Monthly Archives: December 2014
George R. R. Martin: Fantasy for Non-Fantasy People
I met George R. R. Martin, one of the most widely-read heroes of epic fantasy writing, when he arrived in Victoria, B.C. – home of AbeBooks – on a book tour. Winner of Hugos, Nebulas, Stokers, and World Fantasy Awards, George is a well-recognized and accomplished name in the business.
[Editor’s Note: This interview took place in 2006, before HBO Productions purchased the broadcast rights for the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series.]
George Martin: “There’s a lot of evidence that my books seem to be the fantasy series for people who don’t like fantasy.” |
AW: Do you remember the first story you wrote when you were a kid?
GM: First story . . . I probably still have it in a drawer somewhere. I’m a real pack rat; I save everything. I have this drawer, a trunk—it depends on how you define a story. I have this booklet; it’s like a space encyclopedia that I wrote as a kid. One of those tablets, with the marble covers, you know, where you take your pen and you fill in the white part until it’s black and blue? It’s all written in that. An Encyclopedia of the Planets, with me doing the artwork, which mostly consisted of me drawing a circle, and then me writing a few things about the planet. It’s a strange mixture of fact and fiction. It’s got Mars on it, like Mars is the red planet and it has canals, and then it’s got the planet Orm or something that I made, where I made up stuff about it. And it’s got planets from Flash Gordon and Rocky Joe Space Ranger, which is a show I watched, mixed with planets that are entirely my own invention, as far as I know, mixed with real planets. It’s sort of block printed. It must have been first grade, because I hadn’t learned handwriting yet, which I think is second grade. (Laughs)
AW: Wow. That shows a lot of dedication at such a young age.
GM: Of course it’s not finished. I didn’t finish anything for decades.
AW: So you had an interest in science fiction since you were quite young?
GM: Yeah, that’s sort of what I’ve always really read. I often think comic books were the things that made me a reader. You learn to read in school with Dick and Jane, but the Dick and Jane stuff was so dull! (Laughs) Run, Dick, run. See Spot run. You know, the stories were stupid, even for a first or second grader. Years later I saw some of the famous McGuffey readers, go back further, things that my mother’s generation would read from in the 1930s or 1920s, and those things were filled with real stories from real writers that the kids were learning. But my generation, the baby boomers, we had Dick and Jane, and that couldn’t convince me to keep reading. But Batman and Superman could: they were much more interesting than Dick and Jane. And when I found comic books I loved them and continued to read those for years.
AW: I know you’ve done some work in Hollywood over the years. Have you ever thought of working or adapting something for a Batman franchise or something similar?
GM: Well, you know I have my own Wild Card series, which is sort of my own version of Super Heroes, but you can’t just adapt whatever you want for Hollywood. You have to wait for a studio to hire you and I had interviews for some Super Hero type jobs, but I never actually got any. They’ve done some good adaptations in recent years. The X-Men and the Spiderman franchises in particular have done good work. My first publication in a professional magazine, I wasn’t paid for it, but it was Fantastic Four #17. It was a letter. (Laughs). It said something like, “Stan Lee, better than Shakespeare.”
AW: Which writers do you most admire?
GM: It would be a long list. Writers had the biggest impact on me when I was young; you’re more impressionable. You have less life experience, you’re more likely to be wowed. I read science fiction, fantasy, horror, all interchangeably, I didn’t make sharp genre distinctions as other people do these days. Robert A. Heinlein certainly was my favourite writer. I was given, by a friend of my mother, a hard cover copy of, Have Spacesuit – Will Travel – Scribner’s Juveniles. It was the first actual science fiction book I read, and was for many years the only hard cover book I owned because we couldn’t afford hard covers. But, it hooked me on science fiction, so instead of buying four comic books, I’d buy one paperback book for 35 cents. In junior high I read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and that’s still a book I admire vastly. I re-read it every few years, or at least dip into it. H.P. Lovecraft had a great impact on me at a certain point. Horror, his stories scared the hell out of me. Robert E. Howard – you know, Conan the Barbarian is great for a 13-year-old boy. It’s a good age to discover Conan. Certain writers you have to read at certain ages.
AW: I agree completely.
GM: Like, I missed Edgar Rice Burroughs. Years later in my Hollywood age, I got hired by Disney to adapt A Princess of Mars, so I picked up Edgar for the first time, and (laughs) he’s . . . not a good writer to sample at 45.
AW: When you were coming up with the series Ice and Fire, what sorts of inspirations did you draw on?
