Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Pretty Much Just a Loooong Ramble...


I really should be grading.


Well, what else is new? I really have no excuse, except that with another snowstorm looming I will probably be trapped in my house the rest of this week. Should give me plenty of time to tackle that pile of unmarked papers.


So what to do in the mean time? I’ve finished (reading) one book—Hood—which is Stephen Lawhead’s retelling of the Robin Hood legends set in 11th century Wales instead of in Sherwood Forest. I’m about a quarter of the way through the second book in the trilogy. The narrative is set within something of a frame story and alternates between first person present tense and third person (limited) past tense. That’s interesting for Lawhead. (I’ve read his Pendragon Cycle as well as far as I remember, he generally sticks to third person. Though now that I come to think of it, perhaps Merlin was in first person. I haven’t read it in so long…) Anyhow, I find myself needing a break from that for a bit.


So…what to read now? All of my Shannon Hale books (except the autographed copy of The Goose Girl, which I don’t want to damage) are in my classroom library or loaned out. (What was I thinking?) I reread Alison Croggon’s Pellinor quartet pretty recently, so that’s a no.


What I really WANT to read is Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief and company. I count her among my top ten favorite children’s authors (hmmm that sounds like a decent, if probably overdone, blog entry.) I’ll save the reasons for loving her writing for another time (in case I end up doing that top ten thingamabob,) but suffice it to say she’s brilliant. And, hey, doesn’t she have another book coming out this spring?


Why, yes, she does! The fourth book in the Queen’s Thief series, A Conspiracy of Kings, is due to hit bookshelves in March or April of this year, depending on the source. Personally, my vote is for March, but I’m ridiculously impatient when it comes to books. Case in point, I asked my awesome Australian friend to buy and ship me a copy of The Singing because it came out a few months earlier there than here. Anyhow, I’m really looking forward to new adventures in Attolia and Eddis and to seeing what Eugenides has up his sleeve this time around.


But that’s not going to happen for at least another month, so back to the problem at hand. No Shannon Hale and no Megan Whalen Turner here at home. Those are who I really want to read right now. So where does that leave me?


In Revisionland.


I wish I’d come up with that term myself, but I can’t take credit. Someone at Verla Kay’s board coined it, or at least that’s where I first spotted it. It’s a painful place (Revisionland, not VK’s,) and I seem to revisit it more often than I visit NYC. Not by choice. I would LOVE to be able to put pen to paper, fingers to keys, or whatever and pen/type/chisel in granite a story that would need no revision. Who wouldn’t? (Oooo, that’s a great answer for the next time someone asks “If you could have one superpower, what would it be?” I’ll have to remember that.) But revision is a part of a writer’s growing pains, I guess.


Speaking of which, I’d better get back to it. If anyone has anything that would be more fun (blog updates, exciting news, bamboo shoots to shove under my fingernails) I love a good distraction!

7 comments:

  1. I want "A Conspiracy of Kings" SO BAD!!!! According to MWT's official site, it's coming out March 23rd (really :-)). http://home.att.net/~mwturner/index.html

    Good luck in Revisionland! My least favorite place to visit, I fear...

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  2. I KNOW! Her plotting and characterization are to die for! The solid March 23rd date makes me so very happy; now I just have to figure out a way to make sure I actually get it that day. The bookstores around me didn't have Forest Born for ages after it came out. I wonder if I pre-order through amazon if I'll get it that day or if it ships that day.

    As far as Revisionland, ditto. I've done a great job of avoiding it so far today!

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  3. I pre-ordered it at my local indie, but they said it won't be in until April, so I might have to un-order it and hunt it down at one of the larger chains on March 23rd. Because I can't BEAR the thought of not buying it the instant it's available. :-)

    Yay for avoiding Revisionland!! I'm currently in WIP-land, but will be back in the dreaded R-land in another month or so. Your projects sound like a lot of fun!!

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  4. I'm in WIP-Land too. I seriously think I have ADD when it comes to writing, lol. I bounce from project to project. What are you working on? What do you generally write (genre, etc.)?

    I wonder if a larger store like Borders would pre-order and have it in March 23rd.

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  5. I can never seem to concentrate on more than one project at a time, although I repeatedly try! I applaud your ADD-ness! :-)

    I'm a YA fantasy girl, though my current WIP is sort of flirting with sci-fi. Sort of.

    Borders or B&N might be the way to go...

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  6. Ooooo, I'm also YA fantasy. Don't applaud my ADD, though. It keeps me from accomplishing anything, lol. When you finish your draft, if you need a read-through, let me know. I'm always looking for people with whom to trade mss.

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  7. Yay YA fantasy! And I might take you up on the manuscript swap. :-)

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