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…is I should be getting an ARC later this week, so the contest is just about ready.
The other news is that among the author errors was a superbig one I didn’t confess earlier. I…um….managed not to finish (and turn in) the map for this volume. And then, in the chaos of other things, forgot I hadn’t done it, which meant…in the page proofs was the Echoes map, not the right map. I confessed all to the editor who holds open the gates between editorial and production, and instead of just taking the map out of Limits, which would have been the easy thing to do, they were able to pry out some extra time for me to work on it, thus saving my bacon and your sanity. I cannot express how above-and-beyond this is and I am very, very grateful.
The right map is now done, and I will email the labeled map (labeled in ugly font, because I don’t have the font they used) and an unlabeled map for them to add labels to. There were days spent using the mouse like a pen, touching up the map, adding to the map, and then today was “label day.” I had the usual problem with using an old (old!) image-handling softward and asking it to do what it can do, but wasn’t designed to make easy to do. There were outbursts of “NO! Not THAT, you stupid hunk of code!” But this software is solid and doesn’t lose things and was a) cheaper than and b) easier to learn than Photo-Shop (which at the time I couldn’t afford at all.)
Meanwhile, the ARC contest. I’m not going to judge anyone else’s writing so it’ll be another random number generator thing when I know how many people have entered. You get your numbers in order of posting.
I did like the poetry idea, but also think forcing a form may be too restrictive. However, I’m not really a fan of unformed verse, so let’s see some attention to meter and (preferably, for me) rhyme. Sonnets written on the virtues of kings or the courage of captains, haiku on the seasons, limericks you might hear in the tavern some evening, drinking songs the same, accompanied by lute or pipes…whatever comes to you. If you’re stuck, do something with the part-line that just came to me: “Before that night…”
And now I’m heading back into Book Five again.
Comment by Dave Ring — December 17, 2012 @ 7:56 pm
How about a riddling haiku, suitable for the tavern:
A flying insect —
can you swap just four letters
and run out of ale?
Comment by Annabel — December 18, 2012 @ 7:58 am
Before that night he knew he was a duke,
But King? Not to his knowledge, but then, Paks,
A former soldier, now a paladin,
Discovered his new state. Alas, he lacked
Full knowledge of his parenthood; a past
So dark he’d blocked it from his very self.
He had no sense of taig, no kinship with
The land, or with the Lady, the Queen Elf.
And yet, that night all changed; he seemed to see
Himself as King of Lyonya, coming home
To greet his people and to learn to be
Their King, their leader in a time of war,
As well as peace; with enemies all round
He had to fight; there would be peace no more.
Comment by Annabel — December 18, 2012 @ 7:58 am
That doesn’t scan very well, oh well never mind….
Comment by Patrick Doris — December 19, 2012 @ 11:39 am
I was really impressed with it Annabel
Comment by Annabel — December 20, 2012 @ 12:59 pm
Thank you!
Comment by Richard — December 20, 2012 @ 2:27 pm
Ginny W,
re. your post in the other topic: you will get Dave’s riddle.
Comment by Richard — December 21, 2012 @ 2:48 pm
June (#21 in the Contest topic) is right – it is such fun reading all the entries.
Comment by Richard — December 23, 2012 @ 5:08 am
Jenn (#28 in the Contest topic): nice alliteration.
If I were entering – which I’m not, because I was the one who won the Echoes ARC as you may remember, so to try for another would be greedy; that’s why I’m staying in this topic – I could post the second edition of Gird’s verse for my Heroes of Old set, as follows
Against them the magelords did goad
A clubman from peasant abode.
When sometimes he would drink
“Drink makes mad,” Gird would think
“I’d better put that in my Code”.
(I always knew the original verse was flawed without his club and his humble origin (never mind the forced rhymes) but it was four months before I twigged how to work them in.)
Anyway, I’ll be offline now until nearly the New Year, so Happy Christmas to Elizabeth and all you fellow poets. I knew if I could do it then lots of you could do better and I’m loving being proved right.