Since we last talked, look! Four podcasts and two reviews. So, there’s that.
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New America
Hey.
Honest to God, I intend to talk about Taichi Keaton, but like many people, I was sidelined last week by the US voting Donald Trump as president. So, instead of moving forward with our first female president, we now have a president who in past political time frames would have been asked to step down. Sixteen women came forward about being molested, and he was elected. So, a bit of shock here, of course. White America, even white women, didn’t care enough. Well. Well, indeed.
Once the final analysis came in, Clinton won the popular vote. The Electoral college gave voice to parts of the country that wanted something different than the diverse America that is naturally emerging. They sent the message, loud and clear, that they wanted to be in charge because…well, white people should be in charge. Should I have been surprised? No. Was I surprised? Yes.
Hate crime has gone up. It’s like opening Pandora’s box, giving the KKK and extremists a voice and a license to move forward. If only it were them, because Trump’s election has seemed to give people I assumed didn’t possess these -isms a chance to be MUCH more public about the -isms.
In my real life, I am a teacher of immigrants and refugees. Most of these folks are followers of Islam. They are real people, like you and me who also have hopes and dreams. They don’t want to blow up your city hall or take your jobs. These people are my students and my responsibility. I have been busy trying to explain this turn of events to them. I have been busy trying to understand this turn of events myself.
Alternatingly, I have been distraught, angry, disgusted, and grief-stricken. I have a political list of to-dos each week. Make phone calls. Protest. Get some real news. Stay off Facebook and the silos there. Work hard and stand up for those who are now considered less than, more so than it has seemed for the last several years. This problem has always been there. I thought there were fewer of you than there were, racists. Misogynists. Homophobes. Forgive me if I don’t celebrate you coming out of the closet.
And those of you who are getting back to “the new normal.” Nice invocation of white privilege there. I can’t do that. My responsibility as an American is to defend all of us. I like the constitution. I dig religious freedom. I like liberty and justice for all. Sorry you can’t be bothered.
I know many of you feel the same as I do, and I know there is nothing we can do to change these results. But we can hold this new American accountable every inch of the way. I know we are not alone. I know conscientious legislators have our backs. Let’s let them know we have theirs.
And for those of you who think I might be engaging in histrionics, that’s really sexist, but hey, check back with me next year. I would be very happy to be wrong. I did, however, grow up abused by my family and bullied in a small town. I recognize this feeling. Only this time, I’m not a kid and I have people to protect. I’m going to leave you with my favorite bit of advice from that guy a lot of you pretend to worship. Jesus advises, “Love your neighbor as you would yourself.” Would you like a swastika pinned to your door? Or a balloon full of pee thrown on you even though you are indigenous and were here first? Maybe you’d like a cross burned in your yard?
I am deeply, deeply disturbed. Next time, I’m gonna talk about why doing art in the new America Trumpland is more important than ever. See you in a couple of weeks.
Unreliable Narrators Links Through 11-08-16
Fewer links for Unreliable Narrators? It’s NaNoWriMo, and we’re all diligently writing, so…we’ll be back in a couple with some more stuff and NaNo updates.
Halloween 2016: Dia de Los Muertos Display
This year, Bryon built a Day of the Dead display. The costume is the design for La Muerta from the Book of Life, which, if you haven’t seen it, is a very good film, and it proves that Mexico is the center of the universe.
Unreliable Narrators Posts Through 10-27-16
And…October continues with loads o’ special content.
Revenant Harvest 1: The Bitterest Fruit by Chia Evers
Revenant Harvest 2: Bleeding Heartland by Chris Cornell
The Unreliable Narrators Watch…The Woman in Black
Helloween Day Nineteen: The Brood
Helloween Day Twenty-One: Sleepaway Camp
Helloween Day Twenty-Two: Cronos
J.Kathleen Cheney New Short Fiction
You might remember J. Kathleen Cheney from several reviews on this blog, and a podcast over at Unreliable Narrators. Recently, she has decided to begin self-publishing on her own. She made an interesting decision to mostly self-publish, and I believe as a reader it’s paying off.
I’ve been lucky enough to receive two of Cheney’s recent publications. Whatever Else explores the boundaries of trust in a relationship. It is lyrical and beautiful rendered, typical of Cheney’s romantic prose.
The revelation for me was Cheney’s interconnected series of short stories collected in The Dragon’s Child. An interesting mix of Russian and Chinese culture, the story is different in mood and tone from anything I’ve read of Cheney’s yet, but it is still very good. I would recommend it if you would like your fantasy to be a bit more off the beaten path.
One of the benefits of writing novellas is that the writer can create faster, and Cheney’s fans must be pleased with more available stories. I of course look forward to future novels, but encourage you to visit her website to check out her new offerings.
