In a message dated 2/1/00 12:26:53 AM, MastrSongWeaver@... writes:

>From: MastrSongWeaver@...
>
>Lynn, will there be anyway to get copies of the Czech printings of the
>three
>books?  I really love those covers and would like to add them to the
>collection if possible.
>
>Thanks.
>Lael



I'll see what I can find out. Foreign copies are notoriously hard to obtain.
(I sold the Polish rights five years ago and still haven't seen a copy!  But
just found out they've just gone to print on Luck.)  If all else fails,
perhaps you could work something out with the artist?

Note to German readers:  just signed the German contract for TM!

This is my all time favorite piece of email humor!

Lynn





Subject:    EngLit Merger


Too good not to pass along.

______________________


It seems corporate merger mania has caught on in the public sector.

Libraries lacking shelves after drastic cuts are reducing book stocks,

and

books are

being brilliantly merged in order not to eliminate classics.  Best-of

list:


Second Runner-up:


* "Machiavelli's The Little Prince" -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery's

classic

children's tale as presented by Machiavelli. The whimsy of human nature

is

embodied in many delightful and intriguing characters, all of whom are

executed. (Erik Anderson, Tempe, Ariz.)


First Runner-up:

* "Green Eggs and Hamlet" -

Would you kill him in his bed?

Thrust a dagger through his head?

I would not, could not, kill the King.

I could not do that evil thing.

I would not wed this girl, you see.

Now get her to a nunnery.

(Robin Parry, Arlington)


And the Winner...


* "Fahrenheit 451 of the Vanities" -- An '80s yuppie is denied books. He

does not object, or even notice. (Mike Long, Burke)


Honorable Mentions:


* "Where's Walden?" -- Alas, the challenge of locating Henry David

Thoreau

in

each richly detailed drawing loses its appeal when it quickly becomes

clear

that he is always in the woods. (Sandra Hull, Arlington)


* "Catch-22 in the Rye" -- Holden learns that if you're insane, you'll

probably flunk out of prep school, but if you're flunking out of prep

school, you're probably not insane.  (Brendan Beary, Great Mills)


* "2001: A Space Iliad" -- The Hal 9000 computer wages an insane 10-year

war against the Greeks after falling victim to the Y2K bug. (Joseph Romm,

Washington)


* "Rikki-Kon-Tiki-Tavi" -- Thor Heyerdahl recounts his attempt to prove

Rudyard Kipling's theory that the mongoose first came to India on a raft

from Polynesia. (David Laughton, Washington)


* "The Maltese Faulkner" - Is the black bird a tortured symbol of Sam's

struggles with race and family? Does it signify his decay of soul along

with the soul of the Old South? Is it merely a crow, mocking his attempts

to

understand? Or is it worth a cool mil? (Thad Humphries, Warrenton)


* "Jane Eyre Jordan" -- Plucky English orphan girl survives hardships to

lead the Chicago Bulls to the NBA championship. (Dave Pickering, Bowie)


* "Looking for Mr. Godot" -- A young woman waits for Mr. Right to enter

her

life. She has a loooong wait. (Jonathan Paul, Garrett Park)


* "The Scarlet Pimpernel Letter" -- An 18th-century English nobleman

leads

a double life, freeing comely young adulteresses from the prisons of

post-Revolution France.


* "Lorna Dune" -- An English farmer, Paul Atreides, falls for the

daughter

of a notorious rival clan, the Harkonnens, and pursues a career as a

giant

worm

jockey in order to impress her.


* "The Remains of the Day of the Jackal" -- A formal English butler puts

his loyalty to his employer above all else, until he is persuaded to join

a

plot to assassinate Charles deGaulle.


* "The Invisible Man of La Mancha" -- Don Quixote discovers a mysterious

elixir which renders him invisible. He proceeds to go on a mad rampage of

corruption and terror, attacking innocent people in the streets and all

the

while

singing "To fight the Invisible Man!" until he is finally stopped by a

windmill.