GM: To a certain extent, it depends on when you’re talking about. The first notion of the series came to me in ’91, when I was mostly working in Hollywood. The first chapter came to me very vividly. I did about 50 pages until Hollywood called again, and I had to put it in a drawer for what turned out to be a couple of years. At that stage I didn’t really know what I had. A couple years later, I came back to it and found it still as fresh as when I’d written it. Finally I wrote about 150 pages and a brief summary of where I saw the story going. At that point I visualized it as a fantasy trilogy, with only three books instead of the seven I now visualize.
AW: There’s a certain attachment that you have to the characters as you’re reading the series, and then all of a sudden, they’re dead. (George laughs) It’s nail-biting! Did any of your editors ever express concern that major characters were going to be killed off?
GM: No, everybody seems to like that.
AW: It’s great to read, it just terrifies me.
GM: Well, that’s the idea – that you should care. If the character’s in peril, you should be afraid to turn another page.
AW: I read that Tyrion is your favourite character.
GM: Doesn’t mean he’s safe. (Laughs) He’s the easiest character to write. I like his wit, and he’s got a certain amount of torment and angst to him, which makes for good drama.
AW: Not many of your characters are free from sin, in many ways, which is interesting.
GM: I wanted to affect a certain human reality. I don’t like fantasy where everybody is either a hero or a villain, black or white. I prefer to paint with shades of grey. I think it’s more true to life. We’re all of us angels and demons in the same skin. We do good things and the next day we maybe do terrible things.
AW: Some critics have described your work as “high” fantasy. What does that mean to you?
GM: Well, it’s Tolkien-esque fantasy. I mean, you can slice the onion as many slices as you want, but some critics, for their convenience more than anything else, divided the broad area of fantasy into sub-genres, like “urban” fantasy or “dark” fantasy.
AW: I’ve read very little fantasy in my life, but I immediately took to your books. I think it’s partly the political intrigue as well.
GM: I read fantasy, but I also read historical fiction and I wanted to give these books some of the flavour of good historical fiction. In that sense it’s probably grittier and more realistic than most epic fantasy.
AW: A lot of people really strive to find parallels between reality and these stories.
GM: I’ve certainly been inspired by things from real history. I try to avoid one-to-one correspondence. I mean, there are certain similarities. You can look at Aegon the Conqueror and William the Conqueror. There are certain similarities, but there are important differences. William the Conqueror didn’t have dragons or marry his two sisters. (Laughs) Those are rather important distinctions.
AW: Marrying the two sisters brings up an interesting point. There are some that label your work as “dirty” because there is incest and graphic sexual scenes. Are you faced with people saying, “I really like the work, but sometimes there’s just too much sex?”
GM: I get those letters sure. Not a lot of them, but . . .
AW: Well, historically, it’s part of life.
GM: Sure. Well, you can’t marry your sister anymore, but I’m sure there are people who still sleep with them. (Laughs) There are a million books out there, which is my reaction when I get one of these letters. You don’t happen to like a lot of sex in your fantasy, then there are 37 other authors you could read who don’t have sex in their fantasy. Have fun. It’s an important part of human life and necessary for any kind of realistic portrayal. That’s my audience. It’s a sad commentary on American morals that the sex is the thing that people object to. I find that sad, but it is true. I can describe an axe entering a person’s skull and no one objects, but if I describe a penis entering a vagina, there’s an outcry.
AW: Some people say, “Oh, I avoid fantasy because the cover art is too dorky” or something. I notice that this cover for A Feast for Crows is very different than any of the covers previously.
GM: They’ve re-packaged the whole series and now the old books have been re-issued with matching, understated cover art. There’s a lot of evidence that my books seem to be the fantasy series for people who don’t like fantasy. And my publishers think there would be more of them if we could reach them, so they’ve gone with this understated cover art, precisely to get those people who say, “Well, I don’t want to be seen carrying this thing with horses and knights and castles and dragons on the cover.” It’s annoyed some of the original fans. I get letters saying their sets don’t match anymore. And, also from people who loved the old art.
AW: It worked though. I mean, number one on The New York Times bestseller list.
GM: It does seem to be working. Even with something as successful as Harry Potter, re-issuing them with the more adult cover.
AW: I don’t know how they could possibly sell more copies of Harry Potter. I thought everyone in the free world owned one.
GM: No, they’re trying to reach all the people who’ve never read anyone except Dan Brown. (Laughs)
Interview by Andrea Warner
Forget Sleeping. These 15 Real Ghost Stories Are Going To Keep You Up Tonight.
