Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Dodge

"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?"

I wrote all that wasn't recipes, and some of the recipes that were,
shall we say, not cookable, and most of the little notes to the other
recipes.  Stephen did most of the research and some of the recipes,
Tina did all the rest of them.  And, just to bare all, I didn't get
anything for it -- it was done to raise money for the Orangutan
Foundation.  I couldn't expect other people to work for nothing, so
they all got a fee and everything else went to the OF.  I certainly
would let anyone else write Nanny Ogg!

Those memo passages were very carefully constructed!

Terry
  

    

  Donna, if you meant "innuendo and adult-themed" then I wish you had
said so -- as I explicitly said before, that's something very different.
  

    
Donna,

No chiding from here.  It was a suggestion, that was all. DW is -- and
this is me saying it -- considerably less reprehensible than much
adult literature that she might encounter, its heart is generally in
the right place, its language carefully chosen, and Nanny Ogg usually
speaks in code. 

But I'm not inclined to fault you for your approach, either.  You know
your child.  I often find mothers in the signing queues who have come
to pick up a book for their kid, and when I ask if *they* have read DW
they go all hesitant.  Which worries me a little.  I'll stand up for
DW, Nanny Ogg and all, but it's surprising how many parents are happy
to give me a direct route into the child's head on no other basis than
that the Josh Kirby covers look fairly jolly.

Purely personally, and quite genuinely, when I was a kid I found the
original Alice books dark and disturbing.  A kind of madness oozed from
the pages.  I have never understood their popularity.

Terry
  

    
Donna (away from 11 year olds)

HC are making an effort; I wish Roc had!  But the concurrent
publishing has its cost -- The Amazing Maurice has two editors and two
copy editors and, although everyone was good and professional, when I
signed off the US proofs last week I felt I'd read every word of that
book a thousand times.  

Terry
  

    

  On reflection, I feel I should apologize to Donna -- I overreacted to
her choice of words, in a way that was quite inappropriate for this special
forum.  So, my apologies Donna, and I hope you won't decline to participate
here just based on my bad example.

  After all, we're both here because we love Terry's excellent books!
  

    
Emails from Donna (three emails consolidated, 'cause we just got around to posting 'em):

#1
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

#2
last post --- i swear -- (for today anyway), Terry, are you thinking about doing more with the undercover watch - ala Andre in
Masquerade?

#3
last last - I have to say you are probably right about Alice, though I 
remember loving them dearly - the darkness and obscurity delighted me - 
especially since my mother hated them - oh dear, i've talked myself into a 
corner and now I suppose I'd better hand my daughter Wyrd Sisters and Lords 
and Ladies and let her go at it --- Thank you again Terry for such a 
wonderful world
  

    
Banjax!  What is the meaning of banjax?
  

    
As in "completely banjaxed?" Stymied, croggled, that sort of thing is how
I've always heard it. Well, not stymied exactly. More like... um, banjaxed.
Like when your brain goes splunge.

Huh. Online merriam-webster thinks it means damage, ruin, smash. Which
sounds more permanent than I've heard it.
  

    
Omnes...

When you take a big lump of wood and thrust it into the spokes of a
revolving wheel, that wheel is banjaxed!

Terry
  

    
Donna,

"last post --- i swear -- (for today anyway), Terry, are you thinking
about doing more with the undercover watch - ala Andre in Masquerade?"

When required.  Vimes isn't keen on that sort of thing. I personally
would want to know more Inigo Skimmer's colleagues.  There must be lots
of departments in the Palace worth looking at.

"I have to say you are probably right about Alice, though I  remember
loving them
dearly - the darkness and obscurity delighted me - especially since my
mother hated them."

A good parent.  My dislike of Alice is practically visceral.  And I'm
allergic to Victorian humour of the 'why, a teapot on legs, is that not
droll?' school.  It pains me that rubbish like Alice lurches on while
someone like E. Nesbit, hugely good and a much bigger influence on
later children's books, is all but forgotten.

Terry 
  

    
Oh it is wonderful that you like e. nesbit. my daughter had enormous fun
with the psammead when she was eight or nine. and it is so odd that she is
neglected.

which other children's authors do you think should be rediscovered? if any?
  

    
Anadromic,

"Oh it is wonderful that you like e. nesbit. my daughter had enormous
fun with the psammead when she was eight or nine. and it is so odd that
she is neglected."

Full of dead, white, middle-class English males, maybe? Outside the
average child's daily experience?  And, oh dear, escapist fantasy?  It
does seem to me that children's publishing goes though strange periods
of obtuse PC.  I'm glad your daughter had such fun -- I'd really wonder
how modern American kids would take to that Edwardian world.

"which other children's authors do you think should be rediscovered?
if any?"

