And now, for today's treat: An unpublished back story to Claudia Hall Christian's The Fey.
For those who haven't read the book, I can assure you that you can proceed to read this as there really aren't any spoilers here.
---------------------------
The Pinky Swear
“Where is she?”
General Patrick Hargreaves shook the rain from his jacket and yanked off his hat. His wife, Rebecca, watched him from the kitchen of their tiny home. Even eight months pregnant, she watched his movements with clear interest.
“Under the dining room table” she said. She returned to feeding the towheaded toddler seated in the highchair in front of her. “I tried to talk to her, but you know how she gets.”
Patrick kissed her neck as he squeezed between her and the stove in the small blue kitchen. For a moment, she relaxed into his warmth and smell—rain, Old Spice, and all male. His hand lovingly touched the side of her expanded waist as he moved into the dining room.
Patrick Hargreaves smiled. Fatherhood had come to him late in life. After years of service in the United States Army, staunchly a bachelor, he had attended a formal charity function one warm spring day in Chicago and fell in love. Just like that. At 40 years old, Patrick was in love for the first time. What had lightly happened in a single breath had grown into deep happiness, love, and a busy family life. They had four children already and one on the way.
Today his 5-year-old daughter, Alex, had brought him home in the middle of the day.
He watched the lace table cloth quiver to the rhythm of soft sobs. Sitting down on the floor, he pulled the child onto his lap. Her long ash blonde hair covered her tear-stained face and her big brown eyes. Her dress was torn, her knuckles and shin sporting bruises.
“What’s wrong, Pumpkin?” he said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
“It’s Maxie,” she said.
“Max?” Max was her identical twin brother and best friend. They were usually inseparable.
“Maxie told me that I can’t be in Spec’l F’rs’s. He said no girl can be a Green Beret.” She sobbed into her hands. “I punched him. He won’t take it back. He has to take it back. He told Mommy that I was being a baby. I punched him again.”
“Then he tore my dress.” She held up the damaged dress. “Mommy’s mad at me.”
Patrick caught the look Rebecca shot him from the other room. He nodded.
“Are you sure you want to be a Green Beret? You know it’s not a lot of fun.”
“I wanna be a Green Beret!” Alex screamed. “I can’t be a Green Beret because I’m a girl. I hate being a girl. How come Max got to be the boy?”
He sat rocking her on his lap until her tears abated.
“Alex, you can’t hit your brother. Any Green Beret knows that violence is always as a last resort, always.”
“I’m never gonna be a Green Beret.”
“I think you could do anything you set your mind to,” he said. “If you want to be in Special Forces, I promise you today that I will do everything in my power to make that happen.”
Her tear stained face lifted and her brown eyes cleared.
“Promise?” she said.
“Pinky swear,” he said.
Giggling, she held her pinkie out to him. They shook pinkies.
Picking her up, Patrick wandered back to the kitchen to find Max hiding in the pantry.
“I didn’t mean to make her cry or tear her dress.” Max dissolved into tears. “She punched me.”
“Does it hurt?” Patrick rubbed the injured arm. Almost an exact match to the girl in his arms, the same tear-stained brown eyes looked up at him.
“No, I’m tough. That’s how boys are. That’s why boys are Green Berets not GIRLS.”
Max’s attempt to run into the other room was cut off by Rebecca. His parents shared a glance of exasperation and humor.
Alex began her chant: “I wanna be a Green Beret.”
Max took up the call with his own version: “Girls can’t be Green Berets.”
There was only one solution this dilemma. Drawing on his years of diplomacy and conflict resolution in the Army, Patrick said the magic words, “Ice Cream?”
Max and Alex squealed with delight.
“I want some too!” His oldest daughter Samantha said as she came into the room. The toddler in the high chair squealed and laughed. It was unanimous.
Rebecca’s hazel eyes held Patrick’s baby blues for a moment. She gave him a faint smile while he helped her with her coat. The children ran through the rain to the car. He helped her into the front seat. When he settled in to the driver’s side, she leaned over kissing him on the cheek. He kissed the palm of her left hand.
The rest of the day dissolved into a happy family memory.
-------------------------------
Well, that's it for my part of the The Blog Tour, hope you enjoyed it.
Don't forget to visit the other hosts; you can find them at: http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour/
Still need to get the book? You can order it here: https://www.createspace.com/3369215
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Blog Tour: Part Two
Today: An interview with Claudia Hall Christian, author of The Fey
http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour/
If you’ve been following the blog tour around, you’ve probably already seen some interviews posted. Hang in there for this one; there’s different stuff, I promise!