"Singing in the Black Rain" -- A gang of vicious Japanese druglords beat

the crap out of Gene Kelly.


"Fiddlemarch" -- Emotionally desiccated medievalist Dr. Casaubon is

transformed when everyone in the town reveals that they are Jewish and

start

to dance and sing a lot.


"Of Three Blind Mice and Men" -- Burgess Meredith has his limbs hacked

off

by a psychopathic farmer's wife. Did you ever see such a sight in your

life?


"Planet of the Grapes of Wrath" -- Astronaut lands on mysterious planet,

only to discover that it is his very own home planet of Earth, which has

been

taken over by the Joads, a race of dirt-poor corn farmers who

miraculously

developed rudimentary technology and evolved the ability to speak after

exposure to


nuclear radiation.


"Paradise Lost in Space" -- Satan, Moloch, and Belial are sentenced to

spend

eternity in a flying saucer with a goofy robot, an evil scientist, and 2

annoying children.


"The Exorstentialist" -- Camus: A psychological thriller about a priest

who casts out a demon by convincing it that there's really no purpose to

what

it's doing.

hello,

I read Stone of Tears, it was a good book.  I like his writing alot.  As far
as Dragonlance Raist Rules.  Also a good book to read is Hawk and Fisher
Guards of Haven and Swords of Haven by Simon Green.

Tracey

> Note to German readers:  just signed the German contract for TM!

Great, great, great, great, great! No I can go on and finish LITS, buy
the second
one and wait for the third!

OK, now that I spoke up I can as well introduce myself. I´m Stefanie
from Germany
(I´m living near Dortmund), 25 years old. I´m studying archeology at the
university
of Münster. I´ve noticed that there´re lots of fantasy readers among my
fellow
students. Were´re  a bunch of very creative people, always sticking our
nose in
things other people have buried, lost or thrown away... ;-)
I love fantasy books ever since I read my first Wolfgang Hohlbein novel.
He´s one
of the best german fantasy authors - not sure if his books have been
translated to
english, have they? His "Enwor Saga" is unbeatable also the books he
writes for
teens. I can´t bear his SF books and the stories playing in modern times
with horror / mystery influences. He always kills off one of the
protagonists at the end, so the reading the whole story only evokes one
question: who will survive? I´ve tried several SF books, but that´s not
my world.
BTW Kai Meyer is another german authors whos books are currently very
much sought
after. If you can get your hands on his novels: read them. They´re
weird, they´ll
annoy you, but you´ll have the fun of your life!
My other favorite author is Terry Pratchett. Still have to start reading
"Carpe
jugulum"...
When I´m searching for new books, I´m looking for recommendations or for
interesting titels / book covers. That´s how I came across Lynn´s books.
The german
title of LITS means in english "The light in the shadows" and that
sounded very appealing to me.
Besides reading I enjoy very much to write my own novels ever since I
was old enough to hold a pen (BTW, thanks Lynn to recommend the book
"the artists´ way" on your homepage, I found it to be very helpful!),
I´m collecting model horses, love melodic death metal music (Sentenced,
Darkseed, In Flames ...) and sewing historic costumes (check out the
cool homepage of my sister to see some pix of us:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Coffeehouse/3195/nehelenia.html)
Looking forward to a lot of pleasent conversations,
Stefanie

In a message dated 2/2/00 5:12:31 PM, stdettmers@... writes:


>OK, now that I spoke up I can as well introduce myself. I´m Stefanie
>
>from Germany
>
>(I´m living near Dortmund), 25 years old. I´m studying archeology at the
>
>university
>
>of Münster. I´ve noticed that there´re lots of fantasy readers among my
>
>fellow
>
>students. Were´re  a bunch of very creative people, always sticking our
>
>nose in
>
>things other people have buried, lost or thrown away... ;-)

That balances that fact that I and other fantasy writers love archeology! I
get many ideas from research.  Do you go to the wonderful Roman sites
scattered around Germany and Austria. I was at one years ago, Madelena, or
Magdalena?  Hmm. Not sure of the exact name, but it starts with an M.

