An Introduction to Crowbar and Her Brothers

The Spectrum Circus Goes Beta

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:10:16 GMT

The beta version of The Spectrum Circus is now up at www.spectrumcircus.com. Woo-hoo! What is The Spectrum Circus? I'm so glad you asked! It's a website I'm developing to help readers find the books they want to read, from the independent presses (we're talking speculative fiction, of course).
This beta site is very beta: it's extremely visually bland, and some of the functions are not yet...functional. My purpose with this site is to give people a basic idea of what the site is intended to do, and how it's intended to work. I'm also soliciting suggestions for the kinds of features people would like to see, and trying to recruit reviewers for the site.
So, I'm hoping if you have the chance, you will check it out and let me know what you think. Also, if you or anyone you know might be interested in joining the crew of reviewers, there's instructions for how to apply on the site.
Hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying this lovely hot summer!

Library Thing, Spamalot, Batman

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:03:41 GMT

As you might have guessed, Library Thing is my latest discovery in the world of literary networking. It's very similar to Goodreads, but has some additional neat features, like the ability to add to a "Common Knowledge" database for each book, that includes things like the first line and last line of the book, lists of characters, favorite quotes, etc. I had a lot of fun adding stuff to the RedJack books, hee-hee.

In unrelated news, as a die-hard Monty Python fan, I just had to go see "Spamalot" when it returned to San Francisco, so my daughter and I went this past weekend. It was totally hilarious, and the cast was amazing. The highlight was definitely the "French Taunter" scene: I didn't think it would be possible for it to be funnier than it is in the movie, but somehow they managed it. My stomach hurt from laughing afterwards. Oh, my goodness.

In movie news, the Batman franchise has decided to revamp the series by injecting some fresh new blood, so they have hired me to direct the next Batman movie. It's going to be titled Batman: Rested, Refreshed, and Ready to Go. Batman with be played by Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes), Commissioner Gordon will be played by Bart the Bear (Dr. Doolittle 2, Into the Wild), and Alfred will be played by a lamp post (the corner of 53rd and 3rd). There will be no villain, no crisis threatening Gotham City--just a nice relaxing weekend and one of those fancy, eco-friendly health spas that I've always wanted to go to.

Open Library and the Health Care Handbook

Mon, 25 May 2009 17:33:23 GMT

Open Library is my latest discovery in the quest to find resources for authors and publishers, that help us to find our audience. According to the site, their goal is to create a database of "one webpage for every book every published" and in so doing, become a hub of book information. It's a pretty site, well on it's way to becoming very thorough and user-friendly. It's still beta, and in some ways that shows. For example, I tried to "Add a Book" and went through the entire, somewhat lengthy process, only to have the record disappear (I went through twice, to make sure that I had completed the process -- nope, gone). But if your books are in the Baker & Taylor database (it's apparently not enough for it to be in the Books-in-Print database, which is a little weird), you can easily add descriptions, Table of Contents, and a quality cover image. They also provide links to many online booksellers -- but no place to put a link to the publisher's website, which is a bummer. It's not a fantastic resource, but it's easy to see that they're working hard on it, and it's likely to get better. So, it's worth putting a little time into it to update book and author information.

In other, not-really-related-to-RedJack news, my mom and I are drawing on our combined 50 years (yeek!) of experience as health care administrators to expand on a pamphlet we created to help patients understand their health insurance. The new, expanded pamphlet will be titled The Health Care Handbook (How to Manage the Cost of Your Health Care), and will cover such topics as: Choosing the Right Health Insurance, Understanding Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Patient, and Risk Management and the Cost of Health Care. This pamphlet is going to be made available primarily as a free PDF download. I'll provide updates as we move the project along.

Well, that's it for me. Hope everyone is enjoying the Memorial Day weekend!

Nina Munteanu and Goodreads

Mon, 11 May 2009 15:50:37 GMT

I've been trading emails with The Amazing Nina Munteanu, as we work out stuff for her short story collection (as yet untitled, but in my mind called Natural Selection), which RedJack will be publishing in early 2010. Nina is a Canadian ecologist and author of the novel Darwin's Paradox, published last year by Dragon Moon Press. You know, as much as I love the book part of the publishing biz, I love the meeting interesting people part even more. If you ever get a chance to talk to Nina, you should definitely not let the opportunity pass you by. But until that happens, there's her blog, The Alien Next Door, which is also really fun.