A blog tour is a truly wonderful idea! In all my wanderings round the internets I have yet to hear of such a thing. There’s been marketing, of course, but not like this. How has the blog tour been going?
It’s been an amazing experience, Mindy. Every blog has such a different audience and feel. I’ve had a great time answering questions, creating audio segments and sharing The Fey with people.
Great! I am very glad to hear that it’s been a good experience overall. Now, as I was reading The Fey I wondered what gave you the idea for the novel? Was there any particular kernel of an idea? A trigger that set the whole thing off?
In the middle of a transition in my life, I had a dream that Rebecca Hargreaves sat on the side of my bed and told me about her family. Night after night, she returned to tell me more. I couldn’t sleep until I started writing it all down. That’s how the first edition of The Fey came to be.
So you were a woman in transition something like your character. No wonder that part of it came through so genuinely. Now here’s a tough question: Once the book had been published, is there anything you wished you had done differently?
I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve enjoyed working with Create Space and truly believe in the print on demand model of publishing.
I’d like to get into the publishing a little bit more, but first, when did you consider writing for a career? Do you consider it a career?
I had always planned to become a writer, then life intervened. I’ve lived a long and circuitous life to finally wind up with my original career goal. I’m grateful to be able to consider writing my career now.
Many authors say that! I guess you gotta love the written word from the get go. That gets us down to nuts and bolts kind of stuff. What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Slaving over a manuscript. I love the tiny details—Scooby Doo band-aids, burnt coffee—that make fiction feel real. These details are often added days or weeks after the manuscript is completed.
And, of course, what is your least favorite part?
Slaving over a manuscript. There are moments when I’m sure I simply cannot work the same words any more. Yet, everything needs more copy editing. I usually set the work aside and come back to it in a week or more.
LOL! I’m with you there! There’s only so many times you can re-read the same thing without it all becoming a blur. Tell us about your writing career to date; have you written anything professionally other than The Fey, The Denver Cereal, and the current novel in progress?
I wrote self-help articles and columns for over ten years. Originally I wrote for a small local paper, then on the internet, I wrote for the Open Grove. Outside of some flash fiction and short stories, The Fey is my first venture into long form fiction. Denver Cereal is my first serial fiction.
That’s a wide variety of activities and experiences. There are many experiences you need to pull this whole thing off, and I’m curious, since this is your first published novel, what made you decide to put out your work under the Creative Commons license?
I believe that everything that’s been said, written, drawn, or sung has been sung before. We are stand on the shoulders of the true masters. Thus if I create a work of fiction or non-fiction, I’d be remiss not to allow someone else to take it to create something else. I’d also be quite arrogant to say “I created this” when truly I was inspired by so many, many things that all came together in this creation.
Well said. Please do tell us more about your journey to getting published.
Like a lot of authors, I spent a great deal of time, and money, sending out query letters to agents and publishers. I was lucky enough to get some great feedback and interest from a few agents.
At the same time that I was querying people, I heard from friends in the publishing industry that things were changing. Publishers weren’t purchasing novels. Imprints were closing. Creative directors were getting laid off. Moreover, authors were no longer receiving the marketing, editing, even book polishing services that they used to receive.
All the while, I was writing and posting Denver Cereal a chapter a week. Denver Cereal took off almost immediately. It has maintained a loyal crowd of people.
Last November, I found myself looking at three factors: I was having great success with Denver Cereal; the publishing industry was falling apart at the seams; and I heard from my publishing mentor that The Fey was fabulous. After a long conversation with my mentor, and my business partners, we decided to form our own publishing company, Cook Street Publishing.
The benefit to forming our own company over ‘self publishing’ is that publishing companies have a lock on distribution channels. Cook Street Publishing is able to sell books via all of the distribution channels including brick and mortar bookstores.
From there we just put the pieces together, I knew a graphic designer who had specialized in packaging. He designed covers for The Fey, Learning to Stand, and Who I Am. I have worked as a typesetter. I was able to put together the book block. We hired a copy editor who went through the copy.
We chose to print on demand mostly because I knew authors with cases of books in their dining rooms. This way, the book is printed when it’s sold. Given that the average book sells only 50 copies, The Fey and Denver Cereal are doing quite well so far.
At this point, the only thing a traditional publisher could offer me is status. Frankly, I only care about writing quality stories about interesting characters. As long as my dog likes me, I think I have all the status I need.
Yep, we’re all good as long as our dogs love us. Now on to a few questions about you personally. Do you have any particular plan for your writing career? You know: “In five years I’d like to be [fill in the blank].
