Have I said recently how much I love my “job”?

[erastes]

By that, I mean the reading of other people’s work. I’m so buoyed up with what’s happening in the historical fiction world right this minute that I can hardly speak, and utterly utterly privileged to be “behind the scenes” to see it happening.

Right now, I’m reading “Rainbow Plantation” by Robert Sheeley. I don’t know Robert from a bar of soap, so he hasn’t gained “minion” status!  It’s a good story (so far) of white slave owner and black slave and so far isn’t as clichéd as that set up would hint at.  It’s not perfectly written and the editing is a bit rough but it is self-published. However I am enjoying it – the main character is nicely conflicted, and not in the way you’d imagine.. It’s a shame it’s self published, and I hope that one of the small publishers – perhaps one of the People Of Colour (isn’t that a horrible phrase?) ones might pick it up.

Also I’ve just had the pleasure of reading chapter one of Joanne Soper-Cooke’s newest Devlin mystery. It’s stunning. I just told her that if she maintains that standard it will sell by the bucketload, and any publisher would be daft not to bite her arm off for it.

Then I’ve got a friend writing a regency ghost m/m story, and I know, with her meticulous research it will be GREAT, Chris Smith is editing her 15th century Florentine “Bonfire of the Vanities” era one, which is going to be good history as well as a good story, not to mention Lee’s Tangled Web and Don’s Lover’s Knot coming out in the Autumn with Running Press!! And there’s other stuff I can’t even TALK about yet. ARGH! So much goodness!

Talking of Joanne Soper-Cooke – she’s done a brilliant, and very funny post on The Macaronis about how her character tend to possess her and live with her every minute of the day. In this post, she takes her 1930s taxi-dancer character, George, shopping, which is just hilarious, so don’t miss it.

In other news, I’m also reading Little Dorrit. Quite the dullest Dickens I’ve read to date. I’d like to hope Little Dorrit dies of something really painful, but I know that she doesn’t. Damn it. What possessed Dickens to think that anyone would like the horrid milk-sop? *stabs her*

Comments

[sinick.livejournal.com]

I suspect I habitually take Snape with me when I shop for clothes. It's one explanation for the ridiculous amount of black in my wardrobe, anyway.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Heh, yes I can just see him, poking around muttering about where are the gowns kept?

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

Chris Smith is editing her 15th century Florentine story - that sounds like I might feel inclined to thumb it; could you direct me to where I might find more info?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Her LJ is c_smith_author

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

May I warn you that right now it is 1) Dreck 2) Being completely overhauled and edited. If you'd like know anything feel free to pop by. I will be doing posts on Wednesday about it (mainly to keep me motivated as editing is evil shit).

Which is why I suspect E put this in there - always whipping me into editing, the tartlet!

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

right now it is 1) Dreck It won't be much of a consolation at this point, but in my experience that's a good sign. I mean, your saying that is. Writers who have too much of the "woo hoo go me!" gene tend to be... well. I leave the word to you. ;)

I'm simply curious, since I'm a Renaissance... how to say that in English without sounding like a moron... nut? fan? afficionado? Something like that.

Editing is satan. Sadly, one can't go without.

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

I am relatively objective about this, for some unknown reason. Probably as I knew it would require tons of editing because I wrote it so fast.

I don't really know how to describe the book, to be honest, as it is pretty malleable at the moment. It is set in Florence in the 15th Century, and pivots around the strange interlacings and seperations between the church and the state. It focuses, through the medium of several characters which are pure invention and a couple of real people who I'm horribly afraid I've completely mucked up, on that cusp in time just before the Bonfire of the Vanities, when Savonarola was just pulling himself into that position of ultimate power, enough power to challenge the Medici.

Oh I'm essentially rewriting it longhand. Which means it takes me about 15-20mins per page. There are 455 pages. Feel free to do the math. It should pick up in a while, the beginning is pretty awful, but it does improve a bit when I realised what I actually wanted to write.

Now I'm curious - what language would you prefer to say you're a renaissance aficionado in?

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

That's a lovely (well...) backdrop for a tale. Roiling. Obscurantism versus faith, like a great beast trying to dry-heave/purge humanism (never mind that their brand of humanism was essentially Christian in nature); mercantile greed, fierce city state pride, and some of the sharpest minds of their time. Add the Office of the Night and stir. :)

Rewriting longhand? Wow! That is beautiful. Lots of work, but beautiful.

What language? Oh, German.

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

Hee, you guilted me into editing another 2 pages. Well, only several hundred to go.

If there is any way I can get it to seem as good as your description, I shall count it a job well done. Scary responsibility.

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

Would you mind if I friended you, if only not to miss a publication date?

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

Oh no - not at all - was going to friend you but did not want to impose!

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

Never an imposition! Sadly, I post little in the way of fiction lately. But you might like the late 15th century music I post now and then. :) Also, there's an insane amount of Borgia and Italy spammage.

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

No no - that is great. There is a fair chance I may ask you to sanity check this when it is done, I don't know many people who are renaissance aficionados :)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

There are a good few on my flist.

I have the best flist.

[chris-smith-atr.livejournal.com]

You're right. Which is exactly WHY YOU SHOULD DO WHAT I JUST SAID IN IM :P

[baritonejeff.livejournal.com]

German? And you handle English so beautifully?

*is deeply impressed*

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :) English is wonderfully precise! Much as I love German (and I do I do I do) there's a higher ratio of wordy constructions; a text - any text - in German tends to be at least 30% longer than its English equivalent. With English, one can do different things than with German - a different palette.

[lareinenoire.livejournal.com]

Little Dorrit can't possibly be as bad as The Old Curiosity-Shop...at least I hope so! Plus, the recent miniseries was actually quite good! Did you see that?

[sleveen.livejournal.com]

Also I’ve just had the pleasure of reading chapter one of Joanne Soper-Cooke’s newest Devlin mystery. It’s stunning. I just told her that if she maintains that standard it will sell by the bucketload, and any publisher would be daft not to bite her arm off for it.

Oh that's right, feed the monster! :-D
Seriously, as I said in email, I am horribly pleased that you like it. I know you have high standards and I want very much to at least try to come up to them. I really appreciate that you read my stuff - I mean that. It means a lot to me. :)

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Joanne's post is very funny--and she's right, you know, it can be a serious problem to let those guys yammer when you're trying to do things away from the computer desk where they belong.
"No, I am not doing *that*, cut it out, I do not have the reflexes to pull that one off!" I hear myself saying over and over.
Sigh.