Here’s the review…edited by me to remove stuff that shouldn’t be revealed ahead of time: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY June 14, 2010 06/14/2010 Fiction Prospero in Hell L. Jagi Lamplighter, Tor, $25.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-7653-1930-2 In this epic sequel to 2009’s Prospero Lost, Lamplighter continues the Amberesque adventures of an ancient family caught up…
Last week, we discussed the Payload Moment—the moment that lifts or deepens a given scene or character. This week, I promised to discuss how to do this. But first…a confession. In Gone With The Wind, the little slave girl Prissey declares boldly that she has helped women give birth many times. But…
Just got a nice review from Publisher’s Weekly for Prospero In Hell. I’m not going to post it because they revealed more than someone who hasn’t read the book should know, but…hey. How cool!
When asked as part of a school project, who he would call if he could call anyone in the world, my eldest son picked Jesus. (He wrote the J, backward…so it was written Lesas…but he meant to write Jesus.) I was touched by this and puzzled. Touched that my son wanted to call Jesus…puzzled as to…
Well, it’s been two weeks now, and it is still raining monkeys. Every morning, like clockwork, somewhere between eleven and thirteen blue monkeys come raining down the stairs. Every evening, they get counted and carried back up to spend the night in their barrel. (In between, I put them on the table, so that people…
For years, we have gone to movies rarely, despite that we love them, because they are so very, very expensive. But, last year, about this time, something amazing happened. John pulled out his wallet to buy the tickets and the man behind the counter said, "Oh, you have a military CAC card! That will be $5.00 each."…
I guest blogged for a friend today. Excerpt: Yesterday, I met my first grader at the bus after school. As we walked home, he asked suddenly:, “Mom, why do you write fantasy?” I must admit, I was taken aback. I did not have an easy answer ready on the tip of my tongue…
The raven Thought whispers the secret of the PayloadMoment into Odin’sear Payload: Every scene/fight/sex scene should have some moment that moves the plot along or heightens awareness, drawing the reader into something greater. Villains should reveal something important during a fight, and romantic partners should learn more about each other or reveal secrets. …
I would wish for the Cherubim to be wise and whole. My life would be improved in a number of ways. It might be harder in a number of ways, too…but both of those things–any effect on my life at all–is so much not the point.
I had a chat with my daughter yesterday. In many ways, our first coversation. She came in where I was supposedly taking a rest and started chatting about her friends in China — her "little sister" is very sad because she had two close friends, Ping-Ping and another, and now both will be in America. —…