tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19105789848996414952024-03-13T21:39:01.291-07:00Speaking in CommunityStella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-47677499620647254492018-11-05T18:19:00.000-08:002018-11-05T18:21:48.940-08:00Don’t Kill Off the Hero!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;">George RR Martin</span> thought he had started a trend when he
allowed Eddard Stark to get executed in the second book. Betrayed and vocal fans
stopped reading right when secondary characters like bastards and dwarves stepped
up to fill the void.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fans who followed the <span style="color: yellow;">Game of Thrones</span> TV series should have
seen the execution coming, since <span style="color: yellow;">Sean Bean</span> seldom makes it to the second reel
(<i>Lord of the Rings, Golden Eye, The Island</i>). There’s even an online game for
how Bean will die in his next movie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By way of example for those who are NOT Game of Throne fans…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Conners on TV without <span style="color: yellow;">Roseanne</span> is like The Jackie
Gleason Show without Gleason. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfLjolNKoA42aJUU22hiZIfXpELifl0uWNSKWgQXnpsdXEYEsPZTzj01BxhvtsRcYps2k9t0JxFqxYy_8b3sCs_x0eSZlgHN2qS_YaT_qRdRCX2Cu_QNapmT6phS8J0rPtCTmvxol0rg/s1600/Conners.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="261" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfLjolNKoA42aJUU22hiZIfXpELifl0uWNSKWgQXnpsdXEYEsPZTzj01BxhvtsRcYps2k9t0JxFqxYy_8b3sCs_x0eSZlgHN2qS_YaT_qRdRCX2Cu_QNapmT6phS8J0rPtCTmvxol0rg/s200/Conners.jpeg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We see clearly how secondary (in talent) the
other characters are even after decades of watching them grow up on screen. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And now we have the final season of <span style="color: yellow;">House of Cards</span> without
Frank Underwood because <span style="color: yellow;">Kevin Spacey</span> was shamed for his life style choices.
Critics laud the performance of <span style="color: yellow;">Robin Wright</span> as Claire Underwood Hale, but can
she save the plot line? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loyalty to a husband even after he’s disgraced or dead or
both is admirable. Efforts to hold onto power to “finish his work” seldom works.
The original concept was a satire on the presidency of the Clintons similar to
the TV show Secretary of State is a play on Mrs. Clinton in that office. <span style="color: yellow;">Tea
Leoni</span> shows the requisite bleeding heart approach while she and hubby and staff
address current issues with outcomes the Democrats prefer (sort of like <i>West
Wing</i> decades ago). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03oIiQtqBVtHpEa6JHDDmyhVPIDIGRbUZTz87md1l3aP23XCmyAmEq8SqVFF_jgFA1egmCibV8pOVMO0HBS2DrK6TWre1DiXdgpARsuh7Rs8nUyo952qzAuv8sAzVgTsasoY8HZqng3c/s1600/Tea_Leoni.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="195" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03oIiQtqBVtHpEa6JHDDmyhVPIDIGRbUZTz87md1l3aP23XCmyAmEq8SqVFF_jgFA1egmCibV8pOVMO0HBS2DrK6TWre1DiXdgpARsuh7Rs8nUyo952qzAuv8sAzVgTsasoY8HZqng3c/s200/Tea_Leoni.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**Spoiler Alert**<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can House of Cards shows the first woman president with
balance since there’s no role model yet? Unfortunately, no. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Claire Hale is more <span style="color: yellow;">Cersei Lannister</span> than Margaret Thatcher.
President Hale is pregnant through an artificial process to secure the family
fortune for heirs, as it was explained. Claire becomes untouchable in the worse
way, like one of those toads whose skin gives off toxins. The need for power
reigns supreme and any touch from friend or foe is a touch of death. This theme
works for lead female characters in both HoC and GoT.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhFczMLdZjb1vaWJsn5B5Gq6jBeJDGQHaO7b6t-B-8lF0KbNBF7Sf3LD8IaVxZbUB9kf9hWXtvWiqCxsT4_Z5XraBM-Se20UcmHJZdJ_1wvTvRfJQ7p9KyAVXEqnQxDqAkFZClj8TVBY/s1600/Cersei.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhFczMLdZjb1vaWJsn5B5Gq6jBeJDGQHaO7b6t-B-8lF0KbNBF7Sf3LD8IaVxZbUB9kf9hWXtvWiqCxsT4_Z5XraBM-Se20UcmHJZdJ_1wvTvRfJQ7p9KyAVXEqnQxDqAkFZClj8TVBY/s200/Cersei.jpeg" width="133" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was struck by how many scenes showed President Claire Hale
silhouetted against a stark background displaying her baby bump in tight
dresses but without friend or colleague, even after she seats an all-female cabinet
– a move that was not challenged as discriminatory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To balance President Hale’s power grab, we have rich
siblings Annette and Bill Shepherd who represent a “third party” of money in
politics who work to unseat President Hale as soon as she’s sworn into the
office. None of the seasons of House of Cards were concerned with the timing of
real campaigns and 4-year terms. The will of the people or party were discarded
and “regular order” has no meaning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCm9pChnvJaVCd0rYXw_tQxekKdp5STWd3-LT0nzP96f4p1_eIICbGMkKGIp0cM_IGBoS6A-CxWJaPVw405p2pB1quEOudJiba7bvhy0WI7Ht7Iez3QIPm9c77HZXvrxWXCiCJP-c5Fec/s1600/Hale_Shepherd.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCm9pChnvJaVCd0rYXw_tQxekKdp5STWd3-LT0nzP96f4p1_eIICbGMkKGIp0cM_IGBoS6A-CxWJaPVw405p2pB1quEOudJiba7bvhy0WI7Ht7Iez3QIPm9c77HZXvrxWXCiCJP-c5Fec/s1600/Hale_Shepherd.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Annette Shepherd, played by <span style="color: yellow;">Diane Lane</span>, was a classmate of
President Hale back in middle school, highly improbable but useful for
flashbacks that fill in the blanks. The story line rides along on questions of
etiquette for rich girls of the Old South. The rivalry is personal as much as
about power, and the subplots are predictable and wobbly. Annette’s son was
really the housekeeper’s son by Bill Shepherd. Sound familiar? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Characters are dropping like victims of the flu and the
final episodes take on the flavor of <span style="color: yellow;">King Lear</span> where all scores are settled
through death or suicide. I wasn’t certain about the fate of Jane Davis
(<span style="color: yellow;">Patricia Clarkson</span>) since her migraines seemed to increase the closer she got
to the Russian leader, like opposing sides of a magnet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Claire is the last man standing and with blood on her hands,
and still pregnant, unless you count the unemployed and persecuted reporter Janine
Skorsky (<span style="color: yellow;">Constance Zimmer</span>) who carries the torch of justice for discarded
victims.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhNOvCco9rk2fvfJ51l8y2medVG1soiU6sUwg4sF4tHUQYXvRCE-0yDZ2su0X4I0eSPVoh0eVF6qrlV1FXuiVIRYov8Ram2Y4vE0viRUi4eeyVXmuxlFaEpGbmpjXb3eSVpC2-_YKN14/s1600/Macbeth.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhNOvCco9rk2fvfJ51l8y2medVG1soiU6sUwg4sF4tHUQYXvRCE-0yDZ2su0X4I0eSPVoh0eVF6qrlV1FXuiVIRYov8Ram2Y4vE0viRUi4eeyVXmuxlFaEpGbmpjXb3eSVpC2-_YKN14/s200/Macbeth.jpeg" width="132" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love strong roles for women, but not at the expense of
soul or womanhood or even probability. The plot had many absent features that
could have driven an understanding of real power in the White House. The
timeline is compressed and not tied to the stream of current events, so the
story feels more <span style="color: yellow;">Lady MacBeth</span> than wish fulfillment for feminist Democrats. At
least, I hope this series is not the stuff of their dreams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-63744792916320615042018-09-14T09:32:00.000-07:002018-09-14T10:31:37.341-07:00Helena Bonham Carter Steals the Show<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7H6FQov2iizLSP7N3BJUkcdp4OU54hA2PGgd3Tf_cGV41s97pDNeSE8N2fPHMdhUYZcy5p2w27gkv6KCaAv-vKpVrD4ehH9SygLFAHQ9OgU7qGDw5nLsf5x-cYMlfy3fkSR_U15xHpg/s1600/Carter+costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7H6FQov2iizLSP7N3BJUkcdp4OU54hA2PGgd3Tf_cGV41s97pDNeSE8N2fPHMdhUYZcy5p2w27gkv6KCaAv-vKpVrD4ehH9SygLFAHQ9OgU7qGDw5nLsf5x-cYMlfy3fkSR_U15xHpg/s200/Carter+costume.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">She has saved more than one
movie like Kenneth Branagh’s <u>Cinderella</u> that was about to sink under
its own weight before Helena Bonham Carter made a cameo appearance as the fairy
godmother, injecting much-needed modern tones into the well-known story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">In <u>Oceans 8</u> Carter
serves with a ensemble cast led by understated Sandra Bullock as Danny Ocean’s
sister Debbie, and with the stillness of the “recently incarcerated,” and Cate
Blanchett wearing skin-tight leather pants in every other scene. Comparisons to
how well a-list actors performed in Oceans 11+ are inevitable, since both
movies were produced by Steven Soderbergh and based on characters developed by the late George Clayton Johnson (for Sinatra’s Oceans 11).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-0RLa1Om9SZ_RA1K7GfOUnm0TdKfMrLJ6Kvue8J1w613RwzQOzw0P31qLDpoaTFp_bjz62yGfCi3ctRTzvI5uOvIdcsDXJLhZ9tHzuaXCbg6WHQQnhPNdX7qG7ds8V16VN4kHgzSakM/s1600/Oceans2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-0RLa1Om9SZ_RA1K7GfOUnm0TdKfMrLJ6Kvue8J1w613RwzQOzw0P31qLDpoaTFp_bjz62yGfCi3ctRTzvI5uOvIdcsDXJLhZ9tHzuaXCbg6WHQQnhPNdX7qG7ds8V16VN4kHgzSakM/s320/Oceans2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">A story in three acts, Oceans
8 starts with assembling the team of grifters, the actual jewelry heist, and
the later worries about getting away with it that includes a tasty twist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Bullock sets the tone so
other actors must play to her Clutch-Cargo delivery where her face seems frozen
with botox. Bullock’s bright moments include a Heidi Klum impersonation in
German for stalling the museum guards while Blanchett and friends do the wet
work. Viewers noticed that the women had to call in a guy, </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Shaobo Qin as Yen, the acrobatic “grease
man” from the Oceans movies, for the actual heist.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Racial diversity is observed
with a hacker (Rhianna), a pickpocket (Awkwafina), and a jewelry maker (Mindy Kaling)
rounding out the team. Rhianna has several good moments injecting street humor
into the stabilizing shop-lifting worldview of Bullock. Only Anne Hathaway gets
to act out as the spoiled movie star and supposed mark for their highly
convoluted sting to steal a six-pound diamond necklace called the Toussaint at
the Met Gala.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAnrk8vG4NSWQkhxdH0c0b6beJ9OjDRYN4IH-sMXcN6DGwHng_S_TMNYGyPbWMS-vdlDVlJ77rUC8zLeMYaNH90R7jLxvO4RoAE9V6WozadCaI7ogaMPPjpxTuteB_YMvravvvOX6QjI/s1600/Oceans3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="700" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAnrk8vG4NSWQkhxdH0c0b6beJ9OjDRYN4IH-sMXcN6DGwHng_S_TMNYGyPbWMS-vdlDVlJ77rUC8zLeMYaNH90R7jLxvO4RoAE9V6WozadCaI7ogaMPPjpxTuteB_YMvravvvOX6QjI/s320/Oceans3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Habit patterns are
believable for real women, not apeing the men, or trying to appeal to the men,
but pursuing their own interests. Characters live close to the street in NYC so
that visiting the fence living in the suburbs (Sarah Paulson), the only happily
married character who regularly lies to her daughter about her profession, has
the same feel that visiting the suburbs always has. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Spectacle is provided
especially for entrances and exits in ball gowns borrowed from Vogue, cameos
for aging actresses like Marlo Thomas, and tongue-in-cheek jibes (“the ego has
landed”) at the cork-screwed ex-lover played by Richard Armitage. I especially
liked Paulson’s infiltration of </span><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";">Anna
Wintour’s Vogue operation that managed the Met Gala. The world belongs to women
who know how to dress. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Back to Helena Bonham Carter
whose dialogue is bright, especially for the bits they throw her way. (“I
sweat.”) Carter out-acts Bullock and Blanchett in her first scene as an
over-the-hill designer deeply in debt to the IRS. She uses an Irish accent and
excellent comic timing in her scene to view the six-pound necklace at Cartier,
carrying the plot without having to explain it.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgju6Db7oTZgHDk2lACHk9qAtHScy_wzVWyXq-drpy-_u4EDhJuqrkPnWDyntIV4aulGnYwjuZExSgYKgL4VdS3hksMegHvXnK_NMNz7-71sli7eswh6XuCToGryBpOlrIkd2mmWFPu_r0/s1600/Carter.Hath.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgju6Db7oTZgHDk2lACHk9qAtHScy_wzVWyXq-drpy-_u4EDhJuqrkPnWDyntIV4aulGnYwjuZExSgYKgL4VdS3hksMegHvXnK_NMNz7-71sli7eswh6XuCToGryBpOlrIkd2mmWFPu_r0/s200/Carter.Hath.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Carter’s costume while she
accompanies Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) on the red carpet, matched by the
home-made headdress and understated mugging, easily outshines Hathaway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The story’s third act is
saved by a natural performance from James Corden as the insurance adjuster who
brings a Brit attitude to NYC that seems to balance the faux-feminist coolness
of the team of grifters. He has a history of catching the Ocean siblings for
their sins and accuses Bullock of a “two-fer” (the heist and revenge by framing
the ex-lover) without the punch of demanding jail time for the heist. “Eventually, you'll have to let go of this [revenge]," he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA11UXDvP7ge8PtNC2XQGgOxZppyLTVJK_lB_5Hs66QnrA7CiKBYA0K3vpM8tvUFF1lPPW6A6uMaJ7FS2Wqk1ppq4lBK3qIVmv2DIPW2RVY65xdFiiSbz4TS0D2CbN0OAPLd8OumJIw8A/s1600/Oceans+Corden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="861" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA11UXDvP7ge8PtNC2XQGgOxZppyLTVJK_lB_5Hs66QnrA7CiKBYA0K3vpM8tvUFF1lPPW6A6uMaJ7FS2Wqk1ppq4lBK3qIVmv2DIPW2RVY65xdFiiSbz4TS0D2CbN0OAPLd8OumJIw8A/s200/Oceans+Corden.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Of course, the story has a
big hole in the plot. The fake for the stolen necklace is re-evaluated by Cartier on its return
to the vault, prompting the story’s third act about getting away with it.
However, the other zircon pieces are not re-evaluated upon return and found to
be fakes? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">All-in-all, a satisfying
chick film that can be watched more than once, if only to savor Carter’s acting skill.
