Earth Language

On September 21, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Heroine's Journey6 Comments

“To our indigenous ancestors, and to the many aboriginal peoples who still hold fast to their oral traditions, language is less a human possession than it is a property of the animate earth itself, an expressive, telluric power in which we, along with the coyotes and the crickets, all participate. Each creature enacts this expressive magic in its own manner, the honeybee with its waggle dance no less than a bellicose, harrumphing sea lion.” — From Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology by David Abram, quoted by Terri Windling in her recent series of posts.

The plots and imagery of my short stories and novels frequently evoke the powers of Earth and invite meditations on and respect for the natural world. This is especially true in my 2011 heroine’s journey adventure novel Sarabande.

The phrase heroine’s journey indicates that this is a woman’s adventure story and that the trials and tribulations will strongly test the main character. The story is written with a feminine point of view, that of Sarabande, the young title character. Since Earth and the forces of nature are often viewed as feminine, the title character’s adventure is supported by “Earth language.”

Sarabande is attracted to rivers, the earth’s life blood and she is healed by an Indian’s Earth-centric approach. And, for a short period of time, she truly experiences becoming animal when she merges with Coyote, a magical creature in the mountains where she finds the ghost who has been haunting her.

I’m attracted to David Abram’s books because they place humans back into nature rather than as creatures at odds with nature. In Sarabande, the title character’s interactions with nature are important to her physical survival and to her inner growth. As readers will soon discover, her life is in danger quite often: knowing “Earth Language” will be essential.

David Abram suggests that rather than describing nature, we should listen to and talk to nature. He relates the story of a man who has trained himself so well to understand “the dialects of trees” that he can be taken blindfolded to any location in the Pacific Northwest. Once there, he will tell you who the nearby trees are. Perhaps our best contemporary fantasies can lead readers back to an appreciation for such skills.

In Sarabande, I hope readers will not only enjoy the adventure, but will take away a bit of Earth language.

Today’s Writing Links

Why We Have Both “Color” and “Colour” by Mignon Fogarty for Grammar Girl – “Have you ever wondered why the British spell “color” with a “u” and Americans don’t? Or why the British spell “theater” with an “re” at the end and Americans spell it with an “er” at the end? We all know that these spelling differences exist, but not everyone knows why they exist.”
The Stephen King Guide to Marketing by Jason Kong for Jane Friedman’s blog – “…you need both good writing and good marketing. Many writers see this as two steps. Write first, then worry about marketing once the words are published. The belief is that the writing and marketing processes are distinct.”
Quote: I am obsessive about titles. Even for my second and third book in the series, I couldn’t move forward until I had the right title for it. With Crewel, I didn’t want it to be so sewing-based that it would be off-putting. I stumbled upon “crewel,” and I thought, obviously this is the title. I take liberties with it. There’s someone out there who does crewel who’s going to say, “There isn’t one crewel work in the book.” – Gennifer Albin, author of “Crewel” – from Shelf Awareness

—Malcolm

Allowing a story to happen

On September 19, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn fiction, writing8 Comments

Some writers begin with an outline while others just start writing. Either way, the story is likely to have a mind of its own. Characters will do and say unexpected things. Research will turn up new ideas that alter the original ideas for a scene. Regardless of the overall plan, or lack of a plan, the story will need a bit of space in which to grow.

You’ll know when it’s better to wait patiently than to press on with your typing. This often happens at the end of a scene. Now it’s time for the characters to do something else. But what? Or, it may be time for for the writer to check in on another character. But who? Or, perhaps you’ve written up to the edge of A BIG SCENE and you’re not exactly sure how that big scene ought to get underway.

At times like this, I find it better to stop writing for 15 minutes, an hour, or perhaps for the rest of the afternoon and do something unrelated to the novel or short story I’m working on. If the next scene of the story seems close, but isn’t quite resolving into my thoughts, I’ll do something relatively mindless like playing a game of Freecell, hearts or Angry Birds. If I think the scene needs more time to come to mind, I’ll go do errands or mow the lawn.

When I distract myself, the next scene in the story always occurs to me out of nowhere.

I suppose there are many theories about this. I really don’t want to know them. If I did know them, the whole process might simply stop working. Anyhow, I have my own theory about it.

If you think about some of the methods people use to relax, especially those who do psychic readings or are using biofeedback to get rid of a headache or a sore back, the process begins with visualizing a relaxing place, slowing the breath, and then follows through various self-hypnotic methods that will slow one’s brainwaves and heart beat.