Every day, odd circumstances and stories happen all around the world. Regardless of if you believe in the paranormal, there are some stories that might keep your skin crawling because of how strange and real the events are. Even if normal ghost and ghoul tales don’t keep you up at night, these may. It’s not strange paranormal activity and demons you need to worry about, it’s the people and their stories that will haunt you. You may need to suspend disbelief to let these stories frighten you, but you may be surprised by just how easily that will happen.
1.) Zona Shue: She is “The Greenbrier Ghost” of West Virginia. The woman murdered by her cruel and abusive husband, Erasmus Stribbling Trout Shue, in 1897. He covered up Zona’s bruised and broken neck with a stiff-collared dress, and no one suspected foul play. Zona’s mother, however, received ghostly visitations from her dead daughter… which caused to her approach a prosecutor. Erasmus was later convicted.
2.) Marie Laveau: This woman was a New Orleans Voodoo priestess in the mid-1800s. She was feared in life and in death. Her tomb is considered to be one of the most haunted places in New Orleans.
3.) Kate Morgan: This young woman supposedly haunts the beachside Hotel del Coronado in California. In 1892, she was found dead with a bullet in her head and a gun in her hand, but the bullet did not match the gun. Even today, hotel employees report seeing the young woman’s ghost.
4.) The Bell Witch: The Bell Witch Haunting is what the fictional Blair Witch Project was based on. The Bell Witch is believed to have haunted the Tennessee home of the Bells in the early 1800s, terrorizing the parents and children. The ghost even tormented one of the Bell daughters and her fiance until their engagement was broken off.
5.) Dolly Madison: The wife of James Madison has apparently refused to leave the White House. She has been haunting it since her death. Today, Dolley still watches over her rose garden there.
6.) Resurrection Mary: On a stretch of road near Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois, sometimes an attractive blond-haired, blue-eyed young woman can be seen trying to hitchhike. If anyone stops to give her a ride to the cemetery, she’ll vanish as soon as they arrive.
7.) Chloe at the Myrtle Plantation: There are at least 12 ghosts at Louisiana’s Myrtles Plantation. The most infamous is Chloe, a slave owned by Clark and Sara Woodruff. Her ear was cut off for eavesdropping and forced to be a mistress. In revenge, Chloe baked a birthday cake poisoned with extract of oleander leaves, which killed Sara and her two daughters. Chloe was found guilty and hanged.
8.) Richard Miller: Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater is haunted by a teenager who killed himself on February 5, 1967. Richard Miller shot himself in the parking lot of a Sears, but he worked at the theater as an usher and loved it. He was even buried in his theater blazer. Until it was torn down in 2006, those working in the theater reported seeing Miller pacing up and down aisle 18, on the catwalks, and in the Queen’s Box.
9.) Elizabeth Pratt: This woman from Ft. Mifflin, PA, was a sergeant’s wife who lost her infant son and young daughter to yellow fever. She died of the same disease afterwards, screaming. To this day, her screams can be heard, so chilling that neighbors call the police.
10.) Toni Jo Henry: This prostitute-turned-killer became Louisiana’s first woman to die in the electric chair. She broke her husband, Harold “Arkie” Burks, out of jail and the two hitched a ride with a passing car. They ordered the driver, Joseph P. Calloway, out of the car. They made him to undress, say his prayers and then shot him once in the head. Toni supposedly haunts the courthouse she was convicted in.
11.) Prince Suleyman: In 1801, in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Prince Suleyman (a.k.a. the Sultan) had a beautiful house. He loved opium, kept a harem of slave women and boys, and regularly tortured his captives. One night, someone broke in and killed his family, then buried the Sultan alive in the courtyard. This house and courtyard is said to be haunted to this day.
12.) Mickey the Sailor: The Ear Inn, one of New York’s oldest bars, is home to Mickey, the ghost of a sailor. He lived above the bar in the 1950s and died outside of it when he was struck by a car. Now, he terrorizes the female patrons, starts fires and even depletes cell phone batteries.
13.) William Sketoe: At the end of the Civil War, Reverend Sketoe was accused of being a traitor to the Confederacy. He denied the allegations, but was hanged by a mob near Choctawhatchee River. The Reverend was able to keep his toes touching the ground at first, until someone dug a hole under him. That hole remains to this day.