Also, Rhianna may have a future in movies. I’m looking forward to several sequels.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-80519178369459851112018-06-29T12:19:00.002-07:002022-05-05T09:48:49.023-07:00Hollywood (Still) Doesn’t Get It
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Hollywood has granted
quality roles to women more frequently in the new century. Many well-written
characters are for a TV series such as </span><u style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Little Big Lies</u><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">, but we have
learned to not complain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6EgXgVirSexSBfl4Gi4ZlXaq85lsNthBiuOSaLCCcEKnuQavaev2vX0n2HgxPBUn9pekSXwdPtAXwf1Aor63ptggHV1p7iiw40aqJVtpWpTo0pnQtnzQTEkl4ez7xtvktZnq0mYzZSc/s1600/LC+swinging.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6EgXgVirSexSBfl4Gi4ZlXaq85lsNthBiuOSaLCCcEKnuQavaev2vX0n2HgxPBUn9pekSXwdPtAXwf1Aor63ptggHV1p7iiw40aqJVtpWpTo0pnQtnzQTEkl4ez7xtvktZnq0mYzZSc/s1600/LC+swinging.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In this decade of movie remakes
and gender adjustments, the reboot of <u>Lara Croft: Tomb Raider</u> was
inevitable, I suppose. Director Roar Uthang moves from developing video games
to movies with this outing, so the action sequences are in place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The race to recover her pack
stolen by a wharf street gang allowed a very buff Alicia Vikander (<u>Light
Between the Oceans</u>) as Lara to depend on her wits and using some Captain
Jack Sparrow jumps with wharf equipment. I especially enjoyed the later
sequence for the rotting Japanese bomber that tumbles down the waterfall in a
series of responses to Lara’s weight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Upon analysis, though, my
hackles are raised for underlying gender assumption typical of Hollywood
archetypes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lara’s father (played by
Dominic West) has a Stark-like business empire but leaves Lara isolated on the
family estate with no business training or martial arts training from a misguided
need to protect her. Completely isolated, Lara is forced into a pattern of
self-taught skills and chip-on-her-shoulder self-reliance.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-uOWoP2Rj_j1dN6P0xchmTgmBEHCmyFG7Vmqoge_xbawrAwKv5XGYuiQnpeG8uXb2B1f0f41Z2gx6WFOhd7TPcvMIWllPmlN9Sa-zOegCch1XQKvNd7WvjkGnW5g3KGmTSW48lEAvAW4/s1600/LC+daddy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="620" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-uOWoP2Rj_j1dN6P0xchmTgmBEHCmyFG7Vmqoge_xbawrAwKv5XGYuiQnpeG8uXb2B1f0f41Z2gx6WFOhd7TPcvMIWllPmlN9Sa-zOegCch1XQKvNd7WvjkGnW5g3KGmTSW48lEAvAW4/s200/LC+daddy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hello, Hollywood!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A son in this situation would be trained for
an executive position as the heir apparent. His skills training would include Asian
masters and ex-military types on daddy’s payroll. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">**spoiler alert**<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So Daddy has gone missing,
but Lara in her pride doesn’t sign into access to his billions but hones her
skills as an East London bike courier. The visual transition from born-to-the-manor
supposed shrinking violet to spunky street kid is painful to watch. Lara even
pawns her only jewelry, a gift from Daddy, to finance the travel to Asia and
her first real adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My complaint is always the
same. Where are Lara’s sisters and cousins and aunts and sorority sisters and
rich girlfriends who have entered the university or business or the stock
market? Where is the aging mentor who happens to be the Asian ambassador’s
wife? A good ol’ boy support system exists for the male comic book heroes, but
not for Lara Croft.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJTbd2QS8SbycuXs17MVG0W77r7Pu0BumcQ67oUcA6RmyYmx6UO91cEinUFrd3aeWHFwj2_08xip6Aomi3-aSMxnf37xtdTSaQceIj93v_Qh-RmdUD0jj_yQ29Y-srICYsQwIjGbdIwA/s1600/LC+bike.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJTbd2QS8SbycuXs17MVG0W77r7Pu0BumcQ67oUcA6RmyYmx6UO91cEinUFrd3aeWHFwj2_08xip6Aomi3-aSMxnf37xtdTSaQceIj93v_Qh-RmdUD0jj_yQ29Y-srICYsQwIjGbdIwA/s200/LC+bike.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It’s true that Batman had an
aging mansion and inherited wealth. It’s true that Indiana Jones went on at
least one adventure following the clues left by his dad. Except both
(originally cartoon) characters had a battery of colleagues from the police,
university, adventurer sidekicks, foreign traders, foreign laborers -- all old
pals who came running with a single phone call. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lara Croft doesn’t even have
a girlfriend travel agent who will spot her the cost of a ticket to the
vicinity of the exotic island. The girlfriends are kickboxers whose roles in
the story are to find some excuse for a woman’s lack of upper body strength. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The only other woman in the
whole movie is an executive secretary type who holds the keys to the vault,
played by Kristen Scott Thomas. Her moves are mostly held in reserve because
she’s set up as a possible internal nemesis in a sequel, maybe similar to the
Jeff Bridges character in one of the Tony Stark movies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZVxMPoDPQZAm2GZS9CHZnmM8OqTA2iiSDdw8S6qA_SvOhBkXAjfp3pMySIHj9IBFEvhqJ-g-YruBuPmTJWKluboOQ8GdLwS28fnI_5EZeAVmXSWSemVNAqyHOxuQjRbSY-0GYRXFiIg/s1600/LC+Chinese+puzzle.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="700" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZVxMPoDPQZAm2GZS9CHZnmM8OqTA2iiSDdw8S6qA_SvOhBkXAjfp3pMySIHj9IBFEvhqJ-g-YruBuPmTJWKluboOQ8GdLwS28fnI_5EZeAVmXSWSemVNAqyHOxuQjRbSY-0GYRXFiIg/s320/LC+Chinese+puzzle.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">**spoiler alert**<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Finally admitting that Daddy
is gone, Lara is about to sign the estate transfer papers (in ignorance of how
she’s manipulated by the executives) but is distracted by a Chinese puzzle that
leads her to a dusky vault. Here is Daddy’s personal legacy to Lara, boxes of
unfinished projects that were either unworkable or unprofitable. Throw her a
bone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Typical. And Hollywood
doesn’t feel the gender insult, not in the slightest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It’s true that Spiderman
finds his daddy’s research hidden away in a sunken streetcar, but it’s all the
research of a lifetime that was prematurely sacrificed and intended for Peter
Parker’s advancement in the sciences along with colleagues. Parker’s secret
status as Spiderman happens AFTER his parents are gone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Part of the confusion for
who is Lara Croft is a conflicting presentation of who is Daddy, an
empire-building (but over-protective) business executive, or an adventurer who
is stuck for seven years with this one problem of saving the world from a
pandemic. That’s what happens with writing a script on committee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElHtU59LX9tb574dFlKh3M-_dtL_MOEGaXwHrF8QN84O9fWenHE6zrF7bNrSnJ6PDM4zw9vFkD8uTrmr18ZIdiAwuG2f8VLh893NRJtjPRivvFT6nLjV2LIPNYGucCSr81AIYgFWXrz8/s1600/LC+Asian+guy.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElHtU59LX9tb574dFlKh3M-_dtL_MOEGaXwHrF8QN84O9fWenHE6zrF7bNrSnJ6PDM4zw9vFkD8uTrmr18ZIdiAwuG2f8VLh893NRJtjPRivvFT6nLjV2LIPNYGucCSr81AIYgFWXrz8/s1600/LC+Asian+guy.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have several gripes about
the storyline once Lara is in Asia, especially the useless and drunken Asian
sidekick who is pressed into a work gang as soon as they arrive on the island.
No diversity insult there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once they open the tomb, Lara
is pushed forward by Daddy and the team of bad guy diggers to lead with solving
the tunnel traps, maybe as a sacrifice to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is allowed the mental exercise of addressing ancient puzzles from
archeological evidence. When the walls begin to collapse, though, Lara can save
only herself. She doesn’t save Daddy. She doesn’t save any member of the
digging team. She doesn’t save the Asian workers who turn out to be good with
guns once they get their hands on some. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the end the adventure, Lara
has not gained a battery of loyal followers, men or women. Her success is
achieved in complete isolation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Women action adventure
heroes often operate in isolation. Who can forget Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in <u>Alien</u>
who must fight the monster with only the ship’s equipment as her ally? Women
characters in real situations often are forced to side-step gender isolation
like Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling in <u>Silence of the Lambs</u>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOMMNjJetu5ZJ1JUZORbdpN6if0JCNgQxS61v9YFSvV_plxrcI7rXZKVl4oL2lP4Of68_tRzBcGuHNYkjryDBY7CZIWGnHHwBBZKHOK7W7DQ_gSQWA-W6PBUuiE_ZKwUHvLJjaY2_nco/s1600/LC+She+Devil2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="1023" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOMMNjJetu5ZJ1JUZORbdpN6if0JCNgQxS61v9YFSvV_plxrcI7rXZKVl4oL2lP4Of68_tRzBcGuHNYkjryDBY7CZIWGnHHwBBZKHOK7W7DQ_gSQWA-W6PBUuiE_ZKwUHvLJjaY2_nco/s320/LC+She+Devil2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Where are their sisters or
aunts or cousins or sorority sisters or trained colleagues in a good ol’ girl
network?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here’s an insight for
Hollywood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women mostly look to each
other for how to solve today’s problem. Movies that allow the display of this
minion are often revenge-on-husbands storylines like Rosanne Barr’s <u>She
Devil</u> or Goldie Hawn’s <u>First Wives Club</u>. At least these adventures
got it right for who women call first to get it done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But I’m in danger of
sounding like a problematic woman here with my ideas for improving the Lara
Croft story. Next outing will be my complaints for women acting how men think
women act in <u>Oceans 8</u>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-6367545027328850912018-06-28T09:12:00.000-07:002018-06-28T09:19:04.999-07:00The Life of Ideas<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">With the Summer
2018 need for a second Supreme Court justice nominated by Pres. Trump, I’m
surprised at the shouting of old rhetoric from the far left. No prisons, no
ICE, no school tuition. Like any of those could happen. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUH9jtDnhA0UMfLmT1RmB2vzoeSXSqca7EBFBloVQKBEcHdDLhhJS9xonVyzhZKuJmtbZfeLqLFscAwKgaIBmPkM011lZXy_cDdcMnlJMYYhLabcbIaH4KyVYJhIMsIX34mvXIObXs_g/s1600/foucault+schools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUH9jtDnhA0UMfLmT1RmB2vzoeSXSqca7EBFBloVQKBEcHdDLhhJS9xonVyzhZKuJmtbZfeLqLFscAwKgaIBmPkM011lZXy_cDdcMnlJMYYhLabcbIaH4KyVYJhIMsIX34mvXIObXs_g/s320/foucault+schools.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">One leftist
news segment guest (I knew she was leftist from the angry tone of a defeated
person) claimed that university students will rise up and achieve what congress
cannot with impeaching Trump.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">I
remembered my days as a returning adult to art school in Chicago. We were
required to take certain gen-ed courses, so I signed up for ten-weeks of post
WWII Marxist thought, the latter-day thinkers who came out of the European
Marxist dialogue. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">I often went
horns-to-horns with this teacher who was wholly committed to the idea that
Marxism was a better path than decadent capitalism. I asked in class, “Isn’t
Marxism disproved by history? What do you expect these art students to take
away from these readings?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">The
students sat in the back and doodled witch cartoons on their notepads,
sometimes a pair of them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">So this
teacher played a video of <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/17/specials/foucault-sexuality.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer" target="_blank">Michel Foucault</a>. You remember him; the guy who
thought up the prison round with a center tower that Cuba actually tried.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqcxAaFnnnrpdDr-CgW4haI5VMOir-9BhNYqNaxx-cwG06u6PzXiEaa8LlIFHRJgHFVGlydZbsEc145vgAZUD_BdSmu6BHR7cywnUzbO1N9VJI9YGIs9ADvikHWBAQ97uv_AVf_3Vy8_k/s1600/prison+round.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqcxAaFnnnrpdDr-CgW4haI5VMOir-9BhNYqNaxx-cwG06u6PzXiEaa8LlIFHRJgHFVGlydZbsEc145vgAZUD_BdSmu6BHR7cywnUzbO1N9VJI9YGIs9ADvikHWBAQ97uv_AVf_3Vy8_k/s1600/prison+round.jpeg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">In the
video a young sycophant interviewer lobs softball questions to Foucault in the
hotel suite with a bed in it. Foucault in a thin turtleneck and slacks, and
wearing slippers I think, languished on the bed and rubbed his bald head before
he tolerantly answered. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">I remember
thinking then that when I get rich and famous, I will never allow anybody to film me
in a room with a bed in it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">And that’s
what I learned from Michel Foucault. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">These days
when a student of mine starts with the polished derivative rhetoric about
school-to-prison pipeline, I ask if he has read Foucault. His mouth puckers and
his eyes go blank. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m not too
worried that free-and-fair market principles, used as a bludgeon by Pres. Trump
to humble trading partners, will risk much exposure of structural flaws from
the inquiring minds of college freshmen. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-36749958949460002662014-12-31T08:55:00.000-08:002015-01-06T14:40:30.617-08:00Chicago Tribune article <div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author Stella Atrium: An academic inspired by science fiction</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://fw.to/2ZXICsM</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgCJQYHpD_f9K_-s-iR7z7MPYTd_aBeIeMYfku6Zd-N7XrlF0JRCEEzgIE5itT07ai9psxS85sRFPXhXP8ZXfNzFz-FcUpPrD9RBfZNnHM1DMnlAhGV_zOt2JBgXXJN0L3BTXYcFx1n8/s1600/Tribune_Atrium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgCJQYHpD_f9K_-s-iR7z7MPYTd_aBeIeMYfku6Zd-N7XrlF0JRCEEzgIE5itT07ai9psxS85sRFPXhXP8ZXfNzFz-FcUpPrD9RBfZNnHM1DMnlAhGV_zOt2JBgXXJN0L3BTXYcFx1n8/s1600/Tribune_Atrium.jpeg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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</span>Authors of science fiction and fantasy often ground their writing in real-life history and social issues. Star Hall, a Chicago author who writes under the pen name Stella Atrium, became so immersed in her research for a science-fiction novel about six years ago, she created a DePaul University class out of it.</span></div>
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"It grew out of a novel about displaced persons and going into a culture you don't understand," says Hall, whose pseudonym is a Latin translation of her real name. Hall is an adjunct professor at DePaul, where she has been teaching in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse since 2005. At the time, she was researching for "HeartStone," the second book in her Dolvia Saga fantasy series. "In it, people are pushed off their land and received onto the savanna."</span></div>