John Masefield, T H White (particularly Mistress Masham's Repose) and,
let's see, Dennis (spl?) Watkins Pitchford, who wrote under the
initials 'BB'.  Best known of his were the Little Grey Men, Down the
Bright Stream, Brendon Chase and The Forest of Boland Light Railway. 

It occurs to me that in England at least, Tolkien was unusual in that
there was no route to Middle Earth.  You could not get There from Here.
Classically, when children's books were keeping the 'fantasy' fire
alight, others worlds were accessible from this one  -- via spells,
doorways, wardrobes -- or were this world seen from a different angle
(by very small people, say.)


Tove Jansson has, I hope, never been lost in the US, and I also hope
the early Alan Garner stuff is still in print.

Terry
  

    
Bob, 
You were obviously reacting to some "shadows of the past" in your
soul. I've no doubt you suffered greatly as an above-average kid in
average classes. And we, reading here, accept your apology. When I was
in the third grade, we had a reading class and the librarian told us to
pick out a book to take home and read. I chose "The Secret Garden". It
was over 1 inch thick and everyone else in class were picking these
1/4 inch books with large type and lots of pictures. The librarian
looked me in the eye, and then wisely refrained to comment. Now when I
go into a bookstore or a library, I still get that feeling I had when I
turned that book back in - that I am now going to read EVERY BOOK
HERE! I never quite manage it but I have certainly tried hard enough.

Terry, 
I have read and enjoyed all of the "other" books of yours - the
Cookbooks, the Diaries & the maps are amazing. I also read the Science
of the Diskworld(?) v - e - r - y slowly and carefully since I'm not
totally scientific. The concept of "lies to children/lies to wizards"
was very amusing. Now I have to go find a book on chaos theory. When I
read your books I find myself making notes of factual information I
have to look up and review or read about. I even went off and read some
biographical info on the de Medici and Machiavelli.
While reading that I was struck by the fact that Machiavelli was a
servant who worked for the Patricians and he then wrote a book called
"The Prince". And the Patrician of Ankh Morpork is writing a book
called The Servant. I like reading your books because finding little
information gems like that is so much fun and the books are riddled
with mind-stretching references. 

And thank you for the list of really Good children's books. I will get
them and read them and turn them over to my grandson when he's old
enough or gift them to my neices and nephews. 

Oh. And I just got Anne McCaffrey's "Diversity of Dragons". I haven't
been able to look at it (I'm at work right now) but the back of the
book says that it includes Terry Pratchett's dragons. That should be
interesting as well as all the others. 
  

    
there is a simple explanation for my daughter's love of E. Nesbit: we
live in Saffron Walden, a town not unduly changed since the Victorian
age. So more research is needed on American children.

I'll take up Mistress Masham's Repose. The Once and Future King is
almost all wonderful; but less and less of a children's book as you
read through it. The scene where the Queen of Air and Darkness throws a
live cat into boiling water for a charm ...

But I still think Tove Jansson has more adult characters.

On the subject of your own stuff, can you think of any particular
reason why your depiction of evil has got so much better and more
subtle as you have gone on? I'm thinking of little touches, like the
exquisitor who inflicts pain because it's interesting, not becasue he
gets pleasure from it. You seem to have got so much better at depicting
humanity by showing what we would be like with very small chunks
removed. It's like mappng a genome through small mutations.

Oh, and I am that <andrewb> sumac quoted earlier. I thought I would
splash back into the well for this.
  

    
I don't really have any comments to segue with the children's books
discussion (sorry); I loved WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE when I was a kid,
but I missed what seems like it might have been good stuff; Narnia
comes immediately to mind.  I went back to try to read it, but I just
couldn't get into the story, and I wonder if I would have at eight or
nine.  Concerning age appropriate lit, though, well, I read NEEDFUL
THINGS in sixth grade, and realized I'm a writer.  Haven't looked back
since.

I'm posting because I just wanted to tell you, Terry, what a terrific
time I've had reading some of your books (I haven't read them all, and
there have been a number I've liked far more than others).  My
favorite, thus far, has been SOUL MUSIC; I read it and loved it and
laughed hysterically, and then went out and bought a copy for my best
friend for his birthday (he's a guitarist in a recently-disbanded
band).  I also passed GOOD OMENS along to a professor (who did his
doctorate at Yale on Malory and MORTE D'ARTHUR, so *that's* cool), and
he loved it.  He couldn't quite figure out the
demon-getting-caught-in-the-ansaphone thing, which forced me to admit
that, well, I think I just smiled and nodded at that part.

I only have one question; any signing plans for NYC that you know of,
or a reading, perhaps (did I just miss one?  I have a bad feeling I
did.)?  I'd love to get your signature next to Neil's on GOOD OMENS.
  

