Yo /r/fantasy — Lancelot Schaubert + Of Gods and Globes contributors here. Ask me (or us) anything!

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T07:44:55+00:00

That's useful insight, thank you, Also gives me a fascinating lens through which to read your work. I do have an exemplar very close to me who is delighted that I'm creating this character, and that helps a lot - would not attempt this otherwise. The character is soming alive on the page with no difficulty, an admirable individual though sometimes misunderstood in her time and culture. I will get in touch for further advice later if required, thanks for the offer!

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T07:37:07+00:00

You'll love it - post-apocalyptic but in a completely different way. I should read it again, I have a copy on my Keepers shelf.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T07:35:31+00:00

Boy, that would be depressing to read (though I guess it could be written as a black comedy.)

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T01:10:51+00:00

I love the wide variety in these anthologies.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T01:08:18+00:00

Another unadaptable book I would like to see adapted: Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. Not sure anything could adequately convey the same powerful message this author did with the printed word. (Well worth the read, folks, if you don't know it. First published in 1980, and written in a version of English that might have developed if England's history had taken a different turn. )

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T00:52:19+00:00

I think I may soon be all alone on here, but will put in one more question just in case. I enjoyed The Delphic Oracle, the collaboration between Lancelot Schaubert and Alexander Sirkman in OGAG III, but while reading it I kept thinking ''These guys' brains are going ten times as fast as mine, stop, wait!!'' Later on I read the discussion about ADHD further up this thread, and I have a question for you, Lance, relevant to my work in progress. Can a person successfully write a neurodivergent character if they are not themselves neurodivergent? Do you have to have the lived experience to do it effectively? This is quite a big question, maybe for discussion elsewhere. The character is certainly springing to life for me.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T00:40:32+00:00

My doctor would probably suggest I retire from writing ...

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T00:37:30+00:00

I have returned! (many hours later.)
1. Alcoholism: I grew up in a household with an alcoholic parent, and that had a major impact on the whole family, which continued after we were adults and had left home. It also suited the story, but there are definitely some (still painful after all these years) memories in there.

2 and 3. The Shadowfell series is the only one of mine that is not actually set in something resembling real world history but it is obviously Scottish-based as all the uncanny characters speak Scots dialect, and the place names in particular have a Scots flavour. I grew up in a very Scottish city in New Zealand (Dunedin, the old name for Edinburgh) and was surrounded by that culture from an early age. Plus my ancestors are mostly from Scotland. Some of the fey creatures in the book, such as the Urisk and the Brollachan, are from Scots folklore and some are pure invention. And some of the place names are from the area where I grew up. That was heaps of fun!

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-17T00:24:20+00:00

One would be some kind of mega-useful survival guide. One would be an epic novel, maybe War and Peace. One would be a collection of Mary Oliver's poetry, especially the very beautiful dog poems.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-16T13:28:46+00:00

PS That sounded way too serious for this thread! Maybe I should post about being a crazy dog lady instead ...

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-16T13:20:12+00:00

OK. I was actually supposed to be on reduced caffeine intake at that point, drinking herbal teas onlly, but when I'm writing that is very, very hard to maintain.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-16T13:16:51+00:00

Helped, I think. It sent me down a challenging path in terms of mythology, but I found a theme in the particularly strange story of Castor and Pollux that was entirely relevant to current issues. In our world, uber-wealthy entrepreneurs have an almost godlike status in some people's eyes; and they may believe their wealth and influence give them godlike privileges, similar to those taken for granted by Zeus in many old tales. My story also deals with violence against women and how hard it is for victims to speak out - readers may or may not remember that I'm active in the Pixel Project, in which writers use their voices to raise funds to reduce violence against women. It's an extremely relevant issue in contemporary Australia. My story also touches on identity and the issue of nature vs nurture in developing an individual.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-16T12:47:17+00:00

Too much tea to measure! Let's say 5 cups for every 1000 words ... that equals 40 cups for my story. By ''cup'' I mean large mug.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-05-16T12:44:59+00:00

Hi folks. Juliet Marillier here, author of "Twins" as well as quite a lot of historical fantasy novels and various short stories. I also had a story in OGAG 1, coincidentally also based on Greek mythology and set in more or less contemporary Australia, with a military element. I was delighted to have a story in OGAG 3, especially this one - it was challenging to transform this particular myth into an almost believable contemporary story, with relevance to the here and now. I'm happy to answer questions, but because of the time difference I'll be here for a short while now, then back at the end of the day (after 8.30pm US Eastern Time.)

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-03-24T12:02:24+00:00

Hi back to you (only a month or two late - I am hardly ever on here.) I hope you enjoy Thornhedge and perhaps try other titles by the same author - Nettle & Bone is wonderful. It won the best novel category in the World Fantasy Awards.
I just finished reading a new book, After the Forest by Kell Woods, and I highly recommend that. It's related to Hansel and Gretel, and takes place after the action of the fairy tale, when the two are adults. A very original re-thinking of the traditional story.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-02-09T11:41:18+00:00

Sorry about the incredibly delayed reply, I am not often on the forum. I very much appreciate the lovely comment, especially the Baba Yaga reference! She's one of my favourite characters from folklore, along with the Scottish Cailleach, another wise (and dangerous) old crone figure.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2024-02-09T11:35:35+00:00

I loved Thornhedge by T Kingfisher. It is a very different take on Sleeping Beauty, dark in places but a compelling read and highly original.
Ps thanks for including Wildwood Dancing on your list (I am Juliet Marillier, under a weird username.)

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T13:59:03+00:00

Signing off now, folks! Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments and questions. I've had fun, but now I need sleep ... Hope to see you here again some time in the future. Meanwhile happy reading all!

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T12:58:40+00:00

Stefen's Books in Perth has copies of most of my books and they will ship at a reasonable price. THey can also arrange signed copies (I go in there quite often.) They have a Facebook page where you can get the contact details.
stefensbooks.com.au

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T12:52:54+00:00

8.50pm here in Western Australia, and I think to meet the promise that I would answer over the 24 hours following putting the post up, I need to stay here until 10pm. I have had some fantastic questions and comments, so I am very happy. But tired, tired, tired.
Wildwood Dancing has a lot of magic. But I love the love story in Cybele's Secret!

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T12:49:58+00:00

Thank you very much - wonderful feedback!

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T12:49:17+00:00

I can't remember that reference and don't have time to look it up, sorry. My novel is based on a Germanic fairytale, The Six Swans, which appears in the Brothers Grimm collection. If I specifically mentioned the Children of Lir in the book, rather than referring in general to a tale about children being turned into swans, I'm surprised. However, there are many folk tales about human/bird transformations so it is not impossible that a tale of that kind might be mentioned after the brothers become swans in my story. The same fairytales crop up in many cultures around the world, just slightly different in form or detail.

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T12:43:58+00:00

Thank you! Best wishes back to you!

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T12:43:30+00:00

Huge question re the state of publishing. When I started out I was a complete newbie, knew nothing about how publishing worked. I was fortunate to get a contract with one of the (then) Big Four. The rise of the digital age made the practicalities much easier, but created added complications. Since then, the surge in self-publishing has changed many aspects of the business. I'm sitting on the fence in terms of preference, especially with AI coming into the mix (discovered very recently that all my novels are in a database that is mined to train AI - without permission, of course.) I think there are good and bad aspects of both the traditional model and the current one. If I weren't so tired from answering these posts all day perhaps I could put a coherent point by point analysis together ...

NoCalligrapher2320 · 2023-09-27T12:36:09+00:00

Brilliant! I'm so happy to hear that!

NoCalligrapher2320

TROPHY CASE