Hunter and Hound 2016 by Goldeen Ogawa, watercolor on paper This is a somewhat cheeky piece of work. You see, it could be a depiction of Arawn, King of Annwm, (or possibly Gwyn; the distinction between them being so fuzzy), with one of his red-eared Yeth Hounds… …or it could be Sirius, the Dogstar, incarnate in a …
On this final Sunday in March, in honor of #DWJMarch and all fans of Diana Wynne Jones, I present a very tired author reading from Dogsbody, as suggested by Dragonrose, plus a bonus of my own choosing. It also features accompaniment from the iPad-Who-Would-Not-Be-Silenced, and my own dog, Frieda, on Squeaker (fairly certain not a Zoi) …
This week’s DWJMarch read-aloud was requested by my Wonderful Mother, who asked for something from The Spellcoats! * The Spellcoats is the third book in the Dalemark Quartet, though it takes place prior to all the others. However, like the Chronicles of Narnia, these books are best read in the order in which they were written: Cart and Cwidder, …
This week I’m blogging from the road, but I’ve still got a snippet of Diana Wynne Jones for you! This time it’s my own selection, from my personal favorite: Hexwood. * Hexwood is a standalone novel—sadly. But what a novel! Robots! Dragons! And a definite treat for anyone interested in a new take on European …
Good morning! And welcome to the first edition of my Diana Wynne Jones Read-aloud for DWJMarch! This week I’m reading an excerpt of The Magicians of Caprona, as requested by Kristen M of webereading.com. Enjoy! * *The Magicians of Caprona © 1980 Diana Wynne Jones is the second novel she wrote which takes place in the related …
As I mentioned on Twitter last week, I’m going to be doing something a little special this year for #MarchMagics/#DWJMarch. In an effort not only to celebrate the work of Diana Wynne Jones but to perhaps introduce her to people who might not have had the joy of reading her—yet—for every Sunday in March I’ll …
One of the questions I get asked most frequently (and sometimes rather impertinently) when people learn of my profession is something along the lines of “how on earth do you make a living at that?” They don’t always phrase it exactly this way, but this is essentially what they are asking. How do you earn …
So LonCon3 was pretty awesome. I haven’t had a chance to write about it yet since I had to rush off to another con, but I’ll try to dredge up some memories now. The venue (the ExCel center in the Docklands of London) might well have been called Spaceball One for how long it took …
This weekend I’ll be attending LonCon3 (World Con) in London, England. My first World Con, I am very excited to be on a few of the programme items, namely: The Good, the Bad and the Missing (Friday, noon – 1:30): A discussion of diversity in comics with Megan Waples, Jenni Hill, Michael R Underwood, Kurt …
Or: Thoughts on the problem of works left unfinished. Recently my mother bought me a copy of Diana Wynne Jones’s final novel, The Islands of Chaldea. I haven’t read it yet, because every time I pick it up I start crying. Partly out of sadness because she is gone, and there will never be any …