News about people who are not me.
Astonished to see that my last post was in January! Well.
I’ve been rather occupied with A Number of Things (nothing dire, I assure you), requiring my attention. Including writing projects (but no particular completion date to report, as of yet).
But what propelled me to emerge briefly was to report that Laurie J. Marks, my pal and fellow member of the Fabulous Genrettes , has just released an ebook: Dancing Jack.
Yes, Laurie is re-releasing some of her earlier, out-of-print works as ebooks (as all wise authors do these days). This one was originally published in 1993, well predating her acclaimed Elemental Logic series. But when you read it, you’re going to see some conceptual links to the recent series.
Laurie’s take on magic is very different from what you’ll generally find in modern fantasy. Most authors treat magic as if it were either a technology that you can operate with the right objects and commands; or as a source of power that you can use to enact your will upon the world.
But even in this early work, Laurie’s magic is more like a natural phenomenon, like gravity, the ocean currents, or the weather. It’s always there, in the background, doing what comes naturally to it — and not so much operated by you as operating on you.
Oh, and this book has steamboats. I like steamboats.
And a dog.
So, I thought I’d let you know (or remind you if you already knew), that the ebook is available starting today. (Not just from Amazon, but also iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords.)
Other people who are not me:
Max Gladstone (who, you may recall, wrote a really interesting analysis of The Steerswoman last year) has a new book in the universe of the Craft Sequence.
Dead Country starts off a trilogy (The Craft Wars), and from the preview available, it looks like Tara Abernathy, extraordinary Craftswoman, is back, which makes me happy.
If you haven’t read the Craft Sequence (or like me, you’ve only read the first book Three Parts Dead), it’s easy to catch up. There’s a Kindle collection of all five in one set. (Which I just now went and bought. Really. Just now.)
Okay, it’s 2AM. I have to get out of here… I’m planning a Deep Dive on the current project, and I have to clear the decks tomorrow to make that possible.