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Today had been planned for several chunks of writing work, but the computer problems took up nearly the whole day. Luckily, I had washed all the socks before that happened, and a few pages were written while notes for others were hammered out. Others were thought about. The best news is that what I thought might have to be a three-book project was summarily reduced to one (at the suggestion of a wise friend, and after I thought about it for all of sixty seconds) and that markedly reduces the likely time away from Paksworld, even though no long stories of Paksworld have yet popped up. That’s because the grimdark project has been eating a hole in my brain for over six months now. And it will be much better, if it actually jells instead of being a really neat idea, in a shorter form, because the worst grimdark part won’t last as long and the character I’ve been interviewing in a small uncomfortable room will have less time to display his darker side and more time to show his (previously well plastered over) humanity. I was not looking forward to a whole book of him in detail (but I can’t get the setup out of my brain. Yet.) And maybe it won’t jell after all, and I’ll feel less guilty about dumping a single volume unfinished than a set. And maybe another story WILL jell , quickly, and I’ll be back on a long project.
On the short fiction side, another Jamis story isn’t progressing particularly well, and I haven’t had time enough to dig into the young-Cracolnya story again. I need some days uninterrupted by computer problems and extra trips to the city. OTOH, next weekend is A-Kon, so next Thursday I will throw myself onto a train and relax for a few hours rather than driving to Dallas (once on the train I am free of all responsibility until I arrive.) I will take notes for work to do when I get back. This weekend will be the Great Laundering and Packing weekend, because every day previous to the departure has something other than packing already scheduled for it, all of which involve driving somewhere.
My personal copies of Crown still have not arrived, so there’s diminishing chance of my having them at A-Kon. Luckily my UK copies came and some of them were in the boxes shipped yesterday. And of course I’ll be taking socks-in-progress…
Comment by Sharidann — May 31, 2014 @ 12:38 am
Nice to read we won’t have three books about an unsympathetic character!
Looking forward to the short stories as well!
Won’t make a wish list of characters to avoid spoiling Crown of Renewal… But you have enough material Heer andere interesting characters for follow-ups. Very rich universe you created! 🙂
Comment by elizabeth — May 31, 2014 @ 7:18 am
Sharidann: Only the first one was mostly about unsympathetic characters but of course–who’s going to read the second & third, if the first is full of icky people? And despite its having a grip on my brain, I knew I did not want to spend a year with only as-bad-as-Luap-and-Alured-combined people in my head. (I did want them to get their comeuppance, but…a year of schadenfreude isn’t healthy either.) By finding their “weak” link, and shortening the ten years that were going to be the first book a lot, I can then move on to the more sympathetic characters and then to the most sympathetic, the next generation. Or maybe writing out the first third will get it out of my system (“Take THAT, you slimy disgusting bullies, you!”) and it will never be written.
Comment by Ed Bunyan — June 1, 2014 @ 8:36 am
I just finished listening to “Crown of Renewal” for the second time (third or fourth if you count the times I went back and re-listened to parts) and It has been a wonderful journey. The ends neatly tied but not tied so tight that you can’t go back and add further tales to. Susan Ericksen is one of the best narrators of your books the I have had the pleasure to listen to as she made great writing come alive. I have had great books that I have listened to that poor narrators crushed the life out of. Ms Ericksen can give them a great lesson on how to do it right.
Thank you for a wonderful adventure that started with a “Sheepfarmer’s Daughter” and hopefully with have further tales both long and short that I can’t wait to listen to.
Comment by valerie — June 1, 2014 @ 6:11 pm
Just finished Crown and it is quite a finale to your outstanding series. Many interesting parts to your “braid.”
You mentioned in the intro something about almost everyone hates the Laup book. I was shocked to read that. In my view, its a great story about the ego, all the ways the ego lies, shades the truth, justifies, rationalizes and so on. And how people, good hearted and not, respond to someone who is just their ego. I find myself riveted every time-well probably three times-I read it and feel the book is truly great for that analysis of the ego.
Are you sure there isn’t more to the series? Ursula K LeGuin wrote a whole new mini-series years after she ‘finished’ the Earthsea trilogy. 🙂
Comment by Margaret Middleton — June 1, 2014 @ 6:17 pm
I’m actually re-reading the whole ‘Paladin’s Legacy’ series from the top before I dive into _Crown of Renewal_. Just past the scene in the Royal Ride with Kieri, Paks, and K’s horse Banner. As I was reading that, another horse-from-a-story cantered into my memory, although THAT Banner was, ISTR, a chestnut like his daughter Flicka. For them as are significantly younger than me, check out _My Friend Flicka_ by Mary O’Hara. Vintage around 1950, +/- maybe 5 years.
Comment by Margaret Middleton — June 1, 2014 @ 6:17 pm
Oh: that is in _Oath of Fealty_, btw.
Comment by Margaret Middleton — June 1, 2014 @ 6:20 pm
Hm: Google yields 19_4_1 as the publication date on MFF…
It was still readily available in the city library when I got my Library Card in about 1955.
Comment by GinnyW — June 1, 2014 @ 8:19 pm
Margret Middleton: Thanks for reminding me of My Friend Flicka, it brought back good memories.
Elizabeth: In Paladin’s Legacy, some of Dorrin’s strongest moments were in overcoming and facing her family’s dark side. I hope that the grimdark turns to redemption for you. Alured turned out more complex than I thought. Part of what made Luap so unattractive was his spoiled brat/weakness. And perhaps not Luap alone.