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Archive for Ethan
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Oct 27
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Mythology has always played a significant role in my writings. Many of the writers who influenced me and my own writing style at an early age used mythology in their works.
Tolkien of course is a prime example. Most of the creatures and tales within Middle-earth are borrowed from or based on actual mythologies and histories if only loosely. This does not make him a plagiarist. It makes him a good story teller.
The best stories are not new ones, but old tales told in a new way. William Shakespeare did not write new stories. He only retold old stories in a way that his generation could appreciate. The words may have been different, but the underlying essence was the same.
Lloyd Alexander also played a significant role in my literary development with his Prydain Chronicles. He was telling tales from a mythology I wasn’t yet familiar with. These books helped me to discover the links between mythology, fairy tales, and modern fantasy. I explored these connections in much greater depth after discovering Joseph Campbell and Charles DeLint years later, but Lloyd showed me what to look for.
Roger Zelazeny was also a master at modernizing mythology. He could write about gods as if they were ordinary people. Greek, Egyptian and even fictional gods roamed the pages of his books with fantastic powers but the same foibles that you and I struggle with every day. His best work in my opinion is his science fiction spiritual journey of a would be Siddhartha in rebellion against the Hindu gods.
Good Modern Fantasy is a continuation.
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This post first appeared during the Samhain Blog Book Tour on Book Lush.
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Oct 26
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It is no accident that most of my central characters are solitary figures. The lonely soul adrift in a world that defies understanding is one of the most pervasive archetypal characters in human storytelling. It is a character easy to identify with since we all feel that way to some degree.
I believe that one of the strongest longings for humans is companionship, not to feel alone in a hostile and confusing world. This longing can be well employed to create an undercurrent to any adventure.
The classic hero’s quest is primarily a quest for the hero to find himself and how he or she fits into his or her world. It is a right of passage that begins alone and ends with a community.
The corollary characters to the lonely hero are the wise teacher and the lover. The wise teacher is typically grand-parental in aspect though not a real relative. They are often imbued with mystical type of knowledge. Merlin to Arthur and Obi Wan to Luke Skywalker are both good examples. They are there to help and guide the hero.
The lover is someone on the hero’s basic level, searching for their own answers and joining forces with the hero for mutual benefit. Taran and Princess Eilonwy from Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles are great examples of this kind of partnership.
I admit that I am heavily influenced by my own life. I grew up without any real community or even a family. As a result I have always been a solitary person myself. But I have spent a good deal of my life searching for both a community and answers. This is why I can identify with my characters so well. There is a little bit of me in all of them.
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This post first appeared on Sidhe Vicious during the Samhain Blog Book Tour.
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Oct 17
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I have always had a tendency to sneak some life wisdom into my writings. Although a good story is always welcome, it is much better if one becomes a wiser person for having read it. My favorite authors have always been the ones that have followed this practice.
There should not be overt preaching, however. This ruins the story. It is fine to do this in works of non-fiction—a self help book for example—but for those writing fiction, the message should be buried in the story, not the other way around.
For my part, even when I am writing an opinion piece that is guaranteed to offend those of an opposing view, I generally dress it up in humor. If nothing else this will downgrade the reaction from enraged violence to a condescending sneer.
Learning is far more pleasant when it is enjoyable. Also, if a reader is enjoying themselves they will be much more open to the subtle philosophies being presented. A relaxed mind is far more open than one that would rather be doing something else.
I am partial to philosophy and spirituality myself, but technical knowledge is also a wonderful addition to fiction. I first read Jules Verne soon after taking my first algebra class twenty five years ago. I still remember how much I enjoyed being able to understand the algebraic formulas he sprinkled throughout his fiction. It also helped me to understand the practical applications for what had been for me a new and arcane discipline.
Wisdom in fiction not only increases the readers pleasure, but the writers as well. There is a deep satisfaction in knowing that one has written not only a great tale but one of worth. The wisdom of humanity is increased thereby.
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Please join us on our Samhain Blog Book Tour today at Tynga’s Urban Fantasy Reviews. We have a guest post there entitled “Why YA?,” and we’re giving away signed books and a Green Man Journal, handmade by Christine and me from 100% recycled materials.
