Princess Bride

One of my favorite movies has to be The Princess Bride. This movie will always be a classic to me. I've watched it so many times, I can practically quote the whole thing right along with the actors. Not only do I have the movie, but I also have the soundtrack, which is excellent background music for writing fantasy. Fantastic!

This story within a story begins with a boy who is home sick. His grandfather visits, bringing his favorite book. With the promise of "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles," the grandson agrees to listen to the story.

Buttercup falls in love with a poor farmboy. Before he leaves to seek his fortune, he promises that he will always come for her. "Because this is true love. Do you think this happens everyday?" When she hears he has been murdered by the Dread Pirate Roberts, she is devastated. Prince Humperdink chooses her to become his princess though she does not love him. Then she is kidnapped by a trio of odd characters and followed by the Man in Black.

Swordfights, vows, and hilarity ensues. I hope this movie remains a part of popular culture for a long time. With so many quotable lines and references which have slipped into common parlance, I find it "inconceivable" to imagine this story ever being forgotten completely.

Sword and Sorceress XVI

Here's another collection of short stories I found entertaining: Sword and Sorceress XVI, edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Sword and Sorceress series of anthologies features fantasy stories of fighters and spellcasters, as you might expect from the title. Catchy, isn't it?

This volume features stories from authors with many publishing credits in their hats, such as Diana Paxton, Deborah Wheeler, Elisabeth Waters, and Michael Spence, to those at the beginning of their published career, such as Charlotte Carlson and Gail Sosinsky Wickman.

With twenty-six stories here, I won't even begin to try to sum up each one. I will recommend that you check out this volume of fabulous writing. From a unique spin on the frog prince story to a woman tired of waiting for her husband to pass his Senior Ordeal which would permit them to move out of the married student housing (Salt and Sorcery) to a drudge-turned princess by royal decree to feed a loathsome beast (The Day They Ran Out of Princesses), there are many well-spun yarns waiting for your perusal.

Some tales lean on the humor side like "The Frog Prince," while others lean on the spooky side like "The Changing Room." Some play on folklore like "The Kappa's Gift" and "Honey From the Rock." Whatever your taste, you may find something to your liking. Personally, while I enjoyed some more than others, I thought they were all well chosen. This is a collection I wouldn't mind adding to my shelves. The hunt to find a copy will be worth the effort.

Enchantress From the Stars

Sorry for the long break in posting. Between the toothache, car problems, and finally getting past the stumbling block in my story, I haven't been on blogger much at all in the past couple weeks.

So far this blog has weighed rather heavily on the fantasy side of the spec fic. It shouldn't be too surprising since that is what I read the most. But I do enjoy a good sci-fi story from time to time. Right before I dropped out of sight, I made it to our newly renovated library, making sure to pick up some sci-fi to cover here on the blog. Here is one I've read before and need to add to my personal library: Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl.

This story has one of the more unusual point of view setups I've come across: first person and third person. It is primarily told from the perspective of a young woman after the story has taken place in reflective first person. She is retelling the events to a cousin who had asked about the Service, in order to help the person to decide whether to join the Academy. It is also to help put her thoughts and memories in order before writing her official report, which must include the perspectives of the two cultures encountered in the mission.

Since Elana is the one telling the story, it feels natural for her to write about the events from the two men in third person. The switching back and forth work rather well to convey different interpretations of the same events. One person's magic is another person's science. Maybe it is all magic in the end.

In the much advanced age of Elana's world, society has progressed beyond war and suffering. However, not all of the worlds in existence have achieved that level of advancement. Agents of the Anthropological Service work to keep Youngling societies from overwhelming less advanced Youngling societies without revealing themselves. Disclosure would cause great harm to developing cultures. They have a right to grow into their own place in the universe, to realize their own potential. And who knows, that uniqueness might offer some new insight to the Federation. Something that could only have come from being allowed to learn from their own mistakes.

Mistakes happen every step of the way for Elana. To begin with, she was never supposed to have been on Andrecia at all. She was supposed to be studying for her First Phase exams to make up for the time missed at the Academy in order to go to the family gathering. You took the Oath once you completed Third Phase. But Elana thought that the mission to somehow stop one Youngling world from taking over another sounded exciting. She thought of the Younglings as exotic beings, rather than people. Danger was an abstract. So, she hid on the landing craft containing her father, her fiance, and a female agent who resembled the native women.

