Tales of The Ink Gypsy…

I swore to myself I would only post something short (ok, so that didn’t work) - something to let you all know I haven’t abandoned this blog. Something to let you know I’ve been incredibly busy following story trails - both writerly ones and bigger ones. Life stories. The stuff that life is, that you tell the story about later.

The turn of the year would, I knew, be a time where my attention would be focused on the stories around our hearth, the ones we’re making up as we go along. It’s been a busy time, trying to coordinate magical moments (as wonderous as magic is, it takes a little preparation to get the ingredients just right) and recording them with all the creative energy we could muster.

As I devoted myself to writing down the tales that I know my son will want to hear when he’s older I stumbled across other opportunities and am now getting ready to tinker my wares, so to speak, with the aim that I will be able to support my travelings in the future. So what is it that’s keeping me on the back of this galloping horse instead of resting by the fire with you all as I’d planned? I’m on a breadcrumb trail and while I’m not starving yet I could use a pick-me-up (hey - is that a house made of candy up ahead…?!) See below for moe details.

P.S. From My Neck Of the Woods…
(a little update)
So: the breadcrumb chasing. I have this great opportunity at the moment: to write an e-book as part of a ‘Writer’s Library Series’. It’s very challenging trying to find time with a baby-who’s-toddling (for the most part) but I’m working my butt off trying to not let this opportunity slip through my fingers. Presuming all goes well and the editor is happy with my work I will be launching a website to coincide with the books release, where all my various writing adventure trails can be followed. I WILL be maintaining this blog, however, as fairy tale themed and inspired writing is an integral part of who I am. I will be linking from the website to this blog (and vice versa) so you shouldn’t feel left behind. The other website will allow me to advertise any books I write or am affiliated with, whether fiction or non-fiction, as well as be a place to explore writing, creativity and inspiration in general. This blog - Tales of the Ink Gypsy - is specifically themed for fairy tale inspired writing and while I’m so glad I finally decided to head out into the big scary world with all these thoughts and writings, it doesn’t cover everything that I’m working on or thinking about. So The Ink Gypsy get another address to check in at and you, of course, will be most welcome to drop by at any time.

My novel, Deadwood, is currently treading water in the back of my mind (along with a new character who apparently has been there all along, though I didn’t notice him until now because he was so small…) while I focus on getting the e-book done but never fear! I will not let the book drown! Part of the reason I’m branching out a little more actively is to support the writing of my novel. It may seem to be all hard work and not much sense at the moment but I have this gut feeling that this is the way forward and by riding this horse I will find the trail of my novel clearer to follow (you seeing a theme here?)

Stay tuned for the new website announcement and link, as well as to see how I did with the e-book (wish me luck, skill and speedy writing!).

PPS Oh yeah - I added a little picture of moi to my profile (in case you didn’t notice). A necessary evil if one is writing a book these days. Those who know me personally know how big a deal this is - to step in front of the camera willingly. Ugh! Anyway, this will do I suppose…

Book Review
The Orphan’s Tales Vol I: In the Night Garden & The Orphan’s Tales Vol II: In the Cities of Coin and Spice - not so much a discovery, as I’ve had the first Volume for a while but Volume II was released recently and I found I had to read Volume I again…. (see post below for an extensive review and exploration!)

Discovered in the Woods
The Fairy Tales of J.K. Rowling - The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Yes, the book mentioned in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows exists! Well, seven of them do. Handmade and illustrated by Rowling they went for a fortune at a Sotheby’s auction but it was all for a good cause. See images, get a sneak peek at the stories and hearhow it all came about at this dedicated Amazon site.

Interactive Children’s Fairy Tale Exhibit Once Upon A Time: Exploring the World of Fairytales. Haven’t you always wanted to walk into one of your fairy tale books to view it life-size? You could have if you were inn St Louis in 2006! Apparently this exhibition toured other cities last year but I couldn’t find any 2008 information. Even if we can’t see it in person, these pictures are pretty cool and guaranteed to send you back to your childhood (in a good way!)