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Oct 16
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Description is a key element in my writing style. I spend a lot of time looking at and exploring the world around me. To be able to share what I see and experience with my readers is one of the great joys of writing to me.
When I write about a place, I want to create more than a background. I want the reader to experience what I experienced by being in that place or even imagining it. This requires much more than a visible description. The reader also needs to know how it feels. Is it hot or cold? Are there psychic impressions such as hostility, eeriness, or peacefulness? How does it smell? The olfactory sense has the most direct link to the human unconscious of all the senses.
What about background noises? Are the branches whispering with the breeze? What feelings arise unbidden within the character experiencing the setting?
I admit that description can sometimes be overdone, but that is what a good editor is for. Some common errors which I try to avoid is the use of cliches and using the same descriptive words more than once in a passage.
Good description will jump start the imagination, and once that gets going, there is no telling where it will take the reader. Using one’s imagination also helps to increase one’s intelligence, just as exercising one’s body will increase its strength. Imagination is what allows people to expand their knowledge and create new ideas. Einstein was not brilliant because of what he knew; he was brilliant because of his imagination. It was from this that he was able to create such concepts as the Theory of Relativity.
Another reason why I use description so much in my writing is because it is so much fun. More than that, it is a way to create a world exactly as I want it to be—with the help of my imagination of course.
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Please visit us today on the Samhain Blog Book Tour over at Tales of Whimsey! There’s an interview with Christine, and we’re giving away signed books and a pewter bookmark from Oberon Design!
Also, thanks to all those who participated in SEND WITCH to the TOP yesterday. We reached #67 on the Children’s Fantasy List. You made Witch on the Water an Amazon best seller!
Don’t worry if you missed it, because you can still get it today:
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Sep 26
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United We Stand sounds great, but we are not a united country. We are in fact deeply polarized with a significant majority trapped between in apathy, frustration, or disgust.
Politically, these poles are called conservatives and liberals. The conservatives however tend to prefer the colloquial terms Right and Left for what should be obvious reasons. Let us take a quick look at these words and then you can decide whether politicians and pundits at least can cast spells with common language.
The word “conservative” implies preserving. In this case preserving the traditional values of our ancestors. Sounds fine on the surface, but peel off the top layer and see what is wriggling underneath. Our ancestors practiced slavery, genocide, racial segregation, religious intolerance, oppression of women, etc. It is primarily an unwillingness to evolve, either socially or individually. It is no wonder they prefer to refer to themselves as “The Right” with the automatic assumption that everyone else is wrong.
The word liberal brings with it the connotations of freedom and generosity, and yet it has been given a veneer implying totalitarian oppression through its unwarranted association with the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republic was neither communist nor socialist. It wasn’t even a republic, but rather an oppressively totalitarian regime.
“The Left” is even worse with its Medieval Christian connotations of evil. The Latin word for “left” is sinister, which received its modern definition because left-handed people were thought to be wrong somehow.
It has occurred to me from my own observations that a more appropriate designation for these two groups would be big and small. I base this on their respective world views.
Liberals tend to start big: “save the world,” “world peace,” “think globally,” -and then work their way down- “universal healthcare,” “good schools” “community markets,” “family planning” “act locally.”
Conservatives on the other hand tend to start small and expand. “Me first,” “me and mine,” “family first” “my church/social club/sports team” “my religion,” “America, love it or leave it.”
These are of course tendencies and not rules. But if we look at the way each group looks at separate issues then patterns quickly emerge.
Liberals try to look at the world as a whole. OK, liberals look at the world anyway they want, but one of the central ideas behind liberalism is that we all live on the same small planet. Some liberals just think of it as a human world and worry only about humans. The broader view is that it is a single ball of life that we are all a part of. Every living creature and ecosystem has a right to life. There is a general willingness among liberals to sacrifice some of their own well being for the greater well being of the planet.
The more righteous party has a tendency to break down and isolate issues. This allows them to focus attention on a narrow point without revealing the greater consequences of their actions. Rather than solving a problem, there is a tendency to remove it from their yard. As long as it is happening elsewhere and not to them, it is not a problem. Is it not ironic that those who use the “United We Stand” phrase the most are the most divisive?
And let us not forget the immortal words of Samuel Johnson:
“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.”
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Sep 23
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 A joyous Mabon to everyone!