In other news, I finally took the time to look into the literary networking site Goodreads, which seems to be a good resource for readers and authors alike. It's very user-friendly, and the staff are super-helpful. If you have the time, it's worth checking out.

Hope everybody has a super week --
Heidi :)

RedJack at FiestaCon

Mon, 04 May 2009 15:52:16 GMT

It turns out that RedJack will have a dealer's table at FiestaCon (Westercon 62), which will be in Tempe, Arizona on July 2-5. I can't wait for the heat! Seriously, the hotter the better -- it's been raining for five days straight up here in Arcata...My cat is starting to mold.
On the other hand, I'm bummed that RJ will not be at Wiscon this year. My daughter is leaving for Belize that week, and I just can't make it happen. I just got the word through the Broad Universe network that Lettie Prell is going to be writing the skit for the opening ceremonies, and I'm going to miss it (along with all of the other loopiness that is Wiscon)! Wah.
Anyway, that's all my news. I hope everyone has a great week!

New RedJack Website

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:21:18 GMT

RedJack has a new website! Woo-hoo! If any of you have a few minutes, please stop by at www.redjackbooks.com and check it out, and let me know what you think. What works for you, what doesn't, if you run across any technical glitches or errors, and so on. For those of you that are RedJack authors, note that there's a brand new "About Us" page, that includes a section on "Resources for Authors." I'm working hard to develop tools and programs and promotional materials that will help you (and help us, and help us help you and help you help us) find the audience for your RedJack book(s). If you have any ideas or suggestions in this area, I would be so happy to hear them.
I hope everyone is well, and enjoying the beautiful (and for us, long overdue) springtime!

RedJack Party at WorldCon

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:41:10 GMT

Hi there!
This is an invitation for the WorldCon attendees to come to the RedJack New Release Party on Wednesday night at 8:00. We'll be celebrating the release of "Edge of Our Lives" by Mark Rich. Mark will be there, and I'm sure that all of you swell people will enjoy hanging out together, relaxing, enjoying a glass of wine/beer/apple juice, coloring, playing Twister (just kidding -- unless you really want to) and the other fun stuff we have planned.

I don't actually know the suite number yet, but the party will be at the Sheraton on Wednesay night at 8:00 in one of the deluxe suites on the main party floor. Of course, I will have flyers up at the con, also.

Hope to see you there!

Report from WFC

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:34:30 GMT

It was great!
The End.

Just kidding. It really was great, and as always, it was the people who made it that way. Oh, man...I don't know where to start. (Well, how about at the beginning?) Okay, that's a good idea. But, do you mean, at the beginning beginning, waking up at 3:00am to catch the flight? (What? No, I mean at the beginning of the con. Thursday night, Broad Universe Party...) Oh, right. Okay, the Broad Universe Party...

It was fun to meet and talk with the Broads (some old, some new, some about-to-be-new), including Cat Rambo and Kathy Sullivan and JoSelle Vanderhooft and Roberta Gregory and Morven Westfield. Kathy, in particular, is just an astoundingly nice and consistently thoughtful person, and came to our rescue at least three times during the con -- for which I am very grateful. At this party, I also met John O'Neill and Howard Andrew Jones, publisher and editor (respectively) of Black Gate. They're the kind of guys that immediately bring to mind the words "witty" and "erudite" and "charming" and "Harvard Literary Review" -- so when they started talking "taking over the world" and "tentacles," I immediately fell in love. No, but seriously, if you haven't read Black Gate, you should. Not only are the production values flawless, but the stories are incredible, walking that fine line between pushing the literary envelope and sheer fun readability.

The highlight of Friday was meeting and talking with Mark Rich, his wife Martha, and Rick Bowes. Mark and Rick are, on their own, extremely talented authors; together, they're, well...bizarre, but in the best of all possible ways. Their story "Jacket Jackson," which appears in Electric Velocipede, is a screaming motorcycle ride over the rainbow, to the dark side of the moon, past the outer limits, and beyond. Just listening to the two of them in conversation is pure entertainment. Kiri sat next to Rick at dinner, and I'm sure that was the highlight of the con for her: she has dubbed him "The Funniest Man in the Universe." Mark and Martha are also musicians, and I'm lucky enough to have two of their CD's, which are just the combination of wit and artistry that I would have expected.