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Hall has since taught her Global Perspectives on Undocumented Workers in America class every spring. "It changes every time I teach it," she says. "The topic itself changes — it's not like accounting."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSkhm_vi3QHaoZioxfNhCUyX7_c11jSjnN_ZJ9manDNrbQ_hFnLIU1vcSEQY8pCDq25KcvqCc20VeE7rG47J2nhNzkz9Nydt0DVcZwLoaEySwaixPJCWBIDoXw1YrXUPS_A7WlPGlNbA/s1600/SufferStone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSkhm_vi3QHaoZioxfNhCUyX7_c11jSjnN_ZJ9manDNrbQ_hFnLIU1vcSEQY8pCDq25KcvqCc20VeE7rG47J2nhNzkz9Nydt0DVcZwLoaEySwaixPJCWBIDoXw1YrXUPS_A7WlPGlNbA/s1600/SufferStone.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The novels Hall has written as Atrium are also richly varied, populated by characters, heritages and embattled environments derived from all corners of the globe. Reviewer Bob Brinkman from Goodreads aptly calls her work, "anthropological fiction set against a sci-fi backdrop." The Dolvia Saga, which includes "SufferStone," "HeartStone" and "StrikeStone," will eventually total six novels ("ClearStone" is coming out next year). And she has a new stand-alone fantasy novel out now called "Seven Beyond."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Always a fan of science fiction, Hall says she started writing in part to shake one dominant trend in the genre. "I would read these books and realize that the heroes were (always) boys," she says. "And that didn't make sense to me. Why write in a genre with such wide open space in cultures but still use an orphan boy as the protagonist?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Providing the science-fiction genre with female protagonists was Hall's first reason to write, but she didn't just populate her books with stock-character heroes who now happened to be women. She approaches all her plots with the intent to show her readers problems women face in the real world and how they uniquely solve them.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Hall, whose favorite authors include Margaret Atwood, Robin Hobb and Elizabeth Moon, says she always puzzled over the solitude of female characters in typical fantasy or sci-fi books. "In the fantasy genre, women are a member of the team," she says. "She is (often) an unusual foreign woman. We know nothing about her." Looking to upend this trend, Hall makes sure her strong female characters aren't singular. "They know aunts, cousins and sisters and other women in community," she says. "I am very interested in women in groups."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK_NqT8dbR9aK58kCuZB-y9oOscgAJSI0zSynI9HmRNFppFgMcQy1S-Z0Sv2_AcEhw8t28gdSofaPaTDzOIa2RZ0ip8JZiYpAojGE4D3vB1KVrZIIaucTeFkJF0lCqloz8JzYR9ZC560/s1600/Seven+Beyond.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK_NqT8dbR9aK58kCuZB-y9oOscgAJSI0zSynI9HmRNFppFgMcQy1S-Z0Sv2_AcEhw8t28gdSofaPaTDzOIa2RZ0ip8JZiYpAojGE4D3vB1KVrZIIaucTeFkJF0lCqloz8JzYR9ZC560/s1600/Seven+Beyond.jpeg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"What impresses me most about Stella's writing is her use of rigorous academic research to inform fantasy," says Peter Vandenberg, professor and chair of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse at DePaul University. "She has a keen sense of the inseparable relationship between inquiry and good storytelling." He says that Hall's love for research is apparent in her novels — and inspiring in the classroom. "Stella's expertise as a fantasy writer, rhetorician and researcher allows her to help students break through some tired old ideas about the 'creative writer.'"</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kristin Kloberdanz is a freelance writer.</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Seven Beyond"</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Stella Atrium, self-published, 295 pages, 99 cents</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright © 2014, <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/">Chicago Tribune</a></span></div>
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Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-23769275779821486832014-12-06T10:07:00.000-08:002014-12-06T14:12:18.641-08:00Blog Archive: Uses for Magic Similar to Playing Chess<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-OReWgTxqmxqvIWvCY2x_4E6L_x3f1UsoP5njpEzEAngDMrqQ-XnD78YNCssKEXaqFS-r5pLDrCsvIpt7h2NAWqW-9JPIr2kCfNQsXGfGC3RwhoD6hrw2SQIOcpkvuuLy1SSky3Qxck/s1600/chess.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-OReWgTxqmxqvIWvCY2x_4E6L_x3f1UsoP5njpEzEAngDMrqQ-XnD78YNCssKEXaqFS-r5pLDrCsvIpt7h2NAWqW-9JPIr2kCfNQsXGfGC3RwhoD6hrw2SQIOcpkvuuLy1SSky3Qxck/s1600/chess.jpeg" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
When I was a kid, my Daddy taught my brothers and me how to play chess. Only one brother excelled after the first lessons, but the introduction to the game was exhilarating, like the opportunity to make fancy moves (oh, that space is open, so I can move my knight!) and to take the opponent’s queen. What fun!<br />
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Later we learned that chess is a game of strategy and the player doesn’t move pieces without a plan. Some strategies are used many times and have names such as a <i>fianchetto</i> bishop or back rank checkmate. To maneuver into these board structures takes several accepted moves that your opponent will recognize with the very first move.<br />
<h2>
Magic drives the story:</h2>
Some writers are still in the learning stage (from which I never emerged as a chess player) where the intrigue rests with executing exotic moves. The purpose of writing is to explore the uses of magic.<br />
<br />
<img align="right" alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-848" data-mce-src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Airbender.jpg" src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Airbender.jpg" height="207" title="Airbender" width="146" />The (often charming) development of magic systems in these stories overwhelms the plot and serves to engage the reader on its own level – sometimes a cloying banquet of magic where the love story or the need for a final battlefield are tertiary.<br />
I place <b style="color: #ffe599;">The Last Airbender</b> and <b style="color: #ffe599;">Percy Jackson</b> in this category.<br />
<h2>
Magic enlivens the story:</h2>
Some writers have stepped past the stage of fun with magic and use the presence of characters with magic to drive the plot. These writers are similar to chess players who have studied some famous chess strategies and want to employ them in a match. One rule of thumb to recognize this type of writer is that the magic is similar from one series to the next – because the strategies are similar.<br />
<br />
I place <b style="color: #ffe599;">Eragon</b> and <b style="color: #ffe599;">How to Train Your Dragon</b> in this category; formula writing using well-established plot points that delight audience expectation. But we know the outcome by page 60 because we know the strategy with the opening move.<br />
<h2>
Magic inserted just because we can:</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3vZnC0XSZ5CQYg7PDA8yuQwzfM8BKHV8sqIFYc010PmdcXr2fy2hYXYtWrdCbMSy_XNxQSUqE-0wVkk4tKqgOx1KZx1taL2Gqu2o0IEGgENKc-72bMe_FZUK2u1eWYK7lFJoeMW4ZUA/s1600/theft.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3vZnC0XSZ5CQYg7PDA8yuQwzfM8BKHV8sqIFYc010PmdcXr2fy2hYXYtWrdCbMSy_XNxQSUqE-0wVkk4tKqgOx1KZx1taL2Gqu2o0IEGgENKc-72bMe_FZUK2u1eWYK7lFJoeMW4ZUA/s1600/theft.jpeg" height="200" width="121" /></a>In <b style="color: #ffe599;">Theft of Swords</b> by Sullivan, an entire early sequence was about rescuing a wizard from a prison that nobody had succeeded at opening for two centuries. The descriptions were fun and the logical problems intriguing. But when the wizard is free, he says thanks and leaves. I suppose he returns later to return the favor, but I didn’t get that far.<br />
<br />
I read (part of) <b style="color: #ffe599;">Throne of the Crescent Moon</b> due to a recommendation from Kirkus Reviews. I suppose the readers at Kirkus are jaded and liked the story because the setting, and therefore the magic, was oriental. But the magic was everywhere, in every scene used by every character. I couldn’t follow the story – but I also couldn’t follow <span style="color: #ffe599;">Battlestar Galactica</span>, so go figure.<br />
<h2>
Magic provides a strong ending:</h2>
The duel with the basilisk in one of the <b>Harry Potter</b> books is an example of overcoming the raging opponent, after which all questions are settled and Harry can return to Hogwarts or the next term with a fresh slate. And the final duel with Lord Voldemort that winds up the series is a great example of using magic to bring all influences to a conclusion.<br />
<img align="right" alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-850" data-mce-src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Child_Prophecy.jpg" src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Child_Prophecy.jpg" height="219" title="Child_Prophecy" width="138" /><br />
Magic is often tamped down in this type of story by the limitations of the user, but serves as <i>deus ex machina</i> in the story climax or end of a trilogy. I enjoyed The <b style="color: #ffe599;">Daughter of the Forest</b> trilogy by Juliet Marillier and cried for the last 60 pages of the first story – something about swans and sacrifice to end a curse.<br />
<br />
Marillier’s novels included elements of formula, though, just like with chess moves. A ingénue who is touch by magic but ignorant of its uses, guided by a would-be lover with unwavering devotion, an unrelenting female opponent, along with benign spirits and druids with little to do. Sound familiar?<br />
<br />
The third story titled <b style="color: #ffe599;">Child of Prophecy</b> repeats these elements for a third generation while the milieu remains static. The climax is a battlefield, of course, where our ingénue enters without a plan, without her magic, and without a weapon, encouraged by spirits to “fake it”. Of course, the gods have a place for her that is not hinted at earlier in the trilogy (that I won’t reveal here), and the gods make all the combatants awestruck while our heroine performs her final farewells to family.<br />
<h2>
Magic is used sparingly or when necessary:</h2>
Some writers use magic to change the story rather than to bolster the story, a subtle difference. I enjoyed reading <b style="color: #ffe599;">The Bone Doll’s Twin</b> by Lynn Flewelling, especially the first story that sets up the curse – much like Snow White except the agent of the curse is helpful rather than mean. The reversal of the curse came (close to) the middle of the trilogy and included gender questions for girls-with-swords, so I was intrigued.<br />
<br />
<img align="left" alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-851" data-mce-src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hidden_Warrior.jpg" src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hidden_Warrior.jpg" height="237" title="Hidden_Warrior" width="145" />The final story <b style="color: #ffe599;">Hidden Warrior</b> has an inserted holy man from a different culture who happens along the road at an opportune moment to serve the hero, but he wanders off before the final battle. Once the initial curse was alleviated, the presence of magic was not essential, so the inserted holy man was a maneuver (like in chess) where the reader can see the rationale.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Magic as a developed system:</h2>
Brandon Sanderson: ‘nuff said.<br />
<br />
The only issue I have with the entire story depending on uses of magic by good guys and bad guys, that Sanderson calls “hard magic”, is that the story becomes predictable, even repetitive. The characters are dependent on skills or discipline to save them and have few other interests.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: #ffe599;">The Fantastic Four</b> fits this category. Even the bad guy has a power, but must use it in certain ways with specific limitations. The plot revolves around how to trip him up on his own special power.<br />
<h2>
Magic from a master:</h2>
<img align="right" alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-852" data-mce-src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/blade.jpg" src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/blade.jpg" height="184" title="blade" width="115" />I’m currently reading <b style="color: #ffe599;">The Blade Itself</b> (Book I of a trilogy), which is long. Joe Abercrombie uses magic to build the plot and keep the reader engaged. His scenes are episodic (irritating), and too involved with the details of torture (revolting), but the reader feels the cold rain and sword cuts (shows good choices).<br />
<br />
Magic is used at surprising moments and differently than a rehash for training dragons. A campfire has a spirit that he can tamp under his tongue to light the next campfire: he, he, he. I’m not but 48% through the book (did I mention that it’s long?), but I have hope that this chess match begins a new strategy that has yet to be named.Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-57232511125522057492014-09-03T14:42:00.001-07:002014-09-03T14:47:22.917-07:00Congratulations to all my fellow award recipients! I'll see you in Miami!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/27079" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLbZfYURu0jvPQJ5CcODsz3579D7sncHHH459eoLBNPvhVjc-7KzZISAiiyttCpF6CLDvn-Z5_i8SMstMrlisu8RVYiEYKkg25it0pum_kz7M7R544shU2SrNgbiYy3wjAprFohutji8/s1600/Bronze+Award.jpeg" height="320" width="194" /></a></div>
<br />Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-61110310287390025872014-06-19T05:56:00.003-07:002015-11-29T07:34:02.942-08:00That Certain Feeling of Uncertainty<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I sat at dinner with my good
friend Lisa who writes non-fiction and bragged that I was well into Book Five
of a six book series. “How does it turn out?” Lisa asked.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fOEabaiUq8sTzqisW9VvuMdOke7lrYINW4aCU60b08qkou7zaD4lkcvO74EK386jjQDza1FbYpThqXkD3W3jsv-SUL6y6gLCsSkAAIx4Eq1HAKFnhP_DzYRqc4k7sCsvqxi6Kjth6bQ/s1600/dinner_girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fOEabaiUq8sTzqisW9VvuMdOke7lrYINW4aCU60b08qkou7zaD4lkcvO74EK386jjQDza1FbYpThqXkD3W3jsv-SUL6y6gLCsSkAAIx4Eq1HAKFnhP_DzYRqc4k7sCsvqxi6Kjth6bQ/s1600/dinner_girls.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“I don’t know yet?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“But how does Book Five turn
out?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“I’m not certain yet.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“Well, surely you have an
outline.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“Um, I have a genealogy to
keep the ages of the young characters straight. And I have a map. Well, a
partial map,” I said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“No wonder you’re stuck.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“I’m not stuck. I just have
to be patient and allow events to unfold organically.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“How do you tolerate the
uncertainty?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“You know that myth about
how all writers are alcoholics…”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">“That’s not funny.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVyUdowhhTn0t29jdIGsy_UuGrxBTO2rRjc2dLIdH67iH5uXtQEJXXxYbnea-zZKItllsUR00rmX3eD25lM4XmbPZJDlM_wxy8NZvBj5tocA91qqc-ukK_OTjhwvKI-s_N48PVwUdFLQ/s1600/Angst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVyUdowhhTn0t29jdIGsy_UuGrxBTO2rRjc2dLIdH67iH5uXtQEJXXxYbnea-zZKItllsUR00rmX3eD25lM4XmbPZJDlM_wxy8NZvBj5tocA91qqc-ukK_OTjhwvKI-s_N48PVwUdFLQ/s1600/Angst.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">How do I tolerate the
uncertainty? How can I explain the process to you, dear reader, or to a fellow
writer? I have known long periods of no writing and no creative impulses. It’s
like being deaf. Some days I’m paralyzed with fear. Some days I want to throw
the whole project out the window, except that’s the same a suicide – identity
suicide. Some days I’m so racked with feelings of failure that I, well, let’s
just say that I cry in my beer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Will I ever finish? Will my
characters ever reach a wider public? I have come to realize that these are the
wrong questions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicEIf40Pk0xkwov_uMGdV487PHXR8ETbdqawAlNVha18Ft2PxpDjaSMx5OHGCeaHrCXMMH51akPpNCDRFgVITP1_zhjrwLNyhCXukrxPQnyUYJ0OJAO79xaZDIKnDm8aLy37xgFMor3g/s1600/beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicEIf40Pk0xkwov_uMGdV487PHXR8ETbdqawAlNVha18Ft2PxpDjaSMx5OHGCeaHrCXMMH51akPpNCDRFgVITP1_zhjrwLNyhCXukrxPQnyUYJ0OJAO79xaZDIKnDm8aLy37xgFMor3g/s1600/beach.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">One time I had several weeks
to myself and a section I wanted to write, so I set an outline and a schedule
and kept to them. I used the time productively, I felt, and wrote several pages
a day. I placed characters who I knew into situations that were plausible and
allowed the dialogue to unfold. I counted words at the end of the day and didn’t
allow walks on the beach or long periods of daydreaming to “ruin” my writing
time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">At the end of that delicious
month I threw out the work, about 80 pages worth. It was forced and too linear.
The desire to finish; the desire to make the time pay – these rode roughshod
over the willingness to allow the characters to grow organically while I – that’s
right; me, the writer – watched the story unfold. I am only the agent of the
story with two hands and a keyboard. The characters drive the plot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I have learned to live with
that certain feeling of uncertainty, not knowing where the scene is going. During
infrequent moments of pure illumination, I realize how the moving parts fit
together. During a walk on the beach, whole scenes unfold in my head where
characters get into shouting matches. Over the next days or weeks, I often track
back into completed scenes for adjustments. It’s a reiterative process. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I can hear Lisa’s voice in
my head. “Is it worth it? Is there ever a moment when you’re glad you
squandered the time waiting for the characters to talk to you?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ36dkIInfnQysCQppypdDPgj1MNroZB8xOZCoMnuDuK6NSyuqXCS3B16Gh_5JUUrlzChz6CRUhSKZqY0Cg0KwquV2tFSQr2Jmx4zFCj4XSfIuGWM2qCBH6uuHlUfYmEkgE1l3e91M_hM/s1600/disembark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ36dkIInfnQysCQppypdDPgj1MNroZB8xOZCoMnuDuK6NSyuqXCS3B16Gh_5JUUrlzChz6CRUhSKZqY0Cg0KwquV2tFSQr2Jmx4zFCj4XSfIuGWM2qCBH6uuHlUfYmEkgE1l3e91M_hM/s1600/disembark.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">It’s like a siren’s song.