Now, I’m not suggesting Tarot card readers ought to begin with a game of hearts on their computers before spreading out the cards or that Freecell will send energy up and down your chakra system to improve your well being. Perhaps. At any rate, my mindless activities tend to produce the same results as structured or unstructured meditation. The result? I’ve stepped away from the story, relaxed, and allowed it to happen.

My won/lost percentage for Freecell, hearts, chess and other games on my computer isn’t good because once I begin playing them, the next scene of my story is likely to occur at any moment and to be so compelling that I can’t wait to get back to my Word file and start typing again. At that point, I’m ready to quit the game in a second and get back to the larger-order of fun: writing.

I suppose we all have our little tricks and superstitions. One way or another, they seem to be in our writer’s tool kits as the magic behind the curtain that allows our stories to happen.

—Malcolm

SarabandeBanner2011 — a heroine’s journey adventure for your Kindle

Briefly Noted: ‘The Missoula Mercantile’ by Minie Smith

On September 14, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books4 Comments

Minie Smith’s The Missoula Mercantile traces the history of an 1866 Missoula, Montana trading post that ultimately became—according to a story about the book in The Missoulian–“the largest department store between Minneapolis and Seattle.” The 192-page book, which includes 82 historic pictures–was released by The History Press in August.

According to The Missoulian, “Allied Stores Corp. bought the Merc in 1960 but retained the name until the Bon Marche bought Allied in 1978. Federated Department Stores took over in 1989, and the name changed over the years from the Bon to Bon-Macy’s and, in 2005, to Macy’s. Macy’s closed the doors in early 2010.” Smith’s history follows the store up until 1960.

Publisher’s Description: From its log cabin beginnings at a dusty crossroads in Montana Territory, the Missoula Mercantile grew to become the largest department store between Minneapolis and Seattle. Under the guidance of A.B. Hammond and C.H. McLeod and their policy of community involvement and customer satisfaction, the Merc became a household word in Montana, synonymous with square dealing. Join historian Minie Smith as she traces the story of a western institution, remembering everything from the Missoula Mercantile’s hardware department, with its creaky wooden floors and drawers of nuts and bolts, to its ladies’ apparel department, which offered a taste of the big city with silks, satins and velveteens. From horseshoes to hosieries, the Merc had what customers needed and knew what they wanted.

Today’s look-alike stores are pretty much the same from town to town, but the old stores were a part of local history, giving one the impression that if the old walls could talk, one would know everything about a place that could ever be known. Fortunately, the store’s old building is being preserved and The Missoula Mercantile is telling its story.

Book Signing: Smith will be signing copies of The Missoula Mercantile this Saturday Morning at 10:30 at Fact and Fiction Downtown in Missoula and at the University of Montana Bookstore at 2 p.m. on Friday, September 21.

—Malcolm

2010bannerss — A Glacier Park fantasy for your Nook.

‘Jock Talks…Politics’ Nominated for 2013 Pushcart Prize

On September 9, 2012September 16, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, satire9 Comments

I am honored—and quite stunned—to announce that my collection of (obviously fictional) satirical news stories Jock Talks…Politics has been nominated by Vanilla Heart Publishing (VHP) for a 2013 Pushcart Prize. Jock Talks…Politics is one of four e-book satire collections based on my Jock Stewart character in Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire. (Click on the cover graphic to see the YouTube announcement video.)

I am happy to report that my VHP friends Smoky Zeidel (Breakfast at the Laundromat) , Melinda Clayton (Erma Puckett’s Moment of Indiscretion) and S. R. Claridge (Petals of Blood) have also been nominated for a 2013 Pushcart Prize.

According to Wikipedia’s entry, “The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best “poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot” published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to six works they have featured. Anthologies of the selected works have been published annually since 1976.”

My series of Jock Talks e-books is drawn from posts made on my Morning Satirical News weblog, with a few also published here. While my journalism mentors at the former Florida State School of Journalism and my professors at the Syracuse University Newhouse Communications Center would all be totally scandalized if they saw I’d given up writing real news stories in order to turn out satire, the best reply I have is: LIGHTEN UP.

If I weren’t already out of Scotch, I’d be pouring a double to celebrate. Jock himself would, of course, drink straight out of the bottle to keep from dirtying up an extra glass, using extra dishwasher energy and increasing out country’s reliance on foreign oil.

—Malc0lm

MY PUBLISHER’S ANNOUNCEMENT POSTER

‘Internet Service Provider’ Cuts Old Line Before Activating New Line

On September 5, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn satire4 Comments

Jefferson, Georgia, September 5, 2012—Never ask your Insane Service Provider (ISP) for whom the bell tolls. They’ll say, “Nobody, because the line is dead.”

