The End of Summer Vacation

 The end of August brings a few last hurrahs; swimming on the more rare hot days, planning the last summer BBQ/party for Labor Day, enjoying the final theatrical production of crickets and fireflies. Soon to come, if not already, there are chilly nights, back-to-school and work routines, and gearing down to indoor living. 

Those changes are happening in our house. Two sons return to college in the next few days, we're planning when to close the pool, and fall cleaning will soon commence. The biggest change for me will be that I will work for one year and nine months on one novel. No #NaNoWriMo this year. That one novel will be the project for my MFA- my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (emphasis on speculative writing- Science Fiction and Fantasy- with a minor emphasis on Romance). It's long been a dream of mine to get my Master's and with the chaos, uncertainty, and upheaval in the publishing sector (like many other sectors), I feel this is the time. My boys are pretty much independent and my husband retired, so this is 'me' time. I'll still be doing my blog, although I can't promise a better regularity. It may even get worse... I've cleaned out my office and files, set up new files for coursework, and have resigned from several groups, one being my critique group. It feels strange to pull back from them, but I know the demands of school will make me glad I did withdraw. 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

I will make one final book event appearance, at the beloved Collingswood Book Festival on October 2, 2021 (info https://www.collingswoodbookfestival.com/ ). It will be great to see old friends, make some new ones, talk writing, sign books, and generally have fun. I hope to see you there.

So, wish me luck, and I wish you all luck in your upcoming endeavors, and don't be afraid to send chocolate for those hard days to come.

Char

Another Classic Bust

 

Leaving the Scientology part out of this discussion, I tried to read L. Ron Hubbard's The Kingslayer. It's considered a science fiction classic. 

Ugh.

If writing about the future, maybe things that were problematic in the writer's time would have been worked out. Society does change, even if it isn't perfect. The issue with this book arises in chapter 2, page 16. A chauffeur named Henry is described as: "...Henry, a huge Negro of no expression whatever..." Now this book was published in 1949 and the term 'Negro' was acceptable and widely used. (I'm not justifying it- I'm only saying it was part of the culture, so don't @ me). What I find offputting is the fact that Henry is portrayed as a servant. From the beginning of this book to wherever I left off, there are no people of color in high level positions. It's a really white world. No way am I saying that this book should be banned, burned, or consigned to oblivion. It is what it is and there is no rewriting history. However, L. Ron considered himself super intelligent, a genius in the field of psychiatric and/or mental sciences. The guy was a kook, a con man, and believer in outrageous science fiction, 'spiritual' and magical practices. Hey, everyone's free to believe what they want. My issue is why his writings about the future didn't forsee a time when all humans were equal and represented as such. If he truly was that brilliant (he wasn't) he could have projected a better society. This book feels so outdated even though it's set in the future. 

In my opinion, this book does not deserve the  title of 'classic piece of literature'. In no way, whether talking about the writing or the content, is it memorable. Back to the bookshelf, unfinished, it goes. Onto the next unread 'classic'. 

Char