The vocabulary calls to me. The characters whisper in my ear. I can taste the
air and hear the seabirds crying, like reaching the port of my homeland after a
distant adventure. The other world becomes more real than my daily
circumstance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">When the plot folds into
itself for a scene where characters who were developed separately come into
conflict, when the reader knows more about next events than the characters,
when outcomes are balanced on the edge of a knife, when dialogue resolves
tensions for several characters at once;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>aaahh, moments to live for. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmO2mnHOj8kXrguZCGFgUNZutwm6ca-73teUF5gvj2qNkBpnaXQa9pGnLLKJmbmNrRviSwMxYDXwqkM_f_B6QYpemWvbwNat3h8ex_s1IgGlHrTL-Jc4i5zo7Ff4z4KIqSDfw6WBCPeE/s1600/Cher_Cage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmO2mnHOj8kXrguZCGFgUNZutwm6ca-73teUF5gvj2qNkBpnaXQa9pGnLLKJmbmNrRviSwMxYDXwqkM_f_B6QYpemWvbwNat3h8ex_s1IgGlHrTL-Jc4i5zo7Ff4z4KIqSDfw6WBCPeE/s1600/Cher_Cage.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">Like the moments at the end
of <b style="color: #ffe599;">Moonstruck</b> when the family is gathered at the breakfast table and all plot
twists are resolved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">My suspicion is that the
level of sophistication for a story’s outcome is directly related to the writer’s
willingness to be patient with characters and realize them fully for how each
responds to new information. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOODAcBTm6CEQlT5XfAxNDbhoU07xPcQia0uakpoOp2rPuy3p8ooDLQAtwJgTJvvpIY3KdDYvZVC8V9fH3XR4p2aD9UgXlJowMif4j7z70a36SHLZ8x2m_lh3h-0W-KSUgj_cb4uO-d0/s1600/Stannis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOODAcBTm6CEQlT5XfAxNDbhoU07xPcQia0uakpoOp2rPuy3p8ooDLQAtwJgTJvvpIY3KdDYvZVC8V9fH3XR4p2aD9UgXlJowMif4j7z70a36SHLZ8x2m_lh3h-0W-KSUgj_cb4uO-d0/s1600/Stannis.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">An example from <b style="color: #ffe599;">Game of
Thrones</b>, since all of America is watching the series and episodes are aired
several times a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Season Four
just wrapped up with a patricide of Tyrion’s father, and the arrival of Stannis
Baratheon at the head of an army north of the wall, thus saving the fighters in
Castle Black. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The patricide scene is
surprising and satisfying with many twists and character resolutions, but
linear. Once set into motion, a single character drives the action.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3b05D5IlVPGNaBUxCI8HFXMeYf8nCyI8ZGCFSWERnodO-pJFnNxcU4gjhisa3pRzz4O2uXk-3oTgl8S_p4p4M0MjAl1MppJWVVCuNLYMGZHy5pF6jmyaeJBLCVmZP4SC-CjbFL86eH8/s1600/Jon+Snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3b05D5IlVPGNaBUxCI8HFXMeYf8nCyI8ZGCFSWERnodO-pJFnNxcU4gjhisa3pRzz4O2uXk-3oTgl8S_p4p4M0MjAl1MppJWVVCuNLYMGZHy5pF6jmyaeJBLCVmZP4SC-CjbFL86eH8/s1600/Jon+Snow.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">When Stannis confronts the
King of the North in the presence of Jon Snow, a conversation ensues that has
more potential for driving the remainder of the series. The viewer knows these three
main characters more than they know each other. The viewer knows the bodies of
the dead must be burned before dark. The viewer is uncertain of the fate of the
King of the North, or Jon Snow, or how Stannis will manage the influx of
wildings into Westeros. The dialogue of each man comes from his motivations,
resolving long-standing tensions and setting the next season into motion. The
plot folds in on itself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">If a writer tolerates the
uncertainty and exercises patience for bringing the characters into conflict
that serves the plot, then on occasion with perseverance, the writer can ‘witness’
such a resolution within a book series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">That’s worth a lifetime of
uncertainty. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">You may also like:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://speakingincommunity.blogspot.com/2012/09/uses-for-magic-are-like-playing-chess.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Uses for Magic and Chess</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://speakingincommunity.blogspot.com/2012/09/on-writing-fantasy-series.html" target="_blank">On Writing a Fantasy Series</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-51041604848314447232014-05-16T06:25:00.000-07:002014-05-16T06:29:26.903-07:00The Craftsmanship Talk<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>"Good writing is a function of good living."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A student in my writing class asked about plot and would I
show him how to develop plot. Construction is story-specific, I said. Plot grows
out of character, I said. Put three characters in this room in this chapter
with these motivations, I said, because each will act on new information
differently. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyN55wXI4YrqUTxEFQ3h_ePgnSDFgkOWin2hokbkWxqJUv7CCew4SrGivwGlVKFO1BpZHjt3MDWCVtrRU9V_feEBfNewB7FCZ9L-61Y-L6vXJOkyNCyLL-PwTtt671JsbNvouLk7PGfU/s1600/Anarchy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyN55wXI4YrqUTxEFQ3h_ePgnSDFgkOWin2hokbkWxqJUv7CCew4SrGivwGlVKFO1BpZHjt3MDWCVtrRU9V_feEBfNewB7FCZ9L-61Y-L6vXJOkyNCyLL-PwTtt671JsbNvouLk7PGfU/s1600/Anarchy.jpg" height="200" width="147" /></a>He went away wholly dissatisfied, grumbling about why didn’t
the instructor just explain the process. The truth is, we learn to construct stories
by doing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Reading counts</b></span>.
To write well, one must read broadly and outside of one’s genre – poetry,
how-to manuals, history, biography, philosophy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Several writers in my genre of speculative fiction write
grim-dark stories where the landscape is littered with bodies, and the ability
to describe a sword fight defines quality of writing. So many characters die in
these stories that the plot unravels with no hero left standing who actually
succeeds. Recently, the level of gore, torture, and unusual acts of revenge is
so extreme (in competition with other writers) that I must turn away from my
first love. I don’t want to read about torture. I’ve never seen torture or
dismemberment. I don’t want to write about gruesome ways to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Discipline counts</b></span>.
This quality is not the same as selfishness (contrary to what my friends
claim). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My Daddy built houses and lived entirely inside his head. He
missed no family obligations and was present at each ball game, prom and
graduation for five kids. One day we waited in silence for a bus that would
take me back to college. To fill the awkward moment, I asked what he was
thinking. Daddy talked about a building design and how he wanted to improve where
the eaves met the roof joint. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I thought about all the family gatherings and how Daddy
DIDN’T bore us with design questions or business concerns, but only
participated in the moment. To me, that’s discipline – completing his work to
his standards without asking for constant reinforcement from others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yg02D546Yy9XEBdhBa2DNS9JnieJs-XRPie4Ao8UQhEwtb9rYKicvQRzikKSFv3pnJIfQYZ6zG9DS1v2KffpUlVD0z-sKtiGKvEkQt8ZYlcufGdUu0treTWV7MxrsSKrRnVRS3BF5Es/s1600/dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yg02D546Yy9XEBdhBa2DNS9JnieJs-XRPie4Ao8UQhEwtb9rYKicvQRzikKSFv3pnJIfQYZ6zG9DS1v2KffpUlVD0z-sKtiGKvEkQt8ZYlcufGdUu0treTWV7MxrsSKrRnVRS3BF5Es/s1600/dinner.jpg" height="118" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #ffd966;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Observing others
counts</b></span>. To write well, one must observe the full panorama of emotion
including the darker urges that we sidestep – hatred, revenge, jealousy, fear, regret,
grief. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had a painter friend who loved visiting the art supply
store where she smelled the paper and handled the brushes and got lost in the
colored paint section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could
not share about our specific projects because I don’t care how the paper
smells, and she didn’t care that I could alliterate while riding the bus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My artist friend and I could engage the craftsmanship talk
about lessons learned, reiterative renditions of the same artwork, improved
skills over a career, the isolation of pure creativity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How talking at the dinner table about
the plot of the current chapter I was developing was boring to everybody
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so was my love of Kafka.
We had those talks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifVnMbXdDyA-xMeZHCtDmfYQxswvYGBUW2rEm4h8l9M8pVEAETWe-79SAM62o6cqarZQe6-VxvBQpwgb6YiobmX6P1um_OhON_7WXfHzBNa8N5HBRVgka6rmyLEXEooFH0A_03WDTM7eQ/s1600/Hellman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifVnMbXdDyA-xMeZHCtDmfYQxswvYGBUW2rEm4h8l9M8pVEAETWe-79SAM62o6cqarZQe6-VxvBQpwgb6YiobmX6P1um_OhON_7WXfHzBNa8N5HBRVgka6rmyLEXEooFH0A_03WDTM7eQ/s1600/Hellman.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a><span style="color: #ffd966;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Persistence counts</b></span>.
When I look at some early stories I wrote, I have to laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can see that I imitated Fitzgerald,
Lillian Hellman, Joyce Carol Oates, even Kafka! I can see that I was reaching
for ideas and metaphors that were outside my range. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Without those early stories, however, I could not have
written anything worth publishing. We learn by doing. We find ourselves through
dissatisfaction with our results. We experience the need for patience and
planning because the work is awful and wasteful. All artists are terrible at
it. All first drafts suck. Later works sometimes have value for the consumer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Creativity counts</b></span>.
This most elusive quality can only be acknowledged where present. The art
critic Robert Hughes wrote a biography some years ago about Francisco José de
Goya y Lucientes, the Spanish artist famous for his painting <span style="color: #ffd966;">Third of May</span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7eKnJTk_YAawBTq4DZIHs7RSaVvcxNfwiwc6lg58XIvtjTir-Iq2lDAamjTT4fxIdtIdh2lRJyzX6ID8VjVX0Uo04W5pzxhavgK85eww5Gac9N_EGzNV7zD_gDrYVAyTxIhRMcpC8uY/s1600/Third_May.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7eKnJTk_YAawBTq4DZIHs7RSaVvcxNfwiwc6lg58XIvtjTir-Iq2lDAamjTT4fxIdtIdh2lRJyzX6ID8VjVX0Uo04W5pzxhavgK85eww5Gac9N_EGzNV7zD_gDrYVAyTxIhRMcpC8uY/s1600/Third_May.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Goya began his long career as the official portrait painter
for the royal family. I’m certain that as a young man he painted to please a
patron. But as the decades passed, Goya’s only true critic or competition was
himself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Goya experienced revolution, counter-revolution, invasion,
repression, and finally socialism – and fully exposed the regrets and comforts
and fear and beauty and horror that he saw around him. In retrospect (according
to Hughes) Goya’s creativity went beyond the social pressures, and he reflected
some essential truth about his world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Robert Hughes</span> writes: "<i>And it is Goya's ability to see that leaves one silent with admiration</i>."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUwpg5_dePV3uvOjbiBpBEbvKfxObMyi5_fQAZHJvNL9rjkJJwF5FexeRbiJy8mL_fOxaSBFs9-cJpD4pdCow6qGk-CTH4m-riuVl06q0LxieNzLoSaBr1aUXbEmCSrPkhX06GLfx5-s/s1600/Hughes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUwpg5_dePV3uvOjbiBpBEbvKfxObMyi5_fQAZHJvNL9rjkJJwF5FexeRbiJy8mL_fOxaSBFs9-cJpD4pdCow6qGk-CTH4m-riuVl06q0LxieNzLoSaBr1aUXbEmCSrPkhX06GLfx5-s/s1600/Hughes.jpg" height="200" width="129" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some qualities of craftsmanship we can develop by observing,
trying, analyzing, and trying again. But the creativity thing – um, not so
much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We were meant to ruin our lives in service to art. That’s
the price and the privilege. </span></div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-84352937368645714602014-04-22T10:46:00.006-07:002014-04-22T10:50:35.496-07:00No Leads to Yes: Examples for Writers
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDAhfxcGju1Z2NAxXMlD2XncH8RnN7WPEKFQBH-IJNmqRSOmO6Rf42j4IxGXghIFZkKVXewZ4pHCfkNsWNbLMFHKwvCxSB9cXlQR9gXF2moEyeurwngRvRwfXYR0SP3jbAoVHWXHFBtg/s1600/Crystal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDAhfxcGju1Z2NAxXMlD2XncH8RnN7WPEKFQBH-IJNmqRSOmO6Rf42j4IxGXghIFZkKVXewZ4pHCfkNsWNbLMFHKwvCxSB9cXlQR9gXF2moEyeurwngRvRwfXYR0SP3jbAoVHWXHFBtg/s1600/Crystal.jpg" height="181" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">I saw the <span style="color: #ffd966;">Billy Crystal</span>
special on cable TV about 700 Sundays where he talks about his youth and how he
wanted to be a NY Yankee or a comedian, or a very funny baseball player. I
thought about my early ambitions and realized that we come to ourselves through
a long series of ‘Nope, not that,’ or even ‘Been there, done that.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I only wanted to be a writer
-- a Great American Novelist. More specifically, I wanted to be <span style="color: #ffd966;">F. Scott
Fitzgerald</span>. I didn’t want to be Zelda, the wife of a famous writer. The
lifestyle was not my focus, but the stories. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-JCGWnuYG_wu2QLfFyUsvxe5hW6uOGadsFtEIJoKUQuzwCNO38ZPSz7sLHFjV4J0-ytF8Z0AMoyso5rzvEdgWNj5Bk9UKViTS1gHgPAwDqythpYwM2d7rjrxRe5Ld71ZE54BCiAlvAc/s1600/Zelda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-JCGWnuYG_wu2QLfFyUsvxe5hW6uOGadsFtEIJoKUQuzwCNO38ZPSz7sLHFjV4J0-ytF8Z0AMoyso5rzvEdgWNj5Bk9UKViTS1gHgPAwDqythpYwM2d7rjrxRe5Ld71ZE54BCiAlvAc/s1600/Zelda.jpg" height="200" width="192" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I liked how Fitzgerald used
anglo words and sneered at the French language that his buddy <span style="color: #ffd966;">Hemingway</span> only
side-stepped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked that
Fitzgerald exposed the pretension of the new money classes and didn’t require a
happy ending for a love story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Later I discovered <span style="color: #ffd966;">Lillian
Hellman</span> and wanted to be her, except she was so uncomfortable in her skin (when
young). She told the stories from the point of view of the women, even though
they were victims of the plot rather than driving the plot. <span style="color: #ffd966;">Margaret Atwood</span>
does something similar, displaying the women as powerless in a stilted marriage
or without funds or smarts to make a difference. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But why not a story where
the female lead character drives the action? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">You will suggest <span style="color: #ffd966;">Sylvia
Plath</span>, I’m certain. Nope, not that. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS1PDN9nez2CAqArHOSuyBVyYt_Eay2mmYX6vpnaQILDbxYvvt_n5YKzDgSLBqId7rTRXskTxV38bIlVueFpt31Km-QZzfYAAax7Oad4gcfIZQxz_wat0BnvcQnkSjpJcpECYt_HfOgk/s1600/McCullers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS1PDN9nez2CAqArHOSuyBVyYt_Eay2mmYX6vpnaQILDbxYvvt_n5YKzDgSLBqId7rTRXskTxV38bIlVueFpt31Km-QZzfYAAax7Oad4gcfIZQxz_wat0BnvcQnkSjpJcpECYt_HfOgk/s1600/McCullers.jpg" height="200" width="199" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There’s <span style="color: #ffd966;">Carson McCullers</span>, of
course. Southern Gothic was her genre, and I was influenced by The Heart is a
Lonely Hunter that I read at an early age. McCullers was sorta chewed up by the
NYC writer’s lifestyle, though, as was <span style="color: #ffd966;">Harper Lee</span> (To Kill a Mockingbird).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">These stories are presented
as confessions, a slice of life, illustrations of the era. Plots were
outgrowths of situation following that axiom to write what you know. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Today you are You, that is
truer than true. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There is no one alive who is
Youer than You.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">– Dr. Seuess</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But my life was boring –
well-raised, bookish, affluent, Midwestern (not from the South where they seem
to suffer more deeply). So … Nope, not that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I liked action adventure
stories like The Perils of Pauline or <span style="color: #ffd966;"><i>Love is a Many-Splendored Thing</i></span>. I wanted
the woman to drive a real plot. Why was that so much to ask?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYSTicCqA2fpeMC08S_4q1Dh0sHAOwO_EQfhR53B3YrrVXIgna95CoY41B2lgcl51A8XM5xZ5JlRlUPdX8u0PMBKOiC7GtTTxbVGi1rVtpKxpAq-Rbv7HwuHXPRX9jv0NUnDoiloQ6uI/s1600/Jones_Holden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYSTicCqA2fpeMC08S_4q1Dh0sHAOwO_EQfhR53B3YrrVXIgna95CoY41B2lgcl51A8XM5xZ5JlRlUPdX8u0PMBKOiC7GtTTxbVGi1rVtpKxpAq-Rbv7HwuHXPRX9jv0NUnDoiloQ6uI/s1600/Jones_Holden.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So I read more stories by
women in the fantasy genre like <span style="color: #ffd966;">Louise Erdrich</span> who brings in mythical elements
from Native Americans, and <span style="color: #ffd966;">Juliet Marillier</span>’s series about a Daughter of the
Forest. The girl protagonist was typically young and imbued with unusual powers
of seeing. Other genre writers sent 14-year-old girls into battle in full armor
and wielding a 24-inch battle sword. This impossible heroine makes the same
choices a guy would make, except she’s gender female (often a cross-dresser
like Arya in <span style="color: #ffd966;">Game of Thrones</span>). Nope, not that.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1zNCkM_-HQ6hc38XxsHzJn2DoBnvkRtPHGjKpldgPbNioMjc-lS-6Jlq8dl1OiYwvL2j_BCYvpDiJ4Smqenp-Bt0F3JMJf97mYkQZXdEjoeijSF6wgSZarbHRSKer3bU2JHrY_zO4Z4/s1600/Arya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1zNCkM_-HQ6hc38XxsHzJn2DoBnvkRtPHGjKpldgPbNioMjc-lS-6Jlq8dl1OiYwvL2j_BCYvpDiJ4Smqenp-Bt0F3JMJf97mYkQZXdEjoeijSF6wgSZarbHRSKer3bU2JHrY_zO4Z4/s1600/Arya.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I read <span style="color: #ffd966;">Robin Hobb</span>’s many
series (series-es) that start with The Assassin’s Apprentice. Hobb certainly
has the chops for the fantasy genre with immediacy and surprise. (Dragon
warming stations: still too funny!) I wondered why the primary character was
not a girl. The female characters (in the early series) were relegated to
stilted roles of a candle-maker and a misunderstood queen who wielded minimal
powers through example and patience. The many lady-aunties accomplished small
victories behind the scenes while presenting a benign presence at court. Nope,
not that. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Is the same true for you,
dear writer who is reading this blog? Do you come to goals for what you want to
accomplish by what you know you don’t want to reinforce? Here are some of my
standards I impose for my own stories:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Girl protagonist
(past age 18) who drives the story</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">The protagonist
isn’t isolated – knows her mother and sisters and cousins and opponents</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Real problems
that real women have to solve (without pretending to be a boy)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Believable
obstacles such as no voice in public and no funds to achieve goals</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">A plot that has
a crescendo at the end, not slice of life</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Each character
grows during the story arch (even the men)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7foRPpbLnnTlu6yKnnIHgkbi2DdGw6MeFD3O3uCWJusj6vFdTg1cdGY-HgyNHY2kBY2ba6cD_oiZNCSswLtc3wR7CBz8DfvYxludnRsYMbtaVg_dVwvDLOq4pEqj-IumsZLwiY5PtJHQ/s1600/Lee-Remick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7foRPpbLnnTlu6yKnnIHgkbi2DdGw6MeFD3O3uCWJusj6vFdTg1cdGY-HgyNHY2kBY2ba6cD_oiZNCSswLtc3wR7CBz8DfvYxludnRsYMbtaVg_dVwvDLOq4pEqj-IumsZLwiY5PtJHQ/s1600/Lee-Remick.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This last goal is a pet peeve
of mine that I call the <span style="color: #ffd966;">Lee Remick</span> syndrome. She played opposite <span style="color: #ffd966;">Jack Lemmon</span> in
The Days of Wine and Roses. They were both drunks and he went through all the
stages including getting clean but backsliding. She kicked him out so she could
raise their daughter in a stable life, but he visited during his many
ups-and-downs. Each time she opened the door, Remick looked the same, not a
line on her face. She may have worn the same wig for the whole movie that
spanned a couple of decades. Nope, not that.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-27064128951474628542014-04-02T11:51:00.000-07:002014-04-04T11:05:20.936-07:00Where are the Readers? <style>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the
public. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.”</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">―
Oscar Wilde </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My son moved to California in his twenties, and we talk
through email and Twitter. He visits in the summer when we gather at my
mother’s table in Indiana with uncles and married siblings and nieces and nephews.