The other highlight of Friday was having lunch with Steve Segal of Weird Tales/Prime Books and Jenna Waterford. Steve and I were on a panel together ("Surrealism Trapped in a Jar") and so the topic of conversation was, naturally, the world of publishing, art, cats, and oh, yeah, surrealism and what we would talk about in the panel (he suggested that we stage a fight a la Jerry Springer, but I was dubious of his ability to take a chair hit without actually getting hurt). I have a lot of admiration for Steve and the work that he does (and the lovely person that he is), so it was a real treat for me. Kiri and I had coffee with Jenna later, and it was an extra-special treat to get to know her better, too.

Saturday night was, of course, the RedJack release party for Bruce Taylor's book Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity. Kiri was our party planner, and she did a fantastic job. It was risky, substituting candy, crayons, and Play-Dough for alcohol, but it worked, and I think people had a great time (of course, it didn't hurt that the TOR party was going on downstairs, basically serving as a bar for all of the parties -- shhh, don't tell them) -- and we ended up with some amazing Play-Dough creations (pictures to be posted soon). Bruce did a couple of readings, and we had prize drawings, and sold out of every copy of Edward we had. What more could we have asked for?

Broad Universe Party at World Fantasy Con

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:59:11 GMT

Due to (insert long and complicated story here), I have an extra party room booked for 9:00pm Thursday night (Nov. 1) of WFC. So, I've decided to turn it into a Broad Universe party (I think I have permission from the board -- at least, nobody's said 'no').
Remember: Thursday, Nov.1 at 9:00, Broad Universe Party at WFC.
For those of you who don't know what Broad Universe is: come to the party and find out :)

Party for Edward!

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:51:04 GMT

You are invited!
We're having a party to launch Bruce Taylor's book, Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity at the World Fantasy Convention. It will be on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 8:00pm (don't know the room yet). Kiri (my daughter) and I have decided on a "Party for the Inner Child," so we'll be having candy, food, candy, drawings for cool prizes (magic kits and books and other stuff), candy, and other fun surprise-like stuff. And candy.
Hope we'll see you there!

Edward Comes Home!

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:14:19 GMT

Yes, it's true...Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity is here! Woo-hoo! We got the books a couple of weeks ago, and they look great. Bruce and I are both very happy! What a relief! After two years of struggling with printer issues (refusing to print the books because they were "obscene", going out of business unexpectedly, etc.), I finally went with Thomson-Shore and they are awesome! Tell your friends!

The book is still on pre-sale for half price ($5.00) until November 1. Tell your friends about that too!

I also have a limited number of review copies, so if you think you might be interested in reading and blogging, let me know, and I'll send you a copy!

Well, since I've officially used up my daily quota of exclamation marks, I guess it's time to sign off (!)

Anathema Online

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:20:06 GMT

The first issue of the Anathema online anthology is up! Whew!
We have two great stories for the premiere issue:
"Angel, With Child," by Calie Voorhis, an intriguing and lyrical story about an angel who spawns an anti-theist revolution.
"The Club," by Sue Lange, a hilarious look at the Singularity, from the inside. (Can there be an inside and outside in the Singularity? Hmm...I don't know).
I hope that you all will get a chance to take a look, and let me know what you think!
And remember, we're always open for submissions...

Anathema Open for Submissions

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:34:32 GMT

Just like the title says, RedJack's new online anthology, Anathema, is now open for submissions. If you're interested, please visit the guidelines page.
Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you all!

The Anathema Project

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:20:42 GMT

A while ago, I posted a poll asking if people were interested in the idea of an online anthology in which the writer is challenged to write (sympathetically) from a point of view directly opposed ot his or her own. Everybody who responded thought it was interesting, so I'm going to go ahead with it. As soon as I get the details worked out, I will post submission guidelines to all of the usual places.
In the meantime, is there anybody out there who is interested in helping me sift through the submissions? I would pay some token amount, and guarantee a spot in the online version of the anthology (not sure yet if there will be a print version -- I'll have to see how it goes). Let me know if you're interested.

