Take a journey into Pandora ...

Well, I don’t know about you, but I *have* to see Avatar. Simply because of the special effects/world building. And because of Sam Worthington. HarperCollins is publishing this film tie-in book for those of you who can’t get enough – out today. And if *you* would like to win a copy, just leave a comment below and tell us your top spec-fic film (ever) and why it is your favourite. Three most interesting answers will win a copy!

T.

PS. Browse inside Avatar via the HarperCollins Canada website.

After our discussion on Duncan Lay’s post ‘The Trouble with Twilight’ - here’s a taste of the Harvard Lampoon poking a bit of fun at the Edward/Bella saga …

'He looked older than the other boys in the room—maybe not as old as God or my father, but certainly a viable replacement.'

Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon looking for adventure, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strange events-Edwart leaves his chips untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!-Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalker-like behavior, and a vampire prom, Nightlight is the tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places.

I’ve been appearing at book stores across Newcastle, the Central Coast and Sydney to sell and promote The Wounded Guardian over the last few months – and one topic that keeps coming up, as I chat about books in general and fantasy in particular, is Twilight.
Time and again mothers and grandmothers have asked me if The Wounded Guardian has strong female characters in it, because they are concerned about the portrayal of women in Twilight. The final straw, so to speak, came when I spoke to a high school principal, who said she loved the way Twilight has her girls reading but was worried about some of the messages within. She purchased a copy of my book to see if there were other options to get girls reading.
Although I have not read Twilight, it was obvious to me that there was a story here. That much community concern, across so many different areas, was too big to ignore.
Wearing my other hat, that of The Sunday Telegraph, I spoke to a variety of people and came up with an article that was published on Sunday November 15.
With thanks to The Sunday Telegraph, here is that article, with some added quotes that were edited out of the finished article for space reasons:

It is both a love story celebrated by millions and a textbook abusive relationship, a light-hearted fantasy aimed at teens and tweens that has disturbing messages about sex. Welcome to Twilight.

The best-selling book series and now blockbuster movies have captured imaginations across the world and inspired devotion in its fans.
Twilight also has many lining up to attack it, with accusations of everything from bad writing to betraying the vampire genre to Mormon brainwashing.
But leaving aside the mud-slinging, the literary world and schools are warning parents not to simply go along with the marketing hype and peer pressure, but to first understand exactly what it is their children are reading.

While they sing Twilight’s praises for encouraging people to read and inspiring debate about reading, the concern is the way the book portrays women – its key readership – and their relationship with men.

While older readers should be able to distinguish fantasy from reality, and put the story in context, along the lines of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, the concern is what effect it will have on younger readers, particularly those who are using Twilight as their entry point to reading. Twilight centres on Bella, a human girl, and her relationship with Edward, a vampire and Jacob, a werewolf. This love triangle is resolved when Bella has a child with Edward that begins to rip its way out of her, breaking her ribs and pelvis, forcing Edward to tear open her stomach with his vampire teeth to deliver it in an emergency caesarean – and so Jacob falls in love with this child.

While this is a disturbing end to the tale in many ways, critics say the problems begin much, much earlier.

Literary agent Sophie Hamley, of Cameron’s Management, likes vampire stories but says fans should get into Buffy, not Twilight.

‘Basically the books, especially the fourth, detail a textbook abusive relationship,’ she said. ‘The message seems to be that you can’t live without a man, particularly an idealised one.

‘In many respects Edward is constructed as a classic romantic hero – brooding and handsome, and even Mr Darcy was withholding. But the constant threat of violence, while possibly exhilarating for readers, is unnerving. If I were convinced that Twi-hards were reading other books to balance it out, fine, but for a lot of people this will be their first plunge into reading a series so there will be no context. ‘

Abigail Nathan runs Bothersome Words, a book editing agency used by publishers such as HarperCollins. She enjoyed the books but does have concerns.
‘Adults are frequently disturbed by the nature of Bella and Edward’s relationship, describing Edward as a stalker and Bella as a victim,’ she said. ‘Although Bella and Edward do not sleep together until they are married, it’s hardly a delicate affair, with Bella waking up covered in bruises.“It’s an interesting selection of messages, with Bella constantly pushing Edward to sleep with her, and ultimately ending up bruised and battered.’

