Off the Shelf

It has become something of a tradition - if you can make a tradition in just two years - for me to update the photos of my bookshelves around this time.  Not a great deal has changed as far as the big white bookcase goes, since it has all but run out of room width-wise and is even getting cramped height-wise, which makes stacking books a bit of a chore.  However, I've made some alterations to the entertainment unit, introduced a research basket where most of my reference material goes, and bought some new books that managed to squeeze in where I was quite certain there wasn't any room left, so it seemed worthwhile to show off the new look.

The second shelf here is just about the same, although I think I shuffled some Shakespeare around a bit and got a copy of The Tempest.  The tannish-greenish book on top of Jane Austen is an adorable Scribner's, 1925, South Seas edition of David Balfour; it smells of old bookshops, and as far as physical books and not the stories side the covers go, is one of my favorites.  Jenny snitched my copy of The Black Arrow some months ago and I haven't taken the time to get it back yet, but it ought to be lying lengthwise under David Balfour.

I have added more to the top shelf - it was one of the few that still had room.  There's a nice fat copy of Les Miserables being chummy with The Count of Monte Cristo.  There's Nicholas Nickleby (the chap in maroon standing next to Treasure Island, also in maroon but significantly skinnier) and hardbacks of Don Quixote and Quo Vadis?.  The rather ugly lime green clothbound on the right is The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper; the ugliness has put me off from reading it.  Over toward the left is a copy of Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier that I also have yet to read.  And Kidnapped, which out to be spanning the gap between Treasure Island and The Count, is off the shelf.  Again.  I'm pretty sure it was off the shelf last year when I took 2012's photos.  It's a popular one.

Same old, same old around here.  David Copperfield, who ought to be propping up Mary Barton, is currently serving as my downstairs reading.  The second shelf down is the same as always, though I did pick up a copy of Starflower and Moonblood.  I was given another copy of The Hobbit for my birthday, too: it's a little leather one under On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, difficult to spot in this photo.  I also shuffled Mary Stewart over to the entertainment unit to make room for the growing Tales of Goldstone Wood.  Anne Elisabeth Stengl has no compassion on my shelves.

 

Nothing much to see on the first shelf here, save for that pale blue book towards the far end, which is a rather out-of-place looking Mr. Midshipman Hornblower - move along!  The bottom shelf filled out rapidly when I finished with my research material for the Sea Fever books, and got several new books into the bargain.  The yellowy one far on the right is A Hanging Offense, which was so-so; the one next to it on the left, dwarfed by the chunky The Line upon a Wind, is The Fatal Cruise of the Argus - I've not read that one through yet.

Coming down the shelf to the left, I crammed in all my particularly useful books: Edward Preble, dull but incredibly helpful; Dawn Like Thunder, also marvelous; Stephen Decatur and The Barbary Wars, which were rather meh; and then a few on naval warfare that had been lying flat in last year's shot.  The green hardback to the right of The Barbary Wars - I don't know if you can see it - is a pretty copy of Rudyard Kipling's The Seven Seas, a collection of poetry. 

 

Mostly mysteries down here on the lower shelf of the entertainment unit, with a very big, very heavy, very highlighted (and not by me) Pelican Shakespeare to boot.  I picked up some Agatha Christie novels and was given The Secret Adversary, the first Tommy & Tuppence, for my birthday.  Sherlock Holmes is getting a little tipsy over on the right.  Lying flat on top are The Red House Mystery, an enjoyable murder mystery by that wonderful fellow called A.A. Milne; another Holmes; and a Wodehouse.  I have two Jeeves novels, but I just finished reading the other and he hasn't gone home yet.

 

Top shelf!  This has obviously filled out since last year.  Of The Thief series, I only had the first one this time last year; I picked up The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia (lovely hardback, too) in the interim, but have not yet read the latter.  There's Howl, looking very creased from getting passed around the family so many times.  I Capture the Castle and Peter Pan are being green together.  There are a couple more Peter Pan books that I've not yet read, a few Costain novels (Ride with Me and High Towers) that I really only picked up because of their looks, and a fat N.C. Wyeth-illustrated The Scottish Chiefs.  The little book on top is one I just got a few weeks ago, The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein.  

In the back - you can just see them - are some of my Christian books (which sounds ridiculous, but I'm not sure what else to call them).  Anna gave me Mornings with Tozer.  There's Charity and Its Fruits, and The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, and the pale blue one on the right is God with Us.  The Mind of the Maker is playing coy on the left and barely made an appearance.

Here is the aforementioned research basket, which is actually getting alarmingly full.  The big red book is an atlas of the ancient world.  The fake, Celtic-knot book came with tea in it and is now used for collecting rejection letters (yay!).  It leans rather forlornly against a Smithsonian bird book; two books on ancient astronomy that I just added two days ago (Echoes of the Ancient Skies and In Search of Ancient Astronomies, by E.C. Krupp); and three Country Diary books, full of watercolors and nature notes by a Birmingham lady in the early 20th Century.

