First, I forgot to put in even a rough pitch of MAGIC’S FOOL in my last post, so here it is (very rough):
There are two kinds of magic in Rell’s world. In the coastal cities, certain lineages pass on magical talents from generation to generation. The magical lineages are very jealous of their inborn abilities and with good reason. It’s the basis of their rule.
On the plains, the semi-nomadic herdsmen use an initiation ceremony to create a connection to the totem spirit of their clan, which allows them to sense their totem animals–lions, ravens, eagles, bears, wolves, or wild horses. Because of their superstitious fear of magic, they don’t call their acquired abilities magic, but a rose by any other name . . .
Vatar’s troubles begin with his initiation. The magic of the initiation ceremony seems to have wakened a deeper inborn magic that must have come from his nonmagical, city-born mother. And the two kinds of magic interact in new and unforeseen ways.
Add to that, it appears that Vatar is one of those few born to be linked to another. And if he can’t find her, they’ll both go mad.
Second, I’ve been tagged. Barbara Evers passed on the Versatile Blogger award almost exactly a year after I first recieved it. So, I’m reposting my “Seven Things About Myself” from back then. It’s probably a good introduction to the new people from the Platform-Building Campaign, anyway.
- My favorite author is Lois McMaster Bujold. Her kind of storytelling, her damaged protagonists who have to overcome their own limitations as well as the external obstacles–that’s the kind of story I want to be able to write when I grow up. Well, I could do a lot worse than as a role model than a multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner, right?
- I am a dyed-in-the-wool animal lover, although I do exclude things with six or more legs. I’ve been known to rescue lizards and birds. You tend to get funny looks when you arrive and say “Sorry I’m late. I had to rescue a lizard.” It’s bad enough that when it came to the place in THE IGNORED PROPHECY where I intended to kill off one of the dogs, I couldn’t do it. It was harder than killing a character.
- This is on my “About Me” page, but I’ll put it here, too. My sport and therapy is dog agility. It’s a sport where your dog is your team mate. The human is intended to be the leader of the team. (Corgis are bossy dogs by nature and sometimes that position is disputed. I am still the only one that can read the course map, though.) My job is to help the dog run an obstacle course, composed primarily of things the dog has to climb over, jump over, or run through. The obstacles all have to be performed correctly and in the right order, within a time limit. Dogs run off leash and the handler may not touch the dog or the obstacles. All of the instructions are communicated by voice and body language. It’s a heck of a lot of fun for both me and the dogs. You should see the grin my older girl gets when we play. (Corgis are also a breed that needs a job. Agility works very well and it helps keep them in shape, too.)
- Greatest time wasters that keep me away from writing: Obsessively checking my e-mail, forums, web comics, and blog statistics. (Sad, really sad.) Playing stupid (and old) computer games. Not even the new, hot ones. Reading, when I’m into a really good book (not the case right now).
- When my evenings aren’t as messed up as they currently are, I frequently embroider while watching television. Otherwise, television has a tendency to put me to sleep. About half the time, I design my own embroidery patterns. Almost everything that is hanging on the walls of this house has been embroidered by me.
- There’s a harp in my closet. Not the kind you see in the orchestra. That’s a pedal harp. Mine’s neo-Celtic, which means it’s patterned after the celtic harps, but it has monofilament strings instead of gut and has been updated with sharping levers. (Sharping levers do essentially the same thing pedals on the big orchestra harp do. They allow you to change the length, and therefore the pitch of individual strings. This is to mimic, as closely as the harp is able, the white and black strings of the piano, so it’s possible to play more modern music.) I haven’t actually played the harp in a while. In fact, not seriously since my father died. That’s almost eleven years ago. It’s time. I’ve lost the calluses on my fingers. Here’s a resolution (and it’s not even New Year’s), I’m going to take that harp out, tune it, and play at least a couple of carols this Christmas. How’s that?
- I garden organically. Although, around here, gardening could be classified more as sticking my finger in the dike than anything you’re likely to see in one of those glossy gardening magazines. The yard’s just too big for one person to take care of, unfortunately.
An organic gardener who plays a harp. Now that’s a most delightful combination of talents. Lovely.
LikeLike
Thanks. I dabble in a number of things, some of them more seriously than others. Gardening, music, and animals are constants, though.
LikeLike
love your blurb on Magic’s Fool! It sounds really interesting, especially the magic of the nomadic tribes 🙂
I have a new appreciation for the cost of organic food after trying to do organic gardening this summer . . . it’s a lot of work!
LikeLike
Thanks.
Yes, that’s probably why my garden failed so badly this year. I didn’t spend enough time on it. I’ve got to start getting it ready for some fall planting soon–turnips, carrots, cauliflower, snow peas. Maybe I’ll get some more garlic, too. That pretty much always grows.
LikeLike
Our garlic didn’t grow, but that’s because of the drought we’ve had. I know my sister has planted parsnips and carrots for fall, and I think we’re planting lettuces and cabbage tomorrow . . . we’ll see!
I’ve left you an award on my blog, also, the post is here. 😀
LikeLike
Well, I suspect our growing seasons may differ slightly. Though the weather’s mild right now, September and October are usually our hottest months. I won’t plant for fall until mid-October at the earliest.
LikeLike
Meredith, based on your blurb, I love your title, Magic’s Fool. Perfect! Your 7 things were fun to read. I’m expecting a youtube video at Christmas of you playing the harp, ok?
LikeLike
Thanks. Titles are not usually my best thing, but I kind of like this one–and the progression of future titles in the series.
Um, don’t count on the video. There are currently two broken strings on my harp. I CAN replace them. I just really hate to tie harp-string knots and feed the strings through those tiny holes in the sound board. So, it’s been sitting for a while now while I try to build up enough motivation.
LikeLike
I own a harp too! Someday I’d love to have a pedal harp, but for now I have a celtic one. Unfortunately it isn’t neo-celtic like yours so I have no sharping levers, just the manual key. I haven’t played since I got married a little over a year ago. I think it’s time I break mine out again too. =)
LikeLike
Small world! My current harp is mid-sized (32 strings). I had my smaller lap harp retrofitted with sharping levers, though.
One of the great things about harps is that very often you buy your instrument directly from the craftsman who made it.
LikeLike