The autumnal equinox known commonly as Mabon is traditionally a day of thanksgiving. The main harvests have been gathered. The store houses are full. Abundance abounds. People celebrate by feasting with their family and friends.
The Druids in the meantime are giving thanks by pouring libations of cider and wine for the trees in the forest. Gifts of fertilizer are given to the earth.
Mother Nature begins her transition from Matron to Crone. The Green Man will shed his finery. The time for labor is drawing to a close. The time for rest approaches.
It is also a time for learning. Tales will be told and wisdom passed around. There will also be plenty of time for quiet contemplation and meditation.
At the Rose household, which is currently camped out at the Kansas City Renaissance Faire and 500 years in the past, we celebrated with a big pot of Christine’s harvest stew. If I’m a really good boy, she might make her famous vegan, organic Pumpkin Cheesecake!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Torte
12 servings — egg- and dairy-free
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 double crackers)
1 cup sugar
1 lb. soft tofu, drained
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
15-oz. can solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus additional for dusting
4 oz. soy cream cheese ( 1/2 cup), at room temperature (we use Tofutti’s Better Than Cream Cheese)
4 Tbs. soft canola margarine
Crust
- Position rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 8 1/2-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
- Make crust: In food processor, pulse graham cracker crumbs and margarine until evenly moistened. Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Keep oven on for baking cheesecake.
Filling
- In food processor, puree tofu until smooth. Add pumpkin and process
- until blended. Add soy cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves and process until smooth and well combined. Pour mixture into cooled crust and bake on center rack 45 minutes.
- Turn oven off. Let cheesecake cool in oven 1 hour without opening door. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate cheesecake at least 8 hours or overnight. (Don’t worry if cheesecake seems a little soft; it will firm up during chilling.)
- To serve, run a long, thin knife around inside edge of pan to loosen cake; remove sides of pan. Lightly dust top of cheesecake with cinnamon and serve at room temperature.
PER serving: 201 CAL; 4 G PROT; 7 G TOTAL FAT (2 SAT. FAT); 31 G CARB.; 0 MG CHOL; 100 MG SOD.; 2 G FIBER
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Aug 13
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 We took another day out of our busy schedules to play tourist again, but it was Seattle, how could we not? We saw the Space Needle in the center of town. Then we saw the hypodermic needle floating in the public toilet.
Seattle has an international flavor, at least the tourist spots where we went did. We started in the City Center where we parked the car for the day in a relatively inexpensive garage. Apparently parking spaces in this town earn more per hour than the federal minimum wage.
From there we took the monorail to the West Lake Plaza. Round trip was $4, which works out to about one dollar per block. From there we strolled down to Pikes Place for breakfast. We started at the evil empires birthplace, the original Starbucks, established in 1971.
Since first launching their bid for world domination, they have progressed to the point of making all their cups and lids recyclable. I am hoping that sometime within the next three and a half decades they will begin recycling them.
Once we had our drinks in hand, it was off to Piroshky Piroshky for the main course. This small take-out bakery is run by a Russian family (not the Russian mafia), who know their business, and their business is delicious cheap food in a breaded wrapping.
For dessert, it was on to The Confectionals Cheesecakes for a cheesecake truffle. These were a bit more expensive, being about one dollar per bite, but they were worth it. Then again they were only about one cent per calorie!
Having satisfied our gastronomic decadence, we wandered around the market place a bit longer before walking back to the monorail for the return trip to the City Center. Here is where they keep one of the city’s treasures: the International Fountain. Nestled within its own crater, like a fallen meteorite, is a giant steel dome from which the waters pour forth.
Did I say pour?
They shoot out from many different outlets in an unpredictable pattern to the rhythm of the music played through the sound system. The young and sometimes older are enticed into dancing around the fountain tempting a sudden soaking and every so often, when the music is right, two giant spouts leap dozens of meters into the air and fall with a thunderous crash. It was one of the most awesome sights we witnessed that day.
After enjoying the fountain for a time, we retrieved our car and went to see the troll under the Fremont Bridge. He crouches under one end with an old VW Bug clutched in one massive hand. Despite having lived under a bridge and in Seattle, the Sun must have caught him at some time since he has been turned to stone. Now he is just something for tourists to climb on and have their picture taken with, if they can find a place to park.