And this is my too-large stack of books that are either being read or that just haven't made their way back home.  On the right stack are an old copy of Wordcrafter; two writing notebooks and a general notebook; Gleanings from Paul (there to make me finish reading it); and the currently-being-read Signs Amid the Rubble.  Which is splendid.  I confess the first two lectures were a little taxing and it was difficult to tell where he was going, but by the time I came to the third, I was having to restrain myself from underlining every other passage.  Excellent book - do read!

On the left there is Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, which I just began last night; The Inimitable Jeeves, finished the other night but still kicking about; and Kidnapped, which really should go back to its spot now.  The absolutely massive book is a book on Cromwell - I'm not sure why it's still there.  Below that is an Arthur Custance work, and then Red Moon and Black Mountain, and then another notebook.  I should clear up this mess, but I get so used to seeing all the books there that I just never do!

what are your shelves looking like this spring?

The Next Big Thing

pinterest: tempus regina

A few weeks ago Anne Elisabeth Stengl (who, for the information of newer Scribbles readers, submitted to the grueling process of an interview here way back in September 2011) asked me if I would be interested in participating in an author blog hop.  The idea is to answer a series of questions regarding our "next big thing" - in this case, my work-in-progress.  It seemed a splendid opportunity to introduce Tempus Regina, though I doubt it will be much less nebulous at the end.

Anne Elisabeth posted her own answers last week, featuring her Summer 2013 release Dragonwitch - which I, for one, am eagerly expecting.  This novel will be the fifth in her dramatic fairy-tale series Tales of Goldstone Wood.  There aren't any spoilers, so if you haven't seen the post already, be sure to take a peek and do some ooh-ing and aah-ing.  If you've come from her blog already, then welcome!  And may I introduce...

the next big thing

1. What is the working title of your book? 

Tempus Regina.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book? 

 I think this was one of those stories whose title came to mind first, which is pretty rare for me. I had scraps of other ideas floating around in my mind—lost kingdoms and civilizations and curses and doom and all that jazz—and a few of them appended themselves to the title. Developing it into an actual story was, and is, somewhat slow going.

3. What genre does your book fall under? 

 Primarily fantasy, but to be technical, I would call it historical fantasy.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

I’m not sure I’ve been rubbing shoulders with the characters long enough to pinpoint actors for them! On demand, however, I’ll do my best. Regina is a relatively easy choice: Katie McGrath would be little short of perfect. As far as looks go, Chris Hemsworth is not very far off how I envision the Assassin, but personality-wise I don’t see it working at all. David Tennant, on the other hand, has most of the personality and few of the necessary looks. I foresee this being a tricky issue.

I confess, I want Jeremy Brett for the Fisherman—which is sad, because Brett passed away some time ago. As a necessary second choice, I would cast Joaquin Phoenix—if he were younger. I’m always about ten years behind the times.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 

Centuries out of time, Regina Winters sets out to return to her own era and the brother who is her charge—no matter the cost to herself or to the world around her.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 

Represented by an agency is the goal.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

It’s a work in progress! I only properly began in November 2012, but I am currently a raw 80,000 words in.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 

As far as books I’ve read go, I would say C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, particularly That Hideous Strength; Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising; and perhaps some Stephen Lawhead. Judging only by hearsay and back-cover blurbs, I would take an educated guess and say Mary Stewart’s Arthurian Saga and maybe Marion Zimmer Bradley, though I don’t intend to read the latter to find out. However, I tend not to read books that might be similar until after I write my first draft, so as to avoid copy-catting as much as possible. I’ll get back with you at a later date.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book? 

One of the most important elements of inspiration was a story my sister dabbled in years ago; she never finished, which caused me much chagrin, but the general idea stuck with me and eventually resurfaced. I think I was also inspired by a documentary—I forget what it was called—that I watched years ago on the discovery of underwater antiquities; that is something of enduring interest. A more recent, and more massive, blast of inspiration came from the realization that Tempus Regina was already linked to a novel Jenny is now working on (you can read about it by following the link to her blog below); though the connection was quite unconscious on both our parts, it has been extremely helpful to discover that these two novels are, in a way, “book ends” of one another.

To a lesser degree, I’ve been inspired by pocket-watches, Sherlock Holmes, ancient and medieval science, legends, Howl’s Moving Castle, a heap of music, and a great dose of white phosphorus.

jennifer freitag & faith king are participating in today's blog hop

&

I also tagged mirriam neal.  Keep an eye out! 

Ink from Other Pens

pinterest

Of course the year is not quite over yet (shopping and Christmas have to come first!), and before the New Year I hope to finish Bleak House; but it's near enough for me to scribble up a "yearly reads" post for 2012.