‘One message that is clear is once Bella has Edward she forgets about her other friends and is all too willing to leave her family to have her “forever” with Edward. The message to women that they don’t need anyone else if they have their man, or their true love – that they can be happy that way, is a little disturbing.’

Fantasy author Glenda Larke is also concerned by the way Bella never finds strength within herself and must instead be always saved by Edward. ‘It harks back to a different age. Women my age had to fight to escape that kind of thinking. To present a heroine who never stands on her own two feet is to present a ghastly role model for today’s youth.

‘But no matter the criticism, it is clear the books have struck a massive chord with young readers. Fantasy author Kim Falconer said this cannot be ignored.
‘How do we get past the fact that they want it? They’re eating it alive - what is it fulfilling in them?’

She finds it concerning and wonders whether it is a symptom of a wider problem: Can women tell the difference between abuse and love?

Nevertheless, simply banning teens from reading it would make the problem worse and, anyway, Falconer is a ferocious supporter of free speech. ‘We can criticise it but without cutting off the lines of communication. You must talk about it, be there for dialogue.’

She applauds the way the series has women and girls reading but laments: ‘What a missed opportunity to inspire women.’

Mount St Benedict College is an independent girls’ high school at Pennant Hills. Principal Maria Pearson said it is very important for girls to develop the ’skills, resourcefulness and resilience’ to find ways themselves to get out of difficulty situations, rather than ‘expect to be rescued’. ‘We have it in the library and it does engage our girls,’ Ms Pearson said.

‘But it is important to deconstruct some of the themes. They need to have a conversation with concerned adults in their lives (about the issues it raises).’

So read Twilight – but it needs be accompanied by discussion of the issues raised, as well as a selection of books with strong female characters. Virtually any of the Voyager list, including the likes of Karen Miller, Glenda Larke, Kylie Chan and Kim Falconer would be suitable.

The Trouble with Twilight post originally appeared on Duncan’s blog on Tuesday 17 November, and the original article in The Daily Telegraph on Sunday 15 November.

After reading the Telegraph (UK) top 100 most influential books of the ‘noughties’ - we’ve decided spec fic (unsurprisingly) is not well represented. So we’re throwing the floor open to you – what are your top sf/f/h books of the decade? We’ll compile the list and put it up before the end of the year.

At Borders in Tuggerah … on Sunday 15 November

Some readers have picked up the message on my Nonsuch Blog about the ‘one more fantasy book and that’s it’ entry. I thought I’d explain a bit more about it here.

Karen Brooks, another Australian fantasy author and yet another who has been battling her own cancer (she wrote about it in the Courier Mail, so I feel I can mention it here!) sent me a lovely anecdote about a woman who had been fighting cancer. Some time after this woman had finished treatment, her friends noticed that for several weeks she was no longer answering her telephone. Growing concerned, they were just about to send in the police to break down her door when the following message popped up on her voicemail. “My friends. As you know, I have been going through a personal crisis recently. As a result I have been making some profound changes in my life. If I have not returned your call in the past two weeks, then, my friend, I am sorry, but you are part of that change. Goodbye.” Click.

I got a good belly laugh out of that one, but it has deep meaning for anyone who has battled a life-threatening cancer. Most everyone makes some profound changes in their lives. I am not ‘out of the woods’, nor will I ever be, this is a killer cancer and I just don’t know when it will strike again, as it assuredly will.

So there have been some big changes in my life. One of these is fantasy writing. There is every chance I will move on. In the meantime, there is one more book to come in the DarkGlass Mountain trilogy (this was finished before I became so ill, but the cancer treatment interfered with its editing process). That book, The Infinity Gate, should be out in May next year.

After that, there will be one more fantasy book, The Devil’s Diadem. I signed HarperCollin’s offer memo for this last week (really Stephanie, it is in the post!). There’s always been a fantasy book I really, really wanted to write … and for various reasons I never got around to it. The Devil’s Diadem is it. So this book will be one for me, no holds barred, full on fun, everything I always wanted to put into a fantasy novel but never did as I was too busy second guessing myself as to what everyone else wanted. I am loving writing it. Should be out in 2011.

