Monday, October 08, 2007

Long Night's Journey into Day


Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," where we think marathon running should be confined to moments when the British are coming! Let Mercury do the running for you. Slow it down a notch! The race is to the steady, not the swift.

Princess the faerie and I are here today with great news.

A real, live publishing house has agreed to publish my novel, Gray Magic! This is not just some vanity thing I'm doing on my own to make myself a millionaire. This is editors who believe in the work. It will come out in an affordable, durable paperback edition, as sturdy as that copy of Mists of Avalon in your local library. You know, the one that's been read by every woman in town.

Gray Magic is set in the Middle Ages. It's about the Knights Templar. And I started it a decade before The Da Vinci Code came out, so it's no rip-off of Dan Brown. It just has a similar theme, done in a completely different way.

If you know anything about the Knights Templar, you probably know that they were Crusaders and bankers with enormous wealth who were suddenly arrested, detained without legal representation, tortured until they confessed to bizarre, unreal things, and then burnt at the stake if they recanted their confessions. These men were held in impenetrable fortresses for years and years. Many went mad. Some committed suicide.

Gee, what did I say I was writing about? Is it Guantanamo, or France of 700 years ago? The latter, bearing chilling similarities to the former.

This is absolutely bizarre, but the 700th anniversary of the Templars' imprisonment will occur this coming Saturday. While I am at the Faerie Con. Coincidence? Nope. We at "The Gods Are Bored" do not believe in coincidences. Let's call it serendipity and hope it means that the ghost of my central character is indeed looking in upon me to help get his story out.

As the process of producing Gray Magic continues, I'll tell you a little bit about the plot and characters, just so you know it's the kind of thing you'd like to stuff in the old beach bag and read at the edge of the pounding surf. I studied fiction writing with John Barth, but I am no John Barth and never was, and never ever will be. This book is something that anyone can read. It's an adventure story with a moral and more than one nod to faeries and the Old Bored Gods.

Princess went with me to New York yesterday to review the contract. She thinks it's swell. So do I, because I've been working on Gray Magic for 15 years, it's gone through about 10 drafts, and after that long I bet I could have taught at least one monkey to type War and Peace perfectly.

So you know it will be good.

Faerie Con is just days away! Come, please! I'm going to get to meet Brian Froud! I'm so excited!

For once there's good stuff going on. Pinch me and wake me up.

14 comments:

buddydon said...

ye kin damn betcha i caint wait to hold a copy of the book in my verr own hands! i am bettin twill be impossibull to putt down till tiz red strate thru!

jarjar_head said...

Congratulations on getting published! I really want to read your book now.

Hecate said...

/raises a glassof Les heretiques in your honor!

Are you going to fairie con for sure?

Nettle said...

This is great news, congratulations! sign a copy for me?

see you at Faeriecon!

kayakdave said...

Hip Hip Horay!!!!!
Way to go Anne!!
KD AG

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, I was so taken with the story of Templar precept Hugo von Gumbach that I wrote a short story about him for a class in college. The the history of the Knights of the Temple is long, rich and fascinating. I'm sure it will be a best seller.

Aquila ka Hecate said...

I'm really happy for you!

I have no doubt whatsoever that it's going to be a book worth keeping.

Love,
Terri in Joburg

yellowdoggranny said...

I've always been interested in the templar knights...so I am really excited about reading your book..can't wait...

Anonymous said...

At last! What was it Flannery sid? In a very different context, of course. The life you save may be your own. Your accounts of writing those brilliant marathon entries made me want to hex you.

Tell me there's plenty of your own unique humour in there too.

Great news!

BBC said...

Interesting, I don't know much about the Knights Templar, I think that there was a bit about it in the Da Vinci Code, maybe I will buy your book.

BBC said...

I do know some 'modern' Freemasons and my opinion is that they are fine fellows. One of the best men I ever worked for was a Freemason.

I've noted with interest that a lot of whacked out people think the Freemasons are out to get them. I find that very hard to believe.

EarthCitizen #23 said...

Dearest Anne,
Yeah!! GOOD FOR YOU!!
I,(especially as a closet writer)am so VERY VERY happy for you and your upcoming Book.
PLEASE keep me informed of the details so I may purchase a copy ASAP!!
YOU SO ROCK,,
and yes There are NO Coincidences,,,
Serendipity Yes, but coincidence NO,,
Have fun at Faerie Con, and
Again
CONGRATULATIONS!
Love you bunches,
Scott

Anonymous said...

Oh that is wonderful news!!! COngratulations!!!!


Mama Kelly

Raevyn said...

Congratulations, Anne! You're going to have to tell us when it comes out so I can go out and buy it...wow...now I have THREE friend whose novels have been published. Cool!