Goblin Moon

[Gladestrider]

It's a cold, rainy afternoon here in Michigan. Despite the weather, I poured a pint of McEwan's Scotch Ale, grabbed a cigar from the humidor, and made myself comfortable on the back porch to start reading Goblin Moon.

Theresa, you mentioned in the YA section that The Gnomes Engine may remind me of Blaylock's Magic Spectacles. What you may not know is that Goblin Moon already reminds me of Blaylock, with the wonderfully spooky first chapter concerning river scavengers and thier nighttime discovery of a strange coffin containing a perfectly preserved body surrounded with arcane texts. Fantastic atmosphere! I actually hooted with excitement when they tied up the boat at the pier next to The Antique Squid; a quick trip to the Blaylock message board I mentioned will show that there are several threads there concerning squid, as they figure into some of the mythology in several Blaylock books. The Elfin Ship, The Dissapearing Dwarf, and The Stone Giant all take place along a (often spooky) river.

After only two chapters, I'm hooked. Hopelessly hooked. My only regret is that the publisher never released this one in hardcover. I had considered waiting to post on Goblin Moon after I had finished it, but decided that I couldn't wait. Hopefully this will inspire others to find a copy to read for themselves, or to post some feedback if they've already read it.

Jeff

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Oh good catch, I had forgotten about The Antique Squid!

The river scavengers were inspired by Dickens -- Our Mutual Friend to be exact -- but the name of the tavern is meant to sound Blaylockian. (Although I originally heard the phrase when some Irish folk musicians were making up names for some of the tunes they were playing, and I was vastly taken with the sound of it.)

The series is full of references to other books. If you've read many Victorian authors, or have a taste for swashbucklers, you'll probably come across a few familiar names.

 

[dwndrgn]

Oh yes. I enjoyed the heck out of Goblin Moon and its sequel The Gnome's Engine. I say we get a petition together and send it off to the publisher to have them re-released. I'd never have known of the book except for the kindness of the author herself.

Who's with me? Others need to enjoy the adventures of Jenk, Caleb, Jed, Sera and Mr. Carstairs (or whatever he's calling himself this week) and all the others.

 

[dwndrgn]

Teresa (I still want to call you Kelpie), have you read The Pyrates by George MacDonald Fraser? I personally consider it to be the best send-up of swasbuckling heros and ne'er-do-wells, and if you haven't you definitely should. Of course, it is out of print as well, much to my sorrow. I had to find a copy on ebay.

 

[Gladestrider]

I say we get a petition together and send it off to the publisher to have them re-released.

I'm onboard with that! I'll take it step further and suggest that one of the smaller publishing companies out there might consider releasing both as a hardcover set, perhaps even slip-cased! Subterranean Press, for instance, has done several things with Blaylock's works, that probably wouldn't have interested a bigger publisher. I went to grade school with Bill Schaefer at Subterranean, and while I don't claim to have any influence whatsoever, I'd be happy to send him an email with the idea.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've been thinking a lot about approaching a small press that does reprints to see if they might be interested in some of my back list -- particularly this series because, in this case, I do in fact have the rights back.

If you think it is possible that you could stir up a little interest at Subterranean Press by way of your old school friend, I think that would be great.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

And dwndrgn, I agree about Pyrates! I don't remember where I got my copy -- a garage sale or a thrift store, I think. I am, however, quite jealous of Fraser in that he has clearly read far more swashbucklers than I have.

 

[Gladestrider]

E-mail sent.

I have no idea how he'll respond, but I feel stongly enough about your work to at least make the effort

 

[dwndrgn]

Ooh, I hope he likes the idea! If you need another voice behind yours, I'm here.

I haven't read as many of those types of books as either of you I'm sure, but I've sure seen many of them on the screen (Captain Blood being a favorite of course). I even like the silly ones like the Princess and the Pirate with Bob Hope and of course, Yellowbeard and The Pirates of the Caribbean. I couldn't really get into his Flashman series though.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well yes, Flashman can be rather hard to take. The stories are fun, but he's not the most likable character, is he?

Captain Blood the movie is, of course, a classic, but I liked the book(s) even better. If you haven't read those, or Scaramouche, or Venetian Masque, April, I recommend them highly. (Francis Skelbrooke takes several of his aliases from Sabatini heroes.)

