
gets old enough, I'll give them to my son to read to him.
  

    
Up there you were saying something about how US businesses often have
trouble seeing the rest of the world. I ran into a problem a year or so
ago with England. I'd bid on a book on EBay from a person in England.
Got it for US $2.00. He wanted a money order. I went to the post office
to get a PROPER MO for England and they told me that it would cost me
$8.50 for a Pound Sterling money order! To all other countries, it was
about $2.00 maximum. I eventually went to a grocery store and bought a
general internatinal money order for $1.50 and since he sent me the
book with no comments I assume he was able to cash it. But it is
sometimes frustrating having to deal with our people over English money
exchanges. I do it all the time with Canada and Mexico and don't have
near the problems. About the only time I can buy anything from England
is via credit card and companies that will convert it - oh, and the
English bookstore I buy from accepts my personal checks and invoices me
in American Dollars. Do like them. 
  

    
Piers,

I always advise people to read outside the field they want to work in.
 I remember once opening a popular fantasy book, one that had been
acclaimed, and there was a setnence:'Belike, he will wax wroth.' Right
there on the page, where impressionable children could read it and grow
up thinking that this was proper fantasy talk.  Dreadful.  Reading
lots of fantasy means you recycle the same old stuff.

Terry
  

    
Dodge,

The DW Death is doing his job.  Some may be some parts of it that are
beginning to worry him, but he doesn't have a sense of guilt.

Death is pretty much PD, in more senses than one.  A good character to
write for, though.

The money thing always puzzles me.  In Europe we grow up knowing that
flying one hour in a straight line for much of the compass means you've
have to change money.  The fact that other nations have other
currencies is no big deal -- you just try to get the best exchange
rate.  It's your banks that seem to be the problem, for some reason.
I've heard of huge penalties for the 'crime' of trying to change
sterling.  It makes no sense in 2001.

Terry
  

    
I have a paperback copy of Mort.  On the back of the dedication
page it says "Leslie & Matt's book Indonesia, September 1991"
and then "John: Oakland, March 1992" but I am not letting it out
of my clutches, so there the record stops.

Terry, could you say a little about the strange position in the
Uk -- you're a best-selling author, but I gather you still hang
out at cons.
  

    
(And there should be a question mark at the end of that.)
  

    
Thanks for the encouragement and comments, sorry about the double
postings.  
To Neil Gaiman, I'm in the middle of American Gods and all I can say
is "OOOOOOOOOO wow!."

I've always gotten the feeling that both of you don't think *all* of
your fans are Ubernerds and don't mind us too much.  One day, I'll make
it to a con in the UK and I would very much love to have one or two
books signed, I won't make you do all of them cause that's just abusing
one's favorite authors. (especially Mr. Pratchett, you have written so
very much and I currently have all but one of your books in hardback
and that includes the Johnny Maxwell books and the Bromeliad.

Out of curiosity, have either of you read Phillip Pullman's "Golden
Compass" ?

Thanks again
Jane Davis
  

    <scribbled by teleri025>
  

    
The money thing always puzzles me too. One of my bosses is the
Internatinal Attorney for the company and flies to other countries. I
never have the problems with her expense reports that I have when she
goes to England. And, it's one of the reasons I've had so hard a time
getting into the pewter figurines and stuff - actually, I should say
thankfully as I'd spend too much money on it if I could do it easily.

As for the language - I am reading an Andre Norton book the name of
which I can't recall - or maybe it's Anne McCaffrey. At this time I've
got some three books open on my bedside table and another one at work.
Anyway, they meet a young girl on this space station in the dregs of
the place who learned how to talk by watching old Fantasy/SF movies and
talks, therefore, like the sentence you wrote up there. The author
wrote in her shudders very well.
  

    
Ah. And next question:

Has anyone ever showed up at a book signing carting (and they'd have
to use a cart of some kind) ALL of your books and wanting you to sign
them all for them? 

And, yeah, that would be abusing the author, I'd say.
  

    
Catlike treader...

Cons can be a bit awkward.  Up until 1993 or so I could just go along
and hang out at most UK cons, and after things were generally fine,
but...how can I put it?  Fantasy/sf is, or at least was, held to be a
ghetto, and being seen to have got very visibly out of said ghetto can
have all kinds of unexpected effects, not always positive.  But I go to
at least every other worldcon and maybe one or two others a year. 