I find it interesting to go back to last year's post and look over the books I read during 2011.  Sherlock Holmes; Mutiny on the Bounty; Beowulf; Rosemary Sutcliff.  I read my first Tale of Goldstone Wood.  Robert Louis Stevenson introduced himself to me via The Master of Ballantrae.  I reveled in Howl's Moving Castle and waded through The Count of Monte Cristo, and read The Christian Mind and The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.  I dabbled in G.K. Chesterton and Eiluned Lewis' Dew on the Grass.  I researched for the Sea Fever books.  And all in all, not counting re-reads, Goodreads informs me that I read 39 books in 2011.

I read more this year, and though not all were particularly lengthy, I loved a good number of them.  The very first book I finished in January was Rosemary Sutcliff's Simon, and later in the year I also read The Shield Ring (gah, so sad!) and The Lantern Bearers (gah, so sad!).  I only have two unread Sutcliff novels on my shelf now, those being The Shining Company, which I hear is even more sad, and The Mark of the Horse Lord.  Her books tend to wring me of all possible emotions and leave me rather limp, so I'm proud of myself having managed three in a year.  Pardon me while I pat myself on the back.

I took a semi-self-directed course (figure that out) in the history of science during last school year, so I read several books for that, with more or less success: I enjoyed Eureka Man, but The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was a struggle indeed.  And then of course there were Custance's Noah's Three Sons and Genesis and Early Man, both highly recommended.  I also read At the Evening Hour, a little devotional by E.D. Warfield, which would be highly recommended if it weren't practically impossible to find; and Bunyan's All Loves Excelling, among others.

I continued falling in love with R. L. Stevenson's novels, devouring Treasure Island, Kidnapped (now an adored favorite), and its sequel David Balfour.  I read that last at the beach, and I think it will always remind me of sunshine and ocean and lounge chairs on a balcony.  I got a lot of reading done that week, actually...  Good times.  The Black Arrow waits on my shelf - at least it did, but I think Jenny made off with it - because after all, I couldn't read all of Stevenson in one year.

Fans of Margaret Mitchell will be happy to hear that I finally read Gone with the Wind; I think maybe the only reason I did was because the title is so gorgeous, and perhaps because I wanted to compare it to the movie.  Or the movie to it.  Or something.  I read Peter Pan about the same time: an odd book, but I loved the bitter-sweetness of the ending.  I Capture the Castle, recommended by our very own Mirriam, was very different from my usual fare; it made me think, and puzzled me a bit.  It might have been the time period; I'm not used to that setting.

I read a number of books that I had been meaning to get to for a while: Alexander Hamilton, Cooper's The Deerslayer, Blamires' New Town, Forester's Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.  I read several that I hadn't been planning to read, and had never heard of before: A.A. Milne's The Red House Mystery, and McKillip's The Riddle-Master of Hed, and A Hanging Offense.  I read Anne Elisabeth Stengl's two novels that released this year, Moonblood and Starflower (hurrah!).  I managed Les Miserables in full, unabridged glory (exactly one page longer than last year's The Count of Monte Cristo.  Were the novels as long in the original French...?) and sobbed over A Tale of Two Cities.  And I absolutely gobbled up Sayers' The Mind of the Maker - which everyone should read, no exceptions.

This year's literature course has been entirely Shakespeare, so I've read more of his plays this year, I think, than all the previous years combined.  Which isn't exactly saying much.  I read As You Like It, Cymbeline, and Antony and Cleopatra without much enthusiasm; quibbled with Richard III ("HE'SPLANTAGENETHE'SEVILCURSEHIMCURSEHIM!"), Julius Caesar (who almost deserved what he got), and King Lear (ohmywordsodepressing!); but thoroughly enjoyed The Tempest, Much Ado about Nothing, and Twelfth Night. 

Reading was, unfortunately, terribly slow in November and has not been much better this month, although I am making fairly rapid progress through Bleak House.  Goodreads (a most knowledgeable place) informs me that I've read over fifty books this year, but I think that's a bit unfair, seeing as at least nine of those are Shakespeare plays.  Still, it wasn't a bad year.  I found new favorites in Kidnapped, The Mind of the Maker, and A Tale of Two Cities.  I ventured into Custance, braved my sorrow over Uncas and read another Leatherstocking Tale, and finally worked up the gumption to read Alexander Hamilton.  I read a number of varied and disconnected histories, ranging in subject from Rome to the English Civil War to the French and Indian War.  I soldiered through Les Miserables.  And despite my complaints and mocking, I really have enjoyed this foray into the world of Shakespeare.

Actually, I think "varied" is a pretty good adjective to describe this year's reading list.  Varied, and fast-paced; it was not as regular as 2011.  Probably next year I will keep to a more staid regimen, lest I give myself indigestion.  Too many books in a short span of time is almost as bad as too few!

what have you read this year?

