I’m a little late to this party, but I still think it’s worth posting about, especially for all three of you who read my journal and don’t read Gaiman or Scalzi.
Let’s start with a little history. Many famous writers have, on occasion, had to fall back on their writing and reputation to make a living in the world. The one that I teach the most often about is Mark Twain.
Twain was an entrepreneurial man, and quite frankly, it cost him. He went from being exceedingly rich to tragically poor. What did he do to pay the debt from his investitures that bankrupted him? He launched a world tour. He traded on his name and reputation, and embarked on a trip that would change his life. The Clemens family had honor, and wanted to make sure their debts with creditors were cleared.
Time wends its way to today. Unlike Mark Twain, through no fault of their own, Catherynne Valente and her fiance Dmitri are suffering tough economic times.
Many writers have been. Occasionally the writing community has asked for donations for individuals to save their homes, or help with medical expenses. Sadly, there have been many more of these requests in the last few months, as you might expect.
Valente is pulling a Mark Twain and a Charles Dickens.
Back in time, authors used to post serial stories. The way you wait for the next episode of American Idol or Lost is the way that the British used to wait for the next installment of Dickens or Thackery.
In her book Palimpsest, there is reference to a fictional YA novel The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland. Here’s what’s going to happen, in Valente’s own words:
Starting Monday, I will start posting chapters of a full-length novel version of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I will be writing it in real time, posting every Monday. It will be free to read–but please know that the sheer calories to make my brain create it require funding, and I would very much appreciate your support. Pay whatever you like for it, whatever you think it’s worth. It’s kind of like an old-fashioned rent party. There’s a button at the bottom of the post to start things out.
This is a book about a little girl named September who gets herself a ticket to Fairyland on the back of The Green Wind and a somewhat cranky Leopard. There she discovers the realm of the capricious Marquess and the dangers of the Perverse and Perilous Sea. It is going to be something else.
And yes, you can read it to your kids. This is my first available YA novel, and everyone can read it for free.
I am captivated by the idea of a novelist bringing the serial novel forward into the twenty-first century. Valente is not the first, but she may be one of the first to be writing on the forward march. And I hope that her reputation makes the venture a success, which would take us a bit farther along the way of revitalizing the art form.
I’m not a Valente fan, yet. I’ve tried one of her stories, and found it to be too ornate for my taste. Call me plebian. On the other hand,
I’m not a Valente fan, yet. This novel sounds like exactly the kind of folkloric thing I would like, and I may change my mind. At any rate, I’ll be checking it out.
There are other ways to help too. There is
Help Catherynne M. Valente
a sight where others are auctioning services for Catherynne and Dmitri, and there’s this:
Dmitri’s translations of Kaverin’s faery tales.
Dmitri isn’t asking for money for these. They started out as a free offering for International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day. However, as a folklore scholar, I’ve found them invaluable, and that’s the first reason I’ll be donating to this cause. Thanks, Dmitri.
In closing, not only do you get a chance to read Russian faery tales. Not only do you get a chance to look at the wide variety of goods and services that others are offering on the couple’s behalf. Not only do you have a chance to look at Valente’s other offerings on her website.
You have a chance to see something new and cool, an old thing made anew. Look forward to it!
Catherine