At one event I remember, he was telling me about an article he had read about
the Gulf Wars. I asked if he meant a <span style="color: #ffd966;">Time Magazine</span> article because I had read
it too. I felt an odd sensation that we received news from the same physical source.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lZvGonwGr1Dq1oKrUcvfSK5mcVI3CF1zX6Yzc5mkpbo_BE-e61_wyaJbxzS_oBNgxJUMB7-rN15BZTmZX3UjOc_XFCO5hUgsigjazxJZjL5x4rJXN2wJNsl-PW4FM-1gq_3uSXxycFk/s1600/Cronkite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lZvGonwGr1Dq1oKrUcvfSK5mcVI3CF1zX6Yzc5mkpbo_BE-e61_wyaJbxzS_oBNgxJUMB7-rN15BZTmZX3UjOc_XFCO5hUgsigjazxJZjL5x4rJXN2wJNsl-PW4FM-1gq_3uSXxycFk/s1600/Cronkite.jpg" height="197" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">News anchor <span style="color: #ffd966;">Walter Cronkite</span> in the 1960’s was well known for
his departing catchphrase <span style="color: #ffd966;">"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And
that's the way it is</i>,"</span> followed by the program’s date. No longer does
one personality define the daily news and establish a narrative for
anticipating the future.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The promise of the internet was connecting people without a
mediator dictating the news, democratizing information so a user can gain
several perspectives. The reality of the internet, however, may be that society
is fractured. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">People live in <span style="color: #ffd966;">information silos</span> now with cellphone
conversations that trump talk with dinner guests, and success counted by volume
of online visitors more than service to the local community. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRi5qfQDh3lY54qcWfj5zt2E8k3NmSA33TVa3RJLnS1waIzzJayRbl7SVjeOFGRdFiSifQmBixSuDdYEiGsBVrxMmGWvaNRVPcXB1_majB-HW_yOdsegqoSgOKfFGxvHFT4EPReQuNKc/s1600/dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRi5qfQDh3lY54qcWfj5zt2E8k3NmSA33TVa3RJLnS1waIzzJayRbl7SVjeOFGRdFiSifQmBixSuDdYEiGsBVrxMmGWvaNRVPcXB1_majB-HW_yOdsegqoSgOKfFGxvHFT4EPReQuNKc/s1600/dinner.jpg" height="162" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I can gain information anywhere, so I seek those outlets
where the viewpoints agree with my tastes – painted china rather than decals on
motorcycle tanks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can ignore or
discard the white noise of competing ideas and cling to bloggers who share
personal experiences similar to my own. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My ideas are never tested in competition or debate. I live
in the bubble. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My friend published her book and completed a blog tour and
grew her <span style="color: #ffd966;">Twitter</span> following to 2000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She did giveaways on her blog and in <span style="color: #ffd966;">Goodreads</span>, and solicited reviews
everywhere. But the book had no sales. She complained bitterly that she lived
in a “Kuiper belt” with other writers touting their books and no readers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiP1qBgqh0-a33ARJXZiQBqvpYOTkBA4oN0DYrvHCHY4ogMrN-NAqIDtchauRYhirJVrDoid2VYKxxZdXAe7oa6L977U-7cohkDe1JvSLxNCHk24f-ZcX0Ri_cEjUTdtZ9Ckb4oSfZco/s1600/like.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiP1qBgqh0-a33ARJXZiQBqvpYOTkBA4oN0DYrvHCHY4ogMrN-NAqIDtchauRYhirJVrDoid2VYKxxZdXAe7oa6L977U-7cohkDe1JvSLxNCHk24f-ZcX0Ri_cEjUTdtZ9Ckb4oSfZco/s1600/like.jpg" height="192" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My book on Goodreads has 375 people who have marked it “to
read”, and seven reviews. Maybe the others friends are waiting for a fresh
giveaway. An odd concept, though, that devalues the work of the writer.
Goodreads friends only commit to reading a book that’s free. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In fact, so much reading is necessary to get to the content
that we have energy only for skimming. I can return to a blog, or do a fresh
search, if I “need” the information.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtyozqyGRoIBdH49nfWbKwLNm4TX3VXWpJPze5oFYULkF-0zQMGLnW6tX_3ZhtbbG3y4gvthS8M1DLpMa3bWL-mUySBWYP12eWD15Ic2MVNpyEIAwIKonpjlfoJcYdVaczvzBXbUjid8/s1600/hashtag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtyozqyGRoIBdH49nfWbKwLNm4TX3VXWpJPze5oFYULkF-0zQMGLnW6tX_3ZhtbbG3y4gvthS8M1DLpMa3bWL-mUySBWYP12eWD15Ic2MVNpyEIAwIKonpjlfoJcYdVaczvzBXbUjid8/s1600/hashtag.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a>I recently participated in a Twitter frenzy where friends
broadcast their blogs on the same day with a specific hashtag. Except we
retweet and follow new people and count the increase in volume as success. None
of us read the blogs. We only note the titles for kudo replies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Everybody’s a writer. Where have all the readers gone? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-41393367487255433392014-03-12T11:37:00.001-07:002014-03-12T11:43:15.733-07:00Blogging Replaces the Art of Letter-writing
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The word that
is heard perishes, </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>but the letter that is written remains.</i></span></span>" - Anon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">(and on the internet,
remains forever!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The world today has
so few standards, I was surprised to find a new set. Structured
standards for blogs have replaced letter writing and may
push that diurnal activity into a discipline worth revisiting. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">My book promoter even
recommends a collection of blog entries offered as an ebook for appeal to a
different kind of reader. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Letter writing has a long tradition, of course. Famous letter
writers:</span></div>
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEfMYIn5ih0zxkrgYTm7V8J8i3n2WQ7GG6su9qMifxklRTcGGgWaf7XRYOSpEiiZlW5TVFFSHwS-o_W64Hj91k9pG1Tn-ZWMcTb2LTC4ADbgAoqVBLEHtvfD6txAzpM6FXnmxqurZuKo/s1600/Nelson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEfMYIn5ih0zxkrgYTm7V8J8i3n2WQ7GG6su9qMifxklRTcGGgWaf7XRYOSpEiiZlW5TVFFSHwS-o_W64Hj91k9pG1Tn-ZWMcTb2LTC4ADbgAoqVBLEHtvfD6txAzpM6FXnmxqurZuKo/s1600/Nelson.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Marcus Aurelius</span> to
his son: more useful for today's reader than to the boy, perhaps</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Paul of Tarsus</span> to the
churches he established</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Lord Nelson</span> to his
mistress Lady Hamilton</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Eleanor Roosevelt</span> to
a journalist friend who critics want to call her lesbian lover</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">W.E.B DeBois</span> to his
daughter - journey of an educated ex-slave in America</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Anne Morrow Lindbergh</span>'s (simpy) love letters</span> </span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Ben Franklin</span> was a
pamphlet writer and publisher. He even printed colonial money. His writings
would fit well into the discipline of blogs with memorable taglines -- <i>A
stitch in time saves nine</i>. Franklin published the <span style="color: #ffd966;">Poor Richard's Almanac</span>,
useful because it listed the daily times the tide went out in Boston Harbor so
sailors could manage their shore leave.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Franklin's best
advice was </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Let all men know thee, but no man know thee thoroughly</i></span></span>." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">For us regular
people, blogs are quickly supplanting the need/use for letters. Advice
from which writers before the age of blogging could easily transpose to the blog
format?</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrECqsT6_oc_xMpLUP2G6QsXJ6eC4imx8VMcjLNMXtTyqtSv1KVIh0cysbGNdm_G0Trm5T6l89w9e7H2HQD28bCqJUSnCWP9ftmFw4Lqu7DUWZWsWHncKwINAdrttfe_HX5asBsReZEk/s1600/sontaglove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrECqsT6_oc_xMpLUP2G6QsXJ6eC4imx8VMcjLNMXtTyqtSv1KVIh0cysbGNdm_G0Trm5T6l89w9e7H2HQD28bCqJUSnCWP9ftmFw4Lqu7DUWZWsWHncKwINAdrttfe_HX5asBsReZEk/s1600/sontaglove.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Susan Sontag</span>: On
Photography</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Stephen King</span>: On
Writing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Neil Gaiman</span>: 8 Rules
of Writing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Many of these musings were archived on <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/18/ray-bradbury-on-lists/" target="_blank">Brain Pickings</a>. My favorite is <span style="color: #ffd966;">Ray Bradbury</span>'s "How List
Making can Boost Your Creativity."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Standards for quality
blogs are dictated by the software known as <span style="color: #ffd966;">Wordpress</span>. I have wanted many
features added to my blog site that Wordpress doesn't allow. Plus, I must
cooperate with actions that Wordpress rewards. For example, titles should be a certain
size, along with section headings at a certain 'level' for the gobots to easily
catalogue ideas for search engines</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Once a blogger gets
comfortable with the limitations of the software, the best (by today's
standards of most visited) blogs have these features:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-vq6jp90USmHgJSyV-OgpQfYYQYq2Lhl7_dOa7n2Y4R8Mu77OIliDtkZ3caJuuNTQRr4UlKsQKMLidlFrQ_6RlV7Om72MynkdwihnCw55ZM4V4fngd5ileG-MTtQuIcZL9Tx9OCO56s/s1600/third-dollar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-vq6jp90USmHgJSyV-OgpQfYYQYq2Lhl7_dOa7n2Y4R8Mu77OIliDtkZ3caJuuNTQRr4UlKsQKMLidlFrQ_6RlV7Om72MynkdwihnCw55ZM4V4fngd5ileG-MTtQuIcZL9Tx9OCO56s/s1600/third-dollar.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">from a person with
experience in the field</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">to a specific audience who
are trying to break into that field</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">with a how-to lesson
(optimum 7 steps)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">presented as a list with
examples offered as links</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">includes decorative images
(statistics as charts only)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">exclude the personal
journey; lessons learned only</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 1.0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">brief and terse -- let me
repeat -- nobody wants to see how many words you know</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">What did I neglect in
this post? Some advice for me?</span></div>
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Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-78281512056411402362014-03-10T08:13:00.000-07:002014-03-10T08:16:17.080-07:005-Star Reviews on Amazon!<style>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">A Treat for Sci-fi
Fans</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"> </span> </span></b></div>
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From RCBR for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Beyond-Stella-Atrium-ebook/dp/B00ICTAIN0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1394462243&sr=1-1&keywords=stella+atrium" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iFRVOaJ_EC3AFMprxwXpd47-m6YRLAyHpqjugZZpSC_yQvTJkPjinkTk5Mic5MPf6grG1WXCxapDsA5iOFddpw7pfAMBV67sHR9wv8sIR0UaZLPBmMbAfzqjoEgW_BmZ8QqsaVcBniU/s1600/5stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iFRVOaJ_EC3AFMprxwXpd47-m6YRLAyHpqjugZZpSC_yQvTJkPjinkTk5Mic5MPf6grG1WXCxapDsA5iOFddpw7pfAMBV67sHR9wv8sIR0UaZLPBmMbAfzqjoEgW_BmZ8QqsaVcBniU/s1600/5stars.jpg" height="41" width="200" /></a></div>
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Take a doctor with memories of a distant past – memories of
other planets and aliens. Add an eclectic group of traveling companions, pepper
nicely with metaphysical twists and turns and a dash of Canterbury Tales
storytelling and you have a book that rocks.<br />
<br />
I loved the characters in <span style="color: #ffd966;">SEVEN BEYOND</span> and all their intricate lives all woven together on a
journey. Stories unfold and friendships blossom but don’t forget we have aliens
and far way planets and maybe even another race of people.<br />
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Loved this book as the author really delivered a great tale.<br />
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A+++++ all the way.</div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Quality Sci-fi Read</b></span></div>
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From Diana L for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Beyond-Stella-Atrium-ebook/dp/B00ICTAIN0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1394462243&sr=1-1&keywords=stella+atrium" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShNv8a7zbXlwYf87ZXjW8jVw4H4SSzdWaxoq0n75Op64V1a553r_AAxnbrHeUpP2NhifI8i5rK-goMSi5R6C-Wnov4eqTZR9ru39w5tiwumua6LqTqAzA851vzIRCSbiSBdCe_Q2eBdU/s1600/5stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShNv8a7zbXlwYf87ZXjW8jVw4H4SSzdWaxoq0n75Op64V1a553r_AAxnbrHeUpP2NhifI8i5rK-goMSi5R6C-Wnov4eqTZR9ru39w5tiwumua6LqTqAzA851vzIRCSbiSBdCe_Q2eBdU/s1600/5stars.jpg" height="41" width="200" /></a></div>
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As a huge fan of sci fi, I settled in to read this book. I
was immersed almost instantly. The story in <span style="color: #ffd966;">SEVEN BEYOND</span> is told by several characters and the
attention to detail is spot on.<br />
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We join the journey of the traveling companions and the author keeps all the
stories straight for us as there is a lot going on in this story.<br />
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Lady Drasher Elizabeth Tasgneganz was probably my favorite character. She
brought a lot to the story and engrossed me the most throughout this read.<br />
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If you like sci-fi that goes a level above and delivers a story that you
remember long after you finish reading- I suggest putting this book on your
reading list.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">More than Sci-fi</span> </b></div>
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from Kohearn for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Beyond-Stella-Atrium-ebook/dp/B00ICTAIN0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1394462243&sr=1-1&keywords=stella+atrium" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShNv8a7zbXlwYf87ZXjW8jVw4H4SSzdWaxoq0n75Op64V1a553r_AAxnbrHeUpP2NhifI8i5rK-goMSi5R6C-Wnov4eqTZR9ru39w5tiwumua6LqTqAzA851vzIRCSbiSBdCe_Q2eBdU/s1600/5stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShNv8a7zbXlwYf87ZXjW8jVw4H4SSzdWaxoq0n75Op64V1a553r_AAxnbrHeUpP2NhifI8i5rK-goMSi5R6C-Wnov4eqTZR9ru39w5tiwumua6LqTqAzA851vzIRCSbiSBdCe_Q2eBdU/s1600/5stars.jpg" height="41" width="200" /></a></div>
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This book <span style="color: #ffd966;">SEVEN BEYOND</span>, while a great sci-fi read, is also a
cool story of friendships with a healthy metaphysical dose added. We follow
along with the group of traveling companions as Dr. Meenins searched to uncover
his past. Haunted by wispy memories of faraway places (as in planets) and alien
races, the good doctor sets out to reclaim his past.</div>
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The characters are exceptionally well crafted and the details really impressed
me.<br />
If you like sci-fi reads that are not average run of the mill stories, then you
want this author on your reading list. Excellent read.</div>
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<a href="http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/stella-atrium.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/stella-atrium.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqAaQuOBWRH21IE5fwDEupSsHqdp9dSaByhgJYPyoL_iG6xNVZRwGVefkvPuiksKnWi-c8FrlLcAWS_aaoMuioZe1VVKqX7jY6bjip2M8tldqBlis5ax4K2nVkV0hYRC5LXUd6z97XzI/s1600/IAN.png" height="86" width="320" /></a></div>