Curiosity, Cats, and a Cat Lady

Day Eight!  It is difficult to realize that November is yet young.  We've only been at this NaNo-ing and partying business for a week - goodness!  Anyhow, I thought it was about time for you people to feature.  A number of readers submitted questions, and I was kept very busy during October with answering them.  Today you can read part one and have at least some of your curiosity assuaged.  (Great word, that.)

First of all, however, there is a feature over at the blog of Anne Elisabeth Stengl, cat-lady extraordinaire and the award-winning authoress of the Tales of Goldstone Wood.  She very cheerfully agreed to host myself and Jenny, and gave us each a question to answer.  Mine?

I'm sure you get this a lot, but I know it's what everyone is wondering, so I'm going to ask it anyway! How did you, a busy young high school girl, find the time, gumption, and drive to write and polish a manuscript? And what steps did you take to prepare it for publication?

But I'm not giving you the answer.  You have to stop by her own lovely blog for that.  And don't forget to check out Jenny's feature while you're there! She was asked about the reasons behind her writing The Shadow Things.

Meanwhile, here are a few of the questions the readers of Scribbles sent in during October.  Mirriam asked...

1. What is your workspace like? (This was a popular question.)

It depends on whether I work on my dad’s computer or my laptop. At the desktop, I’m at a computer desk with books (either mine or dad’s) and a scattering of odd papers all around. There’s a window on my right, so I get the sunlight and can see the street. As for the laptop, it gets carted around wherever I feel like being. If I’m in my room, as I am at the moment, I sit on a bed with my cat on my lap (he doesn’t like the laptop).

2. Do you have any writing idiosyncrasies? 

I don’t like to be talked to when writing, I can’t write when people are looking over my shoulder, and I often have difficulty when anyone is in the same room. I’m a picky writer. I tend to murmur snatches of dialogue aloud when having a hard time ironing it out.

3.  Do you have favorite songs you listen to while writing? 

I don’t write well to music; it distracts me, and I find myself singing along or following the rhythm rather than typing. Occasionally I like instrumental music, like Two Steps from Hell, and up-beat music like Owl City. It all depends on the book I’m working on, though. I seem to remember listening to a lot of Manheim Steamroller and Fernando Ortega while writing The Soldier’s Cross.

4. How long does it generally take for you to write a first draft? 

This has been expanding for every book! I wrote The Soldier’s Cross in about six months; it would have been sooner if I hadn’t balked at writing—well, a particularly sad scene. My next novel came in about the same period, but the combined draft of The White Sail’s Shaking took a year and a half. But hey, it did end up being two books!

5. What sort of character is your favorite? 

What sort of character? As in, do I prefer sad and brooding, happy and bubbly, or brusque and sarcastic? That’s a hard question; it takes all sorts of characters to make up a world, and as I look around I’m at a loss to see that any one kind particularly calls out to me. I like fiery characters, but as prominent side characters, not narrators. For my main characters, I suppose you could say I like some stubbornness, some pigheadedness—traits you’ll find quite loud in Fiona. “Bubbly” is not my personality of choice, but I try not to do “brooding” much, either; all the characters from my idiotic early works were brooding, and that rather put me off writing them. Male characters are easier for me to write, and, I find, most enjoyable.

6. What is your favorite character you've created so far? Why? 

You do like the hard questions, don’t you, Mirriam? You expect me to look at my casts of characters and choose a single favorite? Pshaw! It greatly depends on which book I’m in closest proximity to. When I finished The Soldier’s Cross it was Pierre; when I finished Wordcrafter it was Ethan and Justin both; now that I’ve just completed The White Sail’s Shaking, it’s a terribly hard draw between Tip and Charlie. (I’m pretty fond of Josiah Darkwood, too.) I like contrasts. I like to see the sparks fly from two such different personalities as Tip Brighton and Charlie Bent, and to see the give and take on both sides. I love Tip for his rough, uncultured, well-meaning bumbling and the pigheadedness I mentioned before; but I love Charlie for his elaborate elegance, his poise, and his snide arrogance. They’re opposites, and I think that’s what endears me to them both.

Bree asked...

7. The Soldier's Cross is your first book: had you tried writing any other books before it, and if so, what was one of them?

I did attempt a number of books before writing The Soldier’s Cross, but I never managed to finish them—perhaps I simply needed the pressure of something like NaNo (I don’t believe I previously managed to write more than 30,000 words on one story), or perhaps it was because the plots were so terribly lame.  The first thing I put my keyboard to was a sort of fanfiction based on one of Jenny’s own early stories.  It was populated by archetypical Mary Sues and Gary Stus, and I abandoned it eventually.  Then I tried a murder mystery, for at the time I was in love with Agatha Christie’s works, but I was far more interested in the characters than in the murder or the plot. 

Better than either of these, and thus still in existence, was a collection of pieces centered around Stonehenge, a British girl, and the coming of the Romans and the Gospel to Britain.  I wrote no more than five or six pieces, but I still have them.  I think this was the piece that saw me begin to improve.

