Rereading the Classics

Yes, I read and then reread books over and over again.

So this past week, I reread the 1930s classics, When Worlds Collide and After Worlds Collide.

Sometimes it's hard to read older books. There's terms that we don't use any more and plenty of social/political beliefs that are completely outdated and, honestly, offensive.

And omg, the books are so, so White. Not that there's anything wrong with being White, but except for a mention of a "Negro" singing (at least they didn't use the N-word), and one continuing character and the Japanese bad guys who were continuously called the "J-word," the characters were so, so, well... White!

No Native Americans, no Arabic peoples, no East Asians, no Pacific Islanders, no other Asians, no Africans, no African-Americans (that were mentioned anyway)...

I wonder if these books are out of copyright yet?

I'd like to do some judicious editing and reprint them, and then add a couple more books to the series, like the South African spaceship that was briefly mentioned, and maybe an Aussie and also a South American group that included indigenous peoples. Pick up the story upon landing on Bronson Beta, maybe on the other continent, and their struggles to survive, since they don't have the large cities built by the extinct original inhabitants. (Gets hotter underground, hmmm, live in mining facilities or deep caves maybe, where it would be warm, and set up a power plant with the remains of the spaceship(s) for lights, etc?)  

It would be interesting, huh?

I have an idea for an anthology too, based on something Andre Norton mentioned in two of her books, but NOT using Norton's stories or characters. Just the idea. But that will have to wait until I can afford to do it right.

So, back to my crime noir meets urban fantasy book. I'm only at 3400 words, so I have a longgggg way to go before November!

Or back to making money. One of the two... 

My New Website!

OK, this is the project I've been working on ever since I made the mistake of asking for referrals to good science fiction and fantasy for Teens of Color.

Oh my goodness! There was some not-nice comments and one person even accused me of wanting NO White characters at all.

Wahhhht?

Are you kidding me? Are people really that threatened, that they can't share the future with Teens of Color? That all protagonists must be the traditional, stereotypical, White male hero? Really? REALLY?

So amid encouraging private messages and referrals from fellow writers, educators and parents, I took the info and started a website featuring short book reviews of science fiction and fantasy books with protagonists of Color. It's going to take a lot of work, but I've gotten a lot done already and went live because, well, I could work on it forever and it'll never be finished.

Alien Star Books, www.alienstarbooks.com, is all about reading!! I'm reading and reviewing as fast as I can so I can get short reviews of the books up ASAP. Next to the reviews, I have the book cover images that are also links to Amazon. (In the interests of disclosure, I DO get a couple of nickels if you order using my links.)

And before anyone goes off about the focus of the website, yes, there is an "Everybody Else" page that features good sci-fi/fantasy with protagonists that might be a clone, disabled, female, genderless, Gay or Lesbian or White. Why? Because my purpose is to INCLUDE, not exclude good books that are appropriate for teens and young adults, featuring characters that they can relate to. So yes, that includes Tolkien and Asimov and Bradley and Norton and all the other classic works.

I'd like to invite you to submit referrals to science fiction and fantasy books, including your own published works. But be warned, I will review the book and I reserve the right to speak my mind...

I've Been Pretty Busy

Well, OK, I've been kinda busy lately.


I've been spending a lot of time reading. I've been neglecting my books for a while and now I'm on a major reading binge.


I've read about half of my Darkover series, plus some I picked up last week at the local Friends of the Library bookstore -- Exile's Song, Shadow Matrix and Traitor's Sun. I ordered the next one, The Alton Gift, plus a Patricia Briggs and another Norton book last night online.

I'm also working my way back through my collection of Andre Norton.

Plus I'm currently reading Lucy by Donald Johanson and Maitland Edey.

I'm such a book fiend, little do my friends know, unless they've been to my house. Even then, most of them don't know that I still have boxes of books in the spare bedroom and about five boxes under my bed.

I've always been a voracious reader.

I've been trying to remember when I started reading everything I could get my hands on. I remember when I was young, my parents had a little nook in the living room where my dad had his reloading gear. And one entire wall was books and magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics (oh, I wish I had those today!!) That was where I discovered the Hardy Boys (the old series, not the new stuff) and Edgar Rice Burroughs, I think it was Cave Girl.

I also remember that there was this school librarian that thought she should limit my reading to what SHE thought was an appropriate reading level. I didn't know it until years later, but my parents went in and had a little discussion with her about my reading abilities. So she stopped trying to tell me that I couldn't read the upper grade level books. And I read and read and read...

People, I have to tell you, having parents that read plus many books and magazines in the house really led me down the reading road.

Now, my own kids? Yes, they read, but not as much as I do.

LOL, then again, most people don't read as much as I do.

I Am So Not Happy With The New Andre Norton Books!!

No, I'm really, really unhappy with some of the newest Norton books.

Since she passed, the quality of her books has dropped dramatically. I believe that the editor and/or publisher did her wrong -- especially with the new Beastmaster books.

Now, I don't have a problem with the idea of the books. It's a pleasure to see the old characters and the introduction of new characters. The problem is that the characters are not Norton characters.

She had such a deft way of suspending all disbelief, her words came alive on the page. But the new writer has written himself into the books. The characters react in a way that a Norton character would NEVER act. To put it bluntly, they whine.

"It's not FAIR!"

No, no, no, a Norton character would NEVER say that. Never. They fought against all odds. They never gave up. They never whined.

I can only hope that her family steps up and says "NO, either write in her style, or don't write at all."

I am so not happy with the new Andre Norton books! I am such a long time fan, it is such a disappointment to read books set in her worlds of the future, and know that they fall short of the Norton standard.

Books, Books, Books

Sigh, some days I really, really miss the publishing business. I miss designing the pages, making the pictures and text and captions all fit together. The thrill of finding JUST the right picture to go with that page of text.

I miss the thrill of the hunt, of going out and buying pictures in Hollywood for the books about movie stars. It was so much fun. Work, yes, but fun.

The smell of freshly printed books, when we'd rip open the boxes, open the books and see the culmination of all our hard work, it was like Christmas all over again.

So many kids don't seem to like books anymore. My kids complain about all my books. I have literally walls of books in my house. It's the feel, the smell, the texture. The look of the words on the page. And a book is portable. We can go off to the dog park or the skate park and I can post up with a book, escape the bills, my little skateboarder (OK, he's almost as tall as I am), my teenage diva, the job, the housework for just a little while.

For a little while, I'm lost in a strange new world, exploring Forerunner ruins, hearing the hissing speech of a Zacathan or the trill of a Trystian, or hiding from a Dark Rider. Alas, all too soon the kids, the house, work call and back I come to the "real" world.

I put the bookmark where I leave off, and put the book back on the shelf.

Soon, soon, I'll be back....