Robin Hobb's Blog, page 21

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

Each one easily worth ten thousand words!

Now, I have to admit that I had coffee with Giles and Vik over on the deck today, and he reminded me that my Imaginales photos were on a thumb drive upstairs in his loft office. But there was coffee to drink and donuts to eat, and that thought quickly fell out of my brain.

But, to make up for that lack, and with a promise that I WILL get them from them, I'll offer a few different treats.

The first is a link rather than a photo, because when it comes to great cos-players, I think people should see the full spectrum of what they can do rather than just the one wonderful costume based on my books.

So, with great pleasure, let me introduce you to my new online friend, Michelle Marden and her website.  Click on 'Costume' to see Malta's Jamaillian gown.  Here is a bit of her description of creating this:  

"I made lots of hints at her association with dragons in the dress; down the length of each skirt panel are strips of silk with a screen pattern printed on. Over the top of this I embroidered white thread to bring out the pattern and then beaded over the top of this. The red insets are made of a fabric which I had printed with a repeated pattern from a photograph of reptilian scales.  The large collar with the point at the back mimics the neck of the fringed lizard, and the detail on the front is little silver dragons."

The next cosplayer is a friend from SupaNova.  J was a volunteer for the Supanovas in Brisbane and Melbourne, where she not only worked diligently, she did so in costume and often in persona.  So Cinderella was often the one who ran about keeping all the writers happy while behaving in a perfectly princessly fashion all the while.

More of J's cosplay costumes and photos can be found at her Deviant Art site.

This second photo is the result of a last minute scheduled visit to a bookstore near Paris.  Nath'à Lire is in St. Maur, and I made a short but wonderful visit there.  Imagine my surprise when I arrived to see that the windows of the shop had been freshly painted.  No, not the window sills, the glass itself, and with a magnificent dragon.

Oh, dear!  I had several other nice images from that signing, but for some reason they are not showing when I upload them!  I will give it a try again later.

And I will remember the Imaginales photos the next time I visit Giles' office!

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

Home safe, and exhausted!   But before I fall on my face, a quick report on 'what I did over my summer vacation'! 

The long sandy beach at Saint-Malo

This was the site that greeted me as I got off the bus.  The beach and the water were postcard perfect.  That is the National Fort in the background.  I was impressed with how clean the beach was.  This was our 'blue sky' day on Saturday.  On Sunday and Monday, the clouds and rain closed in, but we were not deterred!

And here was the welcoming party, inside the old walled city.  Fresh oysters and champagne!  And many French Merchant Marine sailors in their uniforms as well as a flood of writers and readers.

Here is the National Fort again, with the tide coming in to surround it!  On Saturday evening, The France TV 5 sponsored a party in the Fort.

So that gives a small idea of the beautiful setting for the festival.  I was able to connect with many old friends and make some new ones as well.  I enjoyed my time at the Pygmalion signing tables, even when we had an unexpected 'indoor rain shower' when a vent above us failed to close during a squall!  I've never seen book people move so fast to save the books!  All the staff working at the table were great and so very kind to me during my time there.

I think the most extraordinary panel for me was one that featured myself, Patrick Chamoiseau, Ian McDonald and Hubert Haddad.  Even hearing his words through an interpreter, Patrick Chamoiseau stunned me with his thoughts.  I have to find translations of his essays. Between him and Ian, I felt like I was in a meteor shower of ideas, and could have spun off about 100 novels just from the thoughts they were so casually tossing about.  That panel alone was well worth journeying to France!

And finally (as I am suddenly very tired) I will close with a photo in which I manage to  turn the tables on Antoine Mottier and get a snapshot of him!  We are in the Pygmalion book stall in the big book tent.

I  still have not put up my Imaginales photos, I know.  I did get my camera back, but Giles had already downloaded my pictures.  As soon as he passes them on to me, I will post them, I promise!

Goodnight!

Robin

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

Tomorrow, I am back on yetta nother airplane, on my way back to France. 

The festival I'll be attending is Etonnants Voyageurs in Saint-Malo on the coast.  I've never been to this one before, and so have no idea what to expect.  Except, of course, lively discussions, bookish people and lovely beaches.  So I think I'm going to enjoy myself.

I know I'll be connecting again with friends from both Trolls&Legendes and Imaginales.  And this time, Arnaud Mousnier-Lompre will be there as well!  I have not seen Arnaud for a few years, but he is the reason why so many French readers find the Farseer books so enjoyable.  He is a skilled and dedicated translator, and if I have my way, I will coerce him into signing books alongside me. After all, I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and an excellent translation is the dream of every writer.

