Promo Bits: The Hermetica of Elysium by Annmarie Banks
Some interesting stuff is flying through my email. I can’t read it all, so I’ve offered to toss up some information for all of you who might be interested. Here goes: 1494 Barcelona. As Torquemada lights the fires of religious fervor throughout the cities of Spain, accused heretics are not the only victims. Thousands of books and manuscripts are lost to the flames as the Black Friars attempt to purge Europe of the ancient secrets of the gods and the bold new ideas that are ushering in the Renaissance. Nadira lives a dreary life as servant to a wealthy spice merchant until the night a dying scholar is brought to the merchant’s stable, beaten by mercenaries who are on the hunt for The Hermetica of Elysium. To Nadira, words are her life: she lives them as her master’s scrivener and dreams them in her mother’s poetry. She is pursued as passionately as the fabled manuscript for her rare skill as a reader of Ancient Greek, Latin, Arabic and Hebrew that makes her valuable to men who pursue the book to exploit its magic. Kidnapped by Baron Montrose, an adventurous nobleman, she is forced to read from the Hermetica. It is soon revealed to her that ideas and words are more powerful than steel or fire for within its pages are the words that incite the Dominicans to religious fervor, give the Templars their power and reveal the lost mysteries of Elysium. As Nadira begins her transformation from servant to sorceress, will she escape the fires of the Inquisition, the clutches of the Borgia pope, Alexander VI and the French king, Charles VIII? And will Montrose’s growing fear of her powers cause her to lose her chance for love? You can find out more about the book at Knox Robinson Publishing (where they have a magic excerpt).
Guest Post: Smackdown: Pangrelor vs. Middle Earth by Robert Louis Smith
(I first must apologize to Mr. Smith for the lateness of this post. The email containing the guest post below got buried, which has happened far more times than I think is fair. This will be resolved ASAP.) ——————————————————- In 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien published the first of a breathtaking series of books that would go on to become some of the most influential novels of the 20th century. As anyone who has ever read The Lord of the Rings knows, Tolkien’s books are so imaginative and unexpectedly powerful that his fantastic tale still captures our imaginations more than a half century after its original publication. These stories gave birth to the modern fantasy genre, and it is perhaps inevitable that so many contemporary fantasy books replicate aspects of Tolkien’s writings. So pervasive is Tolkien’s influence that the English Dictionary offers a word for it: Tolkienesque. Perhaps this is why we see so many fantasy tales that feature elves, dwarves, wizards, magic rings, and magic swords. The presence of these features is, in many ways, what we have come to expect from a modern fantasy novel. But over the course of 57 years, these constructs of classical Northern European (or Tolkienesque) fantasy fiction have been imitated to the point of monotony. In tome after tome, we see elves and dwarves wielding magical swords or speaking in Northern European conlangs (fictional languages) as they follow some particular heroic quest. And let’s be honest. Although there are many wonderful and imaginative novels that feature these elements, no one has done it as well as Mr. Tolkien. When I sat down to write Antiquitas Lost, I promised myself there would be no magic rings, magic swords, elves or dwarves. A major goal was to create a fantasy novel where the creatures and setting were fresh. Pangrelor, the fantasy world described in Antiquitas Lost, is envisioned as a pre-industrial, medieval society with beautiful artistic accomplishments set in a savage and magical natural environment — the Renaissance meets the Pleistocene, with magical beings and crypto-zoological creatures. Devoid of elves and dwarves, Pangrelor is inhabited largely by creatures that we are familiar with, but different from the usual fantasy fare — gargoyles, Bigfoot creatures, Neanderthal types, Atlanteans and dinosaurs, to name a few. These differences give Pangrelor a much different feel from Middle Earth and the countless, adherent worlds that have followed. Hopefully the reader will find this refreshing. Over time, I have come to think of Antiquitas Lost as more of a “North American” tale, with many references to new world mythologies, as well as a hint of Native American influence. Although Antiquitas Lost is not immune to Mr. Tolkien’s sweeping influence, it is unique in many ways. When you take your first journey to Pangrelor, it is my sincere hope that you will experience a hint of the joy that accompanied your maiden voyage to Middle Earth, and that you will connect in a meaningful way with this unprecedented new cast of characters as you explore an altogether unique fantasy destination. ———————————————————————————— Robert Louis Smith, author of Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans, has numerous degrees, including psychology (B.A.), applied microbiology (B.S.), anaerobic microbiology (M.Sc.), and a Medical Doctorate (M.D.). He serves as an interventional cardiologist at the Oklahoma Heart Institute. He is married and the father of two young children. He began writing Antiquitas Lost in 2003 while studying atTulane University in New Orleans. For more information please visit http://www.antiquitaslost.com/ and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter
Things Like Mythical Unicorns: Female Comic Book Readers?
The title is intentionally provocative. Why? Because I think it is utterly ridiculous that an organization claiming to be about “the news” needs to do a story about a guy who threw a party to prove female comic book geeks exist in order to put this whole B.S. argument to rest. And here’s why I think that: It was all of the hubub on the Internet about women not being part of the hobby at all. Day in and day out, I can see that’s an utter lie. I see customers walking in my door who are female and of different ages every single day — everyone from women in their 60s to teenagers. I see lots of daughters coming in with their moms and dads, and they love the stuff. The above, by the way, is Brian Jacoby’s response to the first question. Perhaps I’m being unfair to CNN, but it seems to me that this whole story could have been avoided if someone had simply walked into a comic book shop, spent more than three seconds inside during “rush hour,” and then went home to report, “Women enter comic book shops. Myth busted. Goodbye.” Of course, CNN’s correspondent (Erika D. Peterman this time around) had to ask this question: Why do you think the idea that women don’t read comics persists? Jacoby responds by referring to the lack of demographic studies on the comic book industry. I think that has something to do with it, but I also think it has a lot to do with the fact that comics have been and continue to be seen as the “domain of men.” By saying that, I in no way think such opinions are accurate. In fact, any assumption that a “thing” can be the “domain of men” should be taken with a grain of salt (or as patriarchy trying to announce its existence the same way a racist announces him or herself by saying “I’m not a racist, but”). The point is this: anyone who goes to comic book shops knows that there are, in fact, plenty of women who read comics. And we know this in part because there are comics written specifically for the female market. Comic book companies are in it for the profit just like other publishers. And they’re not going to create comics for women if they don’t think there are women there to read them. But women are there. Plenty of them. They read Buffy and Twilight comics. They read X-Men and Iron Man and The Avengers and Batman and indie comics and violent comics and comics with bunnies. Because women like stuff. Go figure. They like lots of stuff. So now that this stupid myth is put to rest, can we move on to more important discussions? Such as: What is the demographic makeup of creators vs. readers in the comic book industry? What kinds of things most appeal to women in comic form? What do women think of their position in the comic book community? Do they feel included? Do they feel excluded? And what comics are out there for all readers that don’t resort to stereotypical images of women? That’s what I want to know. How about you?