Inspiration Versus Perspiration

I just submitted the third round of edits for Less Than Perfect. I’m pretty excited—not only because I think these are the last major edits, but because I believe, again, my story is awesome. I know not everyone will share my point of view and I know I’ll need thick skin come September when readers start posting comments. (We’re going to pretend people will buy and read it, and be sufficiently moved to comment, okay?) But it’s my story and I like it. I love it. And remembering that simple fact will help me maintain perspective.

It didn’t take long to write my first draft. Five days of three, four hour stints at laptop. I think it was about twenty thousand words. Not a bad effort—it won me a contract, after all. The second draft, a year later, didn’t actually take long either. Ten days of three, four hour stints at the laptop for about forty thousand words. Over a month passed between receipt of that first letter detailing the issues with my first draft and the submission of that second draft, however.

Some of that month was spent looking inspiration, definitely. I found some of it at the bottom of a paper bag, the one I used to keep from hyperventilating, and gained the rest from my friends—those who listened as I breathed, panicked and breathed. I spent another week thinking things through. Then I got to work and did what I needed to do.

About four days after I received the second pass edit letter from my editor, one of my friends observed a pattern. I apparently required a certain amount of time to flail and moan before thinking rationally. I don’t think I’m the only one, but my pattern is pretty distinct and it doesn’t only apply to writing. So, when I received this last set of edit notes, I just let it happen. I indulged in feelings of despair, regarded my manuscript with loathing and suspicion and wondered why, oh why, anyone ever tried to get published. I also stated, loudly if not somewhat plaintively, that I would never do this again.

Then I sat down and did what needed to be done.

I had to look up the saying about inspiration versus perspiration because I couldn’t remember which of the two claimed the greater part. It’s perspiration. In my case, it’s more like nine parts agitation, one part perspiration, which doesn’t make a good saying at all.

I Found God on Facebook

I am probably the only person surprised by fact God is on Facebook. Queen Elizabeth II is there, so is Morgan Freeman. Mr. Freeman has 2,788,804 likes, the queen only 124,420. God’s three pages have about 13 million combined likes. It’s probably safe to say that a good portion of those are people covering their bets. Still, it’s an impressive figure, and I am probably the only person surprised by that as well.

Incidentally, when searching for God on Facebook, I noticed GoD of WaR (a Playstation game) has 4.5 million likes. Not surprised at all.

I did not go looking for God, I stumbled across His page(s) purely by accident. It’s not the first time that has happened, by the way. Religion has a way of finding me and I’m not sure why. Maybe, subconsciously, I’m looking for something to believe.  Could be a more conscious search, I suppose. Or it could simply be that I’m the curious sort and easily amused.

I can’t remember the last church I stepped inside. I have a vague memory it might have been somewhere hot and I wanted to cool off for a bit. As a way to get people through the door, it’s not a bad strategy. Restaurants like to advertise their air conditioning and ice-cold beer. A cool stone floor and soft wooden bench…right, it’s not quite the same. The peaceful atmosphere is nice, though. I do like churches, as buildings. I like the smell—candle wax, incense and dust—and I’ve seen enough horror movies to have formed a basic belief that nothing bad will happen to me on hallowed ground.

Oh, I’ve seen the other movies as well. Thankfully, desecrating churches isn’t as popular as Evil observing the boundaries of Good.

Review: The Human Division

The Human Division by John Scalzi

Humanity is divided. Until recently, the Colonial Union and Earth had a codependent, if not mutually beneficial, relationship. In the highly anticipated follow up to The Last Colony, The Human Division checks the pulse of the galaxy after John Perry exposed the fact the Colonial Union sequestered planet Earth for two hundred years in order to farm colonists and soldiers. Earth now has a choice: ally with the Colonial Union or join the Conclave, which represents some four hundred alien races.

This time ‘round our tour guide is Harry Wilson, Colonial Defense Force (CDF) soldier and former member of the Old Farts. The Colonial Union is practicing diplomacy and Harry, who has been acting in more a technical than military capacity for several years, winds up a member of the B-Team. Also known as the Fire team, Harry and his cohorts—Ambassador Abumwe, Hart Schimdt of the Diplomatic Service, their reluctant ship’s captain, Sophia Coloma, and a handful of others—attend the lost causes. Situations where diplomacy is about to fail, or has failed, or might fail. Figuratively, they’re assigned a leaky dingy, given a rusted bucket and told to bail. It can’t get any worse, so do your best! Being the good, determined people they are, that’s just what they do.

Though the fate of humanity seems to be consigned to a rapidly oxidizing tin pail, Scalzi still manages to inject humour into nearly every page of the novel. The aliens spit, swear and sob. Diplomacy is sometimes decided by single combat and negotiations are interrupted by a brain in a box. A bush eats a diplomat’s dog. (Oops, the bit about the bush could be considered a spoiler.)

Harry and his team also face peril and sacrifice as they work not only for, but against the Colonial Union and the CDF, the Conclave and a mysterious third party intent on disrupting every attempt at diplomacy.