8. Are you planning on publishing any of your other books in the near future?

But of course!  The White Sail’s Shaking is being shoved across literary agents’ desks now, or into their inboxes.  Since I have decided to pursue traditional publication, the timing is very much not up to me.

9. Has writing been a long-time love or a newer excitement? (i.e. how long have you been writing?)

I’ve been writing for five or six years now.  I don’t think I began, however, because I really loved writing.  I began because Jenny was a writer, and I wanted to imitate that and to be able to capture, as she did, characters and places and far-reaching adventures.  I wanted, too, to be good at something.  I began to write just at the time when young people generally start to get their legs beneath them and make sure of their own bearings, and writing was something that grew out of my own search for a passion.  It’s a pretty good one, I think!

10. Which do you prefer writing: fantasy or historical fiction?

Unlike many, I have to say I lean toward historical fiction.  I confess I’m not very good at stretching my mind to the fantastical, and world-building from the ground up is a great undertaking indeed.  Of course with historical fiction there is also an element of world-building, but at least you’re given the mud and the straw before being told to make bricks.  Besides, I love the richness of history.  I love historical figures like Edward the Black Prince or Simon de Montfort, Stephen Decatur or Alexander Hamilton.  I love time periods like the Age of Sail.  I love the unfolding saga of humanity, chilling though it often is.  Writing stories that live and breathe among such characters, such times, is a thrilling vocation.

11. What author(s) inspire you?

Many authors inspire me.  Close to home, there’s Jenny—but most of you know that.  Then there are authors I’ve known a long time, like C.S. Lewis (for his way of getting down to the glowing heart of a matter); Rosemary Sutcliff (for her richness and the bitter-sweet flavor of her writing); Jane Austen (for her wit and romance); and Charles Dickens (for his amazing skill at weaving together immense casts and plots).  I also enjoy James Fenimore Cooper, especially The Last of the Mohicans, even though it did rip my heart out.  More recently, I’ve discovered Robert Louis Stevenson, and something about his writing speaks to my heart: maybe it’s the spice of adventure in the words. 

For inspiration, however, I have to say that I can glean inspiration from whatever I happen to be reading, or watching, or listening to: things as far-flung as Sherlock Holmes and Owl City.  Perhaps it’s the trait of any artist to be stimulated by life in general.

12. Do you prefer hot chocolate, apple cider, tea or coffee while writing?

Tea!  Twinings, preferably Ceylon, though I’ll drink anything black (except the Greys; I can’t stand the Greys).  I like coffee to wake me up over office work, but I don’t drink it while I write.  Apple cider and hot chocolate tend to flay my throat.  So when I do need a hot drink, it’s tea for me.

There are a number of questions still waiting to be answered, but they shall be "got to" soon! Stay tuned for Part Two, and maybe Part Three, as well.

Dust from the Pages

As Jenny observed over at The Penslayer, we're halfway through December already. December of 2011. Whoda thunk? On the one hand it feels like this year has whipped by in a crazy blur, but at the same time, 2010 seems very far away. Lord willing, before you know it 2012 will be here (and The Hobbit will be coming out!).

In 2010, The Soldier's Cross was published and I upped my - what do you call it? - "online presence." Part of that involved actually using the splendid site Goodreads instead of just having an account, so 2011 has been one of the few years in which I've kept track of the books I have read. I didn't set a goal, liking to go through books at my own speed or lack thereof, and so the quantity wasn't as great as some of you, but I did wander into the worlds of some excellent books. I read some classics; some brilliant fantasies; a heap of rereads that didn't make it on the Goodreads list (Jane Austen, mostly); and some histories and other nonfiction. I didn't enjoy everything, but it was a nice, eclectic year. Here's a taste.

Away back in January I commenced my education proper in Sherlock Holmes. He makes for easy reading, so I have now read all the novels and most of the short stories (having already seen the Jeremy Brett TV-series, I knew how those ones ended and only read the ones I hadn't watched). I read Mutiny on the Bounty at last and just this month read the second in the trilogy, Men Against the Sea; I also added to my collection of sea novels such books as The Line upon a Wind (lift with your legs!), the 1950s novel The Tall Ships, and about the first hundred pages of Master and Commander...until I determined that it is most distinctly a man's novel. I met Jack Easy some time last year, and Hornblower awaits me after I've completed my own novel.

I took a huge bound out of my comfort zone and read The Killer Angels, perhaps the most not-me book in 2011's collection, and yet one that I enjoyed nonetheless. I read a new novel (gasp!), Liz Patterson's charming debut, The Mark of the Star. Just a couple months ago I also got Anne Elisabeth Stengl's newest novel, Veiled Rose, read it and promptly backtracked to read Heartless as well. They're some of my favorites from this year. (Yes! Abigail does read modern novels! ...Sometimes. Rarely. Alright, moving on.) I succeeded in finishing the Puritan Paperback The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (take a bite, chew ten times, swallow, digest, repeat); grudgingly picked up The Odyssey (even Athena recognized that Odysseus was an idiot!); and dabbled in some light reading with James Herriot. I had to read something light, you see, because at the same time I was reading Little Dorrit (you can't just come in saying you want to KNOW, you know).

