Good news, everyone!¹

Cabinet des Fées has moved to a new host, so update your bookmarks to www.cabinetdesfees.com! Also, do visit and check out the beautifully sleek new scheme: I'm still completely enamored of the header with apple.

Also, you can now purchase the third print volume of Cabinet des Fées from Amazon. Not only is the TOC a basket of temptation (Veronica Schanoes! Virginia M. Mohlere! Catherine Knutsson!), but the cover is lovely:


Lovely Charles Vess cover is lovely.

See erzebet's official announcement (including a note about future print publications from Cabinet des Fées) at cabinetdefees.


1. I am literally incapable of seeing this phrase without my inner narrator speaking in Professor Farnsworth's voice.

For a while now, I've wanted a dedicated writing space. I operate primarily on a laptop - sadly, my laptop is getting incredibly long in the tooth and, well, it's sometimes difficult to remain focused on a machine I use so often for enjoyment and with such easy access to the Internet.

We realized a couple of months ago that my husband's old desktop was still sitting around, so we pulled it out and set it up with a new monitor. We reclaimed a table in our tiny dining nook that had previously been used mainly by lounging cats, and I outfitted my new nook with the required writerly paraphernalia, from reference books to a Death Star Pez dispenser and "Don't Piss Off the Fairies" plaque to one of my favorite James Jean art prints. With the recent addition of an old computer chair donated by my close friend David, it's fantastic.

There's just been one hitch. One large, fuzzy hitch.

See, Tiger Jack doesn't believe the table was cleared for rezoning. He also believes that David brought the computer chair over especially for him, as the immediately ubiquitous orange tufts of fluff indicate. Thus, we've been having somewhat of a trying adjustment period.

This is what happens when I try to work:


Candid photo is dark! Sorry about that.

Tiger actually has several strategies. There's the insert-head-under-hand technique while I'm typing. There's the tump-in-front-of-the-keyboard, pictured above. Then there's the obstruct-the-mouse gambit, where he curls up on said mousepad, back to me and tail lashing. He also enjoys the let's-hide-the-screen, where he just stands in front of me, bumping me with his head and sniffing my face as I try to see around him. He tried a new one tonight: I was consulting a book I'm reviewing, when he reached one paw over my arm and began "digging" into the surface of the page. Sometimes, when none of these result in cuddles, he will try my favorite strategy: perch all Sphinx-like on the absolute edge of the desk, back to me and completely out of the way.

He engaged in every strategy in his book tonight, until I laughed and came in here to write this blog entry. I informed him very solemnly, however, "Don't go thinking you've won, Mr. Tiger Jack! This is merely a retreat, not a surrender."

He just kept purring and sniffed my keyboard, before reasserting his dominance over my comfy chair.

P.S. I should add that I often respond as the towering giant I am, picking him up bodily and putting him on the floor. He just keeps coming back, though. It's a game we play. -_-

From Seanan McGuire, because she's awesome:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the speculative fiction world, if I could offer you only one tip for the future, research would be it. The long-term benefits of research have been proved by scholars and scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

In the wake of my stepfather's death and the end of the most recent semester of graduate school, I wound up in a non-communicative lassitude. I'm trying to shake myself loose now, and am a bit horrified at how behind I am on free fiction recommendations around here. This really only calls for one thing, you know:

FREE FICTION EXTRAVAGANZA!

Oh, yes, I am going to leap forth with a veritable cornucopia of links and mini-reviews! Twice a week, to begin with, but we may do it more often as I make up for these many lost weeks.

Let's start with Mythic Delirium. Now, Mythic Delirium is an excellent poetry journal edited by Mike Allen. It's also not free: however, because Mike is wise to the ways of one good bite demanding another, he offers featured selections from Mythic Delirium with each issue. He doesn't take them away, either, as a glance at the bottom of the currently Featured section will reveal.

He also throws in the accompanying illustrations (and shares audio recordings when he has them!), because he's just a classy guy like that.

The latest issue of Mythic Delirium was guest-edited by the lovely Goblin Queens, Amal El-Mohtar and Jessica Paige Wick; I have it waiting temptingly on my shelf and will review it in full later. Just now, though, I really must encourage you to click over to the poetry journal's website proper and read the two selections from Mythic Delirium 22 that are featured.

"The Reaper's Wife" by Susan Slaviero
What can I say? This is simply beautiful and I love it: I see the South clothed here in mythical language, and one of my favorite tropes (relating to an anthropomorphized Death) pursued. The accompanying illustration by Paula Arwen Friedlander is everything I could have hoped, as well, arresting my eye and fracturing my gaze. The bold lines depict such an easily-grasped scene, yet I find my eyes also unfocusing to engage the art on a more basic level, and I am suddenly lost in an abstract pattern of dark and light.

