Work In Progress

I'm on Pinterest and one really fun thing I've done is create a board for my work-in-progress. The work that is currently in progress is The Mountain King and I've been pinning photos on the board that are related to the story I'm writing.

Some of the things that have influenced the story are the folk tales of The Wild Hunt, specifically the fairy king called Oberon in modern times, known under other names such as Freyr the Elf king, Alberich or Ing, an older name for Freyr, according to Wikipedia. Much of this comes from old German folklore. I'll probably be posting some of these visuals on this blog as well.

I've always been fascinated with The Wild Hunt and the fairy king specifically. We read and hear of fairy queens far more often. High ladies of the Faerie often capture our imaginations but I don't think there is as much information on the fairy king. Perhaps that's my perception. I'm planning a trip to the library for research this weekend so perhaps that notion will be dispelled.

Anyway, the first time I'd read about the fairy king other than in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream was in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series (a great series BTW). In this series he is referred to as the Erlking and he leads the Wild Hunt, chasing after Harry Dresden. It would be a long time before I would think to write about this powerful fairy but it seemed to make sense to have this character be a powerful and dangerous hunter.

The Aziza will make a large appearance in the story as well. They are a fairy race from Africa and from the start they have been represented by a character in the series named Zi. Of course, I take liberties with Aziza folklore ( I don't know if Dahomey folklore involves changelings).

I have photos of mountain fortresses, forests and pictures of fairies and such. A nice mix of visuals that echo my ideas as I write. This is the first time I've used a visual technique to help with writing projects and it's a lot of fun. I mostly deal with words on paper - even going so far as to write my first drafts in longhand. These are just some rough thoughts. More will come later in the week.

Save The Shire! Campaign

I've been busy doing a great many things this month. However, one thing has been brought my my attention last week. I belong to a special network for people who love Tolkien and general fantasy related things - The Middle Earth Network - and they have brought up the issue of the Saul Zaentz company and their over-zealous application of trademarks.

The Zaentz company have a number of trademarks related to Tolkien's Middle Earth but lately they have been attacking small businesses for using words that they have a trademark on. They use this trademark to sue anyone who uses the word. They have many trademarks already related to Tolkien beloved fantasy world myth. The founders of the Middle Earth Network and I believe that it is greed that fuels what they do, buying up anything related to Tolkien's world, ahead of fans of his work and even ahead of his surviving family.

Here is an eloquent note from the founders of The Middle Earth Network. It sets the stage for what is happening and the importance of this issue.

They have now moved to try and trademark the word "shire" and the Middle Earth Network is trying to raise awareness about the issue. This is a common English word with roots back in ancient times. Its ridiculous on its face that such a thing can be trademarked and used to bash other businesses who already used the name over the head in court.We feel that the SZC is over-reaching and acting out of greed, plain and simple. TMN has launched a new campaign called Save The Shire. Three small businesses are currently under attack from them but will it stop there?

To find out specific details of the issues please go directly to the site STS here. It is also at this site that you can get involved to let the SZC know that what they are doing is unethical and abuses the spirit of Tolkien's beautiful work. if you are a fan of Tolkien's work or even if you aren't but you are offended over corporate greed tactics. Tolkien certainly would not approve of what they are doing.

Here are some things you can do: go to "Save The Shire:

1. Get the word out via blog, email, Facebook, stumble upon, twitter, Pinterest whatever means you have.

2. donate. a donation system for this campaign will be in place soon at the Save the shire site.

Pinterest! Uh-Oh!

I've had an invite to Pinterest for a month and last night I finally decided to do something about it. I fear for myself at this point because I can tell that I am going to be wasting a lot of time on this site.

Never fear though. The next book is coming along.

You can join me on Pinterest if you already have and if you need an invite, send me your email. I only have a few invites though. There is also the link to my Pinterest page in the sidebar.

Currently I am obsessing/pinning food, recipes and books. :o)