Myth, the Universe, and Everything

I'm paging through all the e-mail in my inbox that can't just be archived and realizing that I've been keeping some of it around to post here in a link soup edition. Things are looking up, as far as finally getting caught up is concerned, but I'm taking it easy, because I think everyone needs a day or two, now and again, to just breathe.

On to the links!

• I did an interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith (cynleitichsmith) about the autobiographies project. It's at her lj and associated other places (like her main blog) that she syndicates to. I hope you enjoy reading about the project as much as I enjoy talking about it!


• Egyptian author Marwa Rakha, whom I met over at SheWrites, has uploaded a new English edition of her novel, which she's released independently due to troubles with Egyptian publishers. She's giving it away for free, so if you're interested in Egyptian fiction, check it out!


• The big Baeg Tobar relaunch is scheduled for October 2nd. I'm really excited to see the stories that I've been working on come into existence in a public sphere -- along with tales by Max Gladstone (lyster) and Daniel Tyler Gooden, among others. The art work previews are, as I expect from the BT artists, stunning, and I'm excited to see the project up and alive again.


• cinda_cite did a great entry about how books you're reading influence each other by proximity, mentioning her contest win from here at Myth, the Universe, and Everything. I've not had the time to actually comment on it over there, but I hope you'll pop over to read it.


• C. E. Murphy also had a great blog post up recently about how she never noticed a lack of women in fantasy, which I think is a nice counterpoint to all the discussions about how strong women aren't present in the genre. Like Murphy, I've always been able to find strong female heroes in my fantasy novels, but I acknowledge that this is because I grew up in the era of Alanna the Lioness, Lady Aerin, and Harry Crew. In younger books, there was almost always a mix of girls and boys as heroes (Narnia, Edward Eager's novels, etc.), and by the time I was reading YA fantasy (still a new genre), there were scores of girls taking on traditional boy roles to be their own heroes. This isn't to say that there isn't a lack of women heroes, written by men, in epic fantasy (which seems to be part of the argument), but that I find Murphy's perspective on the thing refreshing, and pretty reflective of my own experience. (She doesn't mention Robert Jordan's women, who are politically the power of the world [and include some admirable heroines, despite the weird love trinity that forms around the central hero], nor Brandon Sanderson's (mistborn's) women, who show up as capable, independent heroines with as much meat as his men [at least in what I've read so far -- he has books out I haven't had the chance to read yet]. I think the gender work of those two epic fantasy writers are at least worth noting.)

Now, off to convince the day that I've begun, and to prepare for my pre-natal exercise class in New Haven. I've been itching for some new Nalini Singh, and she's among the authors featured in Must Love Hellhounds (as is Ilona Andrews/ilona_andrews, who I'm always glad to have more fiction from), so I may stop at the B&N downtown and pick up a copy, to further encourage relaxing alongside catching up. :)

Even though I've been busy, the reading doesn't stop. Along with what I've read and reviewed for flamesrising, I've picked up a number of od books lately, and tonight finally got around to watching Waitress with Kerri Russell and Nathan Fillion. It may not appeal to everyone, but it's funny and dramatic and accomplishes exactly what it set out to do. I really enjoyed it, and have even more respect now for Andy Griffith than I had previously. (Really, I think he must be a pretty cool man. And even if he's not, I'm going to think that about him.)

As far as books go, I recommend picking up Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians, not because there's actually a conspiracy mind you (not that the librarians with MLAs at my library have informed me of, anyway, though now I'm a little more suspicious of that degree program than I was before). It's just a really fun book, and I think Brandon Sanderson (mistborn) found a great voice for telling the story. Or Alcatraz found a really good agent for dictation in Sanderson. Whichever.

I also recommend picking up Skullduggery Pleasant, which is a fabulous book about alternate societies of wizards and magical creatures told in a very Irish voice, and features absolutely quotable banter. It's really, really entertaining, a little bit scary, and a whole lot of adventure. Oh, and the title character is a talking skeleton. To quote the cover, "And he's the good guy." Definitely excellent stuff.

I'm also back reading Eberron novels (most recently Rise of the Seventh Moon) and am continuously surprised and pleased at the depth of the themes the novels cover. They're not just sword-and-sorcery novels, they're novels with deep moral quandaries, questions of faith, and ethical dilemmas. I don't know if the line was planned that way or if they just had several authors all interested in those themes, but I love how often the deep topics crop up.

On my book stand currently are: Confessions of a Part Time Sorceress by Shelly Mazzanoble, whose articles for Dragon have been excellent; In the Serpent's Coils, which I should have read when it first came out and am just now getting the chance; Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi; Art and Experience in Classical Greece, which may or may not be useful for the upcoming Greece and Turkey trip; and also for the trip, Do Kamo, Saving the Appearances by Barfield, and a children's book of Greek gods that I used to read when I was little. I'll soon be adding the newest Percy Jackson book to that stack as well.

As a quick note, I will be attending I-Con in New York as a patron, in order to see the folks from Margaret Weis Productions (including Lindsay Archer!) while they're in town. If you are also going and have recommendations about things to do/see at the convention, please do send them my way. :)

I got tagged! jenlyn_b posted this one on both her blog and on memegirls, and, having been tagged, I too must complete it. :)

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? If you're as name obsessed as we are, fill out this Meme Girls original meme and share your name- and your favorites- with the blogging world. Then tag five friends to do the same.