To return to Slaviero's words, I know there are only a couple of Southern-specific phrases in the poem, but it sings to me in the lush language of Southern summer, where all is dense and slow, and so, so hot. Everything then (now) prefers to move through the dark. The poem leads me into thoughts of verdancy and decay twinned, running horses over graveyard-fields. Woven through there are hard lives and poverty, but also family strength and fierce caretaking. The more I think on "The Reaper's Wife," the more it speaks to my roots.

"Cave-smell" by Shweta Narayan
Narayan is such a strong poet, and I always find my anticipation heightened when I see her name on a TOC. My expectations were not dashed here. When I read "Cave-smell," I found myself blinking on the other side and thinking:

Oh. Oh, gosh. Sad and rough, gentle and honey-bitter.

The poem is a science fiction tale and a post-colonial meditation. It reflects on not belonging to your own home through no fault of your own, and captures such great sadness and complexity in the interstices between language and wordlessness. This poem is best read than reviewed in any greater detail, apart from this: the illustration complements the work well, emphasizing the deep discomfort and loneliness of the disconnect. I stand impressed by Narayan's poem, and troubled.

I don't have a moment, just now, to listen to the audio recordings. Or to talk about the final and amazing feature: Amal El-Mohtar's "Song for an Ancient City" and her father's translation into Arabic of the same, which definitely calls for another post. Please, though, I hope you have time to listen and to read. Come back afterward, and tell me what you think.



P.S. Remember, the Chimera Fancies A Local Habitation pendant sale begins at 9 AM PST!

This entry was originally posted at Livejournal on June 18th, 2010 at 9:24 AM. You can comment here or there.

Right now, I should be working on my paper regarding the use of folklore in Charlotte Mew's poetry. In fine academic fashion, I am instead procrastinating by doing other neglected tasks, making lists, organizing my deadlines, and randomly posting to Livejournal.

At least I've made an outline? And now I'm here with book recommendations!

First up: Mira Grant's Feed.

Feed is the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy, featuring a world in which humanity has made it through a zombie apocalypse and is keepin' on keepin' on. Really, I can word no better endorsement than Publisher's Weekly has already done in their starred review:

Urban fantasist Seanan McGuire (Rosemary and Rue) picks up a new pen name for this gripping, thrilling, and brutal depiction of a postapocalyptic 2039. Twin bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason and their colleague Buffy are thrilled when Sen. Peter Ryman, the first presidential candidate to come of age since social media saved the world from a virus that reanimates the dead, invites them to cover his campaign. Then an event is attacked by zombies, and Ryman's daughter is killed. As the bloggers wield the newfound power of new media, they tangle with the CDC, a scheming vice presidential candidate, and mysterious conspirators who want more than the Oval Office. Shunning misogynistic horror tropes in favor of genuine drama and pure creepiness, McGuire has crafted a masterpiece of suspense with engaging, appealing characters who conduct a soul-shredding examination of what's true and what's reported.

If that hasn't sold you yet, here's how excited my husband is:


Andy's jazzed about FEED! Why aren't you?

Mira also appeared on John Scalzi's blog for the Big Idea last Friday: read her post for some background about the series! And then check out this kick-ass immersive website Orbit has put up for Feed.



Catherynne M. Valente also had a book birthday this week! Two years ago, she began her Omikuji Project: each month, she sends an original story to subscribers. Those who subscribe to the postal version receive heavy paper sealed with fax, each carefully wrought missive an ode to classic letter-writing. And since her project is named after the Japanese sacred lottery, Valente creates an original work of art - be it graphic collage or beaded necklace or knitted minotaur hooves - that is sent to one random subscriber.

With the assistance of the Omikuji community, Valente has created This is My Letter to the World: The Omikuji Project, Cycle I. This collection features the first 24 stories of the project, excerpts from each month's letter, and original art by community members.



If you'd like some idea of what you can expect, read my review of the inaugural story "The Glass Gear" at my website.

Back to the page-mines I go...

This entry was originally posted on Livejournal. You can comment here or there.

As part of my celebration of International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, I am planning to commit Twitterfic! However, I am definitely going to need your help for this one. It doesn't necessitate already having a Twitter account, but being previously active on Twitter does help. Read on to find out how to participate!



Twitterfics are incredibly concentrated bursts of creativity: microfiction of 140 characters or less. Here are two examples that I've featured here before, both comprising noirish takes on fairy tales:

1

He should've known the ballerina was trouble with her killer paper gam. Yet he smiled as he burned: she'd flared out first.

2

"You got in the way of a good thing, grandma," she said, as her lover's canines snapped tight on old flesh and housecoat all.



So, interested in seeing me write more? Join in the fun and give me a prompt! Send me a tell directly on Twitter @talkstowolves with a single word* and a theme: I'll write whatever you inspire!

If you don't have a Twitter account, you can still participate: just leave your prompts here, and be sure to check my Twitter feed throughout the day.



* I suggest using evocative words on the short side: I only have 140 characters to craft a tiny story, and longer words will eat up space.

