a Snoopy rejection

It finally happened to me.

You know that Snoopy cartoon where the editors send him a rejection slip,
and he didn't even send them anything? (I think he writes back,
rejecting their rejection slip. Anyway, it's funny. Haha.)

I got one today.

I searched my records, and I have no record of sending that story to that
magazine. I suppose I could've I sent it to them before 2005. They
apologized to a delayed reply, and said the magazine recently changed
management. Maybe I sent it in 2004, got a rejection, and now I'm
getting another one because the records got messed up somehow?

Huh. Still scratching my head over this one.

~Alice~
http://aliceroelke.googlepages.com/home

Cyndere's Midnight, by Jeffrey Overstreet

Cyndere's Midnight, by Jeffrey Overstreet 

Sequel to Auralia's Colors

This lush fantasy novel may be disorienting to those, like me, who haven't yet read the first book.

However, the characters feel real, the world fully-developed.  Things aren't always explained, so you have to learn as you go.

Thick, lush prose and interesting and vivid characters make this book feel like an experience, a step into another world, instead of just a novel.

It's a long book with small print, and it's confusing in spots.  Nevertheless, this story has the feel of greatness about it.  The author writes well.  If it sometimes seems too convoluted, it may be because I don't understand the world yet.  I can always come back to it after I've digested the first in the series.

In all, it’s a beautiful book.  I have the feeling it easily become a classic to many, along with the rest of "The Auralia Thread" series.

I can only applaud the hard work, talent, and skill that went into creating this story’s universe.

Amazon.com link

Other links

> Jeffrey Overstreet¹s Web site - http://lookingcloser.org/

> Jeffrey Overstreet¹s blog -  

> http://lookingcloser.org/category/journal/

> Jeffrey Overstreet at Facebook -

> http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeffrey-Overstreet/42902959

Other people blogging about this:

http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com

http://betterfiction.com/blog/

http://www.leastread.blogspot.com

http://otter.covblogs.com

http://ansric.blogspot.com

http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com

http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com

http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com

http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings

http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php

http://christiansf.blogspot.com

http://specfaith.ritersbloc.com

http://frederation.wordpress.com

http://www.novelteen.com

Alice in Alice Land

There's a show, UGLY BETTY, which I mostly can't stand anymore.

On one episode, someone told the main character, Betty, that she lived in
"Betty Land," where everything was about her all the time. (Or something
like that; it's been awhile.)

Sometimes I feel like I live in "Alice Land," where everything is about
me. I don't want to do that, don't want to be selfish and self-preoccupied.
The fact remains, sometimes I am. What else matters so much in a
person's life, except the things that affect that person?

Writing can be a way to get out of one's self, I think.

Or perhaps it is the most self-indulgent time of all, I don't know.
Worrying about writing, thinking about writing -- that can be pretty
self-indulgent, for me, anyway.

But it seems to me that writing itself takes you out of yourself almost
completely. When you're writing, the things that matter most are the
characters and their problems, and not you at all.

The Pink Umbrella

"Mom, how do authors pick titles for their books?" I asked my mother.

I don't know how old I was, but certainly pre-teen.

She tried to explain to me this ephemeral process. (Which frankly I
don't even quite understand today, now that I am an author. Well, if I
did, I'd always be able to pick good titles, wouldn't I?)

My blank stares must have told her I wasn't getting it. So she tried to
give me an example.

"Sometimes authors picks titles from something that shows up in their
stories. Like 'The Pink Umbrella.' An author might name a story that if
a pink umbrella shows up in their story, and means something important."

This explanation left me more confused than ever.

"The Pink Umbrella?" How could that be a title... or mean anything at
all?

I understand titles a little better now, and the weird way they get
picked, or not picked. But in some part of my brain, 'The Pink Umbrella'
still means 'that weird process by which titles get picked.'

Then... the other week... I ran across an old Detective Book Club
compilation.

One of the titles in it? "The Pink Umbrella," by one Frances Cramer, c)
1943.

O...kay.

The weird illustration from my childhood is now alive and well.

Maybe I'll read it and find out just how "The Pink Umbrella" could be a
good title for a book.

Maybe not. I might just let the mystery live on.

~Alice~

The Book of Names, by D. Barkley Briggs

The Book of Names, by D. Barkley Briggs.