Jeff, whether or not anything comes or your letter to Subterranean Press, I'm touched that you're so enthusiastic after a mere two chapters. I just hope you'll continue to be as pleased with Goblin Moon as you read further.

 

[Gladestrider]

The river scavengers were inspired by Dickens -- Our Mutual Friend to be exact -- but the name of the tavern is meant to sound Blaylockian. (Although I originally heard the phrase when some Irish folk musicians were making up names for some of the tunes they were playing, and I was vastly taken with the sound of it.)

The series is full of references to other books. If you've read many Victorian authors, or have a taste for swashbucklers, you'll probably come across a few familiar names.

Blaylock often mentions that Dickens, among others, has influenced many of his works. Personally, I hate to admit that I've never actually read any Dickens, and very few classics for that matter. I discovered Fantasy literature in the early 1980's, when in junior-high. The Hobbit/The Lord of The Rings was my first intorduction to Fantasy Lit, and I've been a fan ever since. Therefore, I doubt I'll recognize most of the influences that may be present in your works. The upside, of course, is that just as Dickens and others served as your inspiration, you will be the source/reference in my own mind, when discussing simlar themes in the future

 

[Carolyn Hill]

Gladstrider, let us know the minute you finish Goblin Moon so that we can burble happily without giving Anything Crucial away.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

I wonder if Gladestrider has been abducted and is on the way to Ynde in the noxious hold of some foul ship. Let us hope he has an exploding pocket watch secreted on his person.

And, during his escape, let us hope that Gladestrider need not suffer a sight that left Skelbrooke disturbingly unmoved: the skewering of a cabin boy like a rat on a pike. (Never mind the shrieking and thrashing of the cabin boy. My sympathies lie with the figurative rat.)

 

[Gladestrider]

I admit that I've been preoccupied lately; I simply got caught up in the revels of the Festival of the Harvest. One minute I was watching a float carried to the Lunn by members of the Glassmakers and Clockmakers Guilds, and the next thing I'm drinking ale with them in a local pub. Despite the rumor, Gnomes CAN, in fact, hold thier ale just as well as the next humanoid. I lost several days to that blasted pub, alone.

I'm about halfway though the book; I tend to be a slow reader. I can happily say though, that I'm just as pleased with it as I was at the start.

Unfortunately, I have not heard back from my aquaintence at Subterranean, which I can only assume is due to a lack of interest. Would that I had more influence.

 

[Gladestrider]

Finished!

I'm happy to report that I was enthralled with the rest of the book as much as, if not more than I reported being with the original chapters. I can't wait to start the Gnomes Engine.

Now I really have to have these in hardcover. I hope you're able to find a publisher interested in producing them, Teresa. There's viurtually no limit to what I'd pay for something like that, especially a nice slipcased edition.

I do have a question for you though; everytime someone cursed, it was printed as d---n. Was that intentional, or was that the work of some sort of overzealous conservative editor who disliked profanity?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

No, the d---- business was not the work of an over-zealous copy-editor. That was just one of my little stylistic flourishes to make it look more like an 18th or 19th century novel (as with the chapter headings, and so forth). Probably but one of many private jokes that amused no one but me.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

Did you like Skelbrooke, Gladestrider? I love his brooding, addicted, dangerous self.

And how about those country girls selling different things in the city as the seasons changed? Such a lovely recurring descriptive detail, they made the setting seem real and fully realized.

 

[Wiglaf]

You were talking about a re-release, any news on that?
According to Amazon.com's reviews, the time setting is not medieval, which kind of fits in with another thread you got going.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

There were some last minute delays on GM, and then the decision was made not to crowd the release of A Dark Sacrifice. Right now it's supposed to happen some time after the first of the year.

And yes, GM was one of the books I meant when I said that if I wanted to read a certain kind of book I usually found that I had to write it myself. I immersed myself completely in the 18th century when I was writing it. It's an inherently fantastic period, although many people don't realize it. They think of Samuel Johnson and George Washington, not Cagliostro and the Count de St. Germain. They think the Age of Reason, not an age of the wildest credulity and extravagance, but it was both.

 

[hckygrl4]

I don't know if anyone checks this anymore, but I just finished Goblin Moon and am completely hooked. I want more stories of the characters...it's such a great world to lose yourself in when the demands of this one get to be too much some days.

And I absolutely loved the headings at the beginnings of chapters....a LOT of fun!