It can be weird when the post on the same day includes an invitation
to a big posh event (because commercially I'm a 'big' author) and a
student convention (because the books are fantasy) and a school
(because of the YA books.)  These days I just do what seems
interesting.  And the nice thing is that I can.

Terry
  

    
To Jane:

"I've always gotten the feeling that both of you don't think *all* of
your fans are Ubernerds and don't mind us too much." 

It's an odd thing, but I once asked my publicist about the fan mail
authors got and she said that my mail was pretty sane and, well, nice. 
From what I gather, it's the mainstream authors that get the creepy
stuff.  Fans are fine, even the once that once asked me to sign a
scythe blade so that she could have the signature etched on it in acid.
 I mean, it wasn't as if she was waving it about or anything.  

Most sf/authors come up through fandom in any case, so we kind of
understand it.  And tours, despite all the jetlag and RSI, are
generally fun.  Besides, it's not rock 'n roll until you take it on the
road.

No, I haven't read any of Pullman's stuff. Life is somewhat full..
 

Terry
  

    
Dodge,

The record is 67 items.  The guy brought a friend to help him(yes, he
had a friend!) I did them all, out of morbid fascination, after the
queue was finished. They included published interviews and short
stories and other minor stuff.  But that was back in the mid-90s.  I'm
a much more focussed person now, and would probably just scream and
leap:-)

Terry
  

    
E-mail from Donna:

Having tumbled on to this string in a typical web-serendipitous manner, I
would like first to say a huge ThankYou to Terry!  I truly look on every new
book as a mind adventure and the well-reread older ones as life savers - a
point of sanity in an otherwise insane world.
 Back to Thief of Time - Bravo, I devoured it in one sitting, and then
immediately started over - so I could savor every chocolate bite.  I too
lament the unavailability of Josh Kirby covers in the US, (stupid americans
can't appreciate fine art when they see it) and the general difficulty in
finding TP books.  I really appreciate the reprints that Harper has done and
continues to do, but, would love to find some of the older/oldest titles
reissued in Hard Cover.
  I hesitate to request any one character be given more (equal?) time than
any other because they are all so rich and enjoyable.  Its like asking do you
prefer Chocolate Decadence? or Strawberry Cheesecake for your dessert.  Both
please! After all, you have to feed both Agnes and Perdita.
  Terry, you must hear over and over how much you are appreciated and how
much your books are enjoyed but just in case you haven't heard it enough,
your books are my gift of choice to all my thinking/reading friends.  I never
sit down with one for very long that I don't find a fantastic passage to read
out loud to whichever long suffering family member will put up with me.  My
all time favorite passage has to be Sir Samuel's viewpoints on the
comparitive qualities of sex and cooking.  I have to tell you that I have
liberally spread that theory around to many people and have yet to find
anyone sensible that disagrees with it.  - I did americanize it to
Cheeseburger with fries though - I hope you can forgive me.
  One last note, I have had considerable difficulty in finding the young
person novels in my area, and have resorted to passing CofM, LF and ER to my
11 yr old daughter, we read them together, and discuss the various layers of
meanings and references.  While I will never be able to catch them all, I
hope that I am passing the ability to look below the surface to her and at
least she is gaining a fine appreciation of great humor.  My trouble is not
in getting her to read your books, but in preventing her from reading some of
the more difficult ones too soon.
Thank you again, Donna
  

    
Donna,

"I really appreciate the reprints that Harper has done and
continues to do, but, would love to find some of the older/oldest
titles reissued in Hard Cover."

No plans for that, as far as I know.  It would be unlikely.

"I hesitate to request any one character be given more (equal?) time
than any other because they are all so rich and enjoyable.  Its like
asking do you prefer Chocolate Decadence? or Strawberry Cheesecake for
your dessert.  Both please! After all, you have to feed both Agnes and
Perdita."

Not me.  You wouldn't get me near cheescake:-)  Stand by for more
Vimes...


"My all time favorite passage has to be Sir Samuel's viewpoints on the
comparitive qualities of sex and cooking.  I have to tell you that I
haveliberally spread that theory around to many people and have yet to
find anyone sensible that disagrees with it.  - I did americanize it to
Cheeseburger with fries though - I hope you can forgive me."

