Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The book I am reading this week

Is my own!

I wrote some blurbs before I started writing the book to help me focus my mind. Here is one of them:-

A slain king and a country at war, but the rightful heir has fled with his loyal companions and seeks refuge in the lands beyond the sea.

An island of power and magic, the prison for a creature from the stars who seeks to escape and get revenge on the peope who put it there.

A young man who wants to escape from the responsibility of the life he has left behind but discovers that he must face his enemies if he is to survive, and save the world too.

My companions are not fans of fantasy or well versed in speculative fiction, but they are interested in my work. It is a very international house at the moment. I represent Ireland, the other writer is from the U.K, our host is from the U.S and her friend is German.

There are books everywhere in the house. They line the corridors and are over the bed in my room. I think the fact there are so many is one of the reasons I felt so at home the moment I walked through the door. Even though the people don't know my genre, my old friends were waiting in my room to greet me:- Tolkien, Bradbury, Conan Doyle, Douglas Preston. Odd Thomas was already smiling welcome from the shelves, and so was Jimmy Tock unfortunately (but I don't have to talk to him).

Writing went well yesterday. I got the prologue done - lots of killing, so I'm happy with that - and started the first chapter where I introduced the hero Fored. I first wrote this book when I was a child so revisiting it makes me feel like a 12 year old again, but in a good way.

We watched a movie last night, Tropic Thunder, which wasn't my companions cup of tea. I am told there are 700 movies in the house. From what I have seen while browsing the shelves they are all romantic comedies. I might just evaporate in a puff of smoke like the witch in the Wizard of Oz when she had a bucket of water thrown over her. I can take rom coms but only with a healthy dose of horror afterwards to take away the sickly sweetness.

It is cold today and the clouds are rolling over the mountains down to the sea covering everything in fog. My window is misted up and I can't see my lovely view. Maybe just as well, I've writing to do.

Thank you for the lovely comments. Keep writing them. Anon, the food is really good, thanks. Shadowthorne, stop trying to get me to sleep and not write, I'm having a hard enough time battling narcalepsy as it is. :) Everyone else, thanks.

For anyone who is interested, my favourite Regina Spektor song today is Apres Moi because it has a nice Russian feel to it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds an amazing place- like something out of a book!!
All those books and romantic comedies would suit me I guess but it makes you wonder about who collected them? Good luck with the writing today- hope it flies along

SSQuo said...

So its going well, Prologue down, one check off the list! :)

Tropic Thunder was OK, I guess i expected a bit more considering the hyper and the trailer too. Robert Downey was good though! Me like him.

I am interested in your favorite song for the day - Apres Moi is lovely. I agree wholeheartedly.

Good luck on the writing today!

Unknown said...

'Apres Moi' is russian? Isn't it French for 'after me'?

And again I wept for the lost opportunity to over-slept and be-lazy-whole-day-long you suffer.

I like murders too; but killing thousands of peasants even in a fantasy must have a reasonable motive, or it would be just bad taste. :)

Inkpot said...

Hi Anon. It is like a place out of a book. I think there is a kind of magic about it. Whether it is that which makes it so good for writing and painting or whether it is a residue of all the creative ventures completed there, I don't know. I think the woman who runs the retreat centre collected the romantic comedies. You would love it, but for me it was more 'dvds, dvds everywhere but not a horror to watch'.

Thanks SSQuo. I like Robert Downey too. Did you see him in Ironman? Nice. :D

You got me Shadowthorne, 'Apres Moi' is indeed French for 'after me'. However, my language mangling was in reference to Regina Spektor's song titled 'Apres Moi' which has a Russian tone to the music :). I'm glad you wept for my inability to sleep all day. It was a terrible, terrible shame. As to killing thousands of peasants in one chapter - how exactly is that in bad taste? Does one need a reason to kill thousands of peasants in a novel? :D