After Ilura is vaporized by a surprise encounter with two of the invading Younglings, dying in order to prevent disclosure, the danger becomes real. And that is only the beginning. Instead of Ilura doing "magic" to scare off the invaders, who believe in only what their science can measure, Elana's father must use his own daughter in a crucial role of an improvised plan. She doesn't have the features to pass as a native, so she must somehow work through a native to achieve the same result.

To Georyn and his brothers, she is the Enchantress, able to do wondrous magic. She sets them tasks that will help them prepare for their quest to slay the "dragon." Georyn does far better than they expected. The trials unlock innate abilities and ready him for the fearsome sights and sensations he will have once he faces the invaders.

Jarel is a doctor in the Youngling Empire sent down with the fledgling colony and pacification team. The Empire sees the natives as ignorant savages, little better than animals. Jarel feels differently. He wonders if there might be something more to them and questions the decision to occupy an inhabited planet. His values are put to the test. He will have to make a stand on whether his people belong there and who he should aid.

Elana comes to some rude awakenings about what it means to be in the Service and to see suffering and not interfere. It takes every ounce of willpower and ingenuity from the agents, courage from Georyn, cooperation from Jarel, and a heartful of faith from everyone to make the plan succeed.

I found this to be a fascinating glimpse into how space faring societies might develop and what they would do once out in the stars. Maybe some great Federation out there is allowing us to make our mistakes, to grow into our own potential. Even if it means allowing our suffering to continue. After all, suffering is what propels us to improve our lives. It comforts me to think there might be such a Federation out there, studying us, waiting for us to grow up, and allowing us the chance to do so.

No One Noticed the Cat

Here's a cute little book for you. Yes, it's actually a little book, about 5 or 6 inches nearly square, 124 pages long. A quick read. Anne McCaffrey's No One Noticed the Cat is a whimsical fantasy, perfect for when you want a bit of light reading.

If you are regent to an adventurous prince with ambitious neighbors, what are you going to do when you know your death is approaching? Why, surround him with the perfect advisers, of course. Ones who will guide him without taking away his authority. However, Mangan Tighe's cleverest adviser he leaves for his nephew is no courtier, but a most extraordinary cat.

Niffy the cat follows Jamas everywhere, peruses every document, and somehow eases the burden of leadership. Jamas treats her with the same respect he gives to his human advisers, though most of the people around him think of her as simply his uncle's cat. Sometimes the perfect guardian is the one no one notices. Which comes in handy when a greedy king and queen in the neighboring kingdom decide they wish to annex Esphania. Niffy may be the only one who can keep her prince and kingdom safe.

This book is a charming story for young and old alike. It's well worth checking out.

Two awards already!

Not sure I deserve any awards just yet. I haven't settled into any posting schedule yet, and I'm mostly a lurker on my friends blogs. But I'm honored all the same.

The Honest Scrap Award came from Emily at Stepping Into Fantasy and the Sugar Doll Award just a day later from Jai at Jai Joshi's Tulsi Tree. Hmm, similar type lists: ten things about myself that might be considered unusual, a bit hard when "unusual" depends on the viewer, and ten things about myself. How about one detailed list of ten?

10. I love to dance, but I'm self-conscious in front of other people, except in a class setting when we're all equally goofy looking.

9. I'm serious about that self-conscious thing with my dancing. I'm embarrassed to let even my hubby watch. Maybe I need more classes.

8. Styles of dancing I especially want to learn: belly dance, bollywood style dancing, American pop dance, hip hop, Asian pop... I guess I just like to groove it, groove it; I like to move it, move it--when nobody's watching. Except my son, but then I dance goofy on purpose to get him dancing with me. I love to see that little boy dance.

7. I love roleplaying games. Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, Babylon 5, and Savage Worlds for table-top games. For MMORPGS, I did Guild Wars for awhile, until I got sucked into World of Warcraft. (Yes, I still play.) And can't forget the live-action variety, mainly Circle of Swords (only went once, but I loved it) and NERO.

