two events

[ewein2412]

14 June 2007

Well, I threw myself a party to celebrate the "release" of The Lion Hunter. It was conceived at the last minute and in spite of 24-hour notice, everybody just seemed so delighted to be involved. I was rather stunned by the enthusiasm and excitement with which friends and neighbors responded. "A cocktail party!" We had gallons of mimosas/Bucks Fizz and Shirley Temples for the TWENTY-SEVEN CHILDREN that turned up (along with plenty of grown-ups, too). I made a bunch of castle-shaped cakes (vaguely Arthurian-themed) and Mark put together a tremendous Book Display, which he also gave tours for. He wants to do this again for The Empty Kingdom so that he can make another display!



the cakes... shades of San Marino



Mark's display

I sold and signed a bunch of books, too. It was really nice to mark the event with an Occasion, because otherwise I just sit around checking my Amazon ratings--always a really, really bad thing to do. But quite frankly, we ought to have more cocktail parties, even without an occasion to mark.

16 June 2007

The Moonwalk has come and gone! My team, The Fair City Fillies from Perth, took off at 11.45 p.m. on 16 June 2007 and finished at exactly 3.15 a.m. That's 13.1 miles in 3 and a half hours. DARNED FAST WALKING, if I do say so myself, and I did, often; I reckon as the lone American in the group, I was in charge of complaining about the pace. And also complaining about the WEATHER, which was: Raining and 50 degrees F. Not ideal weather for walking at night in your bra. But I did it. How do you like the look?



I failed to find any colored lights, but there were a lot of other people who had them. We walked all around Arthur's Seat in the dark, and when you looked back down the hill it looked just like the scene at the end of "Night on Bald Mountain" in Fantasia, when the holy people are endlessly walking along carrying their little lights. There were so many people participating that you could never see either the beginning or the end of the line.

10,000 women (and a few men) took part in this charity walk. The organizers are hoping to raise £2 million, which means that YOU, my friends and relations, have generously donated more than twice what they are expecting each individual participant to raise: currently £ 458.41, which at the moment is the equivalent of $ 908.11. Thank you so much! I am touched and humbled by your contributions.

Many thanks for your support, and love to all!

(On-line donations to The Moonwalk are still being accepted, raising money for breast cancer
projects within Scotland. My page is here)

Comments

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

I have been thinking that, when my book finally arrives (according to Amazon's wonderful tracking thing), I would take it and wander off to the Bakery/Cafe/Ethiopian restaurant down the street from my house and have Ethiopian in honor of Telemakos. (Tasty food, but not quite as good nor with quite the selection of Abyssinia near where I used to live in Philadelphia. Better, though, than Dalek, although I might have had an aversion to eating at someplace named Dalek.)

[ewein2412]

I used to eat at Abyssinia!

good luck getting the book in... the force does not appear to be with you. I would give you a copy if you were here!

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

It is apparently on the truck for delivery. It was wishful thinking that had UPS getting to my house before I left for work.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

Wahoo! Book! Is here! Hurray!

My uncle and I used to eat at Abyssinia whenever we would get together in the city, cause I lived on the corner of Spruce and the alley between 45th and 46th.

[tigertrapped.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the walk - you looked terrific in the outfit - and I finally got around to making my donation. You're amazing for doing stuff like this. Complete kudos, my dear!

And congratulations on the book, and the launch! I love the castles - are they jelly? Did they taste good?

[ewein2412]

the castles are actually cake (Betty Crocker Devil's Food) made in what they call a "Bundt" tin. They are phenomenally easy to make and look incredibly impressive!

thanks for the donation, btw... you are a darling.

xxx

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the release...it just went from "Pre-Order" to "Order" on my wish list which is pretty much how I track release dates.

The look is...interesting. ;o)

[ewein2412]

The look is...interesting

I don't recommend it for comfort, either. The plastic poncho got so full of condensation that I couldn't actually take it OFF after a couple of hours, because it was stuck to me

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

Ew! I'm glad you survived. ;o)

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Oh rah! I thought I'd missed my chance to donate--had to wait until I got paid. =) It's still not much because I live paycheck to paycheck, but it all adds up, right?

