Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
DanGuy: That's wild.  That would be a little bit of a shock.  

Re: Emma sightings.  I've wondered for a while now if it was actually
Emma who came in the back door of Book Soup at the AG signing, kissed
Neil on the cheek, and stepped off to the side, just when I was at the
table.  She seemed so graceful.  I know Tree and others said that they
saw here there, and I'm pretty sure it was her.

<stagewalker>, there was something I wanted to say to you.  What was
it?

JaNell:  Ooo.  Squishing sculpey sounds like so much fun.  I should
have been a potter.  I LOVE the feel of squishing clay and mud and
playdough and papier mache' in my hands.  Toes, too.  When I miss home
the most, I miss the feel of black, black mud between my toes, and the
smell of the sky before a thunderstorm.

Maure:  This dictionary really does count!  I *love* reading the
dictionary.  I just wish I could retain more of it.

Adriana: Thanks for the pointer to your Blog!

My favorite comfort book is THE LITTLE PRINCE.  I have a velveteen
rabbit-style copy that my older sister gave me when I was 10, and
that's the one I want to read when I read it like that.
  

    
Er. I don't know why I said "this" dictionary.  Any one'll do for me.
  

    
DanGuy~Emma Bull is real. I met her at MadCon. No luck on finding her
books around here yet, though.

Pamela~I love squishy. 
The smell that makes me think of here is a weird muddy fish-moldering
leaves mix.
Ooh, and did you see the pretty picture of Cameron & Rowan I just put
up at my blogger? My father-in-law took it at Norris Dam State Park,
which is unfortunately one of the parks closed by our ever lovin'
Guvna...
  

    
<stagewalker>, I remembered!  Saw AMELIE on Friday, and loved it.  The
acting was soooo good and the art direction was gorgeous.  Mostly I
adored it because it was so creative!  It was unique and special and
inspiring--not just because it's upbeat, but because it made me happy
that movies like that are getting made... that somebody's genuine
artistic vision was successfully brought forth into the world.

Thanks for the recommendation.
  

    
JaNell slipped.  That smell description makes me think of the river in
fall, at home.  (I grew up in a river town.)  I'll go look for the
picture!
  

    
Pamela,  for me, it really does matter which dictionary it is.
Merriam-Websters tend to make me angrier. 

JaNell,  where I worked in NYC, I passed a corner where the smell of
sweet roasted nuts melted into pungent falafel spices (not unusual at
all in NYC). It was unpleasant, the first time I walked there, because
the nuts were almost sickly sweet and the falafel was not subtle.
However, I got to like it, and now when I smell one or the other, it
reminds me of that street corner. I can see the layout of the buildings
and the even the men working at both stands. I miss it sometimes. The
photo of your husband and child is a very nice picture. I'm sorry the
park is closed.

I forgot one childhood comfort book, from when I was very little. I
always liked Mom to read The Shrinking of Treehorn to me. I remember
seeing a copy a few years ago, and discovering that Edward Gorey had
done the illustrations for it. I can't remember who wrote it, though,
so I'm off to look it up, and find out if I can buy a copy now.
  

    
Pamela - I believe what you wanted to say to me was "You're brilliant
and I know a casting director who wants to cast you in an intelligent
and fascinating film whose success will allow you to bankroll your own
theatre company."

You were obviously mistaken when you "remembered" it was something
about Amelie. Although I *am* tickled that you enjoyed it so much.
  

    
oh, um, you also forgot that you were going to say that to me too,
Pamela.  yeah.
  

    
Pamela--indeed, Emma Bull does exist and I had a lovely long chat with
her out the back of Book Soup. Not only that, but Neil himself
introduced me to her, after he had very patiently introduced me to
Scott McCloud, his wife (whose name I completely forget because I'm
utterly crap), Sky and Winter McCloud and Will Shetterly.

I say 'very patiently' advisedly because with each introduction I
recall going more and more fan-girl (squeaky voice, being in a complete
flap) and each time Neil would have to say, "Wait a minute, Tree. I
haven't finished yet."

He's a very patient man.

I also handed over the last of my Tim Tams to Emma. And Scott McCloud
signed the copy of 'Reinventing Comics' I bought immediately upon
discovering he was there.

