I’m over at Magical Words today, talking about how authors sometimes take the real and twist it around so that novels are readable.  Stop by and let me know what you think about the topic!

http://www.magicalwords.net/mindy-klasky/sacrificing-reality-for-readability/

Magical Words is a website by writers for writers (and readers who want a behind-the-scenes peak at the process of writing.)  Regular posters include David B. Coe, John G. Hartness, Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, and Kalayna Price, with regular guest posts from Lucienne Diver, Diana Pharaoh Francis, C.E. Murphy, and Carrie Ryan.  Stop by and let me know what you think about characters’ names, in my work or elsewhere!

Once upon a time, I wrote fantasy novels for adults — The Glasswrights Series and Season of Sacrifice.  I thought that I would always stick with that genre, because those were the only stories I could ever imagine telling.  Over time, I found my voice in different areas, and I dared to try a variety of genres.

But I will always have a special place in my heart for those first six books.  The Glasswrights Series is the story of Rani Trader, a merchant girl who witnesses an assassination and is accused of being the killer.  Even after she brings the true murderer to justice, she struggles to find her place in her highly caste-bound, religious society.  Along the way, she finds close friends, false loves, and one true romance.  Season of Sacrifice tells the story of Alana Woodsinger, a reluctant priestess who must do all in her power to rescue a pair of kidnapped twins.

I am beyond thrilled and over-the-moon that all six of these novels are now available as audio books, through Audible.com and Audible.co.uk.  If you enjoy audio books, won’t you check them out?  (And, of course, I’d be forever in your debt if you spread the word!)

I’m over at SFSignal’s Mind Meld today, talking about the intersection (or perhaps lack thereof) between gothic novels and urban fantasy.  The opinions are all over the map!  Take a look:

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2012/10/mind-meld-the-intersection-between-gothic-horror-and-urban-fantasy/

Mindy, enjoying this celebration of Halloween!

I am a great fan of theater — I love attending plays, and I spent way too many college hours stage managing performances.  When I needed to choose a topic for my senior thesis, I was drawn to John Steinbeck, who once wrote a play about running away to join the circus — a quintessential American dream, in his mind.

That jumble — of theater and circus — combined with the theatricality of church ritual, all factors into DARKBEAST’s Travelers, the troupe of traveling performers who lure Keara from her home.  You can read more about theatrical traditions and how I wove them into DARKBEAST at Steven Harper Piziks blog.  And there’s a free copy of DARKBEAST for one lucky chosen-at-random commenter.  Just leave a note by midnight September 1!

Mindy, posting late from Chicon

Just a quick reminder:  TODAY, at 11:30 a.m., I’ll be signing books at Turn the Page Bookstore, 18 N. Main St., Boonsboro, MD 21713.

This event is the kickoff to the Washington Romance Writers’ annual retreat.  You don’t need to be a member of WRW to attend the booksigning.  (For those not in the know — Turn the Page is the bookstore owned by Nora Roberts’s husband.  It’s located practically across the street from the inn that Nora owns, and it’s one of the main businesses in historic Boonsboro.  The town bakery would be worth the trip, even if there weren’t such wonderful book-related places in Boonsboro!)

Lots of other authors will be at the signing, including:  Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Robyn Carr, Elizabeth Boyle, Cathy Maxwell, Amanda Brice, Leigh Duncan, Alma Katzu, Lavinia Kent, Alethea Kontis, Kieran Kramer, Allison Leotta, Pamela Palmer, Hope Ramsay, Alix Rickloff, and Christine Trent.

Mindy, hoping to see you there!

Yesterday, I mused about the production of O’Neill’s Strange Interlude that I saw over the weekend.  The production must have affected me more than I thought, because I find that I still have things to say about it.

As I mentioned, the play was written in 1923 and produced in 1928.  The action in the play starts somewhat after Armistice Day (the main character has had time to have a nervous breakdown and to begin recovering.)  The play then moves forward in time, some 2o-odd years.  Therefore, Strange Interlude is, in some ways, genre fiction — near-future science fiction.  (Except for the fact that it’s not particularly pre-occupied with science…)

O’Neill accomplishes his future writing by keeping things general.  When he wants to show a wealthy couple, he places them in a lavish Park Avenue apartment (betting that the luxe address of the 1920s would continue to be so through the end of the 30′s.)  He displays “privilege” by placing his characters at a regatta, without naming specific schools who are rowing.

Of course, O’Neill misses some things.  He does not hint at the Great Depression, which would have had a serious impact on his wealthy characters.  He cannot be aware of the rise of German nationalism, which might well have had echoes in a play about Freudian analysis, the lasting effect of World War I, etc.

Near future SF is a dangerous business.  We can read Orwell’s 1984 (written in 1948) and be amused by the various “misses”.  Clark’s 2001 has come and gone, of course.

What near future SF do you think has been successful?  What is laughable, in retrospect?

Mindy, perhaps through musing about Strange Interlude…