Fanart for Diana Wynne Jones

Here it is, March, and so far 2014 has been distinctly lacking on the blogging front. This is because, in the hierarchy of Things I Need to Do, blogging comes somewhere below “Watching silly television shows about robots in order to relax” and a good ways below “Writing new stories” “Editing stories” “making pictures” and …

Diana Day 2013

On this day, in 1934, Diana Wynne Jones was born. It is also worth noting that, yesterday, in 1987, I was born. But because so much of what Jones did influenced me, I prefer to write special birthday posts about her rather than myself. Unfortunately, this year events have conspired against me and I only have a …

Don’t be a drag (just be a queen)

Last night I read an article on The Mary Sue that got me surprisingly upset. It inspired this tweet from my alter-ego, Agent Elrond: Please read this article about lack of female villains: themarysue.com/on-female-vill… And then this page from Angeldevil: fav.me/d5kk95v — Agent Elrond (@agentelrond42) June 7, 2013 Now, if you go read that article you’ll …

PGWH – 7: Further Reading

<-Back to Index <-Previous Chapter THE PEDESTRIAN’S GUIDE TO WRITING HORSES 7: Further Reading Aside from research, it is a good idea to read some books where the author got their horses right. My favorite example is The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis. Even though the horses are Narnian Talking Animals, they are …

PGWH – Introduction and Index

HORSES are of a breed unique to Fantasyland. They are capable of galloping full-tilt all day without rest. Sometimes they do not require food or water. They never cast shoes, go lame, or put their hooves down holes, except when Management deems it necessary, as when the forces of the DARK LORD are only half …

The Importance of Endings

NOTE: I wrote this journal some time ago and have been sitting on it. However, this piece in the New Yorker made me realize now is the time to let it out. In her article, Joan Acocella talks about famous novels with bad endings, and postulates about why this is. I’m surprised she never touched …

Reading Chrestomanci

Today is August 16th, what would have been Diana Wynne Jones’s 78th birthday. She passed away in the spring of last year, and while the entire world was not sad, the parts of it that knew her were very sad indeed. I discovered Jones thanks to my mother, and much of the landscape of my …

The Song of the Fire Stones

Bouragner Felpz, the renowned Magician’s Consultant, has never been known to sing. Yet sing he does, as do any who touch the unusual fire stones that have been unearthed around the Willowbee mansion. What put the song in the fire stones? What does it mean? Who is it for? The answer lies in an ancient …