So that’s the news. As to where I am off after this, well, that’s for me to know and everyone else to wonder. (Read: I am not actually all that sure, but I am having fun exploring various possibilities.) If you want to keep track of me then keep up on the Nonsuch Blog, which I am also really loving, and where I discuss most everything: http://nonsuchkitchengardens.com/wordpress/

You can read more about The Devil’s Diadem at Sara’s website. Sara Douglass is the award-winning and bestselling author of seventeen fantasy novels published by Voyager, including the Aurealis-winning Battleaxe. Her next book, The Infinity Gate, will be out in May next year.

Infinitas published this review of The Gene Thieves by Maria Quinn, reviewed by Garry Dalrymple in the Infinitas November 09 newsletter.

An excerpt of the review is below.

The Gene Thieves

‘… in a world where the institution of Marriage has been replaced by sequential conjugal contracts and surrogate pregnancies are a reproductive option, a researcher has decoded a genetic pathway to longevity. He is already wealthy, as he has sold to the Japanese Government a patent for blue eyes. He wants to have a child, in effect another child of his late parents. Corporate forces kidnap his child and the ransom demanded is the longevity technology. A dashing UN Science nobbling committee activist, marriage contract lawyers and a Surrogate baby farm collective all become involved. In spite of the ‘defeat’ of the institution of Marriage, it seems that guilt and divine retribution survive into the future as several ‘sinners’ get their come-uppance through the book and in the end, the eternal family triumphant? The ‘Adventures’ are at times James Bond-ish, but under the circumstances they are credible and through the book the body count of incidental figures mounts, there is cross dressing, beach side holidays recalled, a family secret, surfing and Sydney sights, so what’s not to like about this book?’

…

Conclusion – I recommend this book, and I hope that Maria will be encouraged to write more Science Fictional / Techno thriller books as the genre is enriched by the entry of Writers with ’new to the Genre’ writing skills and points of view, also I do have a weakness for Sydney centric SF.

Garry Dalrymple is the convenor of this year’s Sydney Freecon: Free Entry, Three sessions November 27 (Friday 6-8 pm) 28 (Saturday 8.30-4 pm) and 29, (Sunday 1-4 pm). Short Story Competition, Paradox Auction and about a dozen published writers from WA, ACT and NSW taking part this year.

Infinitas produce a monthly newsletter, and you can see past issues here. They’re also among the most dedicated of spec fic booksellers in Australia, and have lots of regular events – including an upcoming appearance by Kylie Chan in December.

People fascinate me.

During my teenage years, I dealt with my peers in a very simple, direct way: I ignored them. I don’t think I said more than two words to anyone until I became a high school senior, and to this day I can barely remember the names or even the faces of most of my fellows. But even if I didn’t interact with anyone, and became famous for spending all my time tapping away on a laptop in the corner of the common room, that didn’t mean I was completely shut away from people. No, I watched. For a while, in the full grip of teenage angst, people were objects of study to me. They had never made much sense as far as I was concerned, but over time I became more and more interested in trying to understand how they worked and why. I think it had an interesting effect on me, because, honestly, most people don’t bother to do that. They don’t have to.

I did, and like most people with a disability I overcompensated somewhat.
When I got older and more mature I finally learned that I could, in fact, relate to people properly and have real relationships with them. Or maybe I relearned it; I think everyone forgets that it’s possible to like other people while they’re a teenager! Not surprising; when you’re a teenager you spend waaay too much time around other teenagers, and nobody likes doing that. Nobody likes being a teenager much either, come to that.

However, to this day I haven’t lost my fascination with people and what makes them tick, and for myself I think this is my greatest strength when it comes to what I write. I analyse my characters. With some of them I don’t even have a complete picture of what they look like in my head, but ask me about the psychological makeup of any one of them and I can tell you everything. I know what their formative influences were, how their environment and parents shaped them through childhood. I know their secret fears and insecurities, and their desires.

I don’t look upon myself as a puppet master, or a neurotic servant swayed this way and that by the whims of imaginary people who seem more in charge of my destiny than I do. I don’t even really think of myself as an artist. I think of myself as a psychologist, asking them “how do you feel about that?” for every situation I put them into.