14.) Theodosia Burr: The daughter of Aaron Burr boarded the Patriot, a New York-bound schooner in September of 1812. She was never heard from again. Now, Theodosia’s spirit remains at the Outer Banks where she was last seen alive, walking on the sand, a mournful figure in white.
15.) Joseph Forepaugh: Joseph was a dry goods merchant. He hired a maid, Molly, to help take care of his mansion in the 1880s. They had an affair and Joseph’s wife caught them in bed. Molly discovered she was pregnant and killed herself. Joseph later killed himself in the house as well. Today, the property, now a restaurant, is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the star-crossed lovers.
Author Randy Massey Makes Fantasy Your Christmas Read Reality
Welcome, Randy Massey!
This interview is rather interesting. Randy Massey is an author with a style of writing that really encapsulates what it means to write fantasy. His new book is the first part of a series. It’s called “The Summoner.” Read this interview and then go over and check out the new book. I think you will find yourself ordering a copy. You can’t help but love the honest answers Randy gives.
Q) Thank you for taking part in this interview, Randy. Can I start by asking what inspires you?
I would have to say God, family, life.
Q) How do you find “inspiration” and where does it live?
Inspiration is all around us. Whether in high joy or deep sorrow it is there for those who have eyes to see!
Q) When did you first consider yourself to be a writer?
It started soon after I read The Hobbit at age 10.
Q) How does a cover present itself? Where do those ideas come from?
Since most judge a book by its cover it needs to be functional in capturing the eyes of the beholders. As for the ideas for this kind of cover they should grow out of the imagination of the author and his/her story.
Q) What is the greatest writing aide a writer can have?
Deep commitment and determination, a never give up attitude.
Q) How did you find your writing style?
That developed over time as I read a wide variety of books. I always found myself drawn back to the world of fantasy. As to “style” I consider myself a planner more than a pantser.
“Inspiration is all around us. Whether in high joy or deep sorrow it is there for those who have eyes to see!”
Q) Can you define success, Randy? How do you feel about success?
Success is really a state of mind, being willing to accept whatever life gives you. Don’t’ like what you do or where you are? Then you are responsible to make changes!
Q) Many writers refer to a “writers heaven.” Let me ask you this, Randy. What is a “writers” heaven?
For me it would be a career as an author without having to work a “regular” job! After that, a movie or two from my writings would be on top of the list!
“Commitment and determination, a never give up attitude.”
Q) How often have you read another writers book and said “I can do better than that” to yourself?
(Laughs) Probably more often than I would admit!
Q) Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
Stick to it, because the going will get tough!
Q) What is your writing routine? How do you discipline yourself to keep at it?
Most of my writing comes in spurts. Sometimes it’s a daily thing, other times a week or more will go by before I pound the keys again!
Q) How do you, personally, begin a novel?
Formulate a plan, conceptualize the story, develop main and minor characters, put a schematic on paper, draw a map (if needed), lay out chapter thoughts and outlines, then begin writing.
Q) Why is it a crime to use a cliché in a novel? We all use clichés in talking with people, so why the big no-no when writing?
Readers see them all the time. They need something new, refreshing. Often they just get old and stale “cliché’s”.
Q) How do you know when a chapter is “just” right?
For me, it should end in such a way that the reader is mad at you cause he/she can’t just stop there! They have to read into the next chapter to find out what happens next!
Q) Do you feel supported as a writer?
I personally have found that most authors are selfish and self-serving (me included). So, no, not a whole lot of true support given, at least not from very many of the authors I have met online.
Q) Do you think it’s important to be expressive when writing dialogue?
Yes. I try to write in such a way that the words draw the reader in to the conversation !
Q) How do you think your new book will be received by readers?
As every writer does: well-loved and looking for more from the author!
You can order your copy of the first part of “The Legends of Arth” today. If you love Lord of the Rings you will love…
“The Summoner“
The 12 Greatest Fantasy Books of the Year
12. The Tyrant’s Law, by Daniel Abraham
Via Orrbit / amazon.com
Why it made the list: Ignore the George R. R. Martin kiss of death quote. Daniel Abraham’s Tyrant’s Law boldly follows in the footsteps of Martin and Joe Abercrombie and does them one better by creating a truly sympathetic villain.
Read if you like: political intrigue, slow burn fantasy, moral conundrums.
11. The Promise of Blood, by Brian McClellan
Via Orbit / amazon.com
Why it made the list: One doesn’t often find oneself siding with the military establishment in the fantasy genre, but that is just what Brian McClellan is asking you to do in his excellent Promise of Blood. Add to that a unique magic system and some steampunk aesthetics and you have the first piece of a ripping yarn.