Comfort books? Heavens... there are so many... 'The Phantom Tollbooth'
by Norman Juster, 'Imajica' by Clive Barker, the entire run of
Sandman, 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak, 'Tikki Tikki
Tembo' by some author whose name also escapes me because I'm utterly
crap... loads more. Rainy afternoon, hot choccie, jim jams and fluffy
slippers and a comfort book. YAY!

Tree
Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Perri Pembo has
fallen down the well!
  

    
Dan, Adriana, you're both wrong. What pamela *meant* to say was,
JaNell, I've found someone to pay you to make all the little shiny
trinkets you want to, and write silly stories, and who'll provide you
with all the supplies and every book you've ever wanted to read...
and chocolate, lots of chocolate.
  

    
No, no.  I'm terribly sorry, but you're all wrong.  What I've really
found is someone who'll pay Bill^2 to make all the "pie stiffeners" his
heart could desire.

Um, Bill: Whatever *is* a pie stiffener?

However, I'll send virtual chocolate to anybody.  I'm a chocolate
pimp.

*bouncing up and down*  Tree, Tree!  I know that book!  What book is
it, that Tikki Tikki one?!?

-Pam
who's using up all her creative energy trying to figure out how to
convince Terry Gilliam that he desperately needs Michael to do the
lighting on GOOD OMENS, because he's really, really good, he's worked
in England, and because then Mike can get me on the set.
  

    
(I'm really embarrassed; I can't seem to shut up today.)

The following post, which is addressed to Neil, is hidden due to a
large plot spoiler for GOOD OMENS.
  

    <hidden>
  

    
*grin*

Pamela, the pies in question are made from fabric, mesh and potpourri,
and are meant to be left in the oven while it cools, activating the
potpourri and generally making everybody in the house drool. The
stiffener was for the fabric latticework on the top, which had to be
brushed on after the weaving, and is more or less a slightly thinned
Elmer's Glue.

At this point though, I would be happy to extoll the virtues of pie
stiffener to and/or at anyone who is willing to pay me for the
privilege.
  

    
I forgot to tell the Very Big News from KASFA (Knoxville Area Science
Fiction Association):

We have two new projects in the works~

Zig's brainchild:
A quarterly magazine, content provided by Knoxville Area Jr. & Sr.
High kids; we'll work with the schools, and get submissions of SF&F (in
the broad sense) stories and art; the best will go into the magazine,
with one picked to be critiqued by a published writer (artist for the
art), critique to be included in the quarterly. The professional artist
& writer will be editors, as well as Ziggy & myself. All the
contributors and the participating schools will get a copy.

My puppy:
A Writer/Mentor Program, matching a local unpublished (or possibly
lightly published) writer with a professional published writer as a
mentor. Right now I'm working on the ground rules for this, such as
time, amount of contact, ect.; there are questionaires and whatnot for
the participants to try and get a good working match with realistic
expectations...

Unfortunately, I'm exempt from this program since I'm running it; I
need a mentor something awful! Or maybe just a fat little cartoon
critic to stand over my shoulder and announce, "It Stinks!"
  

    
        On comfort books: I don't really have any to speak of, though it
might count that for years I read Zelazny's _Jack Of Shadows_ at the
beginning of every school year.
  

    
Pamela - see... you're so deeply confused. You've almost got it right.
You're going to get hold of Terry Gilliam and tell him all about
Michael, and me, and Adriana. I understand he probably wants names for
Crowley and Anathema ... and we've been over that already... but
there's always Hastur or Ligur or even Newton Pulsifer (if I cut my
hair short and shave the sinister looking beard that people tell me
looks so malevolent on camera). And Adriana could be loverly as Agnes
Nutter or Sister Mary Loquacious.

You obviously need a prompter.
  

    
E-mail from Kathy Li:

Apropos of romance novels and comfort fiction, I just wanted to say that I 
discovered this weekend for me they're the same thing.  Had a 
holiday/family ... negotiation and after the crying jag, I put my hand out 
to Nora Roberts, and she very kindly hauled me up out of my black pit of 
despair.  I guess I sometimes need to lounge, odalisque-like on a 
chaise-lounge (actually nest in disgusting PJs on a futon, but I'm a 
FANTASY reader, dammit) with a hankie and a box of bonbons to feel better.

jinx, you are not ever remotely crap, and you have friends to remind you: 
her name's Ivy.  And, being Ivy, she wouldn't mind at all that you 
forgot--she might have minded if you'd forgotten Sky and Winter, though :-D.