Note: Illustration © Lorenzo Mattotti. Click on picture to go to see his work for the Hansel and Gretel online exhibition with The New Yorker or visit his website here.

If you haven’t yet discovered these award winning books by Catherynne M. Valente you are missing out - big time! I’m currently re-reading In the Night Garden and am just as awestruck as I was the first time through. This book is one of those few that makes me want to not bother writing a single word more of my own and at the same time inspires me so much that I just have to write! It’s rare a book will do both those things at once for me but this is one of them and from the little I’ve peeked at in the second volume - The Cities of Coin and Spice - so is the ’sequel’.

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter One of In the Night Garden:

“On an evening when I was a very small child an old woman came to the great silver gate, and twisting her hands among the rose-roots told me this: I was not born with this mark. A spirit came into my cradle on the seventh day of the seventh month of my life, and while my mother slept in her snow-white bed, the spirit touched my face, and left there many tales and spells, like the tattoos of sailors. The verses and songs were so great in number and so closely written that they appeared as one long, unbroken streak of indigo on my eyelids. But they are the words of the river and the marsh, the lake and the delta. They comprise a great magic, and when the tales are all read out, and heard end to shining end, to the last syllable, the spirit will return and judge me. After she vanished into the blue-faced night, I spent each day hidden in a thicket of jasmine and oleander, trying to read what I could in my bronze mirror. But it is difficult, I must read them backwards, and I can only read one eye at a time.” She stopped, and the last was no louder than a spider weaving its opaline threads.

“And there is no one to listen.”

Intrigued? Ready to ‘listen’ to her stories? If you are you’re in for a delectable treat…

Initially I had planned to write a post on Stories Inside of Stories, inspired by seeing this on my shelf. Then I picked it up and haven’t been able to put it back since. I’m enjoying it so much the second time and appreciating the interwoven myths and fairytales Ms. Valente has wrought (because it really does feel as though these books were magikally worked) that I thought I’d share a little of the world that I’m in right now.

The masterfully ‘nested’ tales surprise you as you open one to discover another lurking within, but there’s more to these wonderful books than even that. The writing is so lush and lyrical yet fully accessible at the same time. It’s laced with humor and mystery, magic and wonder, and much much more than I have time to write about here. My suggestion is just to read them. Or, if you prefer, read this interview here at Prime Books’ Fantasy Magazine to whet your appetite. If you want more (which I certainly did) then click here for an interview in even greater depth at Fantasy Book Critic. To top it off The Green Man Review has a wonderful page all about her - not only with reviews but also with excerpts of her workk including her Winter Queen Speech. (I’ve also added other links here and there for you to explore…)

One of the things that draws me to these books is, as I mentioned above, the way the stories are nested one within the other. My own thought process is very similar, leading me along many a garden path until sometimes I’m hopelessly lost. Ms. Valente doesn’t leave you stranded though. Her path through the stories, though winding, is sure and the journey worth every step. I have a lot to learn from her as clearly my own writing has a lot of developing to do before it ever approaches her caliber! Interestingly it reminds me of writing for theater; pulling different characters together with their different stories on a theme and seeing how they intertwine to become part of each other’s stories, making a whole new one in the process. Perhaps I should put my characters on stage more often to see what they bring to it, rather than chase them through their mazes, though each route is valid. In Ms. Valente’s hands these characters play their part for one story then, when prompted, reveal their own equally fascinating tale that begs the telling. Add to that the ‘wonder tale’ aspect, told with such lyrical writing it makes me slow down to read it and absorb it properly and I’m hooked.

I haven’t even mentioned the gorgeous ink illustrations throughout by M.W. Kaluta (his website is here, though I can’t find his ‘Orphan’s Tales’ illustrations or references).

I’m not the only one so inspired either. Here you’ll find music inspired by the stories and an mp3 of S.J. Tucker reading and singing an excerpt from Volume I. Here you will find jewelry inspired by the same.

I want to write so much more but instead will leave you to explore The Orphan’s Tales.