Skip to content

Uncategorized

Literary Influences: Lloyd Alexander

  • by

“Melancholy men, they say, are the most incisive humorists; by the same token, writers of fantasy must be, within their own frame of work, hardheaded realists. What appears gossamer is, underneath, solid as prestressed concrete. What seems so free in fantasy is often inventiveness of detail rather than complicated substructure. Elaboration — not improvisation.” ~Lloyd Alexander, “The Flat-Heeled Muse”

lloyd_alexander
Sometimes, you just have to curl up with a blanket and a nice stack of books.

When it comes to fantasy, everyone has a starter series, right? That first set of books that gives you a glimpse of worlds beyond, that whets your appetite and cultivates your imagination: the starter series sets the bar for every series that follows. Is it better? Is it worse? Does it have similar themes? Similar characters? Similar plots? Similar settings? Does it evoke that same sense of wonder, or a greater sense of wonder, or does it leave the acrid taste of disappointment in your mouth?

Read More »Literary Influences: Lloyd Alexander

Literary Influences: L.M. Montgomery

  • by
LMM_library
The Essential L.M. Montgomery Personal Libary (plus Jane of Lantern Hill, as a bonus)

Cynicism taints almost every facet of my life.  This may seem like an odd confession to make at the start of a literary influences post—especially one that focuses on the eternally optimistic works of L.M. Montgomery—but I feel like it has to be said. I acquired my cynicism by degrees from a pretty young age. By the sixth grade, I was a smart-mouthed, sarcastic, socially isolated 11-year-old. My only reliable friends were books (and with little wonder, given my temperament).

That was the year I met Anne of Green Gables.

Read More »Literary Influences: L.M. Montgomery

Literary Influences: Thomas Hardy

  • by
"Thos. Hardy"  LOC, LC-DIG-ggbain-13585
“Thos. Hardy”
LOC, LC-DIG-ggbain-13585

Heaven forbid that any of Thomas Hardy’s characters should ever get a paper cut; they’d probably saw off the injured limb in response.

I feel kind of odd listing him as one of my literary influences. He’s more my template of “what not to do,” which is terrible, because he’s generally considered to be a good writer, and many of his works are counted among the classics. I’ll set the stage for my dislike, shall I?

Read More »Literary Influences: Thomas Hardy

The Indie-Pub Apologist

  • by

I grew up with the belief that commercial publishing was the only really legit form of publishing. If you published yourself, it didn’t really “count,” because anyone could do it. There’s a kernel of truth to that belief, but it’s buried under a whole load of biased assumptions.

Read More »The Indie-Pub Apologist

Words to Live By

  • by

Life Lesson #35: Never implicitly trust anyone who uses the word “utilize.”

So this might seem like a pretty harsh blanket statement, but honestly, there is no real need in the English language for this word. We already have “use,” which is shorter and expresses the same concept.

Read More »Words to Live By