In June I read my first G.K. Chesterton work, Four Faultless Felons. I can't decide what I think of Chesterton. I'll get back with you at a later date. Then there was...Team of Rivals. (May I remind you about lifting with your legs?) It involved some trudging, but it was very interesting. Then, Jenny having been on to me to read Beowulf, I picked that up (I like Wiglaf better than Beowulf). I read Rosemary Sutcliff's novel Frontier Wolf, which was like having my heart wrung a couple times (but wait, it's Sutcliff, so we expect that). The Forgotten Spurgeon, by Iain Murray, earned one of my rare five star ratings. It was good, accessible, encouraging, convicting, and did I mention that it was good?

For some light reading and inspiration for Sunshine and Gossamer I picked up the little book Dew on the Grass, a sweet read with some inside-out theology. I reread a couple Agatha Christie novels, Towards Zero (a favourite) and Murder at the Vicarage (not so much). I ventured a little dubiously into my first Robert Louis Stevenson novel, the odd Master of Ballantrae. Last week I finished The Count of Monte Cristo, complete and unabridged in its 1400-page glory. I'm not sure if I would read it again; it had its high points and its low points. Last night I (finally) reached the last page of Harry Blamire's The Christian Mind. I believe the crowning jewel of the year, however, was Howl's Moving Castle. This little book was clever, light and serious at once, and absolutely hilarious; after finishing it I loaned it out to various family members, and have yet to get it back.

The year is not quite finished; I hope to complete Thomas Costain's The Magnificent Century before January rolls around. But I am pleased with the books I've read and I enjoyed just about all of them. Unlike Jenny, many of my books had little (or little that I can pinpoint) to do with The White Sail's Shaking, and yet so many of them were beneficial in expanding my horizons. I read my first Dumas, my first Stevenson, and my first Chesterton this year. I found some new writers whose works I can watch for. I ventured into some very different eras, including the Civil War and the Age of Sail. And then of course there were those wonderful rereads.

what have you read this year?

Tales of Goldstone Wood Giveaway

Today was the close of the giveaway of Anne Elisabeth Stengl's two published works in her series Tales of Goldstone Wood. Out of the entrants, these two won an autographed copy of either Heartless or Veiled Rose:

Galadriel (veritas...)
won Heartless

Shadowlight (setonmom...)
won Veiled Rose

Congratulations! You can expect an email from Anne Elisabeth, and then your copies will be in the mail. Be sure to drop by her blog if you haven't already; it's as entertaining as her books.

Interview with Anne Elisabeth Stengl

As senior editor over at Squeaky Clean Reviews, I sometimes get free copies from publishing companies like Bethany House to read and review. I don't frequently find books by contemporary authors that I really, truly, positively like, however, so when I received Veiled Rose I was hopeful but pessimistic. To make a long story short, I was more than pleasantly surprised; I was captivated. Anne Elisabeth Stengl writes in the timeless style of the classics, creating an intricate, intense fairy tale full of equally flawed and loveable characters, and the last page left me with admiration for her deftness.

Anne Elisabeth has published two novels in her series Tales of Goldstone Wood - Heartless and Veiled Rose - and more are to come (the third, Moonblood, releases April 2012). She has kindly agreed to an interview here at Scribbles to give readers a peek at her inspiration and writing process, and she is also offering a giveaway to two winners, one to receive an autographed copy of Heartless and the other an autographed copy of Veiled Rose. If you would like to enter (and I highly recommend that you do), all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your email address. The giveaway will end next Friday, September 23.

the interview

1. Would you mind telling us a little about yourself? Hobbies, personality, tea or coffee?

I think the primary definition of me as both a personality and a writer is my love of all things Fairy Tale. I spent my childhood living in England right next to a great, wild, beautiful Common full of ancient oaks, wild rabbits, a stone church (complete with scary graveyard), and all the magic a 3-to-10 year old and her brothers could possibly hope to find. From this early age, I sought out stories of fairies and knights and heroes.

Today, not much has changed. I met my handsome husband at fencing class, where I was researching for my first novel, Heartless. In a whirlwind romance of Fairy Tale proportions, I “stabbed” him at a tournament, we fell in love, and were married seven months later! How's that for fairy tale?

I am a devoted tea drinker. I tell my Rohan this is the real reason I married him. He comes from Sri Lanka and introduced me to fine, black Ceylon teas. Hmmmm. And I had thought I was a tea snob from years of living in England! What did I know? My family, also avid tea drinkers, are very pleased to have Rohan added to their number.

