Virginia Beach

Posted on by March 13, 2021
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Today was the first long day in charge of 4 yr old grandson all day. Can anyone tell me how a 4 yr old can still be energetically running around at 8 o’clock at night – without a nap all day – while grandma was ready to give up about 3 p.m.? Experience versus youth, and guess what, youth wins. Sigh.

We went camping in Virginia Beach over the weekend. Here’s some photos of the camp site in the lovely First Landing State Park on the coastal forest/dune vegetation (oak trees; and Chesapeake Beach just after dawn. Being me, I was interested in the birds (terns, gulls, willets, plovers, pelicans, sandpipers, cormorants and a snapped Osprey overhead.)


The afternoon on Sunday I spent writing at the picnic table in camp while the others went to the beach. I was visited by blue jays and cardinals, grackles and robins and mocking birds and this squirrel peering at me…

Heart of the Mirage Review

Posted on by March 13, 2021
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You can read a lovely review of Heart of the Mirage over at fantasybookspot

Here’s part of it:

Glenda Larke has written a very enjoyable and utterly compelling story that unflinchingly probes into the psychology of a person who has been robbed of her family, her people and her culture. Ligea’s origins have been stolen from her; her heritage has been denied her – a crime that is compounded by the fact that she has been raised by the very person who has killed her family. Larke has obviously been inspired by real events, mainly the Disappeared Ones of Argentina and the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Australia, a fact that imbues Ligea’s story with a deep-felt resonance.

Characterization constitutes the novel’s greatest strength. It is Ligea’s character that drives the plot and Larke takes the time necessary to build up Ligea’s personality as well as the events and experiences that prompt her to question herself and her values, thus making the manner in which her character evolves plausible. When it comes to characterization, Larke’s work reminds me very much of Robin Hobb. Like Hobb, Larke uses a first-person narrative and she takes the time necessary to build a quite complex character. And like Hobb, Larke is never shies away from revealing bare the less savoury aspects of the protagonist’s personality. Ligea is in many ways not very likeable. Throughout a large part of the story, she comes across as arrogant, self-centered and cruel, but as Larke slowly reveals the forces that have shaped her one can’t help to feel for her. Likewise, the experiences that cause her to change and mature as a person ring absolutely true.

Heart of the Mirage is a very strong novel that offers a multi-facetted and deeply flawed protagonist as well as a well-paced and deeply compelling story about betrayal and identity. Larke has a fluid prose that often emphasizes sensuous detail and if she sometimes veers towards the overly descriptive then this is a very minor complaint.

Many thanks to Trine D.Paulsen

More from Denvention Worldcon

Posted on by March 13, 2021
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Worldcons are not just about panels, of course. [Pamela Freeman, Brandon Sanderson, Karen Miller, Margaret Bonham, Patrick Rothfuss on a panel entitled: “The Return of the King: the novelist’s fascination with monarchy.]

There are so many good things …

The bid parties. The Hugo Awards. Meeting people. The room parties. The Masquerade. Chatting in the green room. Chatting in the bar. Chatting to writers, readers, publishers. The fan parties. The readings. The kaffeeklatches. Did I mention the partying?

For someone like me, living in a place where there are no other writers like me, where the opportunity to meet up with my editor or agent or beta readers or fellow writers is as rare as being able to read all the books I’d like to, a con is almost a necessity. And boy, did I revel in it. And I met so many interesting people I’d never met before, but had heard about or whom I had read. And they are all people who like to talk about reading and writing and books. Paradise.

I shared a panel with Robert J.Sawyer and had dinner with the Orbit US team; I found myself chatting to Elizabeth Moon about snakes and the environment; with Jim Frankel, Tor editor about all sorts of things; with Carol Berg about how to deal with a noisy husband when you want to write; with reviewer and fan writer Cheryl Morgan about all sorts of interesting stuff; with Kate Elliott about her new novel and her husband’s job as a forensic anthropologist and writing and reading and..; with Phyllis Eisenstein about collecting books; and with writer David Coe about covers and writing in general. My room-mate Donna and I had dinner with Gary K.Wolfe and Amelia Beamer of Locus Magazine, novelist Kate Elliott, academic Farah Mendlesohn and David Hartwell of Tor/Forge Books, who had just won a Hugo for Best Professional Editor. Kendall turned up to my reading; other fans brought along books for me to sign at various times, and Sarah and Andrew – who weren’t attending the con – came all the way into Denver to buy two sets of the Mirage Makers. How cool is all that?