6. I met my husband at my first NERO event, though we didn't start dating until over a year later. I was a gypsy, a rather quiet one, as I didn't know what to do or say yet, and didn't know anyone but my roommate who was on the plot team. He was a seelie fae lord getting married to his human-turned-fae bride. Two years after that event, almost to the day, I was the one who married him, for real that time. Several of our friends skipped part of an event to come, still dressed in their costuming. It was great.

5. Roleplaying games sparked my drive to write. It all started with making one character, then another, and another. Figuring out different personalities, their backgrounds, their motivations. Put them into a setting with other characters, and stories will form around them. It's the writing them down that is the hard part. That and deciding which path of what-ifs to take the characters.

4. I love my in-laws. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

3. I am not a J. D. Salinger fan. Sorry. Catcher In the Rye bored me. So did John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. And I can't stand Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I had to read all three in high school, yet we never covered any of Louisa May Alcott's books. Or those of Madeleine L'Engle, Cynthia Voigt, or Lucy Maud Montgomery. (Can you guess what I was reading on my own time back then?)

2. Textiles thrill me. I have at least four totes of fabric waiting to be turned into clothing, costuming, and miscellaneous craft projects. My husband gets annoyed when I buy even more. I made my own wedding dress and have a standing offer to my sister to make her wedding dress when the time comes, if she wants a handmade dress. I also crochet and embroider, and have started to learn tablet weaving. If I ever have the space and money, I would buy a loom and try my hand with that kind of weaving as well. Spinning, however, is an arcane art that fumbles my fingers. I'll leave that part to those with better coordination. I still have to fit in writing time, you know.

1. I am a one-woman campaign to spread awareness of the awesomeness that is filk music. What is that, you say? The simplest answer is that it is SF folk music, but that barely scratches the surface of the diversity found in this category of music. It encompasses many styles of music and many topics. Not all filk is based on stories. Some stories derived from the songs. Some songs are about writing, science, and filk fandom in general.

Oh yes, there is a fandom. People get together for filk-sings. Some of these are so well known and done so regularly, they have practically become annual conferences. I haven't been to one yet, but it's on my list of things I want to do. For more information on filk in general, check out Filk.com. You can also check out the filk radio station from there. Now some songs can be so-so, but the gems mixed in make it well worth the listening time. There are some amazing filkers out there.

And personally, I think all spec fic writers should take note of how they can utilize filk music. It's advertising! Write a song about your story or have a musical acquaintance write one for you. Then share it at a filk sing, post it on Youtube, Facebook, your social network of choice, and it will build awareness. I have tracked down a number of stories from filk songs I've heard since I first discovered this musical subset. Stories I might still have never heard of. Filk music is also a great way to enrich the worlds of spec fic creations. Mercedes Lackey wrote a number of songs that her characters refer to in her books, songs such as "Sun and Shadow" and "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night." My favored choice for purchasing filk is at Firebirds Arts. Wonderful stuff there, and not just music either.

Nomination Time!
I pass on the Honest Scrap Award to Brad at Bradley's Brain. He may be even newer to blogging than I am, but I like his humorous take on parenting. Funny, yet insightful at the same time. And the Sugar Doll Award goes to Juliette Wade at TalkToYoUniverse and Janice Hardy at The Other Side of the Story for their wonderful insights into writing. Juliette's specialty is linguistics, and Janice covers story composition.

The Search for Delicious

When Prime Minister Decree is told to write up a proper dictionary for the kingdom, he has to come up with ways to describe each word. All goes well until he reaches the D's. Civil war threatens to break out over the definition for "Delicious." The king sends Gaylan, Decree's foster son and Special Assistant, on a kingdom-wide poll. The Search for Delicious is on!

Natalie Babbitt takes us through this imaginative fantasy. No matter what obstacles Gaylan faces, he is determined to complete his task in order to save his kingdom. He meets a woldweller, a mermaid, and many of the ordinary folk and writes down each person's choice for the definition. The result may surprise everyone but Gaylan himself.

