While the Witch Novel is off being reviewed by my third reader, I’ve been going through my notes for the Glass World project to see if I can turn it into something that makes sense. I found a note about the stages of my writing (which must have been part of a book exercise, because one of my favourite writing-avoidance behaviours is to read books about writing). This is all still true.
1. A vague idea and optimism
2. Research, some necessary, some avoidance
3. Writing the easy bits or just the next bit
4. Despair
5. Review, research, reorganization
6. Soldiering on again…
7. Despair – Repeat
8. Brute Force
9. The End
P.S. BLOOD & CHRYSANTHEMUMS is on sale for $1.99 until August 23rd. Which I guess proves I used to be able to make this work.
Flash! August 4th! BLOOD & CHRYSANTHEMUMS is on sale for $1.99, wherever you get ebooks.
Now that’s out of the way …
As a change from book promotion, here are some vacation pictures instead. We went to Italy for two weeks in May. This was our first real travel since 2019 and our third trip to Venice, so it was a good warm-up for trying (again) to go to Spain.
Classic Venice
We stayed in the Castello region, near the Arsenale. It was a great area, full of good restaurants, little shops with odd hours, people, dogs (and dog poop), and ordinary life.
We saw no shortage of animals, both real and imagined.
Part of a graffiti wall urging us to ‘smash fascism’. I mostly used it as signpost that we were on the right way back to the apartment. Curious cat (possibly anti-fascist) keeps an eye on us on the tour of the old Jewish Ghetto area.One of Venice’s many dogs guards the vaporetto exit. We got the 7-day passes and put them to good use visiting other islands and avoiding the madness of trying to navigate the center of the city.
We went to our third Venice Biennale, which once again provided a wide variety of artistic experiences, from the beautiful to the baffling and everything in between. Don’t worry, I’m not going to subject you to the many, many pictures we took.
One of our favorites this year. Photographer Inuuteq Storch took over the Danish pavilion for Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland). Stunning work (and not just because it made me think of a very old novel by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro).The Estonians are reliably weird. We love them. This year’s offering was from Edith Karlson and was set in a church. There was also a two-headed cat I really wanted. (Merchandise opportunity!)I liked this exhibit, by Marzia Ratti, entitled Venetian Donna Boxes, because it featured figures based famous Venetian women, such as the Marchesa Casati and Peggy Guggenheim. I’ve read numerous books about both of them (and they both lived in what is now the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice).The great thing about Venice during Biennale season is that the city is full of art. En route to see the Olivetti building by Carlos Stampa, we stopped in at a gallery featuring the art of Andjrez Wroblewski, a Polish artist. The piece about is called “Sketch for Executions” and the rest of the work was similarly powerful. On the urging of a friend, we also went to the Fortuny Museum. I immediately wanted to move in, invite all my artist and writer friends to come over, swan about drinking cocktails, and wear a different one of these amazing dresses every day. A girl can dream.We spent one day doing the “Death in Venice” tour. First up, the island of San Michele, the principal cemetery for Venice.
Then it was off to the Lido. Sadly, most of the resort beaches seemed to be closed. We trudged our way down to the public beach, paddled our hands in the Adriatic, and then headed back to Venice.
On the way to Bolzano.
We spent two and half days in Bolzano, a four-hour train ride up into the Italian Alps. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of vineyards (and happily tasted the local wines) and my husband observed that his limited knowledge of German seemed more convincing than his less limited vocabulary in Italian.
Bolzano at night
Bolzano turned out to be a lovely town, with a pedestrian center full of restaurants, food stalls, and the best gelato we’d ever had. (Seriously, Gelateria Portogallo was mind-blowingly good. Go there.)
This is Otzi, the reason we decided to go to Bolzano in the first place. He and his worldly possessions are preserved and displayed respectfully at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology We were aware of his story, but after hearing the details on Tides of History, one of our favourite podcasts, we figured we might as well take the chance to learn more. (Also, listen to Tides of History. It’s great.) Absolutely fascinating.
Despite the fact that the tourist board for the region brags that ‘the sun always shines’, our days there were mostly rainy and overcast. But we still managed to slog through the downpour up to Runkelstein Castle. We were rewarded by rooms of beautiful frescoes, a sleepy cat, and an amazing display of handmade musical instruments by the talented and energetic Max Castlunger. He was giving a tour and demonstrations to several wet families and enthusiastic kids who dutifully banged, tapped, and chimed on request. Ok, my husband was also happy to ‘bang a gong’ on cue.
Singing bowls made from old propane tanks.
The next day, the weather cleared enough for us to head up to the top of the Rittner horn ski resort, which involved two gondolas, a small train, and a bus. And another bus filled with students on the way back down to Bolzano.