I am a consummate Crazy Cat Lady (My name is Anne Elisabeth, and I am a cataholic). My current count is four: Molly Boots (my blonde), Minerva Louise (aka The Evil One), Lord Marmaduke Chuffnell (yes, we are posh!) and Mr. Fluffy Monster Boots (he prefers Monster at home). I spent a significant portion of my time this last summer fostering a litter of feral kittens and finding them homes as well.

And I'm allergic to cats.

*shrugs*

Writing is my primary love, but I used to give art classes and paint portraits for a living. I also love to play classical piano, can handle myself in a table-tennis or badminton match, quilt (in cool weather), cook, bake, and a variety of such things. Enough to keep me busy, anyway!

2. Have you “always” been a writer, or was there something that specifically prompted you to start writing?

I started writing my first story when I was seven. It was about three pages long, an epic saga of a wild golden stallion who became a famous race horse, dedicated to my favorite Breyer horse figurine, and complete with illustrations. My second story was a little longer, a romantic tale about a baby flying horse named Purity. By age nine, however, my Crazy Cat Lady side was emerging. I wrote two short novels about an Abyssinian kitten named Berry and his various adventures. At thirteen, I wrote my first epic fantasy, a dreadful catastrophe of literary hodge-podge (but I liked it!) about a wish-granting cat and all the various baddies who wanted to control him.

All this to say, yes, I have always wanted to be a writer. My mother, Jill Stengl, has sixteen published historical romances to her name, and I grew up watching her write, so it was natural for me to pick up a pen myself. I write very different work, however. After about age 13, I knew that fairy tales were my real love . . . well, those and cats!

3. Without giving spoilers, can you tell us what inspired Veiled Rose?

Veiled Rose is actually the second book in my Tales of Goldstone Wood, though chronologically, it takes place mostly before Heartless. It was inspired quite simply out of my desire to take a character from Heartless, Leonard the jester, and learn more about him. This is unusual for me. Most of my stories begin with a plot concept, and I discover the characters as I pursue the plot. But with Veiled Rose, the entire plot emerged from wanting to know Leo better.

Of course, it didn't really take shape until Rose Red stepped into the picture as Leo's foil. I knew I wanted her to be his opposite in every way. Not just being a humble peasant girl . . . she needed to be a complete outcast. Thus was born the mysterious child covered in veils from head to foot, rejected by her community. Once she introduced herself to me, the story took flight!


4. Did you find the writing process of your two published books to be similar or very different? I know the first draft of Veiled Rose was a colossal undertaking; did the deadline make it a harder or easier book to write than Heartless?

Each book is an entirely different project. Deadlines do make a difference for sure, but that isn't the number one factor in the level of intensity. Every time I begin a new manuscript, it is something more complicated and more interesting than the one before. Every time I begin a new manuscript, I learn all over again how to write a book.

I like how Neil Gaiman paraphrases this quote by Gene Wolfe: "You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing."

In some ways writing Veiled Rose was easier than Heartless. I was a better novelist when I wrote it, so Veiled Rose went through fewer rough drafts. That being said, Heartless was more fun to draft from the get-go because I was just having fun with it, not doing it for a job. Each one of my stories is a labor of love . . . but the love never diminishes the labor!

5. Can you pick a favorite character from the Tales of Goldstone Wood?

My favorite character is probably Sir Eanrin, Bard of Iubdan Rudiobus, Knight of Farthestshore. If you have read only Veiled Rose, you have only gotten tiny glimpses of him. He gets a much more dominant role in Heartless, a still greater role in Moonblood, and is the lead player in Starflower [the fourth book in the series]. I kind of adore him.

That being said, I also really love writing about Prince Lionheart because he is so real to me. Rose Red and Una also have tender places in my heart. The Prince of Farthestshore is more difficult to write, especially because he is so significant in every novel, but must not remain static. But when I succeed in writing him well, he is the most satisfactory character of all.

6. The Tales of Goldstone Wood are fantasies. Do you see yourself continuing to write fantasy alone, or do you think you’ll try your hand at other genres?

I have dabbled in comedic fantasy, strict fairy tale retelling fantasy, historical fantasy, etc. But it always comes back to being fantasy. Once or twice I have toyed around with thoughts of writing a historical and even a contemporary or two. But my mind doesn't tend to work that way. I can enjoy reading just about any genre, but the tales that take shape in my mind always morph into the fantastic. I wouldn't necessarily be against writing another genre . . . it would just have to be a dominant enough idea to shoulder aside all the fairy tales currently taking precedence!

7. What inspires you most: books, movies, your cats, your family…dish-washing?

Great writing. If I have hit a wall in my own work, the best solution I have found is to back up and read the greats. Whether rereading favorites or discovering brilliance for the first time, I am always inspired by the beauty of well-written plots and compelling characters. A novel I am reading (or poem, depends on my mood) can have absolutely NOTHING to do with anything I am currently writing . . . but it might still be exactly what I need to spark my interest again. For instance, I just finished Joseph Conrad's heart-breaking Lord Jim. I will never even consider writing like Conrad (he uses stream-of-consciousness), but the gorgeous depth of his prose and the power with which he communicates his message in the context of a vivid story is a huge inspiration.