In five years time, we’ll be talking about book four (yet unnamed) of the Alex the Fey thriller series. Denver Cereal will continue to evolve and grow. And, I would guess, there will be other fiction projects available for people to read and enjoy.
What sorts of genres do you like to read? Do you have a favorite book or author?
I love Charles Dickens, the great serial fiction author, and admire James Joyce’s diligence to his own stories and text. I also love intelligent mysteries and thrillers. My favorite popular author is James Lee Burke. I find Mark Twain’s life story to be very inspirational to me.
I’ve read books like people eat chocolates—whole without chewing. I’ve read a lot of every genre.
Since I’ve been working on the Alex the Fey thriller series and Denver Cereal, I find it harder to read. I tend to constantly edit in my head. I’ve heard that this is common among authors. It’s a shame because there are so many amazing books out there in the world.
I’m with you there, copy editing changes you for good! I too find it difficult to read; a book has to be really good to keep my interest. More personal stuff: Do you have any hobbies?
I’ve knitted most of my adult life. I love to knit sweaters and shawls. Currently, I’m trying to learn how to knit a hat.
I also have large vegetable and flower gardens. I love the process of planting a seed and watching the plant grow, flower, and fruit.
I’m also a big physical fitness buff. I really like working out and have recently started training for a half marathon. Running is a big deal for me because I love lifting weights.
Many kudos to you for the marathon. I know you’re a beekeeper, and it’s obviously a large part of your life as you’ve made no secret of it in your posts on plurk.com (http://www.plurk.com/ClaudiaHallChristian) and you even found a way to put it into The Fey. How did you get started? How long have you been doing it? Do you consider beekeeping to be a hobby?
I’ve always been fascinated with bees. They are amazing creatures that have held my mind and imagination since I was a little girl. I shared my fascination with bees with my husband after reading The Secret Life of Bees. He happened to have a friend who was selling a few hives and we started keeping them. I’ve been keeping them for about six years. We’re called “Backyard Beekeepers”.
Well, that wraps it up, Claudia. Thank you for giving so much of your time and energy. See you around the internets!
Okay folks, don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for the last bit of The Blog Tour here on the Eclectic Collection: a bit of unpublished back story called “Pinky Swear.” Since many of the other blog hosts are giving away copies, I elected to have Claudia donate my copy to Operation Shoebox (http://www.operationshoebox.com/) for active duty soldiers. But be sure to keep checking on The Blog Tour because there might be others giving away goodies!
Now, for those of you haven’t read the book but you’re interested, I think that you’re safe reading this small bit of back story as there’s not much in the way of spoilers.
Don't forget, use the discount code DDE4VR4H and get your copy of the book at https://www.createspace.com/3369215
See you tomorrow!
http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour/
If you’ve been following the blog tour around, you’ve probably already seen some interviews posted. Hang in there for this one; there’s different stuff, I promise!
A blog tour is a truly wonderful idea! In all my wanderings round the internets I have yet to hear of such a thing. There’s been marketing, of course, but not like this. How has the blog tour been going?
It’s been an amazing experience, Mindy. Every blog has such a different audience and feel. I’ve had a great time answering questions, creating audio segments and sharing The Fey with people.
Great! I am very glad to hear that it’s been a good experience overall. Now, as I was reading The Fey I wondered what gave you the idea for the novel? Was there any particular kernel of an idea? A trigger that set the whole thing off?
In the middle of a transition in my life, I had a dream that Rebecca Hargreaves sat on the side of my bed and told me about her family. Night after night, she returned to tell me more. I couldn’t sleep until I started writing it all down. That’s how the first edition of The Fey came to be.
So you were a woman in transition something like your character. No wonder that part of it came through so genuinely. Now here’s a tough question: Once the book had been published, is there anything you wished you had done differently?
I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve enjoyed working with Create Space and truly believe in the print on demand model of publishing.
I’d like to get into the publishing a little bit more, but first, when did you consider writing for a career? Do you consider it a career?
I had always planned to become a writer, then life intervened. I’ve lived a long and circuitous life to finally wind up with my original career goal. I’m grateful to be able to consider writing my career now.
Many authors say that! I guess you gotta love the written word from the get go. That gets us down to nuts and bolts kind of stuff. What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Slaving over a manuscript. I love the tiny details—Scooby Doo band-aids, burnt coffee—that make fiction feel real. These details are often added days or weeks after the manuscript is completed.
And, of course, what is your least favorite part?
Slaving over a manuscript. There are moments when I’m sure I simply cannot work the same words any more. Yet, everything needs more copy editing. I usually set the work aside and come back to it in a week or more.