Review: The Last Wish

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher—acquired (stolen?) as a child and subjected to a form of mutation. Witchers are fed toxins and undergo rituals. The survivors develop immunity to the toxins and gain certain abilities as a result. They are designed for a single purpose—the hunt and slaughter of monsters, magical and otherwise—and spend their lives seeking contracts to that end. Geralt is quick-witted and talented with sword and sign (a form of hex magic which gives him several advantages in combat). His swords are imbued with magic and with the aid of poisons, he is a near invincible warrior. He can be a cold-blooded killer and completely mercenary in his pursuit of monsters. But as the tales collected in The Last Wish show, not everything monstrous is evil and beauty can be deceiving.

A series of loosely connected tales, The Last Wish serves as an introduction to a universe I encountered in the computer games, The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Written fourteen years before the first game, Sapkowski’s books have been adapted to comics, graphic novels, a movie and a TV series. More recently, the first two novels were translated into English and released in conjunction with the games.

Aside from introducing us to an alternate universe of swords and sorcery with many familiar elements—elves, dwarves, wizards and monsters—the stories in The Last Wish toy with well-known folklore. Tales like Beauty and the Beast and Snow White (to name just two) have been pulled apart and rebuilt for Sapkowski’s world and fit well with his lore. I enjoyed that aspect of the book as much as I did learning more about Geralt.

Review: In the Land of the Living

In the Land of the Living by Austin Ratner

“Part family saga, part coming-of-age story, In the Land of the Living is a kinetic, fresh, bawdy yet earnest shot to the heart of a novel about coping with death, and figuring out how and why to live.”

I gave up on In the Land of the Living about one hundred pages in. The death of a character I had grown fond of definitely played a part in my loss of interest, but more, I tired of the passages of darkly descriptive prose, odd juxtapositions of point of view, thinly drawn secondary characters and overall pall of sadness.

Some books are meant to be sad, I know, and through the veil we see growth and triumph (otherwise I’m not sure of the point of the book except as a means of excising the author’s depression). There were triumphs in In the Land of the Living, but they were too bitterly won for my taste, and then ripped away. One might say, ‘such is life’, and I will acknowledge the world is not always the happy place I have known it to be. I do not require experience of such meanness, however, not when I primarily read for entertainment.

Finally, after a hundred pages, I could discern no plot outside the cycle of sadness and thin victory.

I liked Isadore; he felt very human, even though the author was very careful to expose only select thoughts. With the book spanning lifetimes, we can’t be expected to learn everything, but I still felt we might have known Isadore better. In essence, I would have liked it to be his and only his book, regardless of his eventual fate.

For those who read further, I hope Leo’s story proves as compelling and perhaps more joyful. Sadly, I did not have the perseverance to see for myself.

Review Master List

As my reviews are posted in many places, I thought compiling a list with a link to the best available version would be a handy reference–which it has proved to be in more ways than I imagined. The exercise allowed me to clean up a couple data bases and track down links to reviews I had forgotten I posted.

I also enjoyed reading over some of my comments. I keep a lot of the books I read and though I rarely re-read anything, I do visit my books. (Other bibliophiles will understand this habit, I think.) Reading over the reviews I’ve written felt like re-visting some books and, in many instances, enticed me to add a sequel or another title to my seemingly endless ‘To-be-read’ list.

At the end of several days, I sat back somewhat stunned by the number of books I have read and reviewed since I started keeping track. Hundreds, and the list of reviews numbers nearly two hundred. And, I don’t read and review as many books as some of the more professional reviewers I follow.

I’ve added a series of linked pages to my blog for readers to look up and reference my reviews. A permanent link to the list can be found in the menu to the left, or you can simply click here. I will endeavour to keep this list updated.

Thanks for reading and following.

Review: Rebel Angels

Rebel Angels by Michele Lang

Rebel Angels brings to a close the Lady Lazarus trilogy by Michele Lang. Set in an alternate universe, Lang has recast Hitler’s movement across Europe in the guise of machinations between Heaven and Earth. The demon, Asmodel, inhabits Hitler and only Jewish witch Magda Lazurus has the power to stop him. As always, however, power comes with a price and sacrifice.

In this final volume, Magda has returned from the dead once more to fight the Nazis. Her sister, Gisele, has had a vision and together, Magda and her husband, the fallen angel Raziel, must journey to the Caucasus looking for the Heaven Sapphire, the weapon they will need to halt Asmodel’s plans and destroy Hitler. They are not the only ones looking for the sapphire, however, and like all weapons, it’s a dangerous tool.

Fans of the series will be both satisfied and surprised by the conclusion. Those new to the world would be best advised to start with book one, Lady Lazarus, in order to fully appreciate the story, characters and their relationships. Lang does do a fair job of catching the casual participant up on events. Magda’s personality is clear from the first page, as is her drive and the sad, slow ebb of her humanity. She can seem impersonal without attendant history, however.