In fact, the line is deader than King Tut, the dark ages, and Wells Fargo’s stage coach service between here and yonder.

When we asked Windstream why they de-activated the old DSL line at midnight when the new line wouldn’t be activated until a service technician stopped by our house 8-18 hours later, they had multiple answers: (a) because we can, (b) our DOS 3.0 computer doesn’t know what time it is, and (c) we didn’t want to enable your Internet addiction.

“Nonetheless,” they said, reading from a canned apology script, “your quality care technician is just about to get ready to head in your general direction via the westbound stage coach.”

I wondered about my e-mail messages while the stage was delayed while the driver changed horses in midstream.

As a novelist, my first thought was, “What if Hollywood sends me an e-mail asking if they can add more nude scenes to the upcoming blockbuster 3D IMAX epic ‘Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire’?”

As an ass-kicking reporter, my second thought was, “Without my highly dependable, accurate and objective Yahoo homepage, how am I going to know diddly squat about Prince Harry’s butt and the other asinine news of the day?”

Ever resourceful, I turned on the TV like I would have done in the 1950s when it still had a set of rabbit ears with tin foil streamers on top.

The Catastrophe News Network (CNN) was airing continuing coverage of a posse chasing a horse thief down County Road 1534 near Junction City, Texas. The Frantic Old Xanthippe (FOX) network was holding a séance with a panel of deceased 1930s mobsters about the value of legalizing Tommy guns in churches. The local random access channel was showing random re-runs of the “Newlywed Game.”

HOST BOB EUBANKS: “Bambi, if your new husband turned into a serial killer, would he track down your mother, your father or you ex-boyfriends first?”

BAMBI: Hahahaha. Good golly, no, Bob. He’d start out with Wheaties and then attack my Frosted Flakes.

I considered making something up: “Enraged over Prince Harry’s butt on Great Britain’s new ‘Olympic Assets’ postage stamps, a horse thief in Junction City grabbed a Tommy gun and pumped a hundred rounds of hot lead into a box of Lucky Charms on the back of a stolen horse.”

But then, how could I live with myself, aping the techniques of my newspaper’s rivals at CNN and FOX?

I called Windstream a new minutes ago and, after pointing out that the latest ice age had come and gone since we last shot the breeze about our nonexistent DSL, I inquired about the location of “our” service technician.

“His horse was stolen by a desperado wielding a Tommy gun two miles west of Yonder,” the CSR said. “CNN, FOX, and Yahoo are already on the scene splashing fresh vids all around the Internet. Twitter is on fire about it. Oh, but then you couldn’t have known that.”

“You’re right as rain,” I said.

“One more thing,” he said.

“What?”

“Your inbox on our ten megabyte hard drive was overflowing, so we deleted everything. It was mostly spam, especially those fake Hollywood e-mails asking if you wanted to do any nude scenes with horses in a movie.”

“One day, humanity as we now understand it, will thank you,” I said as I reached for the flask of single malt Scotch in the Tommy gun drawer of my desk.

-30-

—Jock Stewart

If your Internet Service Provider hasn’t capriciously turned off your DSL service today, you can be enjoying a darned inexpensive copy of “Jock Talks Satirical News” for only 99 cents in a matter of minutes or, otherwise, when pigs fly.

Briefly Noted: Angel is a Lady and a Mob Boss in S.R. Claridge’s Series of Mystery Novels

On September 3, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books

In Tetterbaum’s Truth, Angel Martin thought she’d find happy ever after by marrying Tony. Her plans changed when Tony vanished and she took a job at a pub to help her pull herself back together. The pub was a Mafia hangout, but she didn’t know that.

Released in 2011, S. R. Claridge’s Tetterbaum’s Truth began, one might say, both a series of defining moments for Angel and a series of mysteries for readers who like staying up late at night with exciting books.

The “Call Me Angel Series” also includes Traitors Among us, Russian Uprising and this year’s release, Death Trap. Here’s the publisher’s* description for Death Trap:

When Giovanni’s private jet explodes with Angel presumably on board, the family is thrust into a state of crisis and mourning. Learning that the explosion was not due to a malfunction but a well-planned attack,Angel’s men set out on a course for revenge; while Giovanni must face the hard reality of assigning a new Boss to the family.Unknown to anyone Angel is alive,but is forced into hiding from the terrorist group exacting revenge on her grandfather, Salvatore. She watches in horror as her men are lured one-by-one into a trap of death, with their only chance for survival falling on the shoulders of a stranger with an unstable past.