LOL! I’m with you there! There’s only so many times you can re-read the same thing without it all becoming a blur. Tell us about your writing career to date; have you written anything professionally other than The Fey, The Denver Cereal, and the current novel in progress?
I wrote self-help articles and columns for over ten years. Originally I wrote for a small local paper, then on the internet, I wrote for the Open Grove. Outside of some flash fiction and short stories, The Fey is my first venture into long form fiction. Denver Cereal is my first serial fiction.
That’s a wide variety of activities and experiences. There are many experiences you need to pull this whole thing off, and I’m curious, since this is your first published novel, what made you decide to put out your work under the Creative Commons license?
I believe that everything that’s been said, written, drawn, or sung has been sung before. We are stand on the shoulders of the true masters. Thus if I create a work of fiction or non-fiction, I’d be remiss not to allow someone else to take it to create something else. I’d also be quite arrogant to say “I created this” when truly I was inspired by so many, many things that all came together in this creation.
Well said. Please do tell us more about your journey to getting published.
Like a lot of authors, I spent a great deal of time, and money, sending out query letters to agents and publishers. I was lucky enough to get some great feedback and interest from a few agents.
At the same time that I was querying people, I heard from friends in the publishing industry that things were changing. Publishers weren’t purchasing novels. Imprints were closing. Creative directors were getting laid off. Moreover, authors were no longer receiving the marketing, editing, even book polishing services that they used to receive.
All the while, I was writing and posting Denver Cereal a chapter a week. Denver Cereal took off almost immediately. It has maintained a loyal crowd of people.
Last November, I found myself looking at three factors: I was having great success with Denver Cereal; the publishing industry was falling apart at the seams; and I heard from my publishing mentor that The Fey was fabulous. After a long conversation with my mentor, and my business partners, we decided to form our own publishing company, Cook Street Publishing.
The benefit to forming our own company over ‘self publishing’ is that publishing companies have a lock on distribution channels. Cook Street Publishing is able to sell books via all of the distribution channels including brick and mortar bookstores.
From there we just put the pieces together, I knew a graphic designer who had specialized in packaging. He designed covers for The Fey, Learning to Stand, and Who I Am. I have worked as a typesetter. I was able to put together the book block. We hired a copy editor who went through the copy.
We chose to print on demand mostly because I knew authors with cases of books in their dining rooms. This way, the book is printed when it’s sold. Given that the average book sells only 50 copies, The Fey and Denver Cereal are doing quite well so far.
At this point, the only thing a traditional publisher could offer me is status. Frankly, I only care about writing quality stories about interesting characters. As long as my dog likes me, I think I have all the status I need.
Yep, we’re all good as long as our dogs love us. Now on to a few questions about you personally. Do you have any particular plan for your writing career? You know: “In five years I’d like to be [fill in the blank].
In five years time, we’ll be talking about book four (yet unnamed) of the Alex the Fey thriller series. Denver Cereal will continue to evolve and grow. And, I would guess, there will be other fiction projects available for people to read and enjoy.
What sorts of genres do you like to read? Do you have a favorite book or author?
I love Charles Dickens, the great serial fiction author, and admire James Joyce’s diligence to his own stories and text. I also love intelligent mysteries and thrillers. My favorite popular author is James Lee Burke. I find Mark Twain’s life story to be very inspirational to me.
I’ve read books like people eat chocolates—whole without chewing. I’ve read a lot of every genre.
Since I’ve been working on the Alex the Fey thriller series and Denver Cereal, I find it harder to read. I tend to constantly edit in my head. I’ve heard that this is common among authors. It’s a shame because there are so many amazing books out there in the world.
I’m with you there, copy editing changes you for good! I too find it difficult to read; a book has to be really good to keep my interest. More personal stuff: Do you have any hobbies?
I’ve knitted most of my adult life. I love to knit sweaters and shawls. Currently, I’m trying to learn how to knit a hat.
I also have large vegetable and flower gardens. I love the process of planting a seed and watching the plant grow, flower, and fruit.
I’m also a big physical fitness buff. I really like working out and have recently started training for a half marathon. Running is a big deal for me because I love lifting weights.
Many kudos to you for the marathon. I know you’re a beekeeper, and it’s obviously a large part of your life as you’ve made no secret of it in your posts on plurk.com (http://www.plurk.com/ClaudiaHallChristian) and you even found a way to put it into The Fey. How did you get started? How long have you been doing it? Do you consider beekeeping to be a hobby?
