RDF/RSS Feed
Atom Feed
Because I was watching a PBS presentation of the life of Genghis Khan, I missed the email when it came in, BUT: The podcast I did with Gamers’ Tavern is now up and you can hear it at http://gamerstavern.org/gamers-tavern-ep-46-the-deed-of-paksenarrion-or-elizabeth-moon-corrects-darryl-and-ross/
We had fun.
Comment by Daniel Glover — March 20, 2015 @ 3:14 pm
Just got to the point in the interview discussing the second book break. Fortunately I had found the books back where I was able to finish Divided Allegiance and literally went to the store and find Oath of Gold on the shelf and start it right away.
Comment by rkduk — March 20, 2015 @ 5:28 pm
Listening now to the bit about how difficult it is to write people and place names with similar roots that deviate with time and location: Though I understand how devilishly difficult it must be to keep track of them all, that is one of the characteristics of the early books that appealed to me immensely, because that is exactly how real language works. Try counting all the spellings of native names like biwabik/pewabic/etc. or meramec/merrimack/etc.
Comment by Iphinome — March 21, 2015 @ 7:40 am
There’s a Barra story?
What will it take? Chocolate? Bone knitting needles? Chocolate knitting needles? I’ll get down on my knees and beg. I’ll support your claim to any throne. I’ll build temples in your name. I’ll give you my rapier, Vera.
Comment by Fred — March 22, 2015 @ 12:41 am
Iphinome,
Remember that our esteemed hostess-writer has written and published such dark and disturbing scenes as the period of cowardice for Paks and (far worse) her torture at the hands of the Liartians.
When SHE says that the story is too dark, even for her… well, I’d be inclined to take her word for it.
There has been some fantasy literature which I’ve come away from feeling soiled, feeling that I’d become a worse person for the reading. I would not want that.
Comment by elizabeth — March 29, 2015 @ 11:42 pm
In the interims…husband and son were rear-ended again while (again) sitting motionless at a red light. This was less bad than last time (they weren’t pushed hard into the car in front of them) and though the car has to go into the shop, it’s not as big a repair. There’s an imprint of the other car’s license plate on the part of the back they hit, though. I sproinged my sciatic nerve somehow and had a very unpleasant time with the resulting pain from hip to below the knee for awhile there. The bluebonnets are starting to show color (really in good shape in Austin) and the oaks are both flowering and leafing out. Pecans still being shy. Lots of paperwork for other things has been going on, from getting a new passport to dealing with insurance, taxes, etc, etc, and some still isn’t done. Did I mention it’s now clearly spring down here and I want to get out and enjoy it at least a little? It’s also Holy Week in our church calendar which means I’ll be singing Wed, Thurs, and Friday, as well as on Easter Sunday. Some of it very difficult music by Bruckner. Gorgeous, but hard. I will need my high F. It would be nice if I had a reliable high G, so I could come “down” on the F instead of having to reach a bit for it.
Today we had a Passion Sunday anthem I really don’t like that much and a Communion anthem that’s lovely but sung in French and for the non-Francophones getting all the vowel sounds right (so we’re uniform, which is necessary) is difficult.
The spring ticks are in good shape (the ones that may–if they bite you–screw up your immune system so you become allergic to Texans’ favorite foods, like BBQ), along with giving you (variously) Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and all other Rickettsial diseases– as are the mosquitoes (which, here, can share a variety of different unpleasant diseases. But the outside is still desirable. For awhile. The days between “cold” and “too hot” in a Texas spring are few and precious, except in the wettest years.
So far husband’s had the tick bites and I’ve had the mosquito bites, but that’s because I’ve spent less time outdoors, esp. in the wooded bits. And the chiggers–the chiggers got him, but so far haven’t gotten me. I always get one bad go with chiggers, then my body says “Oh, chiggers–let’s not do the full-on over-reaction for the rest of the summer and the next ones are never as itchy. Very soon the snakes will be out and about, including the rattlers. They’re generally proddy when they show up in spring, because they’ve fasted all winter in their dens, so we are very careful and if they’ve parked near a trail and buzz at us, we go another way. There’s still argument about whether rattlers are ever truly aggressive, or just being defensive…I’d say the one that came toward the tractor one day and tried to bite the tire was being aggressive, but I may have cut across its escape route. I can say that some are more actively defensive than others–some go on and strike at much less provocation than others. I like the ones that buzz loudly and then don’t strike even if you accidentally step on them (happened to husband) and the ones that buzz a warning as they retreat rather than holding ground. That “like” is merely s preference over the ones that don’t warn and strike first, or hold ground and strike quickly–not a genuine affection for them. On the snake front I like some of the non-venomous snakes that are also decorative (red-lined ribbon snake) or very useful (Texas rat snakes, western coachwhip snakes, both useful in reducing the rodent population.)
Comment by Ellen McLean — April 1, 2015 @ 1:13 am
Enjoyed the podcast. You are quite good at being a co-operative interviewee. Have a blessed Holy Week and may the chiggers spare you.
Comment by elizabeth — April 1, 2015 @ 10:06 am
Thanks, Ellen. Got any new calves? I might drop by the ranch with a friend next week–will call to see if it’s convenient.