30 Days of Genre - Day 21

Day 21 – Genre novel with the most interesting character interactions

Had been having trouble deciding on this one - then I read the very excellent Desdaemona by Ben Macallan (which, if you haven't read it yet, do so, pronto!) - so, answer sorted!

The main interactions being between lead chap Jordan and the titular character Desdaemona - deliciously argumentative and snarky, with some growing affection and nifty surprises thrown in for good measure. Also worthy of note are the interactions between Jordan and his brother Asher, and then the trio together, being pure gold. Could have happily read more of them.

30 Days of Genre - Day 10

Day 10 – Best writing style, or the style that resonates most with you.

Oh good, an easy one! While Charles de Lint writes the stories I most like to read and Kate Griffin has that wicked combo of action prose done with some fantastic quirky stylistic choices and excellent turns of phrase; it is a truth universally acknowledged that the absolute lord high king and emperor of gorgeous prose has to be: Chaz Brenchley/Daniel Fox/(and possibly even Ben Macallan!)

The man delivers the most beautiful writing you'll ever read -lyrical, fabulous, and utterly enchanting, all of which subtly entangles you in the story he's telling. Read Daniel Fox's Moshui books (with their very beautiful covers), read the Selling Water by the River books, read the Outremers. Hell, read everything, you won't be disappointed.

30 Days of Genre - Day 9

Day 9 – Saddest scene in a genre novel.

Ooh, tricky one. Especially since I've got the emotional depth of a puddle in a drought. And the memory of a leaky sieve.

One that springs to mind is the gut punch that is Gage's death in Stephen King's Pet Sematary (and if I could find my copy I'd be able to go into more detail on the why. (Alas, the great house tidy has mysteriously vanished many things...) That whole damn book creeps me out, but Gage's death comes out of nowhere and is utterly tragic.

And, actually, now I think about it, there's a similar such saddest scene in Chaz Brenchley's Shelter (which I also can't find...) - as I recall, there's a particular scene near the end that is all the more wrenching by the fact that when you're reading it, you're absolutely certain there's no way he's not going to deliver the predictable happy ending. And yet... I do recall having to flip back and re-read it a couple of times to check, that, yes, actually, he really did let that happen...

WF Saturday fun

So yesterday was the long anticipated Write Fantastic in Wokingham Library thing. Totally rocked!
I'm sure I've said it before, but Chaz Brenchley and Juliet McKenna are absolutely ace when they do things together and I could totally have listened to them talk on for longer. (Alas, the library time keeper hovered at the door, dead on 1pm so we had to be kicked out.)

So, it was mainly a creative writing seminar thingy. With slides! And handouts! Cool! And a reading list! Of which there are many books I haven't read so I can hit up the local libraries and try and grab them. Will probably have to hit Wokingham rather than my little local one though, as I've already burned through the interesting books that Lower Earley has!

Then there was the workshop portion, which showed how awake (not!) we all were. Basically, picking out the main elements for a new story. Some of the ideas were definitely a bit strange. (magical talking donkey!) But it did highlight how scarily intelligent both Chaz and Juliet are as they were picking out deep and meaningful themes behind lots of the ideas. (Oooch, did my head hurt!)

So, a little head hurty (I'm a simple soul!) but definitely fun. I'd totally go to a WF full day event if they did one.

Write Fantastic get local!

Have just discovered via the BFS news page that the Write Fantastic, in the forms of the fabulous Chaz Brenchley and equally fabulous Juliet McKenna, will be in Wokingham Library doing a creative writing course & discussion on 15th November. This is very exciting news! Finally a local event! :->
Alas there's not many details to be had about it but apparently you can ring the library on 0118 978 1368 for the full info.

Books

Have I mentioned that Chaz Brenchley's River of the World is utterly lush? (As we used to say back when I occasionally went to school...) RotW is the sequel to Bridge of Dreams, (both of which are published by Ace Books, over the pond) and what a sequel it is. Chaz has this wonderful knack with language and a gift for creating vibrant cultures in his books which leaves the average reader utterly spellbound.

But what of the story? River of the World continues the story of Issel, the water seller turned mage & resistance fighter; and Jendre, the general's daughter who married a short lived sultan; and what happened when their two worlds collide...
It is, as you might have guessed, beautifully told, with action and emotional wrenches aplenty - the only flaw being that Jendre's story is wound up too fast at the end - or perhaps it's because what you really want to happen to the bridge doesn't, frustrating one of Jendre's main motivations throughout both books.

I hear tell that Chaz has sold a short story involving a couple of the chaps from Bod & RotW (yay!) - now any chance we can get a story about Armina and her lot? Pretty please...