This entry was originally posted on Livejournal. You can comment here or there.

I wrote about Lisa Stock and her plans to film a short Titania prequel just about a week ago. As you can see, the project still needs help: won't you consider supporting the mythic arts and donating any amount you can? If you can't donate, please - spread the word!



This entry was originally posted at Livejournal. You can comment here or there.

Some of you may remember that, a month or so ago, I wrote a short review of Lisa Stock's film, Brother and Sister. To recap: Lisa Stock is the creative force behind InByTheEye Films, an independent film house producing mythically resonant short films. In Brother and Sister, Lisa adapted a poem by Terri Windling into a haunting visual narrative. (You don't have to take my word for it: watch it here.)

In those twelve minutes, I became a believer in Lisa's artistic vision. This woman is going to make films that I yearn with all my heart to see. Her current project (The Medisaga Trilogy) is a low-budget spinning of the Armless Maiden tale through the figure of Titania. Let me share a tidbit with you from her website concerning the first installment in the trilogy, Titania:

"Not long after the birth of her child, Titania entered a forbidden corner of a dark forest, and was viciously attacked by a flock of harpies. During the brutal assault her wings were violently torn from her body - her distinctiveness as a faery queen robbed. From that moment, Titania was confined to the grounds of her estate by an edict of the court. She became trapped inside her delusions, living in fear of being hunted down and slain by the harpies that attacked her the first time. When her infant son disappears (believed to be taken by his father, Oberon) she has no choice but to enter the dark forest again, and face her greatest fear to save her child."

Now that contains the essence of fairy tales: staggering loss, the dark Wood, courage in the face of oppressive forces, and all tangled with fantastic elements. Plus, she's weaving old school fairy tales with Shakespeare's Titania (and other characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream), along with figures from Greek mythology. It's really enough to make a girl swoon, and think favorable comparisons to Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.

I need to see this realized. If you feel even a smidgeon the same, you're being given a brilliant opportunity: Titania is up for crowdfunding.

Between investors and the 3 Wishes Fairy Fest in Cornwall, England, Lisa has a timetable on which to produce a short prequel to the planned feature of Titania. The prequel will stand on its own, being sent out to international film fests, and will also serve as the proposal to secure funding for Titania itself. InByTheEye Films needs to secure the necessary funds by May 20th in order to produce the film and debut it at the 3 Wishes Fairy Fest in June.

There's a page here on Kickstarter, with donation levels starting at just $5. Each donation level comes with an incentive as well, from behind-the-scenes looks to an acknolwedgment in the film's credis to signed PDF copies of the script and more.

They've managed to make a third of their goal already, with 35 days remaining to raise the rest. Please contribute today! Remember, any amount will help: as Lisa said in her Livejournal entry, your $5 could become "the threads we'll string between the trees to represent the Fate's 'Threads of Life'."

If you want to support this woman's amazing work, but can't afford to make a donation - please consider spreading the word! And then continue following Titania's development via Facebook, Twitter, or Lisa's Livejournal at conteurlisa .


A note on Kickstarter: Your donation will not be taken unless the project meets its intended goal. So unless InByTheEye attains $10,000 in pledged donations by May 20th, no funds will actually be drawn from your account at that time.

This entry was originally posted at Livejournal. You can comment here or there.

In the famous words of the inimitable Granny Weatherwax: "I aten't dead!" Seriously, I wish I'd had a piece of card with that inscription to hang around the neck of this here Livejournal for the past couple of weeks. You certainly couldn't tell by my posting habits that any pulse remained.

I had serious problems with my laptop a couple of weeks ago, resulting in nearly needing to wipe the slate clean and rebuild my system. Luckily, after many, many hours of work, my laptop is rejuvenated and should be good to go for some time to come. My budget and I are all sighs of relief. (This frightening period also resulted in finally creating a work-space for me with a dedicated desktop - sans internet connection - but exploring that can wait for another day.)

Anyway, now for some announcements! Particularly, the Hugos, and my favorites to win. (I've put an asterisk next to my favorites, excepting where I don't consider myself well-read enough to have an informed opinion. This last includes the Best Novel nominees... I'm thinking of reading the four I haven't read yet before Aussiecon.)

( And the nominees are... )


Many congratulations in the form of an excited "Omedetou!" go out to: seanan_mcguire, cmpriest, catvalente, kijjohnson, 2muchexposition, nojojojo, eugie, and all the other nominees!

Also, today is the release day for my friend Rob Mosca's High Midnight: his Spaghetti-Western-cum-Midnight-Movie extravaganza involving ghouls, cryptids, and the best damn phantom bordello north of the border is available today via this link! Mosca has a compelling, feverish, gonzo style of writing that I look forward to experiencing in novel length. I also made him some release day icons that you can find in this post.

And, in conclusion to this mishmash of a post: How about that new Doctor, y'all?

This entry was originally posted at Livejournal. You can comment here or there.