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Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-91941901099397808972014-02-14T06:40:00.003-08:002014-02-19T12:04:47.563-08:00Author Interview for New Release SEVEN BEYOND<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great to see you again. Did you cut
your hair?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hey, Marc… What’s new?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see you have a new release of <span style="color: #ffd966;">SEVEN
BEYOND</span> pending for March 1. 2014.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The <span style="color: #ffe599;">Midwest Book Review</span> paragraphs are flattering, but were dated for
2003.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that correct?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV21xPSVWRFSBPv9znA056UL6jQVBiJY7ZnZ3ft6kW71emxva7l7dixYzRTrpwbQBv_FYZor4vnqvKfAw5nZtbfCh6GXxaqOXqRDszrcRAOUWa1OtfD2FObzn_aUcLw51lg1knzdpyuvo/s1600/SNHU2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV21xPSVWRFSBPv9znA056UL6jQVBiJY7ZnZ3ft6kW71emxva7l7dixYzRTrpwbQBv_FYZor4vnqvKfAw5nZtbfCh6GXxaqOXqRDszrcRAOUWa1OtfD2FObzn_aUcLw51lg1knzdpyuvo/s1600/SNHU2.jpeg" height="200" width="184" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A decade ago, can you believe it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seven Beyond was published by a small
press that later went bankrupt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
thought to offer it again – this time worldwide – in the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Beyond-Stella-Atrium-ebook/dp/B00ICTAIN0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392388995&sr=1-1&keywords=stella+atrium" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Amazon</span></a> pool of fantasy
ebooks for 99¢.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can reach
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20787289-seven-beyond" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Goodreads</span></a> friends and <a href="https://twitter.com/SAtrium" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Twitter</span></a> friends living in the UK by this method. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But why now, when readers are waiting
for the release of Book IV of the Doliva Saga? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Book IV is titled <span style="color: #ffe599;">SignalStone</span> and is
ready for the proofreaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
waiting until I had dug into events for Book V, tentatively titled <span style="color: #ffe599;">SeaStone</span>, before
the release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it hard to let go?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ha, ha… You know me so well. I had a
twist ending for SignalStone that I was trying to resolve for each character in
the next book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the writing is
coming along, so I feel ready to spring the surprise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, well… Those are writerly notes
that the reader cannot know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
are you intending with this new release of Seven Beyond?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Promoting a fourth book of a series is
complicated. What appeal to readers who have only read the first book, or who
are just introduced to this writer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So we thought to offer a stand-alone novel that shows writing style, to
win fans who later dig into the Dolvia Saga from name recognition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seven Beyond is separate from the books
already published? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbHJ5Bvr9dB5FnUeaLfi9Zb8obLABtBJ3uUQwcE5R0kkKI_4iEw7qkgE6JvH5OD9MjzyxABLXntPafnMvnw-xGHM6xUPe1OLbMAxkBvsI4WLN2IJQjlIn5DrAKYGTElHKviKs7ALmZ-4/s1600/7Bey_COVER.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbHJ5Bvr9dB5FnUeaLfi9Zb8obLABtBJ3uUQwcE5R0kkKI_4iEw7qkgE6JvH5OD9MjzyxABLXntPafnMvnw-xGHM6xUPe1OLbMAxkBvsI4WLN2IJQjlIn5DrAKYGTElHKviKs7ALmZ-4/s1600/7Bey_COVER.jpeg" height="320" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yah, yah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A separate worldview. Unrelated. Some of my favorite
characters I ever developed are in this book. Lady Drasher, especially,
whispered in my ear while I was writing, demanding more lines of dialogue and
commenting on other characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
she started talking to me about characters in a different novel that I was
writing, I knew I had to kill her off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you giving away the plot? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s lots of plot to discover. Dr.
Meenins is a channeled Longist, meaning he doesn’t remember the 800 years of
his life, who must accept his guilty acts in the past before he can lead his
race to the new colony to be settled here on Earth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aliens are among us? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are them, and they are us, and I am
the walrus. Koo-koo-kachu. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re certainly in a good mood today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ebook cover of Seven Beyond is
stellar. And early reviews are positive. But more than that… I put myself into
this effort. Seeing it listed on GoodReads and Amazon and the other distributers
gives me a feeling of completion. I can like myself now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Marc</span></span>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I certainly enjoyed the book when
I read it. Dr. Grammario was my favorite character. What does that say about
me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Stella</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">:</span> </span>That you read the classics, maybe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">_______</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Purchase 99¢ ebook at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Beyond-Stella-Atrium-ebook/dp/B00ICTAIN0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392388995&sr=1-1&keywords=stella+atrium" target="_blank">Amazon</a> today! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">See <a href="http://www.bookviral.com/stella-atrium-seven-beyond/4582795954" target="_blank">BookViral </a>review! </span></div>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-78i0SOq--EI%2FUv4qmtao2VI%2FAAAAAAAAAhg%2Ft06F_p_QilM%2Fs1600%2F7Bey_COVER.jpeg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbHJ5Bvr9dB5FnUeaLfi9Zb8obLABtBJ3uUQwcE5R0kkKI_4iEw7qkgE6JvH5OD9MjzyxABLXntPafnMvnw-xGHM6xUPe1OLbMAxkBvsI4WLN2IJQjlIn5DrAKYGTElHKviKs7ALmZ-4/s1600/7Bey_COVER.jpeg" -->Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-11496278522658946412014-02-04T07:35:00.000-08:002014-02-04T12:29:53.941-08:00Preparing Fresh eBook LaunchBusy, busy... <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>Seven Beyond</b></span> is ready for a 3/1/14 launch as a 99¢ ebook on <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>Amazon Kindle</b></span>. Still lining up new release caches for the announcement. Getting excited, though!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekPYy76XnDC0ESE5R3xqZ-bzEwKF_iXzAMSfuJS1WF2AjJ7LMwtBEaZra0EYnoFLhhY1BNICqdDYZ4Um7YadlcxS8fJzqlVq2uBKxPIKSPHey9LezC23AMlz4T2QNbI9EVJrfUJ0XaC4/s1600/7Beyond+cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekPYy76XnDC0ESE5R3xqZ-bzEwKF_iXzAMSfuJS1WF2AjJ7LMwtBEaZra0EYnoFLhhY1BNICqdDYZ4Um7YadlcxS8fJzqlVq2uBKxPIKSPHey9LezC23AMlz4T2QNbI9EVJrfUJ0XaC4/s1600/7Beyond+cover.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a>Synopsis: Dr. Christopher Meenins is 800 years old and doesn't remember his past.
Accompanying him on his journey of discovery are the powerful Lady
Drasher Elizabeth Tasgneganz, the pedantic Dr. Virgil Grammario, the mysterious—and possibly alien—Linda Deemer. Christopher
is haunted by memories of alien places and of a race called the Longists. The group travels to the one
place on Earth the Longists might reappear: a remote abbey inhabited by
an order of nuns known for their mystical insights and quality brandy.<br />
<br />
Memories of David Shanklen—once Meenins’
patient and perhaps also his mentor—trouble Christopher's dreams. Shanklen claimed that he was
kept prisoner in an alien zoo maintained by the
Longists. Through Shanklen, Christopher must confront the secrets of his
past to find the New Restingplace of the Dead. The travelers exchange
stories during his quest à la <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b><i>The Canterbury Tales</i></b></span>, and the discovery of the restingplace grows out of their long friendships.<br />
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Watch this space for reviews. If you have a connection or want an interview with the writer, please comment. Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-84350833168469217832014-01-10T10:32:00.002-08:002014-01-10T10:45:18.989-08:00Greetings from #Chiberia<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ATJk43kNZL9jtg4k7PvRqsLNouD-gu1ompASY9OAKoqCfQ-TBgt3_1Duz3Q3gGLJSW6rWmrqPeTMMwJlmobYTotToXaa01-E0FoBhsgZRe5ASfdBYdBmxDvHENGNQ-gXQYBuVoudPAg/s1600/chiberia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ATJk43kNZL9jtg4k7PvRqsLNouD-gu1ompASY9OAKoqCfQ-TBgt3_1Duz3Q3gGLJSW6rWmrqPeTMMwJlmobYTotToXaa01-E0FoBhsgZRe5ASfdBYdBmxDvHENGNQ-gXQYBuVoudPAg/s1600/chiberia.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a>Now that the snow is melting before the next big system
blows in… a moment to reflect. At +16 degrees, the day was 25 degrees warmer
than on Monday. I waited at a stoplight when another consumer from the
grocery store spoke. “At least we can breathe the air, loosen our scarves.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“And I ate everything in the house,” I added. “Let me open
this can of green beans that I bought in the summer.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiy6x1YbNZMXfCLigIaZf2MiA29429rM9omZECcNAyGzrwFSNAci-gP02te5HfaggBrRad7Hu2Kr-tLemxJfGMoqjmGijelr4q5xUtATCdPjrpENI5yYBuP2IMXvpDCKI3qi7EIJ6MJl0/s1600/pantry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiy6x1YbNZMXfCLigIaZf2MiA29429rM9omZECcNAyGzrwFSNAci-gP02te5HfaggBrRad7Hu2Kr-tLemxJfGMoqjmGijelr4q5xUtATCdPjrpENI5yYBuP2IMXvpDCKI3qi7EIJ6MJl0/s1600/pantry.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a>“I was eating dry cereal,” she smiled. “Dog biscuits were
looking good too.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A person has to like herself to tolerate a Chicago winter
living alone. But I like my characters and wrote 200 pages, so the time was
well spent. The confinement and sensory deprivation actually helped with
developing fresh scenes in Book V of the Dolvia Saga. Juggling the many
characters and deciding their fates was a great puzzle (glass bead game) for
the dark winter months.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’m almost sorry to return to teaching where I read student
papers instead of reading the newest free fantasy release on Kindle. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlDup_ctQPWxaQ6boxAWDHUyZPmFfFsbLuAMVDJbtw85SGRE-dyB4WIbM27ol3PHviap1XjbUP495HevxvRfg8wHs2kgwTWbvP5JThXsGUD1Jhl6VFozLjOSpiOocwytbx2b5-qOKisQ/s1600/chiberia2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlDup_ctQPWxaQ6boxAWDHUyZPmFfFsbLuAMVDJbtw85SGRE-dyB4WIbM27ol3PHviap1XjbUP495HevxvRfg8wHs2kgwTWbvP5JThXsGUD1Jhl6VFozLjOSpiOocwytbx2b5-qOKisQ/s1600/chiberia2.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When schools were closed for two days, students who
started online classes celebrated their choices for avoiding the expressway and
posting on DBs from the warmth of the living room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I live in an integrated society. I’m glad for the work and
for my avocation. </span><br />
<br />
</div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-10243828432846472452013-11-27T07:13:00.000-08:002013-11-27T07:15:26.358-08:00List Makers' Delight
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTEvBZbQzS-vL3pbf8xVD9PG4KODvghnShKRuBOKXUfEnUtzQspTpwSOKKhu2UpUyQBl7vomaPW-Y2JZ4TQKJth_2f9PqM3l2J9Nxf6RP7m_m0Rb3jaMIOO5DB9HiL9ZkKX8ddkjmmSE/s1600/Santa-list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTEvBZbQzS-vL3pbf8xVD9PG4KODvghnShKRuBOKXUfEnUtzQspTpwSOKKhu2UpUyQBl7vomaPW-Y2JZ4TQKJth_2f9PqM3l2J9Nxf6RP7m_m0Rb3jaMIOO5DB9HiL9ZkKX8ddkjmmSE/s200/Santa-list.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">A Christmas list is like
Christmas candy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the holiday
is over, I still want some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Luckily, January is a list maker’s delight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can throw away the old lists and make new ones!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My friends claim that my
need for lists is a sign of a clinical depression or OCD or a need for control
or some such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I made a list of
medical conditions that people talk about wrong:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lactose
intolerance</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sudden leg-jerk
syndrome</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Facial
recognition phasia – really mean she saw you but is ignoring you so you won’t
ask her again to borrow money</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTe38z3IWBhld2O9HNcKhWlxZow7167-PO0Cy5syU4qUovG3R6tjlsPNc2QW_FaMle5pt6CF61E59x-hmqalPMmb62BrJFP9uFfW_hSfZGMZhgoIegUzP1qTnZwpK3F9XA_BOrgtI5dE/s1600/army+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTe38z3IWBhld2O9HNcKhWlxZow7167-PO0Cy5syU4qUovG3R6tjlsPNc2QW_FaMle5pt6CF61E59x-hmqalPMmb62BrJFP9uFfW_hSfZGMZhgoIegUzP1qTnZwpK3F9XA_BOrgtI5dE/s200/army+list.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once I decided to stop
making lists, even grocery lists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I found I list the needed groceries anyhow, but I purposely leave the
list at home to punish myself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many people are list makers
and don’t admit it. Doctors make lists, but they call them categories to sound
smart. Librarians are major players. They have lists of compendiums that list
the number of specific old books still extant. There’s a cry for help.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So I made a list of list
makers:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Starbucks
employees</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Airline pilots</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Writers on
Amazon – all want to get listed with Kindle 100 best free books</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MeQiIRg_vX-VPAVb5PkTQNGgChCCpr5uyjiNLTcWwtP4we8k7eXueIEDQAA5IvmOjZ-jBundVAkXLrr3cB-1CB1XTzD9-WWi-UXOx21szQOUHJEoPGOVb-FNy3I6BagDiJdvQqk_-PY/s1600/sports+stats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MeQiIRg_vX-VPAVb5PkTQNGgChCCpr5uyjiNLTcWwtP4we8k7eXueIEDQAA5IvmOjZ-jBundVAkXLrr3cB-1CB1XTzD9-WWi-UXOx21szQOUHJEoPGOVb-FNy3I6BagDiJdvQqk_-PY/s200/sports+stats.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Efficiency
experts</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Anybody in
sports (but they call the lists stats to avoid sounding domestic)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Website designers are list
makers, trying to draw order out of chaos. “Okay, everybody talks, but one at a
time and 140 characters only!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The internet is list
nirvana. Google is basically a list with most visited first. Goodreads has a
section titled Listopia. I limit my time there from 7-9pm as an act of personal
discipline. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My need for lists is
satisfied with students. I list the grades I think each will get, then the
final grades they actually earned with the variance and frequency. Aaahhhh, I
love teaching. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tovrOwYIWc_ttMDDt61po0EDSkjKEzEAra2hSJC846SSMojeNRzDW7Xf4HHyXja5uxZNpibghtqFwN2oJY-SQO-YYsK9AvFvifwkdIXZtg07jfJBCz5EVnGCHpiPOpc0oPLQW4PKDpI/s1600/gradebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tovrOwYIWc_ttMDDt61po0EDSkjKEzEAra2hSJC846SSMojeNRzDW7Xf4HHyXja5uxZNpibghtqFwN2oJY-SQO-YYsK9AvFvifwkdIXZtg07jfJBCz5EVnGCHpiPOpc0oPLQW4PKDpI/s200/gradebook.jpg" width="163" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The only group that cannot