Notes from Readercon

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 15:32:03 GMT

Small, but intense. That is Readercon.
Some highlights:
1) Mary Robinette Kowal's (maryrobinette) panel on "How to be a Great Reader." What I learned: Mary will be doing all of my readings from now on. No, just kidding. Not only is she an extremely talented voice actor, but an awesome teacher. We learned some simple and some more complicated stuff about -- not only how not to be a terrible reader -- but how to be a GREAT reader. I tried to put at least some of what I learned to use at the...
2) Broad Universe Rapid-Fire-Reading. I love these so much. It was a great sample of some diverse work, from Phoebe Wray, Jennifer Pelland (jenwrites), Morven Westfield, Margaret Ronald, and Trisha Wooldridge (who read a completely amazing poem).
3) The "Meet the Pros(e)" party. This was the coolest idea. There were a bunch (meaning, a LOT) of people around the ballroom with sheets of computer labels that had quotes from their work. You then go around and collect the quotes, creating a piece of random cool "li-tri-ture," meanwhile, socializing and stuff. It was really fun.
4) The kaffeeklatch with Gavin Grant, Kelly Link (from Small Beer Press) and Matthew Kressler (from Sense Five Press, publishers of Sybil's Garage -- in my mind, the best-designed magazine out there.) Some fun conversation there, about a variety of stuff, but mostly it's cool to see how dedicated people are to putting out the best possible work.

There was, of course, other great stuff...and more to come, I'm sure...

4th of July in Boston

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:53:44 GMT

Boston is a cool city. Not literally -- it's pretty wam and muggy climate-wise (I'm told it gets much worse, and I believe it). But it's cool because:
1) It has the oldest public piece of land since colonization (Boston Common).
2) It has the oldest building in the US since colonization (the Old State House) - although, apparently the Governor's house in Santa Fe may be older, or the same age.
3) It has a three-mile-or-so "Freedom Trail" (a red line painted and/or bricked into the sidewalks) that take you around to the various historical sites -- and there are a LOT of them.
4) In Boston, as you walk around, you are constantly surrounded by/reminded of the incredible fortitude, brilliance, and determination of the men and women of the mid-1700's, and what they accomplised in freeing themselves from the yoke of a tyrannical government. And not only to free themselves from oppression, but to actually have the vision to replace it with something better.
5) I'm guessing that this constant reminder of this heritage has something to do with the tenor of the 4th of July in Boston. On the 4th of July, Boston Common was not drowning in the red-white-and-blue; there was no empty sloganeering, flag-waving, sentimentalizing. There was, however, a Freedom Trail tour guide dressed in (what must have been a swelteringly hot) colonial costume, talking about the "Writs of Assistance," (aka "The Intolerable Acts") and saying "the soldiers could enter your house at any time and read your private papers, to see if you'd said anything bad about the King -- because, you see, the King wanted to know what you were thinking. (Then, to the children in the group) Can you imagine living under a government like that?"
6) The North End of Boston has more Italian restaurants in about a five-block area than there are Chinese restaurants in the entire city of San Francisco. Okay, that's probably an exaggeration, but there are a LOT of Italian restaurants, and they're all very classy-looking (and the shuttle driver says they're all good).
7) Boston has really good public transportation. I hope they appreciate it. I went from Burlington to Boston and back for $7.00 on a combination of bus/subway (it's a $60 cab ride one way), and all of the bus drivers/transit workers were awesomely patient and friendly.
8) Everybody that I have met and talked to in Boston has been awesomely friendly. This is not what I've been taught to expect from the East Coast. Another stereotype bites the dust, and I'm so happy.

Guidolon: The Giant Space Chicken

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:11:22 GMT

...is the title of Frank Wu's animated short, which I saw at Westercon and loved -- especially because Frank was there to explain all the high-falutin' literary references it contains, which I missed while I was laughing at the high-heeled ray-gun shoes and the exploding chicken monster (and frankly, would have missed anyway). Apparently, this short (the Director's Cut version) is being considered by Nickelodeon as a pilot for a series, so, Frank says it would help if we all go to YouTube and run up the hit counter in order to impress the execs. I highly recommend it as a cure for artistic over-seriousness...

By the way, according to Frank, all of the music in the short is a variation on "The Chicken Dance."

Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 21:49:16 GMT

Everybody, meet Edward -- Edward, meet everybody. I just finished the layout, typesetting and editing of Bruce's new book (see title above, I'm too lazy to type it again). Whew! It was very very fun, but also a very challenging book to typeset -- and if you don't believe me, you're not my friend anymore. No, seriously: over 80 hours of work, just in the initial pass, mostly because of the weird/fun/clever little doohicky doodads (eg., two simultaneous stories, 194 footnotes, an appendix of endnotes on the footnotes, 3 diagrams, a puzzle, a recipe, and a "To-Do" list -- among other things). And then there's the novel itself, in and among and between and through all of this high cleverness. Did I get lost? Yes, occasionally, I did. Luckily, I'm good with both compass and dictionary.

Was it worth it? You betcha. I seriously love this book.

So, now Edward's page is up at www.redjackbooks.com. Go pay him a visit, see what he's about, read an excerpt from the introduction by Jay Lake (an introduction that is, by the way, just as twisty-tailed as the book itself). You can also pre-order the book at a thigh-slappingly good discount. But you can't slap your thigh unless you actually order the book. No cheating.

Also, a limited number of unbound galleys are available for reviewers (or anybody who wants to do a second-edit pass for me, and earn major karma points in doing so...)

Shooting Totally Macaroni

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:20:17 GMT

Woo-hoo! (and another woo-hoo!) My film students and I yesterday completed the shooting of our summer film (well, video) project Totally Macaroni! These kids are so awesome. Despite some misadventures (like, getting forced out of our main location, so that we had to complete five pages of script in just under two hours), and some challenges (steadicam + superhero costume on public bus; an extremely cute but as-cooperative-as-warm-jello dog), we completed the project on time, and the footage looks great. If you're interested, I posted some photos of the process at www.karonophile.com/TotalMac.html.
Next up, editing. Last year's project (Strictly Commercial) required two hundred hours of editing time (which included learning-to-use-the-editing-program time). Hopefully, this won't take quite that long.
All-in-all, it's been an amazing week. And I'm now, officially, completely pooped.

The Secret History of Moscow

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 05:28:54 GMT

While at Wiscon, I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Kathy Sedia's book The Secret History of Moscow (published by Prime Books, release date November 2007) -- and when I say "lucky," I mean it. I just wish I had been a little luckier, and been asked to publish it! Seriously, this is the kind of book that exemplifies (to me) the best that the speculative fiction genre has to offer. And I'll tell you why...

The overarching story is simple enough, and when summarized, sounds very much like a traditional fairy tale: A young Russian woman's sister mysteriously turns into a bird and flies away; young woman joins with young man to search for the sister (and other missing bird-people), and on they way they travel to a wondrous fairy-tale land beneath the city of Moscow, and meet a plethora of wondrous (and cooly-freakish) fairy-tale creatures (I won't tell you the ending, but it's beautiful, trust me).The fairy-tale elements of the story are interesting enough, but what makes the book truly magic are its very human characters -- each with his or her own touchingly detailed story -- and its small yet profound insights into life, the universe, and everything. For example, this passage:
"This stairwell was one of her treasures, one of the secrets nobody knew about--she collected them obsessively, and reveled in the knowledge of her riches. [A] Few of them were tangible...others were less so--a hidden eddy on the river, a particular angle the sunlight struck on the gilded onion of a church, and that house on Gertzen's street, which had an unguarded roof exit, where one could sit on the slanted metal roof, warm from the sun, and be in awe of the old city..."

Or this passage:
"And when he painted her, she felt real. She felt less like an assemblage of exotic features but [more] a primal creature of color and light, of primal planes and sharp angles. She was broken down and reconstructed on paper, not quite herself, but real, with the gravity her actual body lacked, free of binding spirals and the sandpaper fists of the world."

The style alternates between amazing lyricism and blunt matter-of-factness (no explanation is given of anything unless it is absolutely required) -- a technique that I personally love, and which reminds me of the Russian surrealist writers Nikolai Gogol and Mikhail Bulgakov.
So, yeah, this book has a lot of elements that taken separately, would be interesting enough: the bizarro characters from Russian folklore, the fascinating glimpses of life in post-USSR Russia, and so on. But it's the humanity of the characters, and the beautiful, insightful use of the fairytale to say something about the "real" that gives the book true depth. And that's why I believe it's representative of the best the genre has to offer -- and why I sincerely hope it becomes a gajillion-copy best seller!

Anathema? Or Not?