The bra turned out gorgeous!!

And wow, the book release party looks like it was fun. How'd you make the nifty castle-cakes?

[ewein2412]

see above--they're done in a Bundt tin shaped like a castle. They're made by a company called Nordic Ware--I used a Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake mix, which is pretty much the only cake my daughter will eat. (She ate FOUR TURRETS that night)

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

Williams Sonoma sells lots of crazy looking (very) expensive Bundt tins.

[mhari.livejournal.com]

Congratulations twice! You look very striking. :D

My copy of TLH came and was read yesterday. AAAAAGH, etc.

[ewein2412]

hee. I do apologize. I promise a happy ending. (ish.)

[mhari.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. *phew*

Now to "lend" it to my mother and traumatize her too :)

[ewein2412]

multi-generational trauma! I love it

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Hurray for book launch and good causes!

[ewein2412]

amen!

[cc-lemon.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the release of 'The Lion Hunter'! I've been waiting impatiently for my special order to arrive at the local bookstore, annoying everyone in hearing distance, whining about it. It should be here on Thursday and I'm beyond excited. I don't even have the book yet and I'm already pining for its companion novel. Why oh why are we having to wait a year for that one? *winks*

I finally got my hands on the anthology containing your Medraut/Morgause prequel, 'No Human Hands to Touch' and I devoured it, wishing all the while it was a novel. Theirs is such a rich, complex relationship it really does deserve a full exploration. I love the way you write and I'm greedy. I want more.

Congratulations on Moon Walk as well. You looked fabulous and should be very proud of that accomplishment!

Re: Congrats!

[ewein2412]

thank you!

[ewein2412]

Why oh why are we having to wait a year for that one?

In a word, I think... marketing. Without going into a lot of detail let me just deny any personal responsibility! The book is written. But I don't believe it'll be as long as a year; I think publication is scheduled for spring 2008, so nine months at most (I hope).

So glad you liked the short story; it was very instructive getting inside that particular narrator's brain. At the time I wrote it (more than 10 years ago), it FELT like it was turning into a novel. Maybe later. I'm very distracted by the next generation at the moment, as you will see.

thanks for all the congrats. The Moonwalk was a grand thing to have done, but I'm very grateful that it's over!

[cc-lemon.livejournal.com]

I finished 'The Lion Hunter' yesterday and five minutes ago I finished reading 'Fire' (and believe me, it took me a good hunt to find and purchase the anthology containing that short story) and I've been pretty much trying to put my brain and my heart back together afterwards. You can't even conceive of how excited I was two paragraphs into 'Fire' when I realized what I was reading.

TLH thrilled me. Your writing is absolutely beautiful and I love each of your characters. Telemakos is just such an amazing kid. And reading so much about Medraut and Goewin was like receiving a very precious gift. I'm going to be dying for the next several months waiting for 'The Empty Kingdom' for the resolution of this story arc.

Having read 'Fire' today and 'No Human Hands to Touch' last week, I find myself wanting to re-read all four books. I'll be starting on that tonight.

Thank you so much for these stories. They're absolutely wonderful.

[ewein2412]

You can't even conceive of how excited I was two paragraphs into 'Fire' when I realized what I was reading.

I'm delighted! I reckon it's not really a secret; the story is published, it's out there, it's in the public domain. But it's amazing how obscure it is. Sometimes it bugs me that people so readily accept the "other" plotline, how easily convinced many readers were by a couple of offhanded comments from what I'd view as unreliable and secondhand sources. The Sunbird couldn't stand on its own as a novel if the characters in it knew about the events of "Fire." See what I mean? Structure dictating plot.

But I'm not done.

...


I want to say "you're welcome" because you said "thank you" first, but really it's ME that should say thank you. Thank you for reading these stories! Thank you for loving them.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

I'd read "Fire" way back when it was available in bookstores (hey, you signed that book too, I bet I could find the date I read that story too) and I still went into minor states of panic when I read The Sunbird.

