Horses of the Moon

Judith Tarr has a brand new Kickstarter Project. She is an amazing author (and very good friend), and (in my opinion) a national treasure. You should all check this out (and read all of her books, while you're at it - you won't be disappointed), and help make this a reality!


From the project details:

Horses, desert, magic: A modern woman in the Arizona desert discovers an ancient secret and is drawn into in an old, old battle.

Claire is a renegade medievalist and a professional animal communicator. She lives on an old and mostly abandoned ranch outside of Tucson, Arizona, where she scrapes a living looking after what's left of the ranch and trying to be tactful to clients who come to her for insight into their animals' thoughts and feelings.

Tact is not her strong suit.

One day her friend in Hollywood, whose family owns the ranch, sends her a completely different kind of client: the owners of an international equestrian extravaganza, looking for a place to board a small herd of horses. Claire needs the money, and there are only seven horses. She takes the gig.

Then the weirdness begins. The horses are...different. And something very big and very dangerous is hunting them.

I've set up Horses of the Moon as a series of novellas or very short novels--20-40,000 words each. If the project funds, backers get the first novella, in which Claire discovers the horses' ancient and magical secret. Stretch goals will result in additional novellas, all the way up to a full novel.

At $5000, I'll write the second novella, in which the plot becomes much thicker, and the stakes go up exponentially.

At $6500, backers get three novellas. In number three, everything could potentially blow up, and Claire has her finger on the button.

At $8500, Horses of the Moon becomes a full-fledged novel.

At $10,000, backers at $100 and up will get a signed print edition of the novel, and backers in the lower tiers will be able to purchase the edition at a special backer's price.

If we go higher than that, I'll have even more wonderful things to add to the original rewards.

In the meantime I'll post snippets of the story, and images and experiences from the landscape I (and Claire) live in. Backers get to share our world, with its everyday (as well as fantastical) magic.

Poets Are Not Useful

On the Ninth Anniversary of the Great Levee Failure of 2005 in New Orleans, Gwyndyn Alexander released her first collection of poetry in over a decade. Since its publication, people ranging from feminist activists to best-selling authors such as Judith Tarr and Andrew Vachss have given her book very high praise.

"These poems pierce the heart and twist the knife. Visceral and dark and beautiful." - Judith Tarr, author of Alamut

Who says poetry must be racked with "fiction?" Truth etched on crystal with an acid-dipped stylus, this one will make you question the Dewey Decimal System." - Andrew Vachss

Reviews from readers:

"Poetry is difficult to review because the reasons a particular poem or poet resonates is so personal and subjective. This collection, however, is extraordinary in so many ways that it is worth trying.This is a moving, raw and beautiful collection, starting from the very first poem, which is a powerful manifesto for women poets. As the poems continue, Alexander uses a variety of metaphors (poet as Martin Luther, poet as Snow White, poet as atom bomb, etc.) but throughout the author’s powerful voice shines through.The themes of abuse, addiction, hurt, healing and lost love are emotional ones that are dealt with beautifully and with grace. Many of the poems are, to me, reminiscent of the work of Adrienne Rich and Marge Piercy, in particular those that advocate for the unique voices and unique experiences of women in poetry. This is a spectacular collection and I would urge even those who don’t think they like poetry to give it a try…there is much here to inspire, move, and astound."

"Poetry is such a powerful form of writing, that I actually avoid it frequently. A poem can get inside you like nothing else can. A song can do it; a painting can do it; all art can--but poetry is so potent because it uses only one single element--words--no music or visuals. A poem must be precise and sharp, and things that are precise and sharp are dangerous. Poems and poets are useful, but are also feared because a poet can cut right into the heart of a person and fill them with fear, longing, beauty, love, loneliness and empathy. Having one's heart cut open by a poem can be a frightening thing. It is not for the faint of heart, or I should say, the faint of heart should read poetry so that they might become courageous and might look upon things unflinchingly and teach their faint hearts not to cower in fear. A poem is a 100 proof shot of whiskey that will steady your nerves and let you face your own fears and allow you to understand the fears of others. It will allow you to stand in their shoes and see from behind their eyes. All true art aspires to this, but not all art achieves it. This collection of poetry achieves it."

"I'm moved by this book. Gwyndyn T. Alexander is more than just a poet, she's a story teller. Each poem in Poets Are Not Useful is like a secret she's sometimes whispering and other times screaming into my ear. She let me into her life, scabs and all. This book paints a picture that's sometimes painful and uncomfortable, other times strong and hopeful, but it's always honest and relatable. Each poem is an individual piece of art with common threads that cohesively bind them together to form an awe inspiring piece of work."

The following is an excerpt from an interview at the release of Poets Are Not Useful:

What inspired you to write Poets Are Not Useful?

I had a very abusive childhood, 18 years worth of awfulness. It's never easy recovering from that sort of thing. These poems were very therapeutic for me. It really helped to tell my story, my way...to get that anger and grief out and on the page. My hope is that other survivors of abuse will read it and realize that they're not alone, that they can survive and thrive and transmute their pain into something positive.