See Christine’s previous post about our day of Marathon Sightseeing.
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Aug 09
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When Christine and I finally made it back to the west coast. Our first stop was at my Aunt’s house. She lives in an old San Jose suburb where houses are packed in as close as possible to one another. When my grandfather bought their house back in the fifties, he filled up the several-acre back yard with trees and orchards.
The front yard, which had a wrap around driveway, was filled up with olive trees and herbs. Flowering vines were trained up the fences and over the carport.
While neighbors were busy putting in up to six houses or small apartment complexes in their backyard acreage, my aunt’s place remained intact. Foliage keeps it hidden from the street and when one steps into the backyard, one is completely sheltered from the mad city surrounding this sanctuary. Life just naturally slows down.
A large brick patio surrounded by citrus trees provides an exterior living room with a table in the shade for meals, working, or just hanging out. Several chickens roam at will. Vegetables are grown. Walnut and fruit trees display their bounty. Snacks can be picked right from their branches. There is also a small workshop and guest cottage.
And yet it is close enough to walk to almost any kind of shopping one might desire. To my way of thinking, the property is worth much more as-is than the millions of dollars infilling with houses would bring.
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Jul 23
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Gaelic Storm came out on stage at the Colorado Irish Festival and began to play. Evening was just beginning to descend upon what had been a very hot and sunny day. Before they could get through their first song the rain was pouring down and the wind was fiercely blowing. Having successfully called down a mother of a storm, the Gaels left the stage, leaving the roadies to battle wind-whipped tars as they desperately raced to cover thousands of dollars worth of audio equipment.
Elsewhere throughout the festival, vendors did the same. Hordes of patrons dressed in shorts and t-shirts fled for the gates or huddled under what shelter they could find and hadn’t blown down already. The more daring and intoxicated (this is an Irish festival after all and while I hate to stereo type there where over 150 kegs stacked up outside the beer pavilion on Sunday morning) shed shoes and wet shirts to dance in the rain.
As the storm first descended, I found myself host to a pack of damp refugees. I had already dropped three of the sides to our booth and brought the rack of books inside, but it soon became apparent that more was needed. The wind shifted to drive the rain horizontally through the front opening. Realizing the futility of their position, my guests fled allowing me to drop the last tarp.
But my hopes of creating a square of shelter were frustrated by the wind’s violence. Rain was blown in through all the seams and the roof began to leak. I covered the books with a giant plastic bag and frantically began piling everything else in the driest spots I could find. The tent sides where flapping so hard they where knocking things off the shelves.
By this time water was flowing across the ground, soaking the bottom of whatever boxes rested on it. Then I lost electricity. The wind had blown apart my power cord connection. The tent was coming free of its moorings and all I could do was hang on to it and hope the whole thing didn’t blow away. I had already shed my soaked shirt and shoes, and was clad only in wet shorts and a semi dry table cloth cloak.
An eternal five minutes later the wind decreased and the rain let up. A few minutes more and it was all over. I dug a dry shirt out of the depths of my pack. I plugged the lights back in. All that was left was to assess the damage and begin clean up. Just another night in the humdrum life of an author.
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Jul 11
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Yes, I just had a birthday on Thursday. Forty-one is the number. I guess I am no longer a teenager, but I still feel like one sometimes. Thank the gods I don’t act like one. To my way of thinking, twelve is the right age to act. But I blend that with mature responsibility when called for.
When I was twelve, I spent most of my day working. For amusement I would carve and read. On Sunday afternoons which I had off I would usually go hiking in the woods. I was also working on my first book, which never reached completion.
Now that I am forty-one I spend most of my days working. When I have some free time I usually carve wood or read. Whenever I get the chance I go hiking in the woods. I also write books, some of which get finished and published.
I also still climb trees, go to amusement parks to ride the roller coasters, and have as much fun as I can. I enjoy each day that comes my way to the best of my ability. Along with being the best person I can be and doing what I can to make the world a better place for all living things, this is the meaning of life for me.
The world is a wonderful place and all its creatures are creatures of God, however they envision or fail to envision Him/Her/It.
Enjoy this life and stop worrying about what comes after. That is a mystery which will reveal itself in its own time.
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