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:08:02 GMT

Mary (Hobson) has asked me a couple of times now if RedJack is going to do an anthology, and both times I've said "Eh," because I really couldn't think of anything new to do, that others aren't already doing extremely well. But then, at Wiscon, I had an inspiration, and I wanted to see what you all think of this idea...
I was thinking of doing an anthology wherein the stories are written from a point of view that is anathema to the author's own point of view -- and written sympathetically from that point of view. So, why would I want to do this? Well, it's an interesting issue, I think, and one that was brought up at least a couple of times at Wiscon (once by me, at Cat Rambo's "When Good Books Happen to Bad People" panel, and by a couple of people at the "Glorifying Terrorism" reading/panel). The issue is identification of the author with the viewpoint of a character. Are we afraid to write from certain viewpoints because we're afraid of being identified with them? And, if we had the chance to write this way in a "safe environment" (ie., in an anthology that explicity states that we're taking a viewpoint we don't agree with), what would we learn about "the enemy" or "the other"? Would it lead to greater understanding? I was thinking of starting it as a serial online-only anthology, and then putting it into print (if it works out) later -- with bonus stories, and all that.
So, does this sound at all interesting to anyone? Or not? (By the way, I'm also open to suggestions for other ideas)

View Poll: Anathema? Or not?

Jack-the-Wheel and Topsy-Turvy

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 03:09:50 GMT

Here are two more writing games, for those who are interested...

Jack-the-Wheel

It's kind of a silly title, but I couldn't think of what else to call it (the name comes from a fairy-tale thing that Aaron and I wrote while playing this game). This game is a second cousin twice removed from the Bachelorette games. This game is also "narrative" in the same way that the Bachelorette Game Part 2 is narrative, and it is also played in rounds. In this game, each player creates a free-flow adventure, but in each round, one of the partner players gets to introduce an element into the other person's story. For example, if I start my round by telling a story about a blade of grass that becomes sentient and decides to take a trip to Bear Land to see what flavor lollipop has the best magic, my partner will say (in the next round), "Green Shag Carpet," and I will have to incorporate that into the story somehow.

Topsy-Turvy

This game comes from my mom, who is a singer. She told me once that if she's having trouble with a song (it's just not sounding right, etc.), she will try singing it in a completely different, sometimes completely ridiculous way, and this will often -- by some weird alchemical process -- give her insight into what isn't working. This is my favorite technique to use during the revision process, which can be the least fun and most stressful part of writing. Unlike the others, it's not really a partner game -- although, I guess, it could be. What I will do, for example, is take a passage that doesn't feel quite right (whether it's dialogue, or narration, or whatever), and in a separate file (or on a separate piece of paper), rewrite it in a completely different and sometimes completely ridiculous style. It's amazing to me how well this actually works, and I'm forever in debt to my mom for telling me about it. Oddly, it's really similar to a technique that Eileen Gunn described using, that was given to her by William Gibson. Go figure.

Well, that's it. Hope it's useful!

Graduation Day

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 15:20:53 GMT

Yesterday was Graduation Day for the high school where I teach, and I'm still feeling emotionally spongy this morning. The problem with a small school (our graduating class had fifteen students), is that you really get to know (and become attached to) each and every student, and it's really hard to say good-bye. Anyway, the students had asked me to give the commencement address, which I did. It was my first, and I made a hash of some of it (I totally forgot how to play harmonica, for example), but I thought I would post it, just because I worked hard on it, and...well, how often do you see a speech that quotes William Faulkner, Victor Hugo, and Yoda? Anyway, here it is, for better or worse...

First, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak to you on the day of your graduation. It's a very great honor for me, and I hope that what I have to say will do justice to the importance of this occasion.

So…about that…

It's intimidating to write a graduation speech, because you come face to face with the painful inadequacy of words to express true meaning. For example, I wanted to say something about the deep love and respect and appreciation that I feel for all of you, but I was haunted by the quote from William Faulkner, that "Words are shapes to fill the lack," -- and in this case there is no lack.

Because yours is a beauty that speaks for itself, everyday, in everything you say, that you create, that you do. Those things speak to who you are, as individuals and as a community, more eloquently than any words of mine could ever do. It's a beauty that needs no explanation in order to be understood or appreciated, it simply and obviously is.

So, the thought did cross my mind that, instead of giving a speech, I should have you all stand up, and we could observe ten minutes of silence while we gaze in wonder at you. But then I thought, nah, that's a little too far out, even for me. Just so you know, your parents still do that when you're sleeping. And they always will.