That's also why I'm donating 10% of all proceeds from the book to http://protect.org. They are a wonderful group fighting for the rights of children, and fighting for justice against the abusers.

How long did it take you to write this book?

This book has been 20 years in the making. A year ago, I shared my poetry on Andrew Vachss' Facebook. He told me that it was criminal that such powerful, important work was out of print. He said that my voice needed to be heard.

So, I buckled down and got to work, revising old unpublished poems and writing new ones. I think it's a good collection.

What books and authors have most influenced you?

Andrew Vachss, definitely. His Burke novels introduced me to Protect.org, and were instrumental in helping me internalize the truth that what had happened to me was not in any way my fault.

Judith Tarr has also been a huge influence. I sent her an advance copy of Poets Are Not Useful, as a thank you for all of the hours of pleasure her books have given me over the years. Luckily, she liked it. :)

In fact, she gave me a blurb for the back cover: “These poems pierce the heart and twist the knife. Visceral, dark, and beautiful.”

If you were to write in a different genre, what it would be?

I would love to be able to write novels, science fiction would be great. Unfortunately, my mind seems geared towards poetry. Maybe someday, I'll discover I can write actual plots and characters...anything's possible in an ever-expanding universe.

Gwyndyn Alexander

Do you have current work in progress?

 
I've just started work on a collection of poems about New Orleans. I lived there for over a decade, until the Great Levee Failure of 05. I lost my house and my business, and was forced into exile here in Austin. 

 

Don't get me wrong, Austin is a great town, but there's no place like home. I just need to find some ruby slippers....

Where readers can find your latest achievements?

The book has its own Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/poetsarenotuseful

I'm Gwyndyn Alexander on Facebook, if anyone wants to say 'hi': https://www.facebook.com/idiomagic

And over at Twitter I'm @GwynTAlexander

The book, Poets Are Not Useful, is available in both physical and digital formats over at Amazon and Kobo Books. 

Without Hope

I had an opportunity to interview Daniel Slate, the author of of one of my favorite books, Without Hope, which is about living in New Orleans (my favorite city). The book is reminiscent of Confederacy of Dunces, and I was lucky enough to get a chance to ask Daniel about what went into writing the book, where he drew his inspiration, and about his cat, Lucky.

How much of Without Hope is autobiographical? 

90% maybe? A enormous amount. And, honestly, that might represent a problem with it. I have all these anecdotes and stories that, for years, people would tell me "you need to write that" or "you need to put that in a book". And I feel I ended up putting a few things that didn't do anything to help the plot along.

Your book reminds me a lot of Confederacy of Dunces. What is it about New Orleans, do you think, that draws in such vivid people and leads to such great stories?

Confederacy of Dunces is what convinced me that what I had written, and what I was still writing at the time, was in fact a book. Dunces hasn't really got a strong narrative drive. I mean that as no criticism of it, but it just moves from funny vignette to funny vignette and is totally engaging throughout. That book, more than any other, convinced me that humor in a book is its own reward, and that even if there isn't a huge story building, with three-act structure, as long as people might laugh on every page (or most pages) then it would still work.

As for New Orleans, I have given a lot of thought to this for years and years. New Orleans celebrates everything. Anything is an excuse for a party or parade. We have Jazz Funerals. We keep our dead above ground and close to bars and great restaurants. We live below sea level and know that one single hurricane could easily wipe us out completely. I think this living between life and death defines New Orleans and the people who choose to live here. We are always right on the verge of extinction and so we celebrate everything--food, death, Catholicism, paganism, art, life, music....everything. And we are situated right at the mouth of the great and mighty Mississippi River, so historically, so many different types of people had to pass through, and many settled here. And the music here is phenomenal. Louis Prima, Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino....and up-river not far is Memphis. As far as I am concerned, jazz, blues and rock music were all basically born here. New Orleans is the very soul of the United States. A lot of the rest of the country has moved on from this, may not even believe in a "soul" and are entirely cut off from it. But that doesn't make it any less true.

Katrina plays a major role in your book. With the ten year anniversary of the storm approaching, how have things changed in New Orleans? Where do you think the city will be in the next ten years?

I had written most of Without Hope in the years prior to Katrina. The plot of the book always featured a hurricane stalled in the Gulf of Mexico. I grew up here and it seemed like most summers had a hurricane or more finding its way into the Gulf. When Katrina happened, it drastically changed things in my book. As for New Orleans itself, I've never loved the city so much as I did in the months right after Katrina, when people were living without electricity and dragging refrigerators outside and congregating at any bar that was open, serving beer from ice chests with ice from the Red Cross. The Halloween and Mardi Gras right after Katrina were the best I'd ever been to. The police were more friendly, the people all felt like part of a community or survivors and non-deserters. Eventually, some people came back, a lot of people didn't and a whole hell of a lot of new people came in, and started buying up property and opening new restaurants and upscale bars and art galleries and shops. It has become harder to find anyone who hasn't moved here in the aftermath of Katrina now. I get kind of angry when I start thinking about the current situation here. But, really, I might just be bitter. I could no longer afford to live in New Orleans/Orleans Parish. I live in a suburb. More of a shanty town across the Mississippi River on the horribly unfashionable Westbank. I only live about 20 minutes or less from the French Quarter, but have not gone into it, or my beloved Bywater and Marigny, in over a year. I can't really afford to buy drinks at a bar or food in a restaurant, or even pay for gas to drive over there. I still paint New Orleans and think about how much I love it and hope to someday return to it, but it is just too painful to visit and then cross the bridge back to the hovel I live in now. But, I am not pessimistic about New Orleans. Those hurricanes that form every summer are going to come back one day and scare all these new fair-weather New Orleanians back to wherever they came from. It will flood and property values and rents will come down again, and the strong and true will remain. So....that's optimism, right? 