Then it was back to Venice for one more afternoon of art and eating. Still one of my favourite places in the world.
I was asked by the good people at the book recommendation site Booklisti to put together a list on whatever I wanted. What I wanted was to talk about my favourite retellings and reimaginings of fairy tales, because that is one of the sub-genres I love the most. (So much that I indulged in it myself, with A Terrible Beauty.) I picked seven titles from authors such as Robin McKinley (twice), Tanith Lee, Catherynne Valente, and Diana Wynne Jones. Each author brought to their chosen fairy tale (from Beauty and the Beast to Koschei the Deathless to Tam Lin – also twice) their own perspective, fascinations, and rich, beautiful prose. I’ve read these books more times than I can count and I hope you find something new to delight you as well.
Most of the great offers on the new ebooks have been for the US sites, but now it’s time for Canadian and British readers. BLOOD & CHRYSANTHEMUMS is on sale for $1.99 all this week.
The new (and beautiful) ebook editions of Cold Hillside and A Terrible Beauty are on sale for $1.99 until August 2nd, wherever fine ebooks (and some not so fine ones, I suppose) are sold!
The beautiful new ebook editions are now live and waiting for you. Or your friend. Or your mother. Or your sister. Or your second cousin. Or random strangers.
Anyway, I’m very happy about it, especially as it’s a nice distraction from rewrite #3 of the Witch Novel ending.
First off, obligatory PRE-ORDER/UPCOMING RELEASE note. The new ebook editions will be out on July 9th.
Despite being very busy (trip to Italy – yes, pictures will come – family visit, general stuff), I managed to read 30 books. I suppose the two long plane flights did help.
FICTION
The Grief of Stones, by Katherine Addison. One of the things I love about Addison’s work is that she just pitches you into the world and somehow you figure out what you need to know. Lots of things are never explained because the explanation doesn’t matter to the story. Ok, I admit, this is the second book about Witness for the Dead Thara Celehar but I can’t be expected to remember all the world details. Anyway, another fine additional to a compassionate series.
Saint Death’s Daughter, by C.S.E. Corey. Winner of the 2023 World Fantasy Award. The protagonist comes from a long line of court-appointed assassins with wonderful names like Abandon Hope, Irradiant, and Unnatural. When misfortunes befalls her feckless family, she finds herself up against the Blackbird Bride and her flock of wizards. Rich and funny and dark all at the same time.
The Thrice-Drowned Saint, by C.S.E. Corey. I didn’t like this as much as Saint Death’s Daughter, but I did love the angels (remember kids, every angel is terrible) and the uncles.
Refuge, by Merilyn SImonds. This one had lingered on my list until I finally decided to read it. I thought the structure worked well and was even willing to forgive a few too many “Forest Gump” cameos. I do love a crotchety older narrator, and Cassandra MacCallum, her island solitude interrupted by a young Burmese refugee claiming to be her great-granddaughter, is a fine one.
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, by T. Kingfisher. A lovely romp that’s guaranteed to make you hungry.
Rose/House, by Arkady Martine. Another audiobook. This novella is part mystery novella, part commentary on architecture and the worship of ‘art monsters’, part meditation on AI, and part homage to “The Haunting of Hill House”. Since I like all of those things, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
NON-FICTION
The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, by Jeff Goodell. Continuing my upbeat reading with this timely one. Glad I live in Ontario.
City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire, by Roger Crowley. Sadly, this one didn’t come in until I was home from Venice, but it was a good read just the same. It focuses on the period of Venice’s naval dominance (vs. an entire history) and provides the right balance of love and clear-sightedness about the history, strengths, and weaknesses, in this unique place. Venice is one of my favorite cities in the world and I think it generally gets a bum rap (particularly in fantasy fiction). As Crowley points out, Venice’s only resource was naval and mercantile prowess – if they didn’t trade, they didn’t eat. They had to be good – and ruthless – at both of those things.
Knife, by Salman Rushdie. I listened to the audiobook (read by Rushdie) of this collections of “Meditations After An Attempted Murder”. I have read some Rushdie, but not in a while, and I found his thoughts about life, love, creativity, and the writing life interesting.
Move Like Water, by Hannah Stowe. Subtitled “My Story of the Sea”, this recounts Stowe’s life around, in, and studying the ocean. Lyrically written and immersive (ha!).
Well, I’m not sure about the art, the prestige or the spite parts, but I did like this piece by John Waters from the 2017 Venice Biennale.
New e-books editions with gorgeous new covers come out July 9th but you can pre-order now, if that strikes your fancy. Here’s more information from the good people at Open Road Media.
