![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greygirlbeastYes, a new name for the blog. Names come and names go. They can have no more permanence than may faces. Yesterday, I was seized by the need for a change, so thank you, Elvis Costello. Also, I think I won't much longer feel like "greygirlbeast." I think, in my older years, I may simply become "Aunt Beast" (thank you, Madeleine L'Engle and also Joah). If the shoe fits...but sadly, I don't think I can ever change the name of this account.*
There's a rather marvelous review at Zone-SF.com, one of the best I've read of The Red Tree. I have only one quibble, and it's that the reviewer veers off course near the end by assuming knowledge of authorial intent. I do not see The Red Tree as a book meant to go "raising those hairs on the back of the neck." If it does that for you, fine. But do not expect that effect. I'm not the one who labels me "horror" (or whatever). And yeah, this does matter. If a reader perceives a text as existing within a given genre, then they burden it with the expectations of that genre, shoeboxing it and expecting it to deliver X or Y or Z, when it's very likely the author was going for Q or G. Any book may only fail or succeed on its own merits, not relative to any other book, or based on how well it works when perceived as any given genre.
Still, a really good review. And I hope I don't sound ungrateful, because I don't mean to. But the Constant Reader will recall what a sore spot this is for me.
---
Now, the Mars story. It would seem that I was asking one too many stories of myself this autumn. And the story wasn't coming...again. Even after I reshelved "Romeo and Juliet Go to Mars" and began "On a Lee Shore." I lost a week staring at the screen, and staring, and not writing. Fortunately, the anthology's editor (both TBA) has accepted "Tidal Forces" in lieu of a Mars story. So, all's well that ends well (even though I did lose that week). Now, I just have to get Sirenia Digest written, and get back to work on The Drowning Girl. Oh, and pull together the ms. for Two Worlds and In Between for subpress. That's not so much...
Please have a look at the current eBay auctions. Bid if you are able and so inclined. Still recovering from the joys of income taxes. Thanks.
---
So...Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The highlights. Well, on Friday, I tried to write a Mars story, but I've covered that already. I also got a really big box of Mike Mignola books from Rachel Edidin at Dark Horse Comics, who it seems may soon be my editor. I've already devoured the first two "library editions" of Hellboy. "Pancakes" is sheer brilliance. The books were the best bit of Friday. Reading the comics, I'd swear Mignola wrote the character with Ron Perlman in mind.
On Saturday, it became obvious to me the Mars story wasn't happening any time soon, and I contacted the aforementioned editor. Also, we watched the latest episode of Fringe, which was especially good.
Yesterday, we left the House. I'd not been out since the 9th, and the weather was good (today, it's not). We just wandered about town, east of the river. There were antique shops on Wickenden Street, and another trip to What Cheer at Wayland Square. There was an exquisitely embellished old car. There was an Indian grocery on Hope Street. We saw a sad clown driving a car. There were late splashes of autumn. There were two wonderful toy shops. We were good kids, and bought nothing. So, a good day, despite my agoraphobia, despite my ouranophobia. I kept my eyes on the ground, and all was well. Okay, not the entire time. I had to look up the three times Spooky spotted sundogs. But sundogs do not inspire dread or unease. It was a good day.
Back home, there were deli sandwiches, and I spent most of the evening with City of Heroes and Villains (while Spooky played LOTR Online; it's weird, us playing two different MMORPGs). My thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stsisyphus for giving me a lot of help last night actually learning how to play the game. Verily, he has the patience of a glacier. And thanks to "Sekhmet" and "Enth'lye" for very good rp later on. Lizbeth, who is Erzébetta from the future, is regaining her glamour, even as she realizes she's not from the same timeline as this Erzébetta. Mistakes were made, which is why you should never try this at home, that whole fiddling with time thing. You never know which of the multiverses you'll land in...or create. Oh, very good rp on Saturday night, which was mostly Erzébetta and Sekhmet reliving the horror (yes, here the word applies) of a long ago night at Castle Csejte (near Trencín, Hungary), what really happened.
I will not thank Monsieur Insomnia, who kept me awake until after 5 ayem (CaST).
Sincerely Yours, By Any Other Name,
Aunt Beast
...I am a goat girl.
Thinking goatish thoughts, dreaming goatish dreams,
Digging up tin cans, and chewing on your sleeve. —— Tanya Donelly
The fading dregs of autumn.