So, I hope I will be seeing many of you there!

I still have not been reunited with my camera, so apologies for the delay in posting my photographs. I expect to have more when I return from Saint-Malo, if Giles remembers to get me my camera back before I depart!

In the mean time, if you have photos of SupaNova, Trolls&Legendes or Imaginales and would like to share them, please leave a post with a link!  I'd love to see them.

Robin

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

I have been home for a few days now, and still have not posted about my amazing journey. A few of my correspondents had been wondering why.  But there is no great mystery. I had an excellent time in France, but wanted to put my photographs up with my account of it. As my camera is still traveling with my assistant Giles, and will not be home for another week, I was going to wait. 

But there are a few things that should be shared right away, with exclamation points.

Marzipan shaped like apricots and tasting like, yes, Apricot Brandy!

A doll of the Fool, complete with Ratsy on his scepter.

A balloon flight over Epinal, including a brush through the uppe leaves of a an oak, and flying over a nesting area of crane-line birds that had nested in the tops of trees!  They were not pleased to see us!

Dinners and luncheons with friends both old and new.  With a shock, I realized that some of these people have been my friends for ten years now.  Others are more recent, and a few friendships are tiny seedlings just planted this year.  All of them, I hope, will yield me harvests for years to come.

The weather was kind, the second Magic Mirrors structure a marvel, and oh, how Imaginales has grown in just ten years.

And why do I always meet English speaking writers inFrance?   I had the pleasure of meeting Brandon Sanderson, N K Jemmison and Peter Brett, and reconnecting with Trudi Canavan, to drop a few writerly names. I   saw old friends Delia Sherman and Ellen Kushner as well.

Chocolate, books, and many other gifts were showeed upon me.  I was glad we had brought such a large suitcase!

So, those brief words will have to do for now, and when my camera arrives home, I will share images that are worth thousands of words of description.

To those who made me feel so welcome and made my visit so wonderful, a thousand thanks!

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

This will be a very short post. 

I am off to the tents by the river!  It's a cool fresh morning with a bit of a breeze and a few clouds in a blue sky.  My favorite sort of day.  I know that all sorts of fascinating people are already gathering and I cannot wait to join them!

The signings in Paris on Wednesday went very well, and I hope to be posting photographs soon.  But this morning I am going to hurry out the door and down to Imaginales.  I hope that many of you can join me there!

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

Arrived safely and  had a lovely day here!  Frendh hospitality is always very warm.   I had a lovely lunch with old friends and then a pleasant walk through the city.  The weather was perfect with a light breeze blowing.  I'm looking forward to signing books tomorrow.

And here is a link for those of you who cannot meet me in Paris for an authograph. 

The Signed Page is a website owned by Shawn Speakman.  He accepts orders and then invites writers in to sign and personalize books.  So, I'll be meeting with Shawn to sign copies of the US trade paperback edition of The Inheritance.  Usually Shawn only does hard backs but enough people requested this that we'll be doing the Trade Paperback.

I'm very excited for Imaginales this weekend!  I hope to see many of you there.

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

I had a great day today, one that left me smiling.  Great enough that even though I should be doing my last minute packing for Imaginales right now, I'm typing this instead. 

It started  when I noticed a gaping hole in my book case a few days ago.  I know my books and I notice when one is gone, especially when it's from my 'special' shelf of books written by friends  that I've enjoyed reading.  And there was a hole there amongst the Brusts and Bulls and McIntoshes and McIntyres and Morgans and Etc.  Hm. 

My grandchildren were in residence and frequently the decimate my book shelves but usually they raid my kids' books shelf.  Not my shelves.  Something was definitely going on.

However, the next morning, I discovered this:

The book had obviously been chosen for the night with the big orange cat.  A high honor.  Rather impulsively, I shot a picture of it, thinking Jane might enjoy seeing where her book was currently visiting.

But over a couple of days, I noticed that the hole remained on my shelf.  The next time  we went to visit the pocket farm down at McKenna, the grand kids went along. And, later in the day, I discovered this in the guest room:

The book had apparently decided to leave my house and go for a journey in a back pack.  Not the safest thing for a book to do, especially with a ten year old.   I snapped a second photo and suspected I was about to lose a book.  I decided to document our parting.

