Delays are inevitable: stuff happens. And so it is with my latest book, Clay in the Potter's Hands.  I was on track to release the first printing in July. As it turns out, we've still got a way to go (technical difficulties? human error? life intervenes? all of the above?).

In the meantime, you can still buy the Preview Edition, and it's still only $9.99. Buy three, and get free shipping.

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/clay-in-the-potters-hands-preview-edition/11781984?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/2

I received this heartening note from my friend David Bratman:

I am reading a small book called Shakespeare's Modern Collaborators by Lukas Erne (London: Continuum, 2008), and found this gratifying, and rather familiar-sounding, statement in the Introduction (p. 1):

"Shakespeare's play texts as they reach us are the result of collaboration. What this emphasis on collaboration entails is a view of Shakespeare that contradicts a Romantic understanding, or misunderstanding, of Shakespeare as a solitary genius whose original ideas found direct and perfect expression in his plays, unhampered by any material and social constraints.  Rather, a well-informed view of Shakespeare needs to start with the acknowledgement that what we think of as Shakespeare's plays have been shaped by at least four different forms of collaboration."

And he enumerates them:

1) Actual co-authorship of some plays
2) Collaboration with actors, including writing parts with specific actors in mind to play them, and playhouse alteration of the text, particularly abridgment
3) Printers, who introduced "alterations, omissions, substitutions, transpositions, interpolations, as well as additions"
4) Modern editors, whose choices of texts and of corrections tremendously affects our view of the text.

And #4 is what the book is about, hence the title.

Yessir. That's what I'm talking about.

working cover design by The Seven-Seventy Design Group

I love Eric Carle, the author and artist behind classic children's books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I stumbled across his blog and really like these thoughts about creativity, time, seeds, and hatchlings:

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The Seed that Grows into a Story

Sometimes ideas for my books seem to burst into bloom. But often the seed of the idea had been planted much earlier; had been growing quietly inside me for years. An example of this, the seed or idea for my book From Head to Toe, was planted all the way back when I was in high school. I had a strong aversion to physical exercise and sports and felt pressured by the competitive nature of physical education. As a result, I often skipped gym class.

Years later, as an adult, I suffered from back pain (while I enjoyed walking and gardening I spent a lot of time at my desk in my studio and all of the sitting I was doing started to catch up with me). I went to see a massage therapist who gave me exercises which I did every day. These stretches had wonderful names: "Angry cat" was one of them and "old horse" was another. As I did these exercises the feelings from years before, of not enjoying gym class - of feeling like an outsider at school when it came to sports - came to the surface. The seed for the story started to grow and with the names of the exercises dancing in my imagination, the idea for From Head to Toe began to take hold. A young child once told me, "Ideas come from both your inside and your outside." I have found this to be true for me. The inside event (the feelings I had as a school boy who didn't like gym class), and the outside event (doing the exercises given to me by my massage therapist) somehow mingled together to make a book.

http://ericcarleblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/seed-grows-into-story.html

Taking time, letting things unfold, being alert to the stories all around him. That's what makes Eric Carle a *great* writer.

The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien’s thrilling fantasy about Frodo, Gandalf, Aragon, a giant spider named Shelob, a Dark Lord named Sauron, Orcs, Elves and Dwarves, increased in popularity when director Peter Jackson created his now famous film trilogy. At the same time the movies were being produced, scholars, readers and fans were busy, too, writing about Tolkien and his fantasy masterpiece.One of the best books written recently is The Company They Keep by Diana Pavlac Glyer (2007). She talks about Tolkien in the context of The Inklings – a group of Oxford professors and other writers (including C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams) who met on a regular basis to read to each other and give and accept criticism and suggestions. Not only is this a really good portrait of the Inklings, but Glyer also sheds some wonderfully original light on the collaborative nature of the writing process, and how none of these writers would have written as they did without the support and help of the others.

By far the best biography of JRRT was written by fellow Englishman, Humphrey Carpenter, entitled simply – J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography. This was published originally in 1977, but reissued in paperback in 2000. Carpenter also edited The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien and reading Tolkien’s letters (especially the ones that he wrote while he was creating The Lord of the Rings) provides a fine portrait of what he was struggling with as a writer and what he was trying to express with his fiction.

Tom Shippey is often considered one the preeminant experts on Tolkien and his works. Two of Shippey’s best are J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century (2001) and The Road to Middle-Earth (2003).

For a more spiritual take on Tolkien’s writings try either J. R. R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth by Bradley J. Birzer (2002) or J. R. R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion by Richard Purtill (2003).

If you just want one book that brings together many of the essays about Tolkien and his most famous work, check out Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism, edited by Rose A. Zimbardo and Neil D. Isaacs (2004).

And finally, for a look at Tolkien’s heroes as compared to some more modern figures, try Return of the Heroes: The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Social Conflict by Hal Colebatch (2003). Meg

Originally posted by Newport Librarians.

Labels: Great Books

"It surprises and satisfies," declares the cover, and it turns out the cover is right. The New Writer's Handbook: A Practical Anthology of Best Advice for Your Craft and Career, Volume 2 is well worth your time.

I was concerned that the short chapters and multiple authors would mean shallow content and a bumpy ride. Largely due to the skillful editing of Philip Martin, the whole thing holds together very well. More than 60 short articles on a variety of writing topics are carefully grouped and sequenced. They are practical, clear, varied, and economical.

I tried a quick skim, and I found myself reading it instead. I thought I'd be restless, and I found myself immersed. I figured it'd be same-old same-old, and I found good information, strong voices,  and fresh perspectives throughout.

I should add that I contributed one of those short chapters, a look at Lewis and Tolkien as collaborative writers.

I like this book. I am proud to be part of this project.