Anyone whose been following her blog or catching her entries in different anthologies over recent years will have been wondering when Caroline Furlong was going to favor us with a book of her own. At last she has obliged with this rich little collection of imaginative, emotionally taught short stories. (Full disclosure, I served as … Continue reading Review: ‘The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 1: In Dreams and Other Stories’
Books
‘Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley’ is Now Live in Paperback!
That was faster than I expected: after receiving the proof-copy yesterday and making some last-minute corrections, the paperback version of Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley is now live on Amazon! Let that be a lesson: always get a proof copy.
Friday Flotsam: Mostly About ‘Forbidden Valley’
1. Most important news of course is that Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley is up at last! 2. When you buy the book (as I must assume you will, being readers fond of adventure and romance in darkest jungles full of ancient secrets), you’ll find that I include epigraphs in ever chapter and one … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly About ‘Forbidden Valley’
‘Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley’ is Now Live!
It all started with a kiss… When Perseus Corbett shared his first kiss with young Elizabeth Alban, daughter of Lord Darrow, he vowed that, impossible though it seemed, he would someday become rich enough to marry her. But after many years, a World War, and a hundred adventures chasing treasure in every corner of globe, … Continue reading ‘Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley’ is Now Live!
Walt Disney Content Strike
I just received word from Amazon that they consider some aspect of The Wisdom of Walt Disney in violation of their trademark content policy. So, while I'm trying to find out just what and how I can correct it, the book will be temporarily unavailable in paperback. Sorry everyone. UPDATE: The strike's been withdrawn and … Continue reading Walt Disney Content Strike
Friday Flotsam: Verne, History, and Broomsticks
1. Visiting relatives in Maine all this week 2. On the way up, listened to a biography of Jules Verne. It was certainly interesting to get a look into the life of such an important author, though the biographer is rather annoyingly intrusive; his thesis is that Verne is one of the great authors of … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Verne, History, and Broomsticks
Friday Flotsam: Some Reading and Some Thoughts
1. Read classic noir pulp short Angel Face by Cornell Woolrich, about a savvy stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold trying to save her loser of a brother from a false accusation of murder with help from a sympathetic detective. Really exactly what you want in this kind of thing: snappy dialogue and narration (“One of them was kind of … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Some Reading and Some Thoughts
Surprisingness
C.S. Lewis, in a passage I can’t now find, comments that there ‘surprisingness’ is a different thing from ‘being a surprise’. The latter is simply a question of reaction; it’s subjective and, by its nature, can only come once. But ‘surprisingness’ is a quality in the thing itself, the quality of being so structured as … Continue reading Surprisingness
Thoughts on ‘Flatland’
You have almost certainly never read a novel like Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott (under the name ‘A. Square’). It depicts a two-dimensional world, and the narrator’s experience of being granted visions of other dimensions. About two-thirds of the book consists in simply describing the nature and some of the … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Flatland’
Niceness is Fun
(Just finished reading my first The Shadow novel, which inspired this)
Serpent's Den 