The Tor/Forge newsletter is featuring Gigolo…uh, Jhegaala...and wants 500-575 words from me about the book, the series, or something related, or maybe something unrelated. I’m drawing a blank. What should I talk about?
What Should I Talk About?
Published by
I vote for either:
The challenges and rewards of living from royalty check to royalty check.
OR
An exegetical discourse on the four-colour theorem.
Talk about food.
About Noish-Pa.
Valabars.
Food, yeah.
Talk about Food
A 500 word paragraph of Vlad losing his finger and how he feels about.
talk about one of the themes or ideas (either important or non) in Jhegaala. if i were going on previous book examples, you might talk about food if Dzur was just about to be released, you might talk about Dumas if something from the Viscount series was being released. something like that, anyway, more insight into an aspect of the book that holds it together, insight into your mind.
either that or come up with the full rules for s’yang stones and explain how to play it.
I have to say, my first thought was food, also, because the most recent book of yours I’ve re-read was Dzur, but presumably Jhegaala will not be quite so food-oriented.
Still, submitting a recipe might be an amusing interpretation or their request. Perhaps something whose cooked form looks radically different than it’s form in preparation?
Describe the jhegaala mating dance.
I can’t say due to the ‘no spoilers’ rule.
When they drop that kind of question on me, I usually start by talking about how I’ve no idea what to talk about — whether they want [character] or [adventure] or [cookery] or [sex] or [hommage to dead, famous author] or something utterly random. The point being, you pick the random thing and then work on it from the perspective of the book.
It works, kinda-sorta. (See “website” URL for an example.)
Well, do whatever Charlie said, but I’ll say what it was I’d planned before I saw that a pro was weighing in– apologies if I didn’t recognize another pro in the above comments.
What I wanted to comment on was that your interview in Dragon Magazine, way back in the day, is what led to me reading your books, along with Mr. Zelazny’s kind words.
Now, of course, you’re the guy whose name will sell others’ books, from my PoV
You could go for the cheap zeitgeist of it all, and try to stat Vlad up as a 4th edition NPC.
Alternately, you could try to convince them they ought to be communists in 400 words, or what it is like being a commy-mutant-traitor red diaper baby writing fantasy fiction, and how that influence has changed your ongoing work… in 500 words… *chuckle*
I’d say either the short essay on how Art & Revolution relates to the current work, or the “Cool Theory of Literature” bit.
Or, you know, how to play JJ under the gun at a loose aggressive table.
Pepper. How I learned to stop worrying and love the spice?
Talk about Paarfi’s ghostwriters.
At least a few people are sure Sethra is one of them.
Dinner conversation between Vlad and Philip Marlowe.
Or, alternatively, pie.
Talk about why.
Why you write.
Why you write about this particular subject.
Writing is work; nobody works for no reason.
What was your reason for putting all this work into something?
And why this particular thing?
Talk about writing a story about a hero who’s bedridden for half of it. Shades of “Rear Window?”
Has the ‘no spoilers’ rule been lifted already?
Talk about how this is a life-changing book, and how everyone should not only read it, but buy two copies; one to be read and one to keep in their safe-deposit box.
From the Dragaera site
Jhegaala stand for change, and transformation.
Now, since the past few months have been a time of change and transformation for you as well how hard can this be to write? This is the kind of the thing Piers Anthony did as afterwords to his Incarnations of Immortality series of books.
Incidentally since the Jhegalla are tasked with returning the republic back into an empire, who is going to be the emperor in your new home. (If a cat lives there, never mind, we already know the answer.)
I was going to say something, but Dennis distracted me with pie. . . .
Jeff: Well, pie is very distracting.
The best way to give them a taste might be to have Vlad explain it.
health care in the us of a
From reading over the newsletter, most of the author articles appear to fit into one of these standard templates:
1) Q&A with author and unnamed individual
2) How the author got the idea for / was bludgeoned into writing this book.
3) The deep hidden meaning behind the book that you’d never know unless you lived with / studied / stalked the author.
4) How the author feels about the book.
Since the goal is presumably to get new folks into the series, because the fans pounding on your door waiting for the next book are already going to buy it in gold-plated hardcover if they can get it 3 days earlier, then keep it simple and explain the series well enough to convince a new reader to buy all the books leading up to Jhegaala so they’ll be caught up by the time it comes out.
No need for extra candy for the rabid fans. They already get a reward…the book, when it comes out.
How about a combination of Shannon @21 and Anu3bis @23… ?
( Something from Vlad, the poor guy who’s being forced against his will to discuss events in Jhegaala, while evading the questions as much as possible, possibly making sly references to past adventures, which will entice others out there to head on out to the store and grab a copy of the previous Vlad novels… )
Three possibilities come to my mind:
1) Go back to Roger Zelazny’s blurb for “To Reign In Hell,” then free associate and trust it.
2) Respectfully decline. It’s not as if this is the place to start getting to know Vlad and the Dragaeran Empire and the 17 Great Houses and all (or is it?), and those who have been following don’t need to be told much.
3) Appropos the above, write something so insiderish that only really makes sense to your readers.
It would kind of silly at this point (in my never very humble opinion) if the blurb on the outside of the book was substantially less sardonic in tone than what’s on the inside.
Convert old movie titles for use in Vlad’s world…
Maybe something like
Fast crimes while Loiosh is High
or
alternatively, I would love a stream of consciousness from Loiosh. That would be a good read.
Frankly, I’ve always wanted to know when and where Vlad does his laundry…
Maybe not for this project, but my friend Vito Excalibur recently pointed out that the 17 houses are roughly a caste system, and why did a nice red boy like Brust set it up that way? I’m still chewing on the thought, but I’d be interested in seeing a blurb from you on that.
How about having it be a conversation Vlad is having with a publisher who wants to push the story of his life. Nice and self-referential.
Beer, everyone likes to talk and learn about beer.
Or, as an alternative, you can expound upon the concept of unpronouncable names as used in the genre. But really, beer works for everything.
Okay, done. Thank you all very much for your suggestions; I’ve incorporated bits of several of them.
Damn, I am already too late. I was going to suggest a piece told from the point of view of one of Vlad’s daggers. A simple weapon whose sturdy construction and master craftsmanship is appreciated at first but easy discarded a short time later. This because Vlad doesn’t want anyone to be able to use a weapon to trace him.
Something tells me that with your writing talent and never ending wit, I would much enjoy reading that blurb.
Good Luck.
I am looking forward to the new book.
Ok, sounds cool. Can you go somewhere to read it on-line or do we need to be subscribers to the newsletter?
My reviews of Jhegaala ran today you can see it here at the papers site Imprint Or on my blog Book Reviews and More.
Not a bad review or reviews.
Loved how the recipe turned out, man.
Thanks! And thanks to everyone who helped with it.