Neil: thanks!  I read my first James Branch Cabell Poictesme novel last 
week (DOMNEI).  And my second (JURGEN).  And started my third (THE SILVER 
STALLION).  Am enjoying it immensely even though I suck at anagrams (thank 
god for web engines).  Bless me, o spirit of Lin Carter, and wish me luck 
on finding a FIGURES OF EARTH.

--Kathy.
  

    
josparrow - I went to an all-girl Catholic high school, Mills & Boone
and Harliquin romances were as close as we got to the masculine gender.
 And if you got caught with one you would be in serious trouble. Those
nuns were *strict*! 

That was back in the days when one swooned over chaste kisses,
knights-in-shining armor and happy endings. Those uh.."trobbing
manhoods".. weren't on the horizon yet.  Things have changed!

And while there has been a lot of eye-rolling about the romance genre,
I've read that it's a $2 billion a year boon to the publishing
industry. Maybe it's the socially ingrained "girl cootie" factor that
gets in the way of people admitting to reading some really well written
books. Especially historical novels which are apparently considered
just a notch above the traditional "bodice rippers" but still get
tagged as "romance" nevertheless.  For example Diana Gabaldon's
"Outlander" series, which includes time travel, is set in the late 17th
century and early 20th century. It is a wonderful body of work, rich
in historical references and a pleasure to read. However, the book has
been solidly relegated to the romance genre. 

Also, I've also noticed that some women who write hard SF get shunted
into romance if there's the least bit of it in the book.  Something
which doesn't happen to men as far as I can tell.  

Eh..maybe I'm just tired of that genre being considered a dirty little
secret.  After all, some of it got me through high school.  ;>

IIRC didn't Gabaldon also write a blurb for Neil?  
  

    
Now, everybody stop picking on Pamela :^)  Remembering that she saw
"Amelie" and loved it is plenty good enough for me, though (of course)
anything that helps DanW and Adriana scale the heights of stardom is
always welcome (and deserved).

Pamela - I love those planes; they're so huge, they're almost majestic
in how they move.  There are different places around Springfield where
you can see them just as they take off or land, and from a distance,
if the conditions make the air a bit hazy, they look rather ominous and
ghostly wheeling slowly in the sky.  Then there's the sound, which is
unlike any other jet aircraft I've ever heard.

Your story about the Harrier (which was originally designed by the
British, and then purchased by the Marine Corps, btw - don't want any
of our British friends getting upset with us..........well, any more
than usual) reminded me of the airshow I went to at the AFB a few years
ago, and the flyovers that planes from Selfridge used to make over my
hometown's July 4th parade.  The speed, power, and sheer NOISE of the
things is something that no amount of seeing them on television can
prepare you for.  Very much like auto racing (my real passion) in that
respect - you get used to the rather deadened, flattened impression
that TV gives, and when you're actually there, the noise and sheer
violence of one of the cars (or planes) actually blasting past you
takes your breath away.
  

    
I've been thinking about the "comfort books" issue, and I really don't
think I have any - well, none that spring readily to mind.  However,
having happened on "Witness" for the umpteenth time on cable tonight, I
think it qualifies as a Comfort Movie.  I still think the barnraising
is one of the best scenes in the last 25 years, especially because of
the score, and I don't know if I'd ever get tired of watching it.
  

    
Just wrote a huge long post and accidentally bumped the "back"
button......I feel like Neil on the blog ;-)

Just came on to say Happy Channukah!

Tara--you have to leave a message, silly girl!  I've been home for the
last several days, but I never answer the phone unless you talk to the
answering machine--my caller ID is down (where are those
batteries....?)  And no, I am ashamed to say, I have never read any
Emma Bull. I suck.

Mary (who thinks Mike is, as the kids say, da bomb!)
  