Tips for Self-Care in the SF/F Community
I was going to write a high-powered article about integrity and how much other people mattered in the science fiction community and your career, and then I realized I was 51, I had been working on my novel and a couple of scripts, and I was about out of steam.
So, instead of being witty, let me just point you, in vaguely twitter like fashion, to some guidelines that I have occasionally swerved from, much to my chagrin, but overall have served me pretty well as I try to take care of myself while interacting with other genre folk. I come from a background where people had pretty much convinced me that I had no worth beyond my accomplishments. I am not a psychologist, nor do I play one on television, but this plan of self-preservation concocted with my counselor, helps me do the occasional sanity check.
***
1. If you find yourself talking to your husband, and saying a phrase like, “He’s okay, except he–“, be grateful if you have a husband who reminds you that if you have to add a but, probably that person is not okay.
2. Everyone deserves another chance. But not necessarily a chance after that one. And probably not a third chance. And if they get a fourth chance, you might take a look at that and your own mental health. Because at some point, it’s called enabling.
3. If something doesn’t feel right in your gut, listen to it.
4. No one is more important than you. This is not meant in an egotistical sense. It is meant in a self-care, self-preservation sense. If someone tries to suggest otherwise to you, please look at 2 and 3.
5. Popularity is for junior high. It is not the sole measure upon which you should seek out relationships in publishing. No, really. No one can really make or break your career. Everyone gets a different set of opportunities.
6. Someone might not like you, for whatever reason. You might not like someone, for whatever reason. Move along. Nothing to see, then.
7. Be careful and discreet. Limit the circle of people you need to confide in. The world is shrinking. As Marko Kloos says, “Don’t get caught with your ass hanging out.”
8. Don’t make everything about your book. As Jim Hines says, “Don’t be that guy.”
9. If someone harasses or bullies you, you’re probably not the only one that person has bothered. If the offense is severe, talk until someone in authority listens to you. If not, well, number 4 and maybe number 7.
10. Social graces are important, kids. Be nice. It costs you nothing to be nice.
These careful reminders have been brought to you by someone watching recent events in science fiction as a public service announcement.
Better yet, get off line. You have better things to do. Go write your book. Me? I’m gonna pick up the aforementioned husband. Because that’s the way I role.
Unreliable Narrators Links through 10-20-16
Usually, I only do this every other week, but the Halloween at Unreliable Narrators has been hot and heavy this month. Here’s this week’s batch.
The Unreliable Narrators Watch…The Pit and the Pendulum
And Introducing…The Iron Maiden
Helloween Day Eleven: Blood Glacier
Helloween Day Twelve: The Pact
Helloween Day Fourteen: The Beyond
Helloween Day Fifteen: The Wolfen
Characters Who Breathe: Amy Dorrit
I didn’t come across Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens until later in my life, I liked to read more Dickens than the average teen, but this was not a book I ran across until I saw the film that featured Derek Jacobi in the 1990s. Then I went and hunted down the book. The BBC recently did an adaption of the book that was more accurate, with excellent leads.
There are so many ways in which I identify with Amy Dorrit that I was bound to pick her as a character I felt was alive. I could also write a similar post about Arthur Clennam, the male lead in the book, as I grow older, but Amy’s particular circumstances, while not an exact mirror of my own, bore enough similarities that I was riveted by her.
Amy grew up in a debtor’s prison with an extremely dysfunctional family, one so rich that it had no idea how to be poor. Amy was born in the Marshallsea Prison and took care of them all, until, through the ouevres of a large Dickensian support cast, the family fortune was reacquired. Then Amy becomes an embarrassment to them all. Of course, in true Dickensian fashion, Amy is almost saintly as she takes care of her family, but there are these glimpses underneath of anger, exasperation, and confusion as she deals with a family who suddenly sees her many virtues as flaws. Unrequited love echoes through the novel as well, and Amy is made more interesting by the complex emotions she feels for the hero of the novel that she cannot realize, at first because she is in the lowest class, and then in the highest.
I would love to talk about Little Dorrit deep into the night with anyone. Such a good protrayal of some of the issues of its time is worth my time. That said, there are flaws. There’s some deeply Dickensian…coincidence that dates the novel, so you want to watch out.
Full disclosure: Octavia and Lucia Klaereon are the mirror universe versions of Fanny and Amy Dorrit. The best work you read influences your writing.
Next up: Taichi Keaton
Unreliable Narrators Links through 10-10-16
George is doing Halloween movies this month, so it’s a longer list. We have our latest podcast at the top, our first group Halloween movie watch, and George’s reviews. Also my review of the comic Animosity.
Author Spotlight: Carol Anne Douglas
The Unreliable Narrators Watch…The Exorcist
Animosity #1 by Maguerite Bennet and Rafael de LaTorre
Halloween Day One: Lips of Blood!
Helloween Day Two: Across the River
Helloween Day Five: Ghostwatch
Helloween Day Seven: It Follows