>(BTW, thanks Lynn to recommend the book
>
>"the artists´ way" on your homepage, I found it to be very helpful!),

You're welcome. I almost never like self help books, but can't say enough
good about that one.

>
> That balances that fact that I and other fantasy writers love archeology! I
> get many ideas from research.  Do you go to the wonderful Roman sites
> scattered around Germany and Austria. I was at one years ago, Madelena, or
> Magdalena?  Hmm. Not sure of the exact name, but it starts with an M.

I don´t know that name, but there´re lots of places the romans have been in
Germany
and Austria. The most rests of there civilization you can find along the river
Rhine. There´re currentley excavations very close to the place where I live
where
they found a roman fortress. And I hope to be a part of excavations on another
fortress 80 km from here in my holidays.
It´s fantastic to see what people in ancient times already knew and invinted.

>
> >(BTW, thanks Lynn to recommend the book
> >
> >"the artists´ way" on your homepage, I found it to be very helpful!),
>
> You're welcome. I almost never like self help books, but can't say enough
> good about that one.

I hope it´ll lead me to finally sending my book the publisher ;-)!
Stefanie

Just a little note to say welcome to all our new subscribers, and Flewelling
has reached a new milestone, it's hundreth member.

Helen

100

WOW!  Excellent taste everyone!  I love coming here
every morning to see what's new in the world of the
Nightrunners.

How is the Ghomenghast series going?  (for the new
folk, we've been looking for the perfect actor to play
Seregil if Lynn's stories were ever made into movies.
Jonathan Ryes-Myers (umm, spelling??) is a top
contender.  Give us your suggestions.  I find some of
the coolest movies this way.

Wilkommen!  (Is that right?) to the German faction.
And that is about the extent of my German (Well, I can
order wienerschnitzel, go to the schloss and I lived
on Annastraussa......all of which I have spelled
wrong, but I can say them to someone who will point
the way!!

back to work!

Andrea -- In Moscow...Idaho, that is







--- HBrown9628@... wrote:
> Just a little note to say welcome to all our new
> subscribers, and Flewelling
> has reached a new milestone, it's hundreth member.
>
> Helen
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com

In a message dated 03/02/00 19:56:33 GMT Standard Time, achavez47@...
writes:

>
>  How is the Ghomenghast series going?  (for the new
>  folk, we've been looking for the perfect actor to play
>  Seregil if Lynn's stories were ever made into movies.
>  Jonathan Ryes-Myers (umm, spelling??) is a top
>  contender.  Give us your suggestions.  I find some of
>  the coolest movies this way.

Gormenghast is going great, loved episode 3, alas viewers started out at
about 4 and a half million and are now 2 and half.  Not too bad, considering
the average costume drama attracts around three million, but not exactly the
sort of figures to get the BBC rushing out to spend another nine million
pounds on a fantasy series.  Oh well. It's bound to win loads of awards at
the BAFTA's, (British Academy Awards for tv and film).  It just looks
wonderful. Spike Milligan turned up this week as Headmaster De'ath, and
Stephen Fry as the Professor who replaces him.
>
>  Wilkommen!  (Is that right?) to the German faction.
>  And that is about the extent of my German (Well, I can
>  order wienerschnitzel, go to the schloss and I lived
>  on Annastraussa......all of which I have spelled
>  wrong, but I can say them to someone who will point
>  the way!!