I am already wondering just how I can possibly get to Montreal next year without breaking the bank. Never mind, the year after Worldcon is in Melbourne! Start saving folks…

Oh, and I know why obesity is a problem in USA. I got served the largest slice of cake I have ever seen in my life. That thing is sitting on a full-sized dinner plate.

Denvention panels

Posted on by March 13, 2021
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One of the things that people do at a sf/f convention is go and listen to the panels. There are plenty of them to choose from, and the problem is often which to choose because there are a large number of them on at the same time.And there are several different reasons to choose to attend a particular panel. After all, who could resist a panel that included Connie Willis, George R.R. Martin and Lois McMaster Bujold and (if I remember correctly) Larry Niven, all talking about how they started reading SF and what their early influences were? Or one (top pix) with Joe Haldeman, Connie Willis and Mike Resnik? The title of that one was: “The Best Convention Panel Ever”, but they spent most of their time talking about “The Worst Convention Panel Ever”, and similar disasters instead. It was a laugh a minute. Then there was the panel on “Making a Living Telling Lies” with Jo Walton, Jay Lake, Connie W., and Bill Mayhew.

So the first reason is simply for listening to the greats of sf/f talking about what they do best – writing – and their influences.

The second reason is for information. Want to know about agents and what impresses them? Or listen to Brandon Sanderson talk about the last Wheel of Time novel? Or learn about the reality of space drives? Or dinosaurs? Or a world without fossil fuels? Or the Future of Libraries? There were panels on all those things.

My three panels wavered between great fun and…not so much. As I thought, the birds and dinosaur panel would have been a bit of a disaster for the audience if they’d only had me to listen to. As birders, David Coe and I sort of faded into the background and let the experts on dinosaurs take over. They were much more informed and I ended up learning quite a bit.

The panel on kicking off a story by using the myths of our cultures was interesting and ranged all over the place, taking in everything from ‘have we had enough of King Arthur?’ to cultural appropriation (.e. should writers use the mythology of another living culture, especially if they are going to alter it for their own purposes, or if it is still part of the religion of that people. Short answer: No. Exception: if you really know and respect the culture, enough to ensure that you won’t offend, then – sure.)

The panel on writing in spite of one’s environment was fun. A small and interested audience added to the debate, and the panel – all of us very different in how we approach the same problems – was a good mix.

Unfortunately, I never seem to get to enough panels because there is always so much other stuff going on – more about that next time.


In Charlottesville

Posted on by March 13, 2021
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In the inimitable way that members of the Noramly family have, I spent 2 extra hours waiting in the plane on the tarmac at Denver airport while a baggage compartment door seal was re-glued. I kid you not. They had to wait for the glue to dry.

Luckily it did indeed dry, and apparently stayed glued until we arrived in one piece at Dulles.

And in time for me to get the connection to Charlottesville. Not in time for my bag, though. Never mind, being met by elder daughter, whom I had not seen in 11 months, and greeted by huge hug on arriving at her house by grandson, made up for that. Even Skunky the cat – who hates strangers with a passion and remains hidden for days when someone comes to stay – shot into my bedroom as soon as she realised I was around, and ankle-rubbed like a maniac wind-up toy until she was greeted. She has hardly left my side since. I guess she remembers that I don’t go off to work in the mornings and am therefore available for frequent cheek rubs and chin chucks. It is nice to know one was missed…

Luggage arrived this morning. It had been searched and there was a neat note to tell me so.

Denvention report will come soon, with photos.

At Denver airport

Posted on by March 13, 2021
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After the fiasco of LAX and missing my flight, I arrived at Denver airport 4 hours before my flight – sailed through the ticketing and security in less than an hour, and ended up with more that 3 hours to wait!

So here I am, enjoying their free wifi…

Denvention is over, and I feel enormously sad about it coming to an end. I had a wonderful time. I made new friends, enjoyed meeting old ones, reveled in the knowledge that Australia will hold the 2010 worldcon (for which I now have a paid up membership!), talked books, listened to some great writers talk on a variety of topics, learned lots of new stuff. I will have some more to say in the days to come.

I am continuing on my journey stimulated and rejuvenated, dying to start writing again…

Next stop Charlottesville Virginia, where I will see my daughter again after 11 months or so, not to mention grandson and son-in-law.

To everyone who made my time at Denvention a joy – thanks. Especially Donna, my roomie. Sharing a room is becoming a habit for us, and long may it happen…

Denver

Posted on by March 13, 2021
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Denver has a great street mall, with free buses on either side, no cars, and trees and seats down the middle. Lots of cafes and places to eat…love this place. It also has rain. Quite a bit of it.