1. First Name: Alana

2. Middle Name: Joli

3. Name you go by: Mostly Alana now, but my college friends still call me Joli, as does everyone at karate

4. Name(s) your parents call(ed) you: Lani and Alana, depending on age

5. Other nicknames (past and present): Lani-chan, Jo, Ferrett (as a petting zoo show animal shared my name, much to the dismay of the keepers who called me on stage), Al (though that didn't last), Lana, Nala, Foster (my maiden name), and Boss (my favorite)

6. What did you call yourself when you were little?
I called myself Lani until kindergarten, then went to Alana. By fifth grade or so I had decided that not going by a nickname was boring and tried to invent them for myself, but would then forget what I wanted people to call me (which made for some very confusing church camp experiences). You'd think I would have learned my lesson from this, but I decided to go by my middle name in college, which has confused legions--legions I tell you!--of people over the years.

7. Were your parents considering any other names (that you know of) before they settled on yours?
I remember finding a slip of paper in a dictionary when I was a kid with a list of three girls' names and three boys' names on it: among the girls' names was Alana, so I assume that was the list of possibilities from early on. The only other name I remember from the list was Alexander.

8. What does your name mean?
From the Celtic, it means either beloved or charming (it's derived from a term of affection, but Alan means beautiful or fair, so it could go either way). It could also mean noble, harmony, or fair, depending on the babynames site you use. In Hebrew (Alona), it means from the oak tree. In Hawaiian, it means awakening.

9. Do any famous people share your name?
Alanis Morisette is pretty close. Lord Google tells me that there's an Alana Curry (she was in Terminator 3), singer-songwriter Alana Davis (who, now that I've discovered her, I'm rating her on launchcast), "Quake" record setter Alana Reid from girl 0f destruction, and TV actress Alana De La Garza (Law and Order and CSI Miami).

10. Can you pronounce your name backwards?
Ttobba Iloj Anala. Well, the original surname is tricky, but my vowel dominated given name is pretty easy.

11. Favorite girls' names: For characters (rather than my future children): Aisha, Naimh (pronounced Neve), Noor, Naveen, and Noemi. Apparently I have a thing for Ns.

12. Favorite boys' names: Again for characters: Gaelen, Willum, Saif, Suleimain (which has way too much baggage to ever use in a story, but I love the sound)

13. Favorite name you've ever read in a book: Door, actually, from Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, if only because it works so well in context

14. Favorite name from a TV show: At the moment, I'd have to go with Hiro, again as just a really fitting name for the character. Independent of context, I think the name Inara is lovely.

15. Favorite name for a dog/cat: I once had a plan to name four cats as references to the members of the Inklings, so I'd have Owen, Tollers, Chas, and Jack. But as I'm not likely to ever own four cats at once, this is probably best relegated to the realms of fiction.

WRITERLY BONUS QUESTION:
16. Favorite character name from one of your own books: It has to be Taru. I think because that name came from a more personal place than the others (though all of the names of the main characters--and plenty of the secondary characters--are inspired from someone rather than just the baby-name searches I've done for some of the others). When the Steampunk Musha Comic finally comes out, it'll be a tough call between Taru and Amura Hiroko, which is a name that was stuck in my head for weeks while I tried to figure out where I'd heard it--but a Google search was fruitless and I decided I must be meant to use it.

I tag:
slwhitman, mistborn, frost_light, egg_fu (either by cover identity or secret identity, as Mr. Fu chooses), and amieroserotruck, plus anyone else who hasn't been tagged yet and would like to be tagged! (I am assuming that, despite this coming from Meme Girls, the gentlemen are invited to play as well.)

The rush of the holidays is finally over, and though things are not quite back to normal (I am still in dire need of a two week vacation), I'm getting back on track on several of the writing assignments that got shoved off to the side while shopping for presents, parties, gatherings with family, and company came to the fore. I had a lovely visit with my friend Fallon just after New Year's, completely unscheduled, and she gave me a copy of the Ramayana that she'd purchased during her semester in India. It's certainly the classiest book I received this year (India obviously takes book publishing seriously, as a book may cost a full week's wages for some people in the rural areas, from what Fallon was telling me), and I'm looking forward to reading it!

Other notable books that came to me during the holidays:
Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson mistborn
Fruits Basket 15 (because manga is one of my weaknesses)
Sorcerers and Secretaries by Amy Kim Ganter

I also have a shared Barnes and Noble gift card left to spend (which was, for a household that usually gets and gives a lot of books, more common this year than actual print), so I'll add to the list then.

What I'm looking forward to receiving is my promo copies of Departure, which should be coming any day now. In fact, if you're interested in ordering Departure from the publisher, it's possible you could get a copy before my promo copies arrive! It was listed as available starting January 2nd, only in paperback. The hardcovers haven't been printed yet.

Departure features another great cover by Lindsay Archer, but no interiors for this print run. It's a much longer book, which was part of the reason for this decision, as was Lindsay's schedule, which had several conflicts, and my publisher decided he'd rather not get a second artist to do interior. (I'm glad that's what he decided--it wouldn't be the same without Lindsay's work!) There is some talk of releasing a "special edition" with interior prints some time in the future, but whether or not that will happen, who knows?

In the mean time, start keeping an eye out (and asking local booksellers) for both Into the Reach and Departure, which should have much wider availability starting this month. Rumor has it that Barnes and Noble has already ordered 750 copies of Into the Reach, which they will make available to their customers mid-month.

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The other big news from this end of the world is that I got my first fan letter. So, Matt, if you're out there reading this--thanks! You'll be hearing from me via a return letter in the near future. :)