You have a real talent for comedy, and your book does a great job of illustrating the ways that comedy and tragedy are so deeply intertwined. Which is easier for you to write, the funny scenes, or the tragic ones? 

So much of the book was true, in both cases I was basically reporting actual events. I love humor and aside from Confederacy of Dunces, I think Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (and everything else written by Douglas Adams) is my favorite book. But Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles helped define my love for this city. I consider myself, basically, a severely depressed funny person. Part of what I do not like about my own book, is that I wrote it over the span of about 20 years. The parts that took place when Solomon was in high school were things that all actually happened to me when I was in high school, and that is when I started writing what became the book. So my sense of humor at 17 isn't what it became after years writing weekly humor columns in UNO's newspaper Driftwood or having weird jobs working in a bath house or living with a dominatrix and her slaves, etc. I think humor and tragedy are very much entwined and moreso in New Orleans than in most places. I enjoy humor and writing humor more than the serious stuff and I think I am better at it. If I had any guts I would have tried stand-up comedy years ago. I've always told funny stories, but they tend to be true, so I really don't know if I am funny or if I just have managed to get myself into situations that are funny.

What did you learn from the experience of writing a novel? 

I learned that I always try to make things more complicated than they need to be. I could have done a straight forward, first person story of this guy Solomon. Most first novels are written in first person perspective. But I decided to try to write in a limited third person perspective and to have two separate protagonists who eventually intersect. And I decided one of them should also be trying to write something. And I wanted every name to be fraught with meaning. I tried to do too much, in my opinion, though it didn't necessarily amount to much. So for my very first outing, instead of trying to toss one ball up in the air and then catch it, I thought I would try to juggle 10 swords instead. I felt like I had some very good, sharp swords---everyone will love these swords---so what could possibly go wrong?

I still feel that the book has some very very strong stretches and has very good ingredients. I think there is a story and characters that are real in the book. But ultimately I learned that I tried to do too much. I was also very conscious of not wanting to write something too long. I threw out much more than I kept in. I wanted to say something about Truth and about Art and Souls and Hope, and I wanted it to be funny and original and true to the spirit of New Orleans. I needed to either narrow my focus or be a much much better writer--probably better than anyone I had ever read. I wanted to be Douglas Adams and Woody Allen as channeled by Nietzsche as understood through Camus as written by Hemingway with character names by Hawthorne, using the basic framework of Toole's Confederacy of Dunces. I can't say I succeeded, or that anyone could. (By the way, the title Without Hope came from Emily Dickinson by way of Woody Allen. Dickinson said "Hope is the thing with feathers-that perches in the soul." Later, Woody Allen titled a book he wrote "Without Feathers" as a clever reference to the Dickinson quote. I basically removed the cleverness of Without Feathers--which meant Without Hope--and just called my book Without Hope. Although, I guess the girl in my book was named Hope, so that restores a fraction of the cleverness back.)

What are your plans for future books? Will you revisit the characters and events from Without Hope, or are you thinking of trying new directions?



 For a while I didn't want to let go of those characters and know that I could write more for them, easily in fact. As I mentioned, I threw out more of that book than I kept, so I practically have another 150 pages of them. But I also wrote that damned thing for 20 years off and on and do want to move on. I've been working on something that I hope will be much more epic. I do not mean "lengthy" by the word epic, but it is more of a journey along the lines of the Hobbit or Star Wars or Hitchhiker's Guide. It is more fantasy than sci-fi, but still more grounded than most fantasy. I've barely started it, so it is hard to say. But it will feature some version of famous musicians such as Elvis Presley and Fats Domino, Louis Prima and Louis Armstrong, as well as characters and settings from songs. An enormous number of songs are set in and around New Orleans, to the point where I am almost tracing something mythic that already exists (was Johnny B Goode's cabin near where Polk Salad Annie lived? Surely just down river from Proud Mary? These characters exist all along the Mississippi delta--the cradle of the civil war--up to Graceland).  Hopefully this will not take 20 years, nor will it focus on too much, but instead on one epic journey.

Lucky the cat was a memorable character in your book...any plans for future projects with Lucky?

I am going to pet him as soon as I finish with this.

Lucky

You can buy Without Hope in both digital and physical formats over at Amazon. Pick it up today to support an independent author who knows how to captivate the reader with fantastic (and true) stories!