I’ve always been fascinated with bees. They are amazing creatures that have held my mind and imagination since I was a little girl. I shared my fascination with bees with my husband after reading The Secret Life of Bees. He happened to have a friend who was selling a few hives and we started keeping them. I’ve been keeping them for about six years. We’re called “Backyard Beekeepers”.
Well, that wraps it up, Claudia. Thank you for giving so much of your time and energy. See you around the internets!
Okay folks, don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for the last bit of The Blog Tour here on the Eclectic Collection: a bit of unpublished back story called “Pinky Swear.” Since many of the other blog hosts are giving away copies, I elected to have Claudia donate my copy to Operation Shoebox (http://www.operationshoebox.com/) for active duty soldiers. But be sure to keep checking on The Blog Tour because there might be others giving away goodies!
Now, for those of you haven’t read the book but you’re interested, I think that you’re safe reading this small bit of back story as there’s not much in the way of spoilers.
Don't forget, use the discount code DDE4VR4H and get your copy of the book at https://www.createspace.com/3369215
See you tomorrow!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
My part in The Blog Tour
Presenting today’s topic: The Blog Tour of Claudia Hall Christian
What’s a “Blog Tour”, you ask? Well, first I have to tell you that Claudia has published a novel: The Fey. Then I can say that instead of going on a physical tour, stopping at bookstores everywhere, flying on expensive planes, staying at expensive hotels, and eating bad (and expensive) food, she’s decided to take the promotional show on the road....the electronic road. Yes, besides being an excellent writer, Claudia is technologically savvy, and she’s using the Tools Of Today to promote her work. Just go to her website and you can find the various places where you can “stalk” her (look for the snazzy buttons down and to the left). http://www.on-a-limb.com/
The next natural questions my readers might be asking themselves is, “How do you know Claudia? How did you get to be so special to host a Blog Tour?” “Very good question,” would be my reply, because I’ve never met her, you see. I know Claudia as CHiC on Plurk.com http://www.plurk.com/ClaudiaHallChristian, a social networking site, which in my opinion, is far better than Twitter. We’ve had several conversations in our little online community, and when she asked for volunteers, I immediately decided to participate because I had never thought of using a blog in that way and was delighted to take part in a social experiment.
For my turn on the Blog Tour, I volunteered to post a review one day, post an Interview With Claudia on the next, and post a surprise fun thing on the third day. So, without further ado: My Review.
The Fey opens with the main character shot, bleeding heavily, and hallucinating. She’s the leader of a military team and something has gone very, very wrong. It’s a defining moment for our hero: will she recover or will she fall apart?
In the beginning, I had some trouble getting into the book. However, I will freely admit my defects and say that I really don’t like romances nor do I like thrillers. So I pushed on, got over my mindset, and was rewarded. By chapter 17, the book really takes off, and I couldn’t put it down; I had to see how it all came together. It's always a sign that you have a good book in your hands when the author can make you overcome your prejudices and/or preconceptions and make you continue reading in spite of yourself.
There is a fairly large cast of characters which was a little difficult to keep track of initially, but Claudia does an excellent job of keeping her characters consistent. Don’t be turned off by the military part of this book because, although the details are in keeping with military culture, it is light enough for non-military folks to enjoy it without having to wade through a lot of jargon.
Reviewing a thriller is always difficult because you don’t want to give too much away. However, I can say that there is romance (not just sex), travel to various countries, tension from potentially very dangerous situations, and much, much more!
On top of all of this, it truly is a thinking person’s book; the theme is not a light one: how does an individual adapt under the greatest of life changes? There are two choices: give up or go on. Read the book to find out how Alex handles it!
So, please go order yourself a book now! Books can be found at: https://www.createspace.com/3369215
And, if you use the following discount code, you get a 10% discount on your purchase: DDE4VR4H
Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the Interview With Claudia Hall Christian.
What’s a “Blog Tour”, you ask? Well, first I have to tell you that Claudia has published a novel: The Fey. Then I can say that instead of going on a physical tour, stopping at bookstores everywhere, flying on expensive planes, staying at expensive hotels, and eating bad (and expensive) food, she’s decided to take the promotional show on the road....the electronic road. Yes, besides being an excellent writer, Claudia is technologically savvy, and she’s using the Tools Of Today to promote her work. Just go to her website and you can find the various places where you can “stalk” her (look for the snazzy buttons down and to the left). http://www.on-a-limb.com/
The next natural questions my readers might be asking themselves is, “How do you know Claudia? How did you get to be so special to host a Blog Tour?” “Very good question,” would be my reply, because I’ve never met her, you see. I know Claudia as CHiC on Plurk.com http://www.plurk.com/ClaudiaHallChristian, a social networking site, which in my opinion, is far better than Twitter. We’ve had several conversations in our little online community, and when she asked for volunteers, I immediately decided to participate because I had never thought of using a blog in that way and was delighted to take part in a social experiment.