When I first heard the title of this book, it reminded me of "The Book of
Lost Things," a secular fantasy by a man named Connelly, which has a lot
of layering and beautiful, fascinating prose. That made me want to check
this book out.

This book is a Christian fantasy. I'm glad to see there's more of that
about lately. After all, some of the best fantasy writers were
Christians. (J.R.R. Tolkien, who started the whole modern fantasy thing,
was a Catholic.)

I'm about halfway through this book, so I can't review it fully, but by
the first few pages, I knew it couldn't be too bad, with rich prose like
the following:

"Riding on the bus, face pressed against the cold window, he didn't know
what to think. Only that it looked... otherworldly. Like God had put
Van Gogh in charge for the day."
...
"...mild winds had stirred to the south, scampering through row after row
of brittle stalks in the neighbor's cornfield across the road. He heard
them in the leafless oak and elm of his own yard, hissing with a high,
dry laughter."
...
"If it was just nasty weather, name it! What did it feel like? Wet fish
guts? Not quite. A full wet diaper? He remembered those well enough
from when the twins were little, but no. A three-day-old slice of
cheese?

Yes, that was it. Cold, damp, moldy.

Velveeta, actually, he decided, feeling a small measure of satisfaction.
He fumbled for the zipper of his coat as another icy breeze prickled his
skin. Yep, another lousy Velveeta day in the life of Haydn Barlow."

The story involves two brothers who find a portal in the back of their
new, lush farm. (When their father talks to them about runestones and
North American Viking landing sites, it's engrossing and realistic.)

The boys end up going through this portal into another land where fairies
and gnomes are real (or fairy- and gnome-like creatures), and there are
different humans and religious orders of Guardians, and a kingdom in
peril.

The story does have some point-of-view violations. It skips from one
boy's thought -- or from simply telling us how he feels -- then switches
to the other's without changing scenes or anything.

Another complaint, which I have with almost all fantasy novels, is that
it is quite long. At 379 pages, it's a big book. (But that's just a pet
peeve of mine about most fantasy. Many would disagree.)

Overall, this seems like a good effort. It's the first in a series,
"Legends of Karac Tor."

Which made me wonder... does "Karac Tor" equal "Character?" I haven't
seen anything to indicate that it does. Maybe I'm reading things into
the syllables here. :)

Here is the link to the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/160006227X

Here are some other bloggers who are also talking about this book:
www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com
www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com
http://csffblogtour.com
http://askandrea.adamsweb.us
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com
http://www.Christian-Fantasy-Book-Reviews.com

The Lost Genre Guild

http://www.lostgenreguild.com/

The Lost Genre Guild was formed to promote and talk about Christian
fantasy, science fiction, and horror.

I belong to the LGG Yahoo! email group. It has a lot of authors,
aspiring and published, and frequent conversations regarding the
publishing industry and different ways to write as a Christian, whether
that be stories where you mention God and scripture, or stories that in
every respect are secular, yet have a strong, moral core.

It turns out there are lots of Christian writers out there, and lots of
ways for Christians to write.

Below is a message from Frank Creed, founder:

"In promoting the Guild, I like to describe us as a tiny little cell in
the Body of Christ, where we all plug into the community and contribute
with our gifts. For those considering membership, I advise that they
Google Lost Genre Guild. If they like what they see, simply read our home
page, and send a brief note through the contact us link at the top of the
page."

Here's a link to the (published) books written by members:

http://www.lostgenreguild.com/bookshelves-ezines.html

The Critical Reader

Writers are perhaps the most critical of readers. I suspect if they
weren't they would never have started writing in the first place.

We can also be some of the most intensely devoted fans. Perhaps because
we know how hard it can be to write well.

For enjoyment, I read more mystery than science fiction. Yet science
fiction is generally the genre I write.

As far as science fiction goes, the good short stories I've read far
outnumber the good novels I've read. The good short stories have also
been more memorable, for the most part, than the good novels.

Short stories have punch.

I easily can get impatient with an author who lards his 100,000+ story
with unnecessary words, needless pandering, and coarse language or sex.

When I get fed up with a story, I can pick up another book. Or I can go
write one of my own. As writers, we don't have to put up with any
writing we don't want to read. Because we know we can write something
we'll like better. And maybe that other people will like, too.

Would writers enjoy reading more if they didn't write? I doubt it.
It's not bad to be opinionated, as long as you don't go overboard with it
and act obnoxious.