Tempers flare and bullets fly as the lines of family loyalty blur into a melting pot of Mafia destruction, thickening when Angel’s men discover that the stranger behind the attack isn’t a stranger at all. Emotions run high as Angel must face the suffocating reality that her only hope for staying alive is to play dead.

To learn more about the series, check out an interview with Susan on Smoky Talks. All four novels are available on Kindle and Nook, and in multiple e-book formats on Smashwords.

—Malcolm

*S. R. Claridge and I are both published by Vanilla Heart Publishing.

Old Man River

On August 31, 2012August 31, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn environment7 Comments

French Broad River, North Carolina – M. R. Campbell photo

Science tells us that 2.5% of the Earth’s water is fresh water, that only 1.3% of that fresh water is surface water (as opposed to ground water, glaciers and ice caps), and that .46% of that surface water can be found in rivers. Using the numbers from Igor Shiklomanov’s work in 1993, rivers contain 2,120 cubic kilometers of the Earth’s 1,338,000,000 cubic kilometers of water.

How fascinated we are with this 2,120 cubic kilometers of water. We see its beauty, we feel its impact (especially during droughts and floods), and we find ways around it or over it. The statistics relating to water can be staggering. In the U.S., the Mississippi alone drains 40% of the 48 contiguous states, or 1,243,000 square miles.

As a novelist, I follow a long tradition of using the symbolism of rivers in my work. In my contemporary fantasy Sarabande, rivers symbolize change, movement and journeys. Other authors have used rivers to symbolize time, strength, danger, freedom, spirituality, eternity, transportation, food, renewal and a rather endless list of other meanings.

Here are a few of my favorite river quotations for your labor day weekend:

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” — Heraclitus
“Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.” — Jorge Luis Borges
“A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself—for it is from the soil, both from its depth and from its surface, that a river has its beginning.” — Laura Gilpin
“It is only in appearance that time is a river. It is rather a vast landscape and it is the eye of the beholder that moves.” – -Thornton Wilder
“I am an intelligent river which has reflected successively all the banks before which it has flowed by meditating only on the images offered by those changing shores.” — Victor Hugo
“A good river is nature’s life work in song.” — Mark Helprin
“He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.” — Horace
“Ol’ man river, dat ol’ man river, He must know sumpin’, but don’t say nothin’, He just keeps rollin’, He keeps on rollin’ along.” — Oscar Hammerstein II
“The miracle of light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slowly moving, the grass and water that is the meaning and the central fact of the Everglades. It is a river of grass.” — Marjory Stoneman Douglas
“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters.” — Norman Maclean

–Malcolm

The state with the lunatic fringe on top?

On August 28, 2012August 28, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn issues2 Comments

AZ CLAIMS PREGNANCY OCCURS BEFORE CONCEPTION

by Jock Stewart

Phoenix, Arizona, August 28, 2012–An anti-abortion law created close enough to this year’s April Fools Day to qualify as absurd, took effect this month in a state where the powers that be have taken another baby step toward the goal of nationalizing women’s bodies.

The oddly titled Women’s Health and Safety Act states that pregnancy now begins two weeks prior to conception depending on the current phase of the moon and what, if anything, the woman was smoking. Women who listen to music by “such people” as Madonna and Lady Gaga are deemed to be pregnant at all times.

According to sources close to the governor’s office, the law is aimed at those who are still promoting “new age clap trap” about sex, drugs, rock and roll, and the Our Bodies Ourselves philosophy.

The sponsors of the bill stated in a white paper called Honey, here’s the way it’s goin’ to be that many of the law’s precedents can be found in the Book of Deuteronomy, the transcripts of the Salem Witchcraft Trials and in records from Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis.

Jonathan Corwin, director of the Arizona Devil’s Magic and Pregnancy Task Force, told reporters that, “our great state believes that what God enriches, no man make take away. The female body is a natural resource that will, in the near future, be placed under state control for the benefit of our children and our children’s children as yet unborn. Those with views slanted the wrong way belong in places like California and Oregon.”

According to Planned Parenthood, the law reduces the time period within which women in Arizona may obtain a legal abortion.

Admitting that policing “the matter” may be somewhat difficult, law enforcement jurisdictions—with the help of federal funding—will soon be certifying neighborhood watch groups, vagrants, burglars and others “who are in a position to know” as Devil’s Magic and Pregnancy Officers who, in technical terms, will keep lists of who’s been “doing it and when.”

“We don’t mind if you do it,” said Corwin. “But just remember, in the State of Arizona, real or imagined pregnancy has no UNDO key.”

–

Jock Stewart is the alter ego of Malcolm R. Campbell, author of the satirical novel “Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire.”