For my turn on the Blog Tour, I volunteered to post a review one day, post an Interview With Claudia on the next, and post a surprise fun thing on the third day. So, without further ado: My Review.
The Fey opens with the main character shot, bleeding heavily, and hallucinating. She’s the leader of a military team and something has gone very, very wrong. It’s a defining moment for our hero: will she recover or will she fall apart?
In the beginning, I had some trouble getting into the book. However, I will freely admit my defects and say that I really don’t like romances nor do I like thrillers. So I pushed on, got over my mindset, and was rewarded. By chapter 17, the book really takes off, and I couldn’t put it down; I had to see how it all came together. It's always a sign that you have a good book in your hands when the author can make you overcome your prejudices and/or preconceptions and make you continue reading in spite of yourself.
There is a fairly large cast of characters which was a little difficult to keep track of initially, but Claudia does an excellent job of keeping her characters consistent. Don’t be turned off by the military part of this book because, although the details are in keeping with military culture, it is light enough for non-military folks to enjoy it without having to wade through a lot of jargon.
Reviewing a thriller is always difficult because you don’t want to give too much away. However, I can say that there is romance (not just sex), travel to various countries, tension from potentially very dangerous situations, and much, much more!
On top of all of this, it truly is a thinking person’s book; the theme is not a light one: how does an individual adapt under the greatest of life changes? There are two choices: give up or go on. Read the book to find out how Alex handles it!
So, please go order yourself a book now! Books can be found at: https://www.createspace.com/3369215
And, if you use the following discount code, you get a 10% discount on your purchase: DDE4VR4H
Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the Interview With Claudia Hall Christian.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Onward Ho!
Thwack!
What’s that sound? That was my newest book purchase hitting my desk at work. I might have to rethink the time table for my “little” project.
Okay, for those who might have missed my very first post, I have decided to investigate the literature of Charles Dickens and the plan is (was?) to read all of his novels by the end of the year. Seeing as I had decided this sometime in April, and there’s 14 novels to read, I figured, no sweat, I can finish this in no time. I also plan on seeing one movie made from each novel. Still....easy, right? Since I’m a very fast reader and can read something like 10 novels in a month (when inspired to do so), how bad can it be to plan to finish this in 8 months?
Yeah, right. You see, I started with Nicholas Nickelby....all 781 glorious pages of it....in a fairly small font....on paper brown with age. It took me about 3 weeks. No matter how you look at it, it was a slog. The language is more archaic than I remembered (the only other Dickens’ novel I’ve read was Oliver Twist and that was in junior high school....a loooooong time ago), and because this was one of the original serialized works, it tends to go on and on and on and on....well, you get the picture. I must say that this novel will not be one of my favorite of Dickens’ works.
I’m currently working my way through Little Dorrit. All 860 pages of it. This was after picking up The Pickwick Papers (898 pages) and putting it back down again; I simply couldn’t tolerate more small font on bad paper, and the first pages (the minutes of the meeting which formed the Pickwick Club) were more than a little off-putting. So far I’m finding Little Dorrit a far more interesting read than Nicholas Nickleby. The difference may be that I’ve already seen the Little Dorrit film and am more acquainted with the plethora of characters that populate a book of that length.
I do acknowledge that the tiny font and bad paper are my choice. I couldn’t buy *all* of the books brand new and I did want to buy them. When I read, I tend to dog ear pages, apply post its, and put notes in the margins, especially when reading for literary critique purposes. So, all books were purchased via amazon.com as cheaply as possible. Therefore, some of these books are old. For example, The Pickwick Papers was published in 1978. I know that doesn’t sound too old, but 31 years old is very old indeed for a paperback book.
This all brings me to today’s arrival: Bleak House....989 pages. So far, it’s the longest of the lot. And keep in mind that this does NOT include Introductions, Prefaces, Afterwards, Appendices, or Notes. I guess, to be fair, I should say that not all of the books are that long. The shortest is Hard Times at a mere handful of pages: 389.
Yeah, this might take me longer than I thought.
What’s that sound? That was my newest book purchase hitting my desk at work. I might have to rethink the time table for my “little” project.