The exquisitely embellished old car.
Again, exquisitely embellished old car.
What Cheer, below Myopic Books.
The Indian grocery, so now we know where to go for various things.
All photographs Copyright © 2010 by Caitlín R. Kiernan and Kathryn A. Pollnac.
* I see that "auntbeast" is taken, but "aunt_beast" is not.
There's a rather marvelous review at Zone-SF.com, one of the best I've read of The Red Tree. I have only one quibble, and it's that the reviewer veers off course near the end by assuming knowledge of authorial intent. I do not see The Red Tree as a book meant to go "raising those hairs on the back of the neck." If it does that for you, fine. But do not expect that effect. I'm not the one who labels me "horror" (or whatever). And yeah, this does matter. If a reader perceives a text as existing within a given genre, then they burden it with the expectations of that genre, shoeboxing it and expecting it to deliver X or Y or Z, when it's very likely the author was going for Q or G. Any book may only fail or succeed on its own merits, not relative to any other book, or based on how well it works when perceived as any given genre.
Still, a really good review. And I hope I don't sound ungrateful, because I don't mean to. But the Constant Reader will recall what a sore spot this is for me.
---
Now, the Mars story. It would seem that I was asking one too many stories of myself this autumn. And the story wasn't coming...again. Even after I reshelved "Romeo and Juliet Go to Mars" and began "On a Lee Shore." I lost a week staring at the screen, and staring, and not writing. Fortunately, the anthology's editor (both TBA) has accepted "Tidal Forces" in lieu of a Mars story. So, all's well that ends well (even though I did lose that week). Now, I just have to get Sirenia Digest written, and get back to work on The Drowning Girl. Oh, and pull together the ms. for Two Worlds and In Between for subpress. That's not so much...
Please have a look at the current eBay auctions. Bid if you are able and so inclined. Still recovering from the joys of income taxes. Thanks.
---
So...Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The highlights. Well, on Friday, I tried to write a Mars story, but I've covered that already. I also got a really big box of Mike Mignola books from Rachel Edidin at Dark Horse Comics, who it seems may soon be my editor. I've already devoured the first two "library editions" of Hellboy. "Pancakes" is sheer brilliance. The books were the best bit of Friday. Reading the comics, I'd swear Mignola wrote the character with Ron Perlman in mind.
On Saturday, it became obvious to me the Mars story wasn't happening any time soon, and I contacted the aforementioned editor. Also, we watched the latest episode of Fringe, which was especially good.
Yesterday, we left the House. I'd not been out since the 9th, and the weather was good (today, it's not). We just wandered about town, east of the river. There were antique shops on Wickenden Street, and another trip to What Cheer at Wayland Square. There was an exquisitely embellished old car. There was an Indian grocery on Hope Street. We saw a sad clown driving a car. There were late splashes of autumn. There were two wonderful toy shops. We were good kids, and bought nothing. So, a good day, despite my agoraphobia, despite my ouranophobia. I kept my eyes on the ground, and all was well. Okay, not the entire time. I had to look up the three times Spooky spotted sundogs. But sundogs do not inspire dread or unease. It was a good day.
Back home, there were deli sandwiches, and I spent most of the evening with City of Heroes and Villains (while Spooky played LOTR Online; it's weird, us playing two different MMORPGs). My thanks to
stsisyphus for giving me a lot of help last night actually learning how to play the game. Verily, he has the patience of a glacier. And thanks to "Sekhmet" and "Enth'lye" for very good rp later on. Lizbeth, who is Erzébetta from the future, is regaining her glamour, even as she realizes she's not from the same timeline as this Erzébetta. Mistakes were made, which is why you should never try this at home, that whole fiddling with time thing. You never know which of the multiverses you'll land in...or create. Oh, very good rp on Saturday night, which was mostly Erzébetta and Sekhmet reliving the horror (yes, here the word applies) of a long ago night at Castle Csejte (near Trencín, Hungary), what really happened. I will not thank Monsieur Insomnia, who kept me awake until after 5 ayem (CaST).
Sincerely Yours, By Any Other Name,
Aunt Beast
...I am a goat girl.
Thinking goatish thoughts, dreaming goatish dreams,
Digging up tin cans, and chewing on your sleeve. —— Tanya Donelly
The fading dregs of autumn.
