The Uncanny Valley of Faerie

I am still tantrumming.

I recently finished a couple of Tam Lin-inspired books sent to me by a friend, one of which was very good, technically speaking, the other probably self-published or put before a very apathetic editor. Both, however, drove me up the wall due to mixing 1) Scottish balladry 2) English scenery and 3) North American wildlife.

The first two an are insulting combination to the British reader, yet tolerable since the ballad did indeed make it down to England, with Janet tamed and renamed Margaret and the fairies' teeth drawn to make it more palettable to the Sassenach. The third kept throwing me out of the story like a kid from a car crash. Which set me wondering - at what point does fantastic ecology become jarring?

My thought was that an 'uncanny valley' exists for fantasy settings as much as in more acute/visual media. A completely alien ecology that still has human(oid)s wandering around is easy to swallow, likewise a clearly well-researched, fact-based alternate history setting...yet somewhere nearer the latter there's a deep well of wrongness, where bears and hummingbirds roam mediaeval Scotengireland and the desert folk are mysteriously white...where's the line? What would make you go "gah, no wizard could do that," and set the book aside, unsettled? Are there other corners of setting, character or culture that are subject to this effect?

Thoughts, anyone?

Bottle

Writing and the Internet

Patricia C Wrede's observations regarding Internet pros and cons are words of wisdom worth reading, contemplating, and putting into practice. She touches on some advantageous aspects of the Internet as well as a few treacherous pitfalls.

News from Chris A Jackson

On Thu, Mar 31, 2011 at 10:56 AM, Chris A Jackson wrote:

Hey all,

Well, the computer is recovered from the crash, and I'm up and running!

Jundag, Book 3 of The Cornerstones Trilogy, is up on Amazon, so you can finally fulfill your fix and get the final book in the series. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Jundag-Cornerstones-Trilogy-Chris-Jackson/dp/1439229597

Also, Scimitar's Heir, book 3 in the series of Scimitar Seas novels is in the final edit stages, way ahead of schedule. We will be back in the states for Gen Con in August, for the release of the "Hero Comes Home" anthology, edited by Gabriel Harbowy, my DMP editor, and Ed Greenwood, creator of The Forgotten Realms! We will, of course, also be doing Dragon Con again, where Scimitar's Heir will be released.

Also, Scimitar Sun is a finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year award this year. WOOT! Wish me luck!

Big year! Here it comes!

Thank you all!

Chris

Fibonacci numbers

Blogs (and other such nonsense)

The world has transformed into a morass of blogs, tweets, and social networking.

I'm not certain that this phenomenon is a bad thing, but I do harbor some concern that it indicates a growing cultural inability to sustain coherent thought for more than a couple hundred words at a time... Is this the onset of LADD (Literary Attention Deficit Disorder)?

So, risking the possibility I may fall victim to LADD, I sit down to compose a blog post in the tried and true hunt-and-peck style. I pause to ponder, and come to the conclusion that whatever I write certainly will be lost among these billions upon billions of words that don't really exist, but appear as if by magic through the technology of the Internet. Perhaps I should be grateful of that, for I also realize I have little talent at stringing together these short streams of wit. Each time I've made an earnest effort at writing a few words of merit to post in a blog, the attempt seems to end as either a failure or a dismal failure.

Ah well, c'est la vie...

Talking Pictures

(Thanks for the link, Jamie!)

Phil Collins "Gorilla Drummer"

And if that isn't enough, then here's a little Harry Nilsson for you!

The Comfort Zone

As writers, what role does having a comfort zone play in our productivity?

For that matter, which aspect of comfort affects our work the most?

Does comfort zone mean having a comfortable (or creatively stimulating) environment? Is it a place -- not simply a place, but the place? Does it mean getting into the writing mood by wearing that favorite "writing sweater" (is it of the old and threadbare variety or is it a newer, warm and snugly one)? Does comfort zone hinge on delving into yet another piece of writing safely within the confines of our usual genre?

But, perhaps more importantly, can comfort zone be accurately defined as the literary opposite of writer's block?

When the Hero Comes Home

Chris A Jackson has a short story scheduled for publication in a 2011 anthology release from DragonMoon Press!

Title: WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME
ISBN-13: 978-1-897492-25-3
Release Date: August, 2011
Publisher: Dragon Moon Press
Format: Trade Paperback, E-book
Distributor: Ingram

The anthology features new fiction by Jay Lake, Todd McCaffrey, Julie Kagawa, and an all-new Jig the Goblin story by Jim C. Hines.

Release at GenCon!

Info at http://www.dragonmoonpress.com/joomla/index.php