Okay, for those who might have missed my very first post, I have decided to investigate the literature of Charles Dickens and the plan is (was?) to read all of his novels by the end of the year. Seeing as I had decided this sometime in April, and there’s 14 novels to read, I figured, no sweat, I can finish this in no time. I also plan on seeing one movie made from each novel. Still....easy, right? Since I’m a very fast reader and can read something like 10 novels in a month (when inspired to do so), how bad can it be to plan to finish this in 8 months?
Yeah, right. You see, I started with Nicholas Nickelby....all 781 glorious pages of it....in a fairly small font....on paper brown with age. It took me about 3 weeks. No matter how you look at it, it was a slog. The language is more archaic than I remembered (the only other Dickens’ novel I’ve read was Oliver Twist and that was in junior high school....a loooooong time ago), and because this was one of the original serialized works, it tends to go on and on and on and on....well, you get the picture. I must say that this novel will not be one of my favorite of Dickens’ works.
I’m currently working my way through Little Dorrit. All 860 pages of it. This was after picking up The Pickwick Papers (898 pages) and putting it back down again; I simply couldn’t tolerate more small font on bad paper, and the first pages (the minutes of the meeting which formed the Pickwick Club) were more than a little off-putting. So far I’m finding Little Dorrit a far more interesting read than Nicholas Nickleby. The difference may be that I’ve already seen the Little Dorrit film and am more acquainted with the plethora of characters that populate a book of that length.
I do acknowledge that the tiny font and bad paper are my choice. I couldn’t buy *all* of the books brand new and I did want to buy them. When I read, I tend to dog ear pages, apply post its, and put notes in the margins, especially when reading for literary critique purposes. So, all books were purchased via amazon.com as cheaply as possible. Therefore, some of these books are old. For example, The Pickwick Papers was published in 1978. I know that doesn’t sound too old, but 31 years old is very old indeed for a paperback book.
This all brings me to today’s arrival: Bleak House....989 pages. So far, it’s the longest of the lot. And keep in mind that this does NOT include Introductions, Prefaces, Afterwards, Appendices, or Notes. I guess, to be fair, I should say that not all of the books are that long. The shortest is Hard Times at a mere handful of pages: 389.
Yeah, this might take me longer than I thought.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Blog Tour Begins Today
Presenting: Claudia Hall Christian
Claudia is the author of two books, The Fey (her first) and The Denver Cereal. Today she begins her "blog tour" at http://www.poppingbubbles.net/.
For more information about the blog tour: http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour/.
For more information about Claudia: http://www.on-a-limb.com/about/ and http://www.on-a-limb.com/.
The tour will touch down on my blog (yep, right here folks) starting on May 28th with a review of The Fey. For more fun, remember to check back on the 29th for an interview with Claudia and on the 30th for a surprise goodie!
Claudia is the author of two books, The Fey (her first) and The Denver Cereal. Today she begins her "blog tour" at http://www.poppingbubbles.net/.
For more information about the blog tour: http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour/.
For more information about Claudia: http://www.on-a-limb.com/about/ and http://www.on-a-limb.com/.
The tour will touch down on my blog (yep, right here folks) starting on May 28th with a review of The Fey. For more fun, remember to check back on the 29th for an interview with Claudia and on the 30th for a surprise goodie!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Shuttle Launch link
I stumbled across this on a website I was trolling for tech info and although I put it on plurk.com, I couldn't resist posting it here.
Considering the recent shuttle launch, I thought it was really interesting to a launch from a very different perspective. See the shuttle launch here. Ahem, one small tip: this is best viewed with the sound off, trust me.
Considering the recent shuttle launch, I thought it was really interesting to a launch from a very different perspective. See the shuttle launch here. Ahem, one small tip: this is best viewed with the sound off, trust me.
Coming Soon to a Blog Near You
Just to let y’all know, there will be an interruption in my Dickens project. I’m reading, reviewing, and taking part in a blog tour for an online friend: Claudia Hall Christian, author of The Fey.
Here’s the blog tour link: http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour
The idea is that she will be popping up on various blogs around the internets, answering questions and such, perhaps even giving away a book or two.
My days for the tour are as follows:
May 28th: my review of her book
May 29th: an interview with Claudia
May 30th: an unpublished story about one of the book’s characters
Now, I had better get back to reading!
Here’s the blog tour link: http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour
The idea is that she will be popping up on various blogs around the internets, answering questions and such, perhaps even giving away a book or two.