I came in from mowing the lawn in the afternoon to discover this,despite my 'please don't mix food with my books' rule :

The book had made it into the kitchen for lunch.  And I was beginning to see that perhaps it was not my book anymore at all.

And at the close of the day, as we were getting ready for the long ride home, I noticed this:

Dog, sunglasses, book.  Not in the back pack but handy for the ride. Yes. She's ready to take her book and head back to Tacoma.

It should not surprise anyone that I have not seen the book since.  Obviously it was tired of simply rubbing shoulders with other books and has discovered a more adventurous reader.  It's not the first time a book has decided to move out of my house.  What makes this a moment is that this is a book I really enjoyed and was looking forward to introducing to someone 'at the right time.'

But I guess I wasn't paying close attention to how much someone was growing as a reader.  Luckily, the magic still works, and somehow the book and the kid found each other at the right time, and they have gone off together. 

I am sure that the book will quickly forget that it was ever 'my' book.  It may live on a shelf at another house, or under a pillow and ride around in a back pack.  It's that sort of a book.   I hope that eventually, I'll see if again.  When I do, the shiny dust jacket may be a bit worn and tattered, there may be splotches on the pages, and bits of paper used as book marks.  In short, it may end up looking somewhat like this:

And if it does, the book should be well pleased with itself.  It will have completed its journey and become, not just a book, but a friend.

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

On Wednesday, May 18th, I'll be signing books at Garfield Book Company!  For those of you who know Tacoma and the surrounding area, it's just off Pac Ave right near PLU. 

This is my first time to sign there but I've been a customer any number of times.  It's a great bookstore, with an exceptional kids' section on the ground floor, a wonderful upstairs loft of books, and because it serves Pacific Lutheran University, all sorts of PLU items.  There is also a lovely gift section of Scandinavian influenced items.

And there's a good pizza place right nearby, too.

So, even if you don't want me to sign your book, it's a great place to drop in.  If you come by tomorrow about 7, however, I'll be there to read, sign books, and you can enter in the drawing for the door prize baskets.  It includes a copy of Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb, and a copy of The Gypsy, by Steven Brust and Megan Lindholm. The other goodies in the basket relate to the stories in The Inheritance.

Hope to see you there!

Robin

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

If you love finely bound hardback books, then the name Subterranean Press is probably already familiar to you.  They create books that are meant to be a pleasure in the hands and to last for decades on the bookshelf.  In the past, I've been honored to have my work included in the anthology A Fantasy Medley, edited by Yanni Kuznia.

Now my story collection, The Inheritance, is available in two limited edition forms.  One is clothbound, and the other leather bound with full color endsheets. Both are illustrated by Tom Kidd.  

 And until May 20th, both are available at reduced prices!

If you visit the Subterranean Press website, take your time to look around.  My suggestions for your future enjoyment?  Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch.  This collection of some classic Bloch stories comes out in November. But since Subterranean Press books can sell out really fast, you'd be wise to order now.  If you like Dan Simmons, Neal Stephenson, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman and dozens of others, and wish you had them in more permanent form on your bookshelf, their site is a treasure trove for you.

And if you enjoy short fiction, and think the 'free' is an unbeatable price, bookmark their Summer 2011 issue.  It's a great way to sample writers you may not have read before.

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

I'm having one of those days.  There are too many attractive things to do, and I'm wandering from one to the next without completing any of them.

Cut down the dead bush in the garden, but I'm not quite energetic enough to get out there with the shovel and dig out the roots.  I know I should do it.  But then I should also put down landscaping fabric (to keep the weeds down; have to buy that first.)And then I need to cut some holes in the fabric and pop some new plants in (Have to buy those still.)  And then I should put bark or other mulch over the fabric (need to buy that, too!) 

And I don't really feel like sacrificing the sunny day to go to the store.  Instead, I'd rather sit outside on the swing like a kid and do nothing.  My grand-daughter caught me at that yesterday.

Photo by Alexsandrea Ogden

So.  I should pay the bills, answer all the email, and do those revisions.  I really should.  But looking out the window at a sunny day is not making it any easier!

Tomorrow, I will be down in Beaverton, Oregon at Powell's Books.  Looking forward to seeing Peter again at the store, and wandering their stacks.  I always come home with a sack of books from there. If you live anywhere in that area and you haven't browsed their store, you are in for a treat!

But, if I'm spending the day tomorrow on the drive down to Oregon, I'd best get some of my work done today!

Nose to the grindstone!  No matter how painful!

Robin