Back-story is what fascinates me. People’s lives, their hopes and their fears and their relationships with each other – that is what excites me. Not magic, or battles, or giant griffins roaming the skies. Those are pretty neat, but ultimately they’re just trappings. Character is what matters most, whether human or griffin. This is what I believe, and have done for a long time.

I’ve said what I set out to say, so I’m technically done here. But, to prove my point – and because I just plain love doing it – I’ll give you a demonstration and analyse a character right here for you. My protagonist is probably the most complex, but I can’t do him for fear of spoilers, so here’s another more minor character who has yet to be introduced.

Her father died when she was young, and she spent most of her early childhood without a proper home, forced to move constantly and often in physical danger. Her only constant source of security was her mother, and so she grew very dependant on her, looking on her as the support that held her world up. However, she never had a proper home until her childhood was over. Her mother was a strong-willed, stubborn and fierce woman who expected her daughter to be the same and constantly taught her to be tough-hearted and to trust no-one. The mother was also a leader of other people, greatly respected and loved by those around her. Her daughter grew up influenced by this as well, surrounded by others who reinforced the mother’s influence. Because of this she became a loyal supporter in her own right, and because she believed absolutely in her mother’s cause she never considered rebelling and instead strove to please her at every turn. Others admired her for this, and placed their own expectations on her in the process.

The daughter reached young womanhood, and her mother forced her to go and live away from her – still able to contact her, but otherwise thrown on her own resources. The daughter became respected like her mother, and took on a leadership role in her new home without complaint. But because she had never had the chance to grow close to anyone but her mother, she remained distant and unemotional, disliking overt shows of friendship or love. As she reached sexual maturity, her mother forbade her to become involved with any man without her approval. So the daughter remained chaste and when she was attracted to someone she would never show it and would punish herself mentally for wanting to stray.

She spent many long years this way, completely obedient to her mother and completely unable to recognise her own resentment toward her. Over time, discipline from a parent becomes habit and by this time the daughter was no longer able to change herself and would always fit into the mould her mother had made for her.

The result of all this was that the daughter treated the men in her life with unforgiving hardness and rigid self-control. She loved them fiercely, since her mother had raised her to be fierce, but was incapable of ever showing her heart to anyone no matter how much she felt for them. Ultimately, with her mother long dead, she grew to be very much like her – and even treated her own children in just the same way as she herself had been treated. Our parents teach us how to be parents ourselves when our own time comes, and it was the same for her.

In the end, now an old woman, the daughter looks at herself and realises that she has become her mother and has made some of the same mistakes – mistakes which have made her lonely. But there is nothing she can do about it.

And there you go. That may have seemed comprehensive, but that’s not even a complete profile! I simplified it somewhat, and didn’t even go into the effect that her religion had on her, or her cultural heritage, or her political beliefs, or… well, let’s just say the list goes on, and I’m leaving it at that because of spoilers and because I don’t want to bore you take up too much space. That was this one character’s framework. She was shaped especially by her upbringing, which was very rigid. It puts her in contrast with my protagonist, who more or less raised himself and has the same obsessive drive to achieve his goals as I do. It makes him rather intriguing, and also rather immature. But that’s a story for another time.

And the psychology of griffins is another story altogether, though I went into it a bit in my post about them.

I think that to write characters, it’s important to have some level of understanding as to what makes them tick. You don’t have to go into it in as much insane detail as I do, but it does help. And more than that, it’s just plain interesting.

KJ Taylor lives in Canberra, Australia, where she is continuing work on The Fallen Moon trilogy. The Dark Griffin, book one of the Fallen Moon trilogy, is her first novel published with Voyager – she also wrote The Land of Bad Fantasy (Scholastic).

The Power to control the driving force of the universe has come to light ...

The new book from Traci Harding will be out soon, and to celebrate, we’ve built an online temple so you can read the first chapter, explore more about the characters, and take part in a competition to win not just this new book but also the Ancient Future trilogy – for yourself or to give to someone who might like Traci’s books!

Go and visit the Being of the Field page.