So…what to say?

It took a little of the pressure off when I thought back to my own graduation, and realized that I hadn't heard a single word that anybody said, I was just so excited to be graduating. I figured that I could stand up here and read a recipe for pickled herring, and as long as I end with the words "Congratulations, graduates of the class of 2007," you'll probably remember it as being a good speech.

Well, I'll try to do a little better than pickled herring…

So, I tried to come up with something simple, yet inspirational. Some little nugget of wisdom that you could carry with you through life that would help make the journey a little easier, and what I came up with was this:

Whatever you do…don't mess up. Just kidding.

What I came up with, comes from a conversation I had recently with my friend, Bruce Taylor. We were talking about a book he had written called The Mountains of the Night, which is a book about backpacking, but really "backpacking" as a metaphor for life, and the paths we choose to take through life, and the people we choose to become. So, I asked Bruce,

"Bruce…how does one choose a path through life? How do we know which path is the right one?"

And he said, "That's easy, Heidi: The right path is the one that the real you wants to take."

And I said, "But, Bruce, there are so many of me -- one for every occasion, it seems. I have to work six jobs just to keep us all fed. How do I know which one is the real me?"

And he said, "Heidi, the world is vast and wide – why do you answer a bell and dress in ceremonial robes?"

And I said, "What? Oh…I get it. That's one of those Zen things, isn't it? One of those unanswerable questions, the philosophical equivalent of 'You're on your own, kid.'"

And he said, "Yep."

Because in the Buddhist philosophy, apparently, the road to enlightenment is paved with extreme annoyance.

So I've been giving this a lot of thought -- how do you know which one is the real you? -- and here's what I've decided.

The real you is not the “mannequin” you -- and we all have one of those -- that hard plastic shell that develops in response to the market demands of the world that surrounds us. This is the “you” created for placement in a well-lighted shop window, dressed and posed to appeal to the consumer, so as to best encourage the sale of the goods. This "you" has been dressed by shop clerks, appropriately, and according to label: athlete, musician, beauty queen, scholar, intellectual, artist, rebel. This is a gutless and soulless statue posed expertly into an attitude carefully calculated to suggest vitality and determined action where there is in fact, only dead stillness.

That is not you.

You are the soul on fire, you burn with a white-hot passion for life like a giant supernova; you are the unbreakable force that binds the universe together; and you feel your connection to the world so with a sensitivity so acute that you can't tell where you end and the rest of it begins; you are the actor that finds unfathomable joy in your participation in the ever-unfolding drama of the world around you.

That is you.

To quote one of the great sages of our times: "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter…you must let the light flow through you, and let the force be your guide. Luke, complete the training, you must, or fall to the dark side, you will --"

Well, maybe that last part isn't relevant, but seriously, who knows better than an 800-year-old Jedi master?

I think what Yoda was trying to say is, if you want to stay on the right path, then let whatever you do -- anything and everything you do, big or small -- be an expression of that one true self, that luminous being.

But sometimes it's hard to do that. It seems so much easier to let the shop clerks dress and pose you. So much safer to remain motionless, hidden behind that empty representation of yourself -- so much less risk, of rejection, of failure, of heartache. But that safety is an illusion, because that way leads, as Bruce says, to an "Intolerable Death of the Spirit," and that "…to ever fully know, to ever fully embrace who [you] really are, to ever come to know that truth, that light, burning, burning, bright," to be the person you are supposed to be, the path that you must take is the one that you cut for yourself, with your own hands. And that takes strength, and courage.

So, that is the question -- the challenge -- constantly being posed to you in life, by the shop clerks, the market analysts, ad execs, the friends, relations, teachers, bosses, strangers, luck, circumstance, and the universe in general – and that is: Do you have the courage to be the person you were meant to be?

And the answer is: Of course you do. And why not?

So, now, I have just one more thing to say -- well, "say." Because, where "words are the shape to fill the lack," music -- Victor Hugo says -- "expresses that which cannot be said, and on which it is impossible to be silent." And on that note…

(I whip out my harmonica, and begin to sing…)

You are the light of the world,

But if that light is under a bushel,

It's lost something kind of crucial!

You've got to stay bright to be the light of the world.

You are the salt of the earth,

(Harmonica solo)

But if that salt has lost its flavor,

It ain't got much in its favor!