    
Oh Rocky Diva Goddess, thanks to the nth degree!!!! It has nothing to
do with romance novels. I've been trying for months to remember the
name of this anime that I love and cannot find anywhere.
Outlanders,.....you rock.

Romance novels,...I have an outstanding collection of them, I've
attempted to write one, once or twice. It's easy but it never feels
right. It's always just like every other one out there, and I'm sure
that I've basically read it before.
When I was a young teenager, I used to raid a neighbor woman's stash,
she was from England and they were way better then the US ones.
I was very off romance novels because for a while, because of the
Cinderella syndrome, the encouraging of young women/girls to believe
that Prince Charming would come riding up and save them.
I was entranced by fairy tales as a child, and found myself devouring
romance novels as I got older, then ended up flat on my butt when it
came to being in an adult relationship. So I regrouped, and rethought,
and after discarding lots of stereotypes I got into an even keel, and
started enjoying romances for what they were supposed to be,
entertainment.

Linda,...wrong Jinx but it's ok, I'm always flattered when I'm
mistaken for a Tree. :)

Comfort books,.....Heinlein,...Job a Comedy of Errors, Susan Cooper's
the Dark is Rising set, DragonSong, DragonSinger, and DragonDrums, they
all make me feel safe and happy.

(slipped by Mary and Rick, who I'm pleased for)
  

    
>>I haven't heard lots of their oterh stuff, but I did order PTF<<
Tara, PTF is probably my favourite of theirs, tho I'm pretty eagerly
looking forward to the new album - our local DJs have been playing the
singles like crazy (poor DJs), and VNV played quite a few.

Don't be jealous of me, tho - Squeaks is the one who got them
in-store. And DJ Hana Solo is the one who was abusing the singer in the
DJ booth the other night.  :-)

S'far as comfort books go, I'd have to say Pride and Prejudice would
be a top one for me - and a romance, tho not a Harlequin style one.
Altho, I wonder if I asked nicely, if Mike would be so kind to do a
Harlequin treatment on it,... *chuckles* ;-)
-Kelly
  

    
Dan Guy: See, now, if I had read Marvel, I might have discovered the
Flash Girls in time to actually see them perform :) I think I moved
back to the Midwest about the same time Emma and Will went to La La
Land. I do remember listening to "Return of Pansy Smith and Violet
Jones" rather non-stop for a while there around the end of my academic
career... But it's all a blur now.

Mary: Phone just rang and rang and rang when I tried to call the other
night. No machine :( Debbie said she thought that meant you wuz online
and stuff. Re: Finder, oh, we SO need to fix that. And I can't tell
you why, yet. But I think "Finder" is back in print as a trade. Now I
know what to get you for Christmas :) You have to read "Double Feature"
too, so then I can pick your brain about which you like better, Emma
or Will's version of the Danceland murders...

On the subject of comfort fic, this actually just came up on a fanfic
list I'm on recently... I find myself re-reading certain books every
two or three years or so, trying to give myself enough time so that the
details fade just a bit and can still surprise me. I think I will
always love re-reading Guy Gavriel Kay's "Tigana" because it just makes
me happy.  I remember Bronwyn from Stars (back when it was on Clark,
before Belmont, anf long before Evanston) making me buy it along with
Emma's "War for the Oaks" before I moved to Spain in 1991. I will
forever be indebted to that girl :)

Other books I regularly re-read because they bring my joy are "How
Much For Just The Planet" by Mike, "L.A. Confidential" by Ellroy,
"Trouble Is My Business" (a nifty collection of Phillip Marlowe short
stories and novellas) by Raymond Chandler, "The Last Uniform" by Peter
Beagle, "Swordspoint" by Ellen Kushner, and "Mairelon the Magician" by
Patricia C. Wrede, and last but not least, "Fortune Made His Sword" by
Martha Rofheart, which is a great big fat bio-novel of Henry V from the
1970s that I simply adore. I think I got it in a garage sale, and keep
finding used copies now and again which I snap up to give to friends. 

Okay, so not all of those are worm-and-fuzzy books. But there is
somehting wonderful about going back and revisiting them when I'm up to
here with work and lfie and stuff, and just want to snuggle down with
a book and a blanket over my knees and a pot of tea.