seem to make a quality list is healthcare.gov.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So I say, list makers stand
proud. There are more of us that can be counted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-69198803760922550662013-11-17T05:22:00.000-08:002013-11-17T05:26:51.417-08:00Perspective on Bad Reviews<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many years ago at a science fiction convention I was seated
next to a famous writer in a well appointed hotel lobby for a book signing –
his most recent novel and my first attempt. The idea was that convention
attendees offered bought books for a personal autograph, except the many sci-fi
fans were there to wear skimpy costumes, read comics and watch animee, and
maybe get laid. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTkGC8Q7bmK04NUXGE2u_OGzXuH5R_a8jF91VSNUCokJax0dA7CnyEu_pM0CZkSnM5ehoX7KqQUs38YO-RGuFeGXYZWzts6rK6Cg6B02fWnxU30c0MSOz39cuubV2k5kHc2bTgVWgqlg/s1600/costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTkGC8Q7bmK04NUXGE2u_OGzXuH5R_a8jF91VSNUCokJax0dA7CnyEu_pM0CZkSnM5ehoX7KqQUs38YO-RGuFeGXYZWzts6rK6Cg6B02fWnxU30c0MSOz39cuubV2k5kHc2bTgVWgqlg/s200/costume.jpg" width="133" /></a>The writer and I chatted during a long series of quiet
moments while infrequent shy readers approached and he flourished the felt tip
pen. One reviewer came by carrying four weighty copies of new books and forty
extra pounds under a tucked-in and buttoned-down shirt. “I reviewed your book,”
he said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The famous writer looked over his glasses while he finished
an autograph for a young reader. “You said I played fast and loose with time,
and the events were out of sequence.” The reviewer registered surprise and pleasure that the
writer quoted his words back to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">“You said the last chapters needed editing,” the writer
added, “and the ending was too fast.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The reviewer took out his phone and glanced at me like I
might be willing to serve him to capture the moment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkhbEi_wr6coFMrC_J66b9MeLPoM2S1cnQcB80Huv3VeV5wCzL1kJqV2s4wlZ-V_R2gWkhMrpw62Wf8TMJNWGv6x5TYDYy8Hg9zT3hFoTiSRtgJ20l-gj9tbmq8eUodUvBjn9NbkzQZg/s1600/Van+Gogh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkhbEi_wr6coFMrC_J66b9MeLPoM2S1cnQcB80Huv3VeV5wCzL1kJqV2s4wlZ-V_R2gWkhMrpw62Wf8TMJNWGv6x5TYDYy8Hg9zT3hFoTiSRtgJ20l-gj9tbmq8eUodUvBjn9NbkzQZg/s200/Van+Gogh.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">“I’m reminded of a famous <span style="color: #ffd966;">Van Gogh</span> painting that hangs at
the <span style="color: #ffd966;">Art Institute in Chicago</span>,” the famous writer continued. “Maybe you’ve seen
it. The painter’s bedroom is depicted in too-bright yellows with the furniture
outlined in squiggly strokes, and the bedposts are too big so they seem to loom
off the canvas. I visited the gallery with my mother who claimed that was her
favorite painting. She felt confident providing a critique because so many
elements were obviously wrong.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The reviewer’s countenance fell so he resembled a wax figure
that was melting. He turned on his heel and marched away with fat thighs and
buttocks pumping. The famous writer showed me the briefest smile before he
reached to sign the next offered book for a fan. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXPLm4yQNWtdMLNTbgJCWnTktx4YIhkjBZWZc9Pwzf10vyJJ-ztyOc_EJy6z9kLNgD7NOjDVWrAuS0r7OKN4aKxL2NOwhhKanYNe2BpYjgv8at1Hk2bbr7q4T6zpHAAoN74S0JOkXgp4/s1600/Atwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXPLm4yQNWtdMLNTbgJCWnTktx4YIhkjBZWZc9Pwzf10vyJJ-ztyOc_EJy6z9kLNgD7NOjDVWrAuS0r7OKN4aKxL2NOwhhKanYNe2BpYjgv8at1Hk2bbr7q4T6zpHAAoN74S0JOkXgp4/s200/Atwood.jpg" width="200" /></a>Of course, we all know that the wrong elements made the
painting recognizable at a glance as a Van Goth. Writers also seek a style
that’s instantly identifiable for paragraphs taken out of context like with
<span style="color: #ffd966;">Flannery O’Conner</span>, <span style="color: #ffd966;">Margaret Atwood</span>, or even <span style="color: #ffd966;">Joyce Carol Oates</span>. O’Conner was
slammed for too much violence, Atwood for word smithing, and Oates for, well,
everything. </span><br />
<br />
</div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-51106408278903801152013-11-14T13:12:00.001-08:002013-11-14T13:26:04.742-08:00Change is (mostly) good<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Been absent here a while since I downsized to a walk-up in
an upscale neighborhood. Did you ever notice that when you make one change,
soon enough you change everything? New haircut, new purse, new jeans, new
bedspread, new published novel. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLoJvyT3Ch3rIDDcRKBBS4DDG01iSmYH-zvIFwE6ODD0vqATXM47l8FOdNbhTnSc085wu3VEi5gMunhnkvzzBLggQjlS58o6ke2kg1uCS8TLFWjPh-mItBngkTL4YZPqt620PoTatvG0/s1600/treasureisland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLoJvyT3Ch3rIDDcRKBBS4DDG01iSmYH-zvIFwE6ODD0vqATXM47l8FOdNbhTnSc085wu3VEi5gMunhnkvzzBLggQjlS58o6ke2kg1uCS8TLFWjPh-mItBngkTL4YZPqt620PoTatvG0/s200/treasureisland.jpg" width="200" /></a>The biggest adjustment, though, was my diet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was accustomed to perusing the
Treasure Island salad bar and eating out of the container.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dinner was pot pie, or enchiladas at
the local Mexican place. Now I live in the land of a thousand restaurants, and I
was eager to sample the many choices. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wanted to start small. I entered a hole-in-the-wall hot
dog place that doesn’t serve french fries. When I asked the manager how often
he got requests for french fries, he claimed he was philosophically opposed
to them. But he serves HOT DOGS!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_Kawq5SGI8yv3SPnw1ZVPj7Aqgg7ThUwACPpa1ilOMt0C9hV6tD4F_BMNjtgoryRio2nwrsP7xfxFH6lJatZyWfZVJ9LWN7t4YngmnHZH0_Z_lxyMoo_lU6KG1yM18XeoFjMdRv_psY/s1600/hot+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_Kawq5SGI8yv3SPnw1ZVPj7Aqgg7ThUwACPpa1ilOMt0C9hV6tD4F_BMNjtgoryRio2nwrsP7xfxFH6lJatZyWfZVJ9LWN7t4YngmnHZH0_Z_lxyMoo_lU6KG1yM18XeoFjMdRv_psY/s200/hot+dog.jpg" width="200" /></a>So I went next door to a California-style lunch place with storefront windows that allow too much light, and artwork that references no
cultural preference. They’re open only four hour a day, so I need to set an
alarm on my phone. They offer egg entrees at weekend brunch but not at 11am on
Wednesday. The menu had five lunch specials, five sandwich choices (one being
duck tacos), and four salads. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was served an overpriced and slimy spinach salad with the stems intact, but no
onion slices and no olives. Pine nuts instead of sunflower meats, and tiny globs or
what I took to be dried pepper. They need to move back to California.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just so you don’t think I’m a crudgeon, I did find a steak
house that serves real steak with a real baked potato with real butter and even
sour cream, not some California soy cream substitute. And there was a line out
the door of Midwesterners who can discern value for the dollar. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnvaSVpTiSeyLPL344ONtr23dz0QGDElktnBEkl0IW61-k5sQxP8q5J2jLQXV6KPXy280oqv-CN4rO2n_8czkFYyIVkOU7oyPW3evGcub6ne-92XY14xPhLRmES17I0KhDQkjBORTK_0/s1600/pilsen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnvaSVpTiSeyLPL344ONtr23dz0QGDElktnBEkl0IW61-k5sQxP8q5J2jLQXV6KPXy280oqv-CN4rO2n_8czkFYyIVkOU7oyPW3evGcub6ne-92XY14xPhLRmES17I0KhDQkjBORTK_0/s200/pilsen.jpg" width="200" /></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I need to move to Pilsen where steak burritos come wrapped in
waxed paper, pizza by-the-slice is served on a Styrofoam plate, and french
fries are piping hot and salted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In this city… In this city, hot dogs come with fries. Spinach salad
comes with onions. Attitude is gruff but not haughty. And I can get eggs any
damned hour of the day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-2279068428491050532013-09-20T08:42:00.000-07:002013-09-20T08:58:30.820-07:00Synopsis of new Christian Fantasy novel<div style="text-align: center;">
For my Reddit friends: A <u>Synopsis</u> of <i>The Backside of Beyond</i>. </div>
<br />
Send a note to stella(dot)atrium(at)gmail(dot)com for a sample chapter or the complete story in pdf form for review.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Courier;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HhV-kD1kUeVgfFRYFnTXVUy809I4PpZ2wX9kABHn2vbt2KjEMHQJkcy02nvwjrN3wtUR-4ifg4Rks-sy6wA7vywAq9gTAp5SI219EuOB4RhiszA52T2TGH930J5RwYQ-73weT1D5c5w/s1600/fence_top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HhV-kD1kUeVgfFRYFnTXVUy809I4PpZ2wX9kABHn2vbt2KjEMHQJkcy02nvwjrN3wtUR-4ifg4Rks-sy6wA7vywAq9gTAp5SI219EuOB4RhiszA52T2TGH930J5RwYQ-73weT1D5c5w/s320/fence_top.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Courier;">A
contemporary fantasy in the vein of <i>American Gods</i> by Neil Gaiman and
Umberto Eco’s <i>Island of the Day Before</i>, this sardonic story pokes fun at
conceits in the <i>Left Behind</i> series.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Courier;">A
colony of long-lived aliens known as Longists is established in the Blue Ridge
Mountains in 2065, just as America appears to enter End Times events. The USA
has fragmented into eleven provinces. Economic tensions lead to the
construction of a bisecting fence on a north-to-south borderline one state west
of the Mississippi</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier;">Yolanda Santiago, a Longist who walks among us,
volunteers for a brain implant program, then goes rogue with military and
banking internet codes. She rejoins the colony and learns her sister Aurora is
troubled by a menacing spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier;">Danielo Manuel de Barbarossa, widely viewed as the
antichrist, grabs power in independent California and then in the provinces of
Mexico and the Northwest. A grassroots movement of fencewalkers led by Pastor
Acher undertakes a trek to circumnavigate the fence and call attention to the
need for dismantling and for reconciliation among the provinces. Aurora and
friends join the fencewalkers to gain guidance from Pastor Acher about the
menacing spirit.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier;">The
story’s pivotal character Abby Davies takes a position as an intern with
Senator Bertol Martineau, who is Longist, but she quickly grows into an enabler
for disparate groups to communicate. Only when Abby Davies and Pastor Acher
join forces can healing and the defeat of princes and principalities begin.
Spirits are vanquished. Barbarossa is toppled, and the fence is dismantled by
local groups similar to the end of the Berlin Wall.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-63044003713629788372013-09-03T09:17:00.001-07:002013-09-03T09:20:39.669-07:00Many Thanks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yHl5V5Y1x7LCQos-iRJATbSyhA6WvZriR_MGr0UGzJGRpbqj0EatfgmDRgwk-NlXc3VuTYpKKqBBuV4s8IYWDLQDXBou0TAgt-GtBbTtsM60PdWftQR253_jPVH5EDElgbvj-xfTbSg/s1600/SufferStone.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yHl5V5Y1x7LCQos-iRJATbSyhA6WvZriR_MGr0UGzJGRpbqj0EatfgmDRgwk-NlXc3VuTYpKKqBBuV4s8IYWDLQDXBou0TAgt-GtBbTtsM60PdWftQR253_jPVH5EDElgbvj-xfTbSg/s200/SufferStone.gif" width="128" /></a></div>
Thanks to all participants of the August 2013 <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>GoodReads</b></span> giveaway for <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>SufferStone</b></span>. We had 633 entrees for 18 paperback books.<br />
<br />
Watch this space for a new giveaway in October!<br />
<br />
Also see:<br />
HeartStone: Book II of the Dolvia Saga<br />
StrikeStone: Book III -- released in July 2013<br />
SignalStone: Book IV -- <span style="color: #ffd966;">due out in January 2014</span><br />
SeaStone: Book V -- under construction<br />
<br />
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-56382904163596250542013-08-26T07:18:00.000-07:002013-08-26T07:30:07.279-07:00SeaStone: Book V of Dolvia Saga<style>
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<br />
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-hyphenate: none; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Prologue</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-hyphenate: none; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Through a welter of cirrus
clouds the sunlight cast blue shadows where a round yurt was nestled at the end
of the path and with a shed and fowl hut. The door of the yurt, a heavy animal
skin with the edges still furry, was thrown back and a bearded man dragged a
girl into the snow, striping her legs with a switch. “You don’t learn, Stroenuk.
We could all be killed!”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Leave her alone, Ocliv,”
a woman called from inside. “She must obey her gift.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Like her mother?” Ocliv
said. “Huh, Opeil? Like the Stroenuk who was stoned and burned in the square?
Is that what you want for her? And for us?” He held a torn page before the
crying child. “No more drawings. No more dragon visions. No more images of seastone,”
mockingly, “who is the liquid center of light.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Ocliv released the girl
and searched his pocket for a match to burn the page. “Light doesn’t penetrate seawater.
Light bounces off water just like it bounces off snow.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
An overhead noise made Ocliv
stand alert, so different from mountain thunder or the crackle of northern
lights. Opeil stepped outside shielding her eyes to glimpse a streaking light that
led to the craggy outcropping above them. The skyship, rosy in the angling
light and with a wide con-trail, shuttered and came apart before it crashed.
The nose section tumbled down the cliff, exposing the passenger compartment
where puppet-like figures jerked and bounced and finally were still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
They stared until the
noise quieted. “Didn’t see that in your visions, huh, Stroenuk?” Ocliv accused.
“Hitch the wagon.” He pushed the girl forward. “We must get there first.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Are survivors
possible?” Opeil asked breathlessly.</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“There’ll be supplies
and shipments of jewels for their stock exchange. We must get there first.”</div>
<div align="center" class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
###</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
The blue and silver
wreckage smelled of cold ashes and icy metal. Jagged edges were illuminated by
the pitiless sun in the mountain air. Ocliv ducked out of the passenger
compartment carrying rucksacks like schoolgirls carry. “These are the last of
the goods,” he said. “We must go before the light fades.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“We cannot leave the bodies,”
Opeil objected. “Others will come; maybe offer a reward.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“For us, you think? For
the exiles who harbor a Stroenuk?”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Alousha’s reward for
kindness.” Opeil stepped past him into the round frozen space where the dead
laid at different angles, their coats forced open and pockets emptied. </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Why do you always
counter me?” Ocliv called behind her, but stopped short when a movement near
the outcropping caught his eye. “You think to escape me?” He dropped the goods
and hurried forward drawing his long knife just as a Chinese man in fur-lined
coat and fur-trimmed cap rose in challenge. “Nu delaya!” the man shouted
brandishing a rod. “Chi cylay!’</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“I don’t speak your
savannah gibberish,” Ocliv said. “And you know none of my words either. So if
you die, who’s to say?”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Ransom! Ransom!”
another called from behind the desperate man. </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Ocliv lowered his weapon.