Read if you like: muskets, men in uniforms, regicide.
10. A Memory of Light, by Brandon Sanderson (and Robert Jordan)
Tor Books / amazon.com
Why it made the list: Brandon Sanderson was asked to land a 747 without a scratch after the pilot died enroute. The fact that he delivered a book that millions of people were clamoring for with a minimum of criticism speaks to the enormity of his accomplishment.
Read if you like: sweeping fantasy epics, the best works of fantasy, getting a merit badge for reading 14 books over a course of 20+ years.
9. Emperor of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence
Via Ace / amazon.com
Reason it made the list: There are a ton of complaints that once a fantasy author launches a successful series, the original trilogy will turn into a seven book cycle which will then be further expanded into a series with no end date. Mark Lawrence could have made that choice with his successful Thorns Trilogy, but he ended it with a big fat PERIOD and even explained why in the afterword.
Read if you like: moral ambiguity, sociopathic behavior, interesting segue sequences.
8. The Tattered Banner, by Duncan M. Hamilton
Via CreateSpace Independent Publishing / amazon.com
Why it made the list: Sometimes you just need a good sword fight. Or a ton of sword fights. In the vein of last year’s Blood Song, Hamilton’s The Tattered Banner takes the “poor boy made good” arc and turns it into something more than the sum of its parts.
Read if you like: swords (duh), a dash of romance, classroom settings.
7. Luminous Chaos, by Jean-Christophe Valtat
Via Melville House / amazon.com
Why it made the list: Valtat’s first book in his Mysteries of New Venice series Aurorarama was an almost impenetrable novel of Victorian explorers, steampunk airships and the binge drinking of absinthe. Luminous Chaos takes that up a notch by adding Paris, time travel and the reaffirmed belief that no one should see a lady’s ankles.
Read if you like: tea etiquette, time travel and masquerade balls.
6. The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker
Via Harper / amazon.com
Why it made the list: Wecker’s Golem and Jinni is an amazing accomplishment as she analyzes the immigrant experience of turn of the century New York through the eyes of a Polish Golem and an Arabian Jinni. The characterization is deft as is the combination of fable and metaphor.
Read if you like: Old New York, Ellis Island, myth and fables, visiting the Tenement Museum.
5. The Thousand Names, by Django Wexler
Via Roc / amazon.com
Why it made the list: Imperialist fantasy seems to be all the rage, but no one did it better in 2013 than Django Wexler. Take one part colonialism, mix in some demons and you get Raiders of the Lost Arc meets Gunga Din.
Read if you like: exploration, unreadable superiors, women pretending to be men in military settings.
4. The Red Knight, by Miles Cameron
Via Orbit / amazon.com
Why it made the list: This came out of nowhere. Miles Cameron managed to take more than ten different viewpoints, put them all in the same novel along with some incredible world building and come out with a story that breaks several conventions of traditional fantasy and demonstrates a new way to write fantasy going forward. Why have one hero when you can have nine?
Read if you like: multiple narrators, mercantilism, old gods that need worship or they get super duper angry.
3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
Via William Morrow / amazon.com
Why it made the list: It’s Neil Gaiman.
Read if you like: bucolic horror, Neil Gaiman’s adult fiction, precocious children who are wise beyond their years.
2. Babayaga, by Toby Barlow
Via Farrar, Straus and Giroux / amazon.com
Why it made the list: A quarter part existentialist drama, a quarter part humor novel, another quarter of cold war politics and finish with a final quarter part witches. Mix until well blended and have your mind completely blown.
Read if you like: Kafka, sad Russian novels, Hercule Poirot.
1. London Falling, by Paul Cornell
Via Tor / amazon.com
Why it made the list: Gritty police procedural meets supernatural terrors with enough drugs, internal strife and gripping narrative to make it the best fantasy book of the year. Every character is well rounded, the conceit is well though out and you won’t want to put this book down nor read it past midnight.
A Great Ghost Stories Blog To Check Out
Archive of 900+ personal paranormal accounts I’ve stumbled across online.
There’s a possibility all of these stories are the result of drugs, mental illness, physical illness, stress, sleep paralysis, dreams, or natural phenomena misidentified. That all of these stories are the result of the story teller lying or exaggerating. But out of all the hundreds of stories here there is also the very real possibility that perhaps one is the absolute truth, that one has no other possible explanation other than the supernatural. The question is, which story is it and what would that suggest about the universe.
My Paranormal Tales 