    
After going through the book Diversity of Dragons (not reading - just
looking at the truly amazing pics), I see one double paged picture in
here of Terry's - it's the scene with the big dragon breathing fire on
AM with Errol flying around and the Watch running about and a wizard
and another fella running away from it. John Howe is the artist that
did all the pics in the book. It's a beautiful picture although, except
for the Watch guys, it's not what I imagine the scene and place looks
likes. That must be one of the major stumbling blocks to people liking
or disliking the cover art on the books. I had one person really tear
into the (UK) book cover for ToT because it wasn't at all what they'd
imagined while I'd found it fairly nice - especially compared to the US
truly boring book cover - but I admit I agree with her on one thing:
I'll have to search the book throuroughly to find where the danged bats
come from.. Well, that's a subject that has totally been discussed to
death.

I see on the front page of the Well a blurb that says people should
come in here and find out what the largest item that you've ever had to
sign is and thought I've read this whole topic, I don't recall you
mentioning that...the largest NUMBER of items and the scythe story, of
course...SO, what IS the largest (sized) item you ever had to
autograph?
  

    

Dodge,

"I even went off and read some biographical info on the de Medici and
Machiavelli."

You may not have come across the fact that Leonardo da Vinci and
Machiavelli once worked for the same  Medici and probably stayed in the
same house for three months.  There's a fireside chat you wouldn't
want to miss...

 
Terry
  

    
Anadromic,

"On the subject of your own stuff, can you think of any particular
reason why your depiction of evil has got so much better and more
subtle as you have gone on?"

I've got older.  When you're young, evil wears a black hat and has a
distant map reference; as you get older, you see that evil is thin and
grey and everywhere.  Evil *is* treating other people as things.

Terry
  

    
Will, 

Thanks for the nice comments.  Er...you missed my Barnes and Noble
signing in mid-May, then?

I doubt if I'll be doing a US tour next year -- in fact it might
already be impossible because I'm signed up for an Oz/NZ one -- but
another one in the near-ish future is likely, I think.  I'll also be at
JerseyDevilCon in early April, if you want to make the short trip
(well, it looks short on the map...)

Terry
  

    
Dodge...again:-)

Rule One: you can never get covers right. 

Largest item?  She must have been well over 200lbs, but a very jolly
lady she was... (and I signed her arm, to forestall your next
question.)

I think she was larger than the guy who had his back and arms tattoo'd
with DW characters and came in to a signing to get me to sign his
wrist -- so he could have the signature tattoo'd, too.

Actually, the largest item was a car.  I've done several.  Fans, eh?
 
Terry
  

    
 How did you feel about signing the tattooed guy?  It must be strange
to have fans so devoted that they want your name permanently etched on
their skin ...
  

    
Terry,
I did miss the mid-May one.  Errggh.  I have an annoying habit of
finding out about truly interesting, wonderful events the day after
they occur.  Happened twice with Neil events (Stardust and Last Angel
Tours)... The Jersey Devil Con- actually, that's my neck of the woods. 
I just work in NYC.  Grew up in Jersey (and have been largely steeped
in Jersey Devil/ Pine Barrens lore).
Do you have a website on which the events are listed, perhaps?  Come
to that, do you have an official website?
And finally, you're welcome.  You earned them.  Actually, I'm writing
a novel at the moment about vampires, and there's an english sagely
sort of guy in it, and, at least physically, I've kind of thought he's
like you looked on the back-covers on some of your paperbacks (you
know, with the fedora, and the salt-and-pepper beard, and sans
glasses).  So, yeah; you're great, and you've much inspired me, so
thanks muchly.
Will
  

    
Ah. Well. Your answer about the largest thing you ever signed also a
answered the NEXT question which was - have you ever been asked to sign
on some part of a fan's anatomy.

And, by the by - they changed the blurb to read the WIERDEST thing you
ever signed instead of the largest. I guess the scythe was the
wierdest?

Well, as such things go - it doesn't sound like your fans are too
totally off the wall. Speaking as an old Star Trek & Science
Fiction/Fantasy (and Doctor Who) fan here who worked in many
conventions (IN costume) in days gone by. 
  

    
Dodge and Rafe...

I know several people with major DW designs on their back, and Paul
Kidby's Death and Death and Death of Rats are, I suspect, amongst the
flash on many a parlour's wall.   I've signed skin a few times knowing
the signature will be etched in.  But it's never worried me.  There's
much weirder people out there than the illustrated men.  They've got
tattoo'd brains, which they did themselves with an unsterilised mental
needle and poisonous ink, and they're probably not the kind of people
who'd queue for a signature from a comic author.

I've signed most of the acceptable parts of the body, and none of the
others.  

Terry 
  

    
Will 

"Do you have a website on which the events are listed, perhaps?  Come
to that, do you have an official website?"

Well, a domain name.  Quite a few. And in September we're definitely
going to make a start that cool web site.  Probably.

Terry