4 posts tagged “jay lake”
You may or may not know that Jay Lake--prolific writer and blogger--is currently dealing with cancer. This is the sort of thing that makes you step back and ponder your own life, priorities, passions, and regrets. I consider Jay’s blog an important part of my day; from his professional advice and methodologies, to his raw, candid, and often humorous glimpses into his personal life. I know Jay is driven beyond the average author, and he is passionate about the craft; this has been a constant source of inspiration for me as an author, and I thank him for his freehearted efforts.
I thought about the best way to honor Jay in this time of misfortune, the best way to give both tribute and commiseration, and the answer was patently simple: give the gift of the written word. The following poem is my version of a bouquet of condolatory flowers and a get-well card.
P.S. Jay is reminding people to give a donation to the Clayton Memorial Medical Fund. This is an emergency medical fund for Pacific NW writers having medical-related financial difficulties.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Determined Resilience (for Jay Lake)
A silent hope
Lay quiet in my mind
Is now declared in lines of verse.
May the spell of the dark invader be surmount and broken
So to give us empowered prayers
Showing determined resilience
Grow with time.
He must battle,
Let no force lay siege,
Fly the flags of perseverance.
And determined resilience will lead his victory procession
Letting us learn a finer lesson
That even the darkest hours
Succumb to light.
Of such hope, let me be--
A proselyte, a declarer
A true believer.
That though he may be an assailed soul,
Resilience is his mortar,
And mortal power.
So that death may be rendered only a jealous spectator
Of the fierce and deadly tides
Along life's journey.
I pray he who has many more years to live
He who has spoken of a fathers love, to his daughter
He who through words devising, expands realms fantastic and the arcane universe
Be given safe passage through this tribulation,
And through trials he can never fully understand,
Or prepare for.
Let the torrent subside--a cascade of grim reality--be dispelled
May his need for determined resilience,
Fade into a distant, trace memory
A memory fated to be conquered,
By gifts of smiles, laughter, love, and time.
© 2008, R. Schuyler Devin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
and pervasive spirit of Norwescon is but a shadow of Saturdays ebullient mob. Slow and sparse is a nice reprieve from the fever pitch of the last three days, I am contented, yet tired. Many panelist were missing, perhaps, I am not the only outwore soul.
These topics really bring out the pith of an authors
personality and thought process. Discourse regarding the business of writing is helpful, but talking about the craft itself is insightful.
This was my first Norwescon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I will definitely be there next year...counting the days until Norwescon 32 in 2009.
Special events and Saturdays are always a dichotomy of excellence and annoyance: the best events mixed with boisterous crowds. The panels were packed, but there were some great rewards too. Speaking of dichotomy, it was enjoyable to watch charismatic and spontaneous Jay Lake in the same panel with stoic Dan Simmons. These are two very talented authors with contrary demeanors and energy. It was also enjoyable to attend a panel with Namoi Novak: It was a good discussion with pertinent advice. Jay Lake brought out the best in everyone being the panel’s moderator.
as an author is interesting and he was enjoyable to listen to. What also stood out though was his current book Servant of the Manthycore, which was immediately appealing since it was set in the under-appreciated Bronze Age Mesopotamia. I love the familiar, and often cliché western cultures and mythologies, but so many fascinating, rich, and untapped cultural and mythological elements are demanding to be infused into popular fantasy fiction. Mr. Ehart has realized this potential and has brought it to publication. I wasted no time in purchasing Servant of the Manthycore due to this intrinsically undervalued setting; It also helped my decision knowing that Michael Moorcock loved it and wrote the forward in Ehart’s book. Michael will also be a participant in a 6 sided Q&A. I am extremely appreciative and excited.
Today was the day of the unnecessary, but oh-so-cool purchases: 2 T-shirts. Here are images of what they look like.
With the panels being so appealing and quite plentiful, I found myself
hungry and in need of a restroom break for most of the day. I just had
to soldier on forward...
Another edifying day filled with morsels of good information. Today, I was fortunate in meeting author Joshua Palmatier, author of The Skewed Throne, The Cracked Throne, and The Vacant Throne. I am a regular reader of his blog and looked forward to meeting him at Norwescon. He is kind, approachable, and filled with funny anecdotes and advice. He has also graciously agreed to participate in my 6-sided Q&A (along with Jay Lake): I am very excited about these nano-interviews.
Also, in meeting Patrick Swenson, I made an unexpected discovery: Talebones magazine. It is a first-rate Sci-fi and Dark Fantasy magazine of impeccable quality—with a fantastic editor—Mr. Swenson. I happily picked up the Spring 2008 edition at the convention and have been pondering some of the back issues (and a current subscription) that are available online at www.talebones.com. It seems that this wonderful tome of quarterly fiction could use our support to carry on; please consider an issue or two or even four today! It should also be said that Patrick seems to be a fine acquisitions editor with an eye for outstanding short fiction. He also proved to be a wealth of experience and advice; panel after panel, day after day. It would be a pleasure to see my own work featured within the pages of his reputable publication someday.
Make sure to check out Jay's two major novels available now: Mainspring and Trial of Flowers. There is also a sequel to Mainspring available for preorder entitled Escapement, and a sequel to Trial of Flowers entitled Madness of Flowers, due out December 2008 from Nightshade Books.
Sails & Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy. I had to get up and hold the book, I had to tell Renee how wonderful the cover was, I had to keep staring at it throughout the whole panel, I had to look it up on the internet when I got home that night, I had to read reviews and excerpts, obsess about it awake and within my dreams, and finally, I had to buy it and I should have 'my precious' next week.
Next up: Day of the convention horde (Saturday)