(Harmonica solo)

So let your light so shine before men,

Let your light so shine!

So that we all may feel a little kindness again,

(Harmonica solo)

I know you'll stay bright and be the light of the world.

(Harmonica finish "Amen")

Congratulations, graduates of the class of 2007.

The Bachelorette Game, Parts 1 and 2

Thu, 31 May 2007 04:25:37 GMT

This is for the people who came to the "Around the Writer's Block" panel at Wiscon, who were interested in the games that my writing partner (Aaron) and I play. Keep in mind that these games are very free-form (Rules? Rules are for sissies and flaming knife-wielding badgers*), and we are constantly reinventing them as we play. The only two hard-and-fast rules are: you need more than one person to play; and, absolutely no critiquing is allowed. It's also very helpful not to think too hard about stuff while you're playing. The idea is not to come up with "good" stuff, but to allow yourself run free, like a two-year-old wearing nothing but a diaper running away from your mom across the back lawn with all the speed your tiny little legs can muster and squealing for joy the whole time.

1. The Bachelorette Game, Part 1
According to Aaron, he invented this game while a camp counselor, as a way to draw out the shy kids (I suspect that he was just really bored). The basic format is sort of like the Dating Game, but not. The game is played in rounds, and as follows: In round one, Player 1 invents a set of three characters, from which Player 2 has to choose the most interesting (mysterious, seductive, freakish, scary) character. Then Player 2 creates a set of three characters from which Player 1 (or Player 3) has to choose, and so on. The chosen characters then advance to round two, to compete against two new characters, and so on. We also add characteristics to the characters as they advance through the rounds. Because this game is so simple, we often use it as a warmup for other games (or actual, you know, work).
By the way, it's called the "Bachelorette" Game because it did start out as a "Who Would You Marry?" game (these were teenage boys, remember). But because Aaron almost instantly started presenting them with choices like "Bachelorette Number One is a giant spider with twelve legs and a human head who carries the key to the great Library of Hell on a chain around her neck," the term "Bachelorette" quickly became kind of an ironic misnomer.

2. The Bachelorette Game, Part 2
This game uses virtually the same format as Part 1, except that the characters are created within a narrative. We usually play it as an adventure game, where Player 1 takes Player 2 on an adventure, where he or she is introduced to the characters, and has to choose which character to "follow" into the next round. Remember that the adventure doesn't have to make sense. It's only "narrative" in the sense that it's in the verbal structure of "that happens, and then this happens." "This" doesn't necessarily have to follow logically from "that." Again, thinking too hard is anathema to the spirit of the game.

Well, I think that's all I want to put in this post...next post will be the Jack-the-Wheel Game, and Verbal Backgammon.

*I was going to give an explanation here, but now I realize that I don't actually have one.

Good Medicine, etc.

Sun, 20 May 2007 17:04:23 GMT

I feel the need to balance my rant from the other day with something more positive, so here it is...

First, I'm feeling really good about how Volume 2 of the Liquid Laughter Project (ie., Freedomhowler, Finchley & Co., the sequel to Medicine Show) is coming along. It seems to me that the authors are really having some fun with this one, and it shows. Like Mary Hobson did with Medicine Show, Lisa Mantchev got us off to a great start (with a bizarre little bang of a starting gun), and everyone has just taken the thing and run. Especially David Reagan, who turned in an amazing novella-length story--and who should get a medal for his dedication to this project (seriously, he even created a Wiki, so we could keep all the characters/events straight). This is the kind of twisty-tailed storytelling that I love, and it gives me a nice warm fuzzy to be a part of it.

Also, I'm very excited that artist Forest Stearns (www.draweverywhere.com) has tentatively agreed to do the cover for Edward, Dancing on the Edge of Infinity.

Finally, I went to a book signing at Blake's Books on Friday, and had a chance to talk a little with four great local authors: Amy Stewart (www.amystewart.com), author of creative non-fiction books The Earth Moved, and Flower Confidential; Natasha Wing (www.natashawing.com), author of the unbelievably cute children's series, "The Night Before..."; Barbara Kerley (www.barbarakerley.com), author of the really cool children's book The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins (among others); and Pam Service (no website, but she's the author of the young adult fantasy novel Tomorrow's Magic). It was really fun, and I'm hoping that I can convince at least a couple of them to participate in a "Celebrate Mary Shelley's Birthday" event...