My days for the tour are as follows:
May 28th: my review of her book
May 29th: an interview with Claudia
May 30th: an unpublished story about one of the book’s characters
Now, I had better get back to reading!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Dickens project update
Nicholas Nickleby: I'm on page 410. Ordinarily, by this time, I would have already finished a book of this size, but this one is pretty dense going. The language is more archaic than I remember (what the hell is a popolorum tibby or a half quartern loaf?!) and Dickens does tend to go on, and on, and on about what some of his characters are saying or doing (get to the point dammit!!!!!).
I also got distracted, perhaps on purpose, by the arrival of Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners in my Amazon order. I did also finish a slim volume of Dickens Christmas stories (also from that Amazon order). See, I read other books, but they're still Literature! But I must 'fess up to that other good read: Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (also in that Amazon order). Literature? Um, not so much, but a really good (and fun) read nonetheless!
I plan on discussing the Christmas stories (three short stories in one very slim volume) along with A Christmas Carol (just as soon as I finish reading it).
The project has expanded a little, as my projects tend to do, and I'm going to add a biography of Dickens onto the reading list. I did find a very nice one at a used bookstore but it is $20. Perhaps I'll take some books in to that store and see if they'll buy some of them and/or take some in trade.
I also got distracted, perhaps on purpose, by the arrival of Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners in my Amazon order. I did also finish a slim volume of Dickens Christmas stories (also from that Amazon order). See, I read other books, but they're still Literature! But I must 'fess up to that other good read: Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (also in that Amazon order). Literature? Um, not so much, but a really good (and fun) read nonetheless!
I plan on discussing the Christmas stories (three short stories in one very slim volume) along with A Christmas Carol (just as soon as I finish reading it).
The project has expanded a little, as my projects tend to do, and I'm going to add a biography of Dickens onto the reading list. I did find a very nice one at a used bookstore but it is $20. Perhaps I'll take some books in to that store and see if they'll buy some of them and/or take some in trade.
Rules o' the Blog
I have read (and continue to read) many, many different blogs. The one thing that many do that I haven't yet done, is to tell everyone what to expect from this blog. Sure, I touched on it a bit in one of the earlier posts, but there are other things that should be mentioned.
I do want to emphasize that this truly is an eclectic collection of stuff. I don't plan on having any dependability. There definitely won't be daily posts, although I might put up stuff several days in a row. I can't even say that there will be weekly posts. I will say that the general plan is: blogging without obligation. Now, before going on any further, I MUST mention that this particular phrase has been seen on various blogs and is not my own particular invention. It has been making the internet rounds, and I'm borrowing it. I can't remember exactly where I've seen it, but I like it. Blogging without obligation means just that; there's no set schedule to producing posts. No use getting stressed out about the thing before I even get started!
Regarding comments: For now, I have to approve every single comment before it appears on the blog. Mainly this is because I'm new to blogging in a way that will actually be seen by more eyes than my own and one or two friends/family. I feel it is far easier to ease controls in the future as needed than to try and clamp down later. Of course, it is likely I will find that tedious and ease up sooner rather than later, but we'll see.
Which brings me to.....Nasty Comments. I do plan on removing comments from blatantly ignorant people. I don't plan on editing the text of comments themselves but people who say stuff like, "I think you're a shithead for saying that", will not get their comments posted. I'm looked for reasonable discourse and debate here, not name-slinging. It's hurtful and helps no one. I don't want any flame wars and obvious trolls will be given the boot.
It's my blog, dammit....and I can do what I want!
I do want to emphasize that this truly is an eclectic collection of stuff. I don't plan on having any dependability. There definitely won't be daily posts, although I might put up stuff several days in a row. I can't even say that there will be weekly posts. I will say that the general plan is: blogging without obligation. Now, before going on any further, I MUST mention that this particular phrase has been seen on various blogs and is not my own particular invention. It has been making the internet rounds, and I'm borrowing it. I can't remember exactly where I've seen it, but I like it. Blogging without obligation means just that; there's no set schedule to producing posts. No use getting stressed out about the thing before I even get started!
Regarding comments: For now, I have to approve every single comment before it appears on the blog. Mainly this is because I'm new to blogging in a way that will actually be seen by more eyes than my own and one or two friends/family. I feel it is far easier to ease controls in the future as needed than to try and clamp down later. Of course, it is likely I will find that tedious and ease up sooner rather than later, but we'll see.
Which brings me to.....Nasty Comments. I do plan on removing comments from blatantly ignorant people. I don't plan on editing the text of comments themselves but people who say stuff like, "I think you're a shithead for saying that", will not get their comments posted. I'm looked for reasonable discourse and debate here, not name-slinging. It's hurtful and helps no one. I don't want any flame wars and obvious trolls will be given the boot.
It's my blog, dammit....and I can do what I want!
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