Good writers are my best encouragers. The more great writing we read, the more motivation we have to excel.

I also spend large chunks of time brainstorming with my long-suffering mother. I think with my mouth (I am a girl, after all), so sometimes just talking through ideas and conundrums is all I need to get me started in the right direction. My dear Rohan has, in this first year of our marriage, proven himself a willing and insightful brainstorming partner as well.

Cats are great for purr-therapy. Never underestimate the importance or power of purr-therapy. Or a cup of tea. Dish-washing, however . . . meh. Not my favorite. I get VERY inspired by a handsome husband who does the dishes for me, though!

8. What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process?

Favorite: Finishing!

This isn't to say there aren't significant moments of joy throughout the process. Writing my fifth professional novel, however, I am discovering that those moments of joy are fewer and farther between than they used to be. What I once did purely for pleasure is now my profession. It's work. And it is hard, hard work, even while it is what I enjoy most and do best in this life. I used to get to the end of a scene that went really well - all the plot threads twining together, all the thematic elements shining, all the characters as real as real can be - and sit back with a sigh, content. Now, I might still have those fantastic scenes, but there isn't as much satisfied sighing. I'm a better writer now. The work can always be better still with rewrites. I'm always looking for that one trick necessary to improve what I have done. It's good work, even glorious work . . . but it's still work.

Least Favorite: Starting!

I really have come to hate beginnings. Used to be that they were the easiest part for me, back when my stories were simpler. Now, each of my manuscripts goes through at least five very different opening scenes. I believe in an organic development of plot and character, which means each scene needs to build naturally on top of the one that came before. Which means that the opening scene needs to be right before it leads to chapter two. Not that it needs to be perfect, by any means. But it needs to be solid.

So, yes, openings are my big hang-up these days. I can sometimes write 50,000 words’ worth of manuscript before realizing that I have the wrong opening! Once I hit on the right one, though, I can write a novel in two to four months. It's just getting the right one!

Beginnings are killers for me, too. (Can't we just skip that bit and go straight to the middle?)

9. If you were forced to pick a single favorite author, who would it be?

Such a cruel question!

Well, I suppose if I'm being forced, I must say C.S. Lewis. His beautiful Chronicles of Narnia alone earn him that place! But on top of those, he wrote such gems as Till We Have Faces, The Great Divorce, Perelandra, not to mention his fascinating non-fiction. He amazes me with his extreme versatility, and yet his voice is always truly and distinctly his own. He knew that fiction was meant to be fun and wonderful . . . he also knew that it was not meant to be the Poor Man's Television. He knew fiction was to challenge and inspire and invigorate. Entertainment need not be mindless.

Yes, I adore him and his work.

10. What is your primary goal in your writing? What ideals and beliefs dictate how and what you write?

My primary goal is to bring glory to God by writing to the very best of my ability. I believe the whole purpose of mankind is worship, and I believe each of us best worships God when doing what we do best to our very best. Writing is my great skill, a gift from God and a talent for which I know he has plans. So it is to his honor when I study and strive and work and learn to better my craft. And I hope and pray that my desire to communicate truth through these simple fairy tales becomes ever-more evident to those who read them.

I also long to bring a sense of classicism back to the CBA market. There is a sad tendency in Christian publishing to simply follow the modern trends, to focus entirely on entertainment and not on true beauty and true art. A lot of lazy writing is being called "great," and knowledge of the classics is fading swiftly from both our readers’ and writers’ memories. I hope that stories like the Tales of Goldstone Wood, written in a classic omniscient narrative, will motivate people to go back and read the much better stories that influenced and inspired them—the works of Lewis and MacDonald, Coleridge and Milton, Spenser and Shakespeare, and so many more!

11. I know Moonblood is the next book due out. Which book in the series are you actively writing now?

I am currently drafting Book 5 in the Tales of Goldstone Wood, which is under the working title Dragonwitch. I suspect that title will change, however. Most of the time, my publisher likes the titles I pick, but I'm not even sure I like that title, and I don't know what they'll think of it. We'll see what happens. I just finished drafting Book 4, Starflower, which will come out October 2012. It is in a polish-up stage and about to be sent out to my editors for their perusal. I can hardly wait to share it with all of you! It is my personal favorite. But then, my newest piece is always my personal favorite! It will probably be supplanted by Book 5 in another month or two . . .

I am eagerly awaiting Moonblood and its sequels. Thanks so much for sharing!

Anne Elisabeth Stengl's blog is over at Tales of Goldstone Wood, where you can read more about her writing and an author's life (and her cats - life isn't complete without a few cats). She is currently doing a series of answers to questions readers have, so if you are curious about something regarding her books or about writing in general, be sure to drop her a comment or an email.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!