Just this once.  I was amazed to find McDonalds in New Orleans.  I
left there in tears knowing I'd probably not visited 99.6% of the
heavenly restaurants, and yet people would go out for a Big Mac.  But
sometimes you just want warm grease with a pickle,  

  One last note, I have had considerable difficulty in finding the
young person novels in my area...'

To the best of my knowledge, the SFBC still support the Johnny Maxwell
trilogy and the Bromeliad. Look out for The Amazing Mauirce (DW *and*
YA combined!) in the fall.

"My trouble is not in getting her to read your books, but in
preventing her from reading some of the more difficult ones too soon."

Well now... no one one directed my reading so I grew up reading 'more
difficult' books and just filled in my education as I went.  It seemed
to work.  I'd let her make her own way (although be prepared to explain
what Nanny Ogg is talking about...:-)

Terry
  

    
Nanny Ogg can be hard to explain to a somewhat knowledgeable adult. 

I think a lot of stuff like that goes over a child's head. I remember
reading things when I was much younger (older books they said) which I
didn't pay much attention to - until I read it when I got older. Of
course, children learn those grown up things much younger these days
but it would be a good place to start teaching about stuff you're going
to have to tell them one day. 

Which brings to mind another question:

How much did you have to do with the Nanny Ogg Cookbook? Are we ever
going to get the passages that were covered by memo notes? 
  

    

>preventing her from reading some of the more difficult ones

Any parent that presumes to do this should be publically humiliated to
within an inch of their life.  The alleged "difficulty" of reading
materials should be the *last* thing on any parent or guardian's mind.
Appropriateness of content given the child's age and emotional maturity,
maybe.  Use of complex grammar and vocabulary, absolutely *NOT*.  For
one thing, the kid probably understands a lot more than you'd ever be
willing to believe.  For another thing, the way one learns those things
is by encountering them, and withholding that experience is just cruel.
  

    
Be nice, rab.  But.  I can speak to the joys of reading books that
were too old for me when I was a kid and being able to discover all the
stuff that just went over my head as a kid when I reread as an adult. 
Sadly, my eleven year old just can't get half the stuff I hand him and
is starting to distrust my recommendations.  My nine year old is a big
fan of Susan though.
  

    

   *grumble*   Well, okay, I'll be nice.   It's just that I remember
having to sneak access to books that were supposedly "too difficult"
for me when I was in grade school, and I later turned out to be one
of the "gifted" students and then everyone fell all over themselves
to make sure I had anything at all that I wanted to read.  I'm quite
sure that many many kids could read more than the parents/teachers
will 'let' them if only given a chance.

   Of course, every kid develops at a different rate, as witness
your eleven and nine year olds.  I've got nothing at all against the
sort of careful parent who doesn't try to get their kid to read a book
that's way out of reach -- I can see where that could be just as bad
for the kid as trying to keep them away from something they want to try
reading.
  

    

From donna@arecompany.com Tue Jul 24 15:12:30 2001
Date: 24 Jul 2001 21:48:36 UT
E-mail from Donna:

Well having been gently chided by the author and thouroughly castigated by
Mr. Bob Rabid, I still say --- that having provided my just turned 11 year
old daughter with the first 3 DW novels, and having then read through them
and answered her questions honestly, I do have the privelege? of being
allowed to make a judgement call over what I feel she is emotionally and
intellectually ready for as far as "adult" fiction is concerned.  Since I did
generalize under the term "difficult" when grouping the other books together
I suppose I opened myself up for Public Humiliation within an inch of my life
- that having been stated, I still believe that just as you would not burden
a child with a 60Lb. suitcase to carry, you don't necessarily need to expose
them to the full spectrum of innuendo and adult themed dialogue either.  And,
no, I don't let my kids watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Dawson's Creek.
They are growing up fast enough - and I think that maybe, just maybe, she
ought to read Alice Through The Looking Glass before she reads Witches Abroad
-- what do you think?
  

    
More e-mail from Donna:

changing the subject away from 11 year olds, I just called my local inde
store to find out about the new rereleases - and we are finally going to have
Guards Guards! --- its been out of print here in the states for what over 10
years? -- really looking forward to that and to "The Last Hero" as well