Character Spotlight: Alberich

If ever there was a character I wanted to meet, Alberich, current Weaponsmaster to the Herald's Collegium of Valdemar, would surely be among the top five.

I just finished rereading Exile's Honor, a book in the expansive Valdemar series. Alberich's depth of character grips me every time I read one of the books, even the ones where he's not the primary focus.

In the Arrows trilogy (Arrows of the Queen, Arrow's Flight, Arrow's Fall), the focus is on Talia, a Holderkin girl Chosen on her fourteenth birthday. When she first meets Alberich, she's terrified. One: he's man, particularly, one in authority (the Holderkin were very restrictive and harsh, men held ultimate power). Two: he carries himself like a predator, which comes from being a highly skilled warrior, and his face is seamed with scars. And three: he has to be hard on his students, because softness will only get them killed by their enemies.

And every Herald who does die, despite the training he gives them, wounds him. Guilt that perhaps he had not pushed them hard enough, or taught them some small maneuver that might have saved their lives. Guilt that he keeps buried. Old Ironface some call him, or the Great Stoneheart. Only a few (Talia among them) see below the surface to the man whose honor means everything to him, who cares more deeply than most realize, and who is ever watchful for danger to the land and people of his transplanted home.

For Valdemar is not the home of his birth. He comes from Karse, the longstanding enemy of Valdemar. As the saying goes, "Only brigands and bad weather come from Karse." Not so any more. Exile's Honor shows how Alberich came to be the Weaponsmaster. I was ecstatic when this book came out in 2002. Finally, an inside look into a character I already admired. I'd read the prologue before; it came out as a short story originally, just to show how he'd been Chosen.

Here is a man who was born as a commoner, out of wedlock no less, brought into the army, and trained as an officer. For the Sunsguard had a policy that half its officers must come from the common stock as they would have gratitude to motivate them. But politics in Karse is a cutthroat business, and men may move up in rank by undermining their peers. Alberich was not one to do so, but he had to be wary of those who would.

He also had a secret: the witchgift of foresight. Those exposed for having one of the witchgifts were burned in the Fires of Cleansing. He fought his gift, for if he went to the Fires, who would protect his people, those without the ability to defend themselves? He was one of the rare few who cared more about duty than power. Yet, his gift helped him to save his people, by showing him when and where brigands were going to strike.

After being rescued from the Fires by one of the feared Hell Horses of Karse legend, former Captain Alberich must learn what it means to be a Herald of Valdemar. He feels betrayed by the Sunpriests and yet still dutybound to the people of Karse. He is also now bound to Valdemar because of being Chosen by the very Companion who carried him away to this new land. The same Companion who now speaks in his heart and mind, filling a void he hadn't known existed. Never more alone.

A man of deep honor, he does not lightly make the transition, for he still worries for his people of Karse. Why should he have been granted a witchgift if it was considered heresy and why should he be here now among his people's enemies? People who perhaps should not be enemies after all. Perhaps it's fate, perhaps mere chance, or perhaps it was by the hand of the Sunlord Himself. Who is a common man such as himself to question the will of his God?

The rare glimpses of humor, his honor and ethics, and his faith are all part of what make him such a powerful character. Despite the number of times I read Exile's Honor or its sequel, Exile's Valor, Alberich still has the power to make me weep for his anguish and his hopes for the future, a man torn by love for two peoples at war with each other. Though an exile, he still believes in his God and prays that one day his people of Karse will share the freedom and happiness of those in his new home, that one day the corrupt will fall and the true meaning of the Writ be restored. Perhaps one day it will, for even an exile's prayers may be heard.

In addition to the spotlight on Alberich, I also want to mention something about how Lackey wraps up the end of Exile's Honor without spoiling it for those of you who will actually go read the book (which I highly recommend, it's a fantastic story and setting). Though the last couple chapters had several spots that could have been the conclusion, she kept going. And for good reason. None of them completed the internal arc of Alberich's divided loyalties, which was really the driving point to the book, external conflicts aside. The actual resolution radiates with a sense of rightness and hope.

Hope is optional for a strong ending, but that sense of rightness, ah, that is the magic of a talented writer. The magic that I strive to someday achieve in my own writing.