[ewein2412]

give me a break, woman! You get no pity. you read The Sunbird in manuscript form sitting at my dining room table.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

I know. I deserve no pity. I just meant to say that it was very convincing.

[gvdobler.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the walk. They would have had to call 911 for me about 4 minutes into the walk.

[ewein2412]

thank you, and thanks for your donation, too! I nearly throttled the woman who was setting the pace for us, so I guess I should be thankful we didn't have to alert the emergency services.

[meener.livejournal.com]

you look faaaabulous! is there a particular reason why you decorated your bra with flowers? (curious)

congratulations on the walk and on the book. i've ordered mine from amazon.co.jp, but it has yet to ship! boo!

[ewein2412]

there *is* a reason I went for flowers, and it went kinda like this... I wanted to do lights, but I hate how those disposable plastic bands always end up as landfill, and I thought, "not very green." And then I thought, I know, I'll be green, I'll wear leaves. Of course they're silk flowers and not particularly environmentally friendly either! But they'll end up in the Dress-Up Box and not in the garbage. I went for freesias because that's what Saralinda wears in her hair in The Thirteen Clocks. I am so obscure.

It had nothing to do with the Mabinogion, but it would have if I'd have thought of it. Most of the other people on my team had cupcakes!

[singingtopsy.livejournal.com]

I finally tracked down a copy of The Lion Hunter at a local independent bookstore and walked out, sat down on a bench, and pretty much read it all in one sitting. A new Elizabeth Wein book pretty much makes my month :).

So, I was delighted this morning to find a nice little review/recommendation for it in the Arts and Entertainment section of the local paper, the Sacramento Bee. It was included in a list of fun "Not Assigned Reading" titles for kids and there was a small color picture of the cover. Now I just hope they'll have it stocked in the local Borders...

[ewein2412]

well, you have made my day--I really have no concept of how much coverage my books get in mass media, and I'm under the impression that it's not a lot. It is just fantastic to know that it's mentioned in your local paper! Many thanks.

[singingtopsy.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome. I found the online version if you wanted to read what it said :)...

http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/235568.html

[ewein2412]

thanks!

[marguerlucy.livejournal.com]

i got my copy of lion hunter this week! and foolishly put it on my bedside table so I could read "just one more chapter before bed...okay maybe one more...okay i really need to get to bed now but not till I finish THIS chapter" ;) woot!

however, danielsbooks sent me the wrong l ron hubbard book. bastards. I did read "no human hands" though - awesome to get her side of things - if upsetting LOL!

[ewein2412]

it was really interesting writing "No Human Hands"--so weird to put yourself into that particular narrator's brain.

[marguerlucy.livejournal.com]

Oh sure! but you made her human i think. I mean its so easy with her to make her just plain EVIL. I'd kill to play her in the screen version in 15 years ;-) (we'll keep in touch. LOL)

actually i meant to ask you - what influenced the change in points of view for the telemakos novels, and by that I mean, why did you decide to use third person for him?

[ewein2412]

to tell the truth, it just happened. I have always liked 3rd person better than first. The Winter Prince was such a weird thing to start out with! But The Sunbird was written in a 9 week period of intense white creative heat and that's just the way it came out. Technically it's 3rd person limited--you only see things through Telemakos's eyes. It's not even an omniscient narrator. And the subsequent books are even more carefully limited.

I have a notion that Coalition is in fact told by Goewin out loud to Telemakos while he's recuperating in the early chapters of The Lion Hunter; there is a little (and purposeful) lapse on her part as narrator where she addresses him directly, to give you a clue. It's in the scene in the chapter "The Tomb of the False Door."

But why the Telemakos books are 3rd person? It just feels right. Curiously, I noticed recently that it's the same narrator as the prologue of The Winter Prince.

[marguerlucy.livejournal.com]

awesome!!

hee hee

i have nothing more to say :)