The exquisitely embellished old car.
Again, exquisitely embellished old car.
What Cheer, below Myopic Books.
The Indian grocery, so now we know where to go for various things.
All photographs Copyright © 2010 by Caitlín R. Kiernan and Kathryn A. Pollnac.
* I see that "auntbeast" is taken, but "aunt_beast" is not.
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 05:37 pm (UTC)Then I started seeing my own work reviewed and saw that when others ascribed intent to me, they were always wrong.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 05:40 pm (UTC)Then I started seeing my own work reviewed and saw that when others ascribed intent to me, they were always wrong.
Unless an author says, up front, "This is my intent," intent is unknowable.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 06:12 pm (UTC)Even then, the author's probably lying!
Yes, or simply mistaken.
I can't times you how many times an interviewer has asked me to say what I was hoping to accomplish with this or that story. Usually, I just make shit up.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 05:45 pm (UTC)You can actually change the name on an LJ account these days. They sell a rename token for it. I have been wondering about changing my own LJ name a lot in the past few months.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 05:46 pm (UTC)You can actually change the name on an LJ account these days. They sell a rename token for it. I have been wondering about changing my own LJ name a lot in the past few months.
Thing is, everyone whose ever linked to it (and we're talking many, many hundreds) would have dead links.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 06:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 06:55 pm (UTC)Nope, it changes them for you, or at least it did when I got one.
Really? I can't even imagine how that would work with all those different websites...
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 07:54 pm (UTC)I'm well beyond my whiskeychick age. Perhaps Lady Bourbon or something much more appropos.
Aunt Beast
Date: 2010-11-15 07:12 pm (UTC)“Well now. First, try not to say any words for just a moment. think within your own mind. Think of all the things you call people, different kinds of people.
While Meg thought, the beast murmured to her gently. "No, mother is a special, a one-name; and a father you have here. Not just a friend, nor teacher, nor brother, nor sister. What is acquaintance? What a funny, hard word. Aunt. Maybe. Yes, perhaps that will do. And you think of such odd words about me. Thing, and monster! Monster, what a horrid sort of word. I really do not think I am a monster. Beast. That will do, Aunt Beast."
from A Wrinkle in Time http://tiny.cc/5lzej
Re: Aunt Beast
Date: 2010-11-15 07:13 pm (UTC)Thank you.
(Though I have been, on occasion, monstrous.)
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 07:28 pm (UTC)Editor for comics or your novels? You tease us here.
"Pancakes" is sheer brilliance.
I think Mignola does a little bit better on the short-form than he does on the long form, and nowhere is this better seen than in that short. If only The Golden Army hadn't had so much dren slapped all over it.
Verily, he has the patience of a glacier.
Beh. I'm just trying to give ya the elementary stuff at a pace you can digest. When I get back from work I'll send you a list of some of the story arcs I think are decent that you might have skipped over (or can play on Liz), in case you want to go play back over them.
I've decided that there are no "red" recipes because in the world of superheroes, that's a recipe for COMMUNISM.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 07:38 pm (UTC)Editor for comics or your novels? You tease us here.
I will cease to tease as soon as I am able.
When I get back from work I'll send you a list of some of the story arcs I think are decent that you might have skipped over (or can play on Liz), in case you want to go play back over them.
Thank you.
I've decided that there are no "red" recipes because in the world of superheroes, that's a recipe for COMMUNISM.
Now I have to make a list of Communist superheroes.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:02 pm (UTC)Actually, Virtue server on CoX actually has a communist-themed supergroup. They just had an anniversary event this last week.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 08:25 pm (UTC)Such as possibly this one? Sure Russia =/= Communist by default, but this is comic books we're talking about.
Actually, I was thinking of American superheroes with red costumes.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-16 03:57 am (UTC)I for one am going to miss greygirlbeast -- as I miss all gray girls, bestial or not.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 07:37 pm (UTC)As for the above, there were plenty of moments in The Red Tree that made me think and reread sections rather than they raised the hairs on my neck. A book I will read again one day.
Thank you Aunt Beast you may well be the best aunt I know.
Cheers
no subject
Date: 2010-11-15 07:56 pm (UTC)I think I like it.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-16 05:47 am (UTC)