The Ghost of Bellamy Bridge

On August 25, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Historic Preservation4 Comments

I last drove my decrepit 1954 Chevy over the historic Pratt-truss bridge on Bellamy Bridge Road in Jackson County, Florida in 1962. I grew up in Tallahassee about 85 miles away via U.S. Highway 90 and the Florida Caverns State Park on the Chipola River in nearby Marianna was a favorite day trip of mine. While researching another story for my evolving series of Florida short stories, I focused on the old bridge because ever since the mid-1830s, it has supposedly been haunted.

Fortunately, information about the legend can be found in on several websites, the best being one maintained by Florida author and historian Dale Cox. Cox included the Bellamy Bridge story in Two Egg, Florida: A Collection of Ghost Stories, Legends and Unusual Facts.

The bridge, which can be viewed by those on Chipola River paddle trips, has otherwise been inaccessible for years ever since traffic over the river shifted to a new bridge and the portion of the road leading to the old one was abandoned. As a preservationist, I hated seeing this historic old bridge not being conserved and maintained or made accessible to those who want to look at one of the few remaining iron bridges of its type in the State of Florida. For me, the bridge is a wonderful location setting for a short story as well as a memory from childhood years.

While I was working on this short story, Dale Cox happened to make a proposal to Jackson County that a privately funded walking trail through public land be created with appropriate signs and markers that would allow people to hike into the fabulous floodplain swamp and river environment and see the bridge. The project appears to have the support of the county and, with a little luck and a lot of hard work from Dale Cox and other volunteers, the trail may soon become a reality.

I don’t think anyone is claiming that hikers will see any ghosts. In fact, insofar as the legend is concerned, it may not match the historical record of one Elizabeth Jane Bellamy who has purportedly been haunting the area for 178 years. My short story is named Cora because that just might be the name of the actual ghost. But leaving behind stories and storytelling for now, I’m happy to see that the bridge may become accessible and that many others will enjoy a historic structure that I took for granted when I drove my old car over its wood planks (long gone now) when I was in high school.

If you live in the Florida Panhandle and/or like old bridges and floodplain swamps filled with chinkapin and cypress, you can follow the Historic Bellamy Bridge project here on Facebook.

—Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell, who grew up in the Florida Panhandle, is the author of four novels, including the contemporary fantasies “The Sun Singer” and “Sarabande.”

Inspiring Blog Award Nomination

On August 19, 2012 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn writing4 Comments

Thank you, Christine, for nominating Malcolm’s Round Table as an inspiring blog in yesterday’s post on your C. LaVielle’s Book Jacket Blog. I’ve been enjoying your posts, especially those that focus on individual Tarot cards and the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey has been a long-time special interest of mine, so when others write about it, I usually find my way to their words.

Now, in the spirit of the Inspiring Blog Award, I’m supposed to tell you seven things about me.

My website’s bio page says that I was raised by alligators in the Everglades. I’ve given this matter further thought, and suspect that it may not be true. I did enjoy reading Karen Russell’s novel Swamplandia! (which was a deja vu experience) about a Florida theme park featuring alligator wrestlers, and I did grow up in Florida: I’m reasonably sure about these things.
Among other things, I like anchovies and feta cheese on pizza. I had a boss who insisted on ordering pizza with pineapple on it on Friday afternoons to celebrate the end of the workweek. Ursula, I gotta tell you, I never understood the pineapple. Of course, most people don’t understand anchovies because (possibly) evil spirits brainwashed them when they were kids.
The URL for this blog lists it under knightofswords. This is the Tarot card that signifies me for those of us who view the court cards as knights, queens, princes and princesses. The Knight of Swords is a card of wind and storms.
My sun sign is Leo. I guess most of you have figured that out already.
My introduction to myths and heroes’ journeys began in secondary school when I read every book I could get my hands on about the Arthurian legends. My favorite King Arthur book is T. H. White’s The Once and Future King. So, no surprise that I would call this blog Malcolm’s Round Table.
My writer’s muse is named Siobhan and she appeared as a character in my contemporary fantasy Sarabande and in my hero’s journey novel Garden of Heaven: an Odyssey.
My first jobs were delivering telegrams and newspapers (though not at the same time).

Seven Blogs that Inspire Me

The Round Table

I’ve never been able to settle down and confine this blog to a tightly focused subject area. As an author, I’m going to talk about my books along with the themes and settings in them. This has led to a fair number of posts about Glacier National Park, the hero’s journey and the heroine’s journey, the environment, and fantasy and magical realism. I also review books here and at Literary Aficionado. I’m glad Christine enjoys stopping by the Round Table, and I hope you do, too.

Malcolm