Here was a word he understood. A boy dressed much the same as his guardian
stepped into the light. “They will pay a ransom for my safety,” the boy said in
Striiduc, accented with sharp consonant sounds.</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Ocliv squinted, noting a
second guard crouching in ambush. “And who might you be?” he said to the boy
who was maybe age fourteen.</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Wan Chu, son of Ambassador Wan Su who
waits in Cochin for my arrival. You will contact him now with your plan for my
safe return.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Ha! Where do you think
you landed, boy? Contact him how?”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“By Stroenuk, your
dragon dreamer who can see the actions of those who dwell on the savannah as
clearly as I see you.” Wan Chu actually pronounced the word correctly as
strew-knock. </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Ha! If only her visions
were clear,” Ocliv said.</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Others will reach out
to her when they see.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“See this?” Ocliv
indicated the wreck site. “How will they see this?”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“There is one who has
the song.” He stepped back a fraction, gesturing behind him. “Here, a dreamer
like your daughter.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“She’s not my–” </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Opeil came from the
passenger cabin, stepping past him and past the Chinese guards. On a pallet on
the snow, past the chunks of flaked ice spray from the impact, past the long
shadows and glinting sunlight that indicated day was ending; Opeil found a women
laying prone but moaning softly, covered with coats taken from the dead. Two
Striiduc gypsies squatted at her feet, maybe forced there by the Chinese. On a
nearby boulder a dark-skinned girl sat, a Putuki judging by her features,
holding her arm and with an anguished look from the pain of a dislocated
shoulder. “Where’s the Stroenuk?” she whispered through the pain.</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“We saved the
ambassador’s daughter,” Wan Chu claimed loudly, desperately. “We stopped the
bleeding. Except for us, she would die.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“The girl,” Bybiis
whispered. “Bring the girl.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Opeil turned and
gestured past Ocliv and the Chinese guards. The child in boots and a heavy coat
approached hesitantly, picking her footholds over the unforgiving ice shards.
The two gypsies whispered together, “Stroenuk, Stroenuk.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Bybiis gestured to draw
her near. “What is you name?”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“She is Stroenuk,” Wan
Chu said in a demanding tone. </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Your name?” Bybiis
repeated softly.</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“She is Opin,” the woman
said, “daughter to my sister Opinal who was stoned and burned in the public
square. Opin is hidden here due to the shame of seeing. Her night visions—”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Her visions will save
us,” Bybiis finished. “Opin, I need your strength. I need a little help to
reach my friends on the savannah. Will you help me?”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“It’s forbidden,” Ocliv
said. </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“If she doesn’t,” Wan
Chu said, “we’ll all die.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“I won’t die today,”
Ocliv told him. </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“She can ransom us,” the
boy returned. “You’ll be richer than a Borabean king.”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Ocliv squinted, glancing
at the Chinese guards. “Richer than Rularim?”</div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
“Richer than Daniel Chin
himself.” </div>
<div class="Print-out" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Ocliv stood tall and
seemed to swagger a moment. “We can hide the goods and return for them
tomorrow. This is for Alousha’s blessing.”<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-43220754169628503642013-07-29T13:13:00.001-07:002013-08-13T10:30:06.547-07:00The Power of Names<style>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I believe in writing with specifics. I tell my students all
the time: call it by it’s name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
stand of trees is a different image than a stand of birch trees. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two recent events, though…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ixBiIujapb_X2ucpbrOgLq22Ehyphenhyphen_g4RUoSOT_Kb35KZS8TnvZ2qG_FUxwWHYlHVOz7LPLmZDbIVdS9iG7sEc4iRTD8rduDfeLxdROwcznSx81fSp8Zr5SHDiz9jZ1_nKKNbe8hMjlls/s1600/Ondaatje.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ixBiIujapb_X2ucpbrOgLq22Ehyphenhyphen_g4RUoSOT_Kb35KZS8TnvZ2qG_FUxwWHYlHVOz7LPLmZDbIVdS9iG7sEc4iRTD8rduDfeLxdROwcznSx81fSp8Zr5SHDiz9jZ1_nKKNbe8hMjlls/s200/Ondaatje.jpg" width="147" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I committed at a radio interview (six weeks from now) that
includes a reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, the
author reading from her own works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m not very auditory – I hate talking on the phone, for example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I attended author readings maybe five
times in my life and hated all of them, except once I heard <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>Michael Ondaatje</b></span>,
the author of <span style="color: #ffd966;">The English Patient</span> read from his short stories. I’m a sucker for
a crisp accent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Except, I’m from the American Midwest living in
Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no respect for the
letter ‘t’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With us it’s all dese,
dems, and dose over dare. What will my reading sound like over the radio?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Moreover, what scene shall I select for the 5-minute spot?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I review chapter one of the new release
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/StrikeStone-Book-Dolvia-Saga-ebook/dp/B00DRDO102/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1376414967&sr=8-3" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ffd966;">StrikeStone</span></a> that is Book III in a series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
scenes are sharp and push the story along nicely, engaging a reader who maybe
has not picked up the first two novels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Several sentences in the paragraphs, though, are used to identify
characters, such as: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zuLkeLajX6FciVOwk1-V7FpUqhTisJz8EZj8oh5Qz39xaZWefd8UJVo4LNFM-i8-OaQ81bq_eaOhSRbNNFrMRgF0f4Ka977SXjr7Zm9lyJw6GjxFF5EI-rrLB-m2Ewq_1O_sQ0uRZEc/s1600/Daley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zuLkeLajX6FciVOwk1-V7FpUqhTisJz8EZj8oh5Qz39xaZWefd8UJVo4LNFM-i8-OaQ81bq_eaOhSRbNNFrMRgF0f4Ka977SXjr7Zm9lyJw6GjxFF5EI-rrLB-m2Ewq_1O_sQ0uRZEc/s200/Daley.jpg" width="200" /></a><i><span style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">I had seldom contacted Kyle Rula,
but received messages through the convent turnkey Sarah, and the Cylay
administrator Vera who had been a childhood friend.”</span></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">The reader catches up with Sarah later, and
also with Vera, but not in this scene that I want to read for the radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need to delete those sentences for
the excerpt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I start to scan
the pages and find a wealth of energy spent signifying on the characters and
their back stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t want
to overwhelm the radio piece with introducing characters that don’t make an
appearance in the allotted five minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">To me, the story seems flat after
editing, like the remaining characters are acting without responsibility to
those who I redacted temporarily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Actions in the scenes are not undertaken in front of community because I
removed the names of people – brother, auntie, daughter, leader –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to whom the actors are responsible. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">So I start thinking about how
reading in pubic is different from reading in private.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A short piece is different than a novel
that’s part of a series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Adjustments are needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Funny thing, though. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">In 2005 I was teaching freshman how
to write in complete sentences and asked students in one course to keep a
journal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since they were required
to, I also started a journal – three 3-page entries each week that were
reflective and confessional. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAk7qb4IX9dyZRxkTqdRD7zauk6i_L_sdzyoyw4LTMdBAHYDDYxFbhTXrRvVoLuVyFqTF9F97cAaMRzfhkB-ApYBZkrdjJDPs7bOLKyg_Wy6fOT9DtjGeTlEcxlp45HHrENnzFVHRAU4/s1600/rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAk7qb4IX9dyZRxkTqdRD7zauk6i_L_sdzyoyw4LTMdBAHYDDYxFbhTXrRvVoLuVyFqTF9F97cAaMRzfhkB-ApYBZkrdjJDPs7bOLKyg_Wy6fOT9DtjGeTlEcxlp45HHrENnzFVHRAU4/s200/rose.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Recently, I posted some of the short
writing pieces from that effort on a new eblog titled <a href="http://writingmyshortstory.blogspot.com/2013/07/endings-post1-for-artists.html" target="_blank">Writing in the Short Form</a>, intended for my current
creative writing students (in September) who I will guide to write short
fiction in their own voices. “Bare yourselves; dig down to the bone; throw away
caution; expose the dark side for fear and jealousy.” Sound familiar? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">I sent the few first posts to a
friend who said, “Yes, the posts are too personal, and you should change all
the players’ names.” </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">I hate the idea. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">I know this feeling is only process
frustration. The end-reader knows little about my lofty goals and my
compromises. So I changed them, (Marty for
Michael and like that). The re-naming effort takes all the hurt out of the
paragraphs, like it’s somebody else’s story now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marty isn’t responsible like Michael was. Go figure.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">What’s in a name? Designer names for
our clothes; names of countries we want to visit; names of villains in
Spiderman movies; the name for the pill needed to stop my skin from
itching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Names are everywhere, and
if we cannot recall them, we cannot have the benefit of the fashion or
geography or camaraderie or healing. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXui4bqqhpvIbISHZ3CxjKkS9aE3TwnAYob2SpH0a9fNFZIvrit_4uBjHwylo-MZ1MV7HQU3Q3ifW-xVe6InqqNL0a3-M0h6JWq2Trh7ng_Ygfewi3xlqmOPAMeQqnKSDEu4U8GFTXzM/s1600/Sri+Lanka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXui4bqqhpvIbISHZ3CxjKkS9aE3TwnAYob2SpH0a9fNFZIvrit_4uBjHwylo-MZ1MV7HQU3Q3ifW-xVe6InqqNL0a3-M0h6JWq2Trh7ng_Ygfewi3xlqmOPAMeQqnKSDEu4U8GFTXzM/s200/Sri+Lanka.jpg" width="166" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>Sri Lanka</b></span> was Sinhala in India, and
Taprobane to the ancient Greeks. On a store-bought globe, the island country
was identified as Ceylon until 1972. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">You tell me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sample the short works on the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/kbnfugl" target="_blank">eblog</a>
that my students will use. Do the names have power?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <b>http://tinyurl.com/kbnfugl</b></span></span></span></div>
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Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-77757819000384957122013-07-24T11:22:00.001-07:002013-07-24T11:26:53.003-07:00The Thief: a Master Class in PacingI read <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>The Thief</b></span> on recommendation from Lois
McMaster Bujold who claimed in a FaceBook post that she was frustrated
with finding a good read so she returned to something familiar that she
knew was good.<br />
<br />
I wanted to review The Thief for the <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>Worlds Without End</b></span> 2013 reading challenge for Women Writers in Genre Fiction, but <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>Megan Whalen Turner</b></span>
was not on their list of women writers, probably because as a Young
Adult (YA) writer Turner had won none of the name sci-fi awards.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Turner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Turner" border="0" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1155" height="150" src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Turner.jpg" width="130" /></a>Of course, with a recommendation for <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>Lois McMasters Bujold</b></span>, who needs the awards system? I always thought the awards ran in trends anyhow. The current trend is castle stories.<br />
<br />
The narrator of this castle story is the thief named Gen who keeps
secrets from his companions and from the reader until the end. For a <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>YA book</b></span>,
this reader is relieved to find little assassination gore and few
battlefield scenes. The dungeon scene is about deprivation more than
torture.<br />
<br />
The Thief is economical in that all elements are used to work out the
plot, and the story unfolds as it must for exposition while four
adventurers (who know each other slightly) journey to find a stone that
lends immortality to the holder.<br />
<br />
For my writing students, I recommend this book as a master class in
pacing for inserting elements at the right moment. The story is kept
small since the four travelers must avoid towns to remain secret. The
quirks of each character are revealed through pranks of one-upmanship. A
system of gods is introduced through campfire stories, and the back
story of each character, while relevant to the plot, is meted out in
morsels only.<br />
<a href="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Turner-books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Turner books" border="0" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1156" height="134" src="http://stellaatrium.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Turner-books.jpg" width="295" /></a><br />
Because of the first person narration, the scene about how Pol
sacrifices himself to get rid of the traitor in their group was glossed
over (since Gen wasn’t there). Pol’s internal struggles to fulfill his
mission were interesting but undeveloped.<br />
<br />
A satisfying read with believable special skills for the travelers
and different-but-familiar gods. Three more books complete the series. <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>Highly recommended</b></span>, especially for young readers.<br />
<br />
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1910578984899641495.post-30209224485270057832013-07-09T09:19:00.000-07:002013-07-09T09:21:51.878-07:00Interview with Stella Atrium
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Q: How is it going with the
release of Book III in a fantasy series?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Atrium: <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>StrikeStone</b></span> just
entered the pipeline for distribution the first week of July 2013, so sales
can’t be tracked yet. We did a Goodreads giveaway for Book I -- titled
<span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>SufferStone</b></span> -- that got great response, though. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Q: What are the drawbacks to
writing a series?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp5bqarne5zjfJV4MfU0B5JpmDWLmfGRcZZC8UfUOtly9WzArqSfz9jwyRxPjcNgp4SITQWQ_aJ-dxcAT9Kb3kalSDuzinJOo_fKZYvsQMH-8wzD51OcVx_gRKrag0EONGnbWHYvMoLM/s1600/Photo+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp5bqarne5zjfJV4MfU0B5JpmDWLmfGRcZZC8UfUOtly9WzArqSfz9jwyRxPjcNgp4SITQWQ_aJ-dxcAT9Kb3kalSDuzinJOo_fKZYvsQMH-8wzD51OcVx_gRKrag0EONGnbWHYvMoLM/s200/Photo+29.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Times;">Atrium: Well, my stories are
about the women, so there are fewer battle scenes and gory deaths. Characters
include the fate of the set-aside wife, or a tribeswoman who maneuvers behind the
scenes to promote her son as leader, or a businesswoman who courts the men
while she ignores the talents of her niece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The battles mostly take place over the hill while the women
try to gather remnants to hold together a society. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Q: Sci-fi fans don’t like
stories about women?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Atrium: That depends on
where you look for fans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to
speak against <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>Reddit</b></span>, but I’ve had more luck with engaging fans on <span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>GoodReads</b></span>
and <b><span style="color: #ffe599;">World Literary Cafe</span></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also some
readers don’t start with a fantasy series until at least three books are in
print. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Q: Are more books planned
for the Dolvia Saga?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Atrium: Book IV -- titled
<span style="color: #ffe599;"><b>SignalStone</b></span> -- is mostly written, but I’m polishing the last section to
foreshadow Book V that’s just underway this summer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Q: Does the reader need to
read the first two books to understand events in StrikeStone?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LJaY4Ikpp4hmiBI31zQRkYzI7nNHO6zl1hI1osYfb2Kx3YMCJ4s42TpLMMDOaKjM5DWVhRtyXU9p2khi4BwpPTWBU375bzC_uPtRtVcPwMnCMiqOhaNV3JZmiL4uEg7PieL77qGgl1k/s1600/StrikeStone+cover.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LJaY4Ikpp4hmiBI31zQRkYzI7nNHO6zl1hI1osYfb2Kx3YMCJ4s42TpLMMDOaKjM5DWVhRtyXU9p2khi4BwpPTWBU375bzC_uPtRtVcPwMnCMiqOhaNV3JZmiL4uEg7PieL77qGgl1k/s200/StrikeStone+cover.gif" width="129" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Atrium: Thanks you for
asking. <a href="http://www.rabidreaders.com/2013/04/15/strikestone-by-stella-atrium/" target="_blank">Rabid Readers Reviews</a> read an advanced copy claimed she understood
StrikeStone just fine without the first two, but she wanted to go back, then,
and pick them up to read. I hope other readers have a similar reaction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Q: How many books in the
series are planned altogether? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Atrium: Six is a good
number. It’s important to complete some story threads for each book, but leave
the reader wondering about what happened to other characters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Q: How do you balance all
those characters and keep them clear in your head?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Atrium: Each character has
her own quirks and way of seeing the world. Tribespeople on Dolvia have a tight
community where each is needed to balance the harmony. I like to allow them to
grow and see how each acts in a crisis or as an adult after some catastrophe.
The characters are people to me, so I’m always returning to see what happens
next. </span></div>
Stella Atriumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11486980005076640913noreply@blogger.com4