Better than me, I can order Marzipan and that's about it... I love German
marzipan, and a terrible mess it gets me in.  Last year I ordered a box of it
from Niederegger's web page, cheerfully taking no notice of the 'postage
outside Germany is extra bit... ' and ended up with charge on my credit card
bill for 55 pounds <g>, cos tthey sent it airmail and it was rather heavy.
That'll teach me <bg>.
>
>  back to work!
>
>  Andrea -- In Moscow...Idaho, that is
>
Same here, sigh, work that it, greetings from a very wet soggy England.

Helen

> From: HBrown9628@...
>

> Gormenghast is going great, loved episode 3, alas viewers started out at
> about 4 and a half million and are now 2 and half.  Not too bad,
considering
> the average costume drama attracts around three million, but not exactly
the
> sort of figures to get the BBC rushing out to spend another nine million
> pounds on a fantasy series.  Oh well. It's bound to win loads of awards at
> the BAFTA's, (British Academy Awards for tv and film).  It just looks
> wonderful. Spike Milligan turned up this week as Headmaster De'ath, and
> Stephen Fry as the Professor who replaces him.

A friend of mine was not happy with it which is why she didn't tape it

And Stephen Fry? I loev him, he's such a great actor. Now I only have to
find the time to read his *Making History* to find outif he's also a great
writer.

>
> Better than me, I can order Marzipan and that's about it... I love German
> marzipan, and a terrible mess it gets me in.  Last year I ordered a box of
it
> from Niederegger's web page, cheerfully taking no notice of the 'postage
> outside Germany is extra bit... ' and ended up with charge on my credit
card
> bill for 55 pounds <g>, cos tthey sent it airmail and it was rather heavy.
> That'll teach me <bg>.

The easiest way is to ask a friend to get some for you. Or a trade.
How about this, trade German Marzipan or chocolate (Milka anyone?) for copy
of Gormenghast?
And Airmail from Germany to England is really a joke, cause within Europe
everything is send by plane.
Haven't seen much Niederegger around lately (and that one's really
expensive) but there's lots of Lindt which is among my personald favourites
(right next to French truffles, Christmas was a very good
(chocolate/marzipan-wise) and very bad time (figure-wise)

> Same here, sigh, work that it, greetings from a very wet soggy England.

Greetings from a finally dry and for Februaray amazingly awrm Germany

Gwendolen

Gormenghast is odd.

On the one hand, it's incredible - actors, costumes even the acting. The
story is compelling - it's like spot picking or shaving off your own
eyebrows without a mirror. Rhys-Meyer is all right - a little skinny, but
downright evil. I like Fuschia and Doctor Prune.

On the other hand, it is so pointless. They spent NINE MILLION POUNDS on it.
I suppose I should be glad that it isn't another soup or docu-drama but nine
million... I'm all for more fantasy on television, but I think that the only
people left watching it are Mervin Peake fans and some fantasy fans.

I think that it would have worked better as ten half hour/forty minute
episodes. On the BBC, there are no adverts, none. So when Gormenghast lasts
an hour, that is a complete hour, and I'm finding it a bit heavy. So I'm
taping it to watch it in chunks. The repeats are on early evening on a
Saturday, where they swear and are very violent. It's uncut apparently. When
you see what the same channel did to Buffy and Startrek, it's amazing.

I saw Roman ruins in Germany and Austria - near Vienna they have an
incredible museum with some of the only carvings of a mithrain temple (the
god is Mithras - work it out). I'm going to Switzerland in six weeks.

I also detest February, and declare it my least favourite month.

Wendy x

>And Stephen Fry? I loev him, he's such a great actor. Now I only have to
>find the time to read his *Making History* to find outif he's also a great
>writer.

I really enjoyed his book "The Liar" but haven't yet read "Making History" -
I'm also looking forward to his autobiography "Moab is my Washpot"

Dine

______________________________________________________
Since when do they have orgies?  And why aren't I on the mailing list?
        Xander - BtVS

hi all!!

>And Stephen Fry? I loev him, he's such a great actor. Now I only have to
>find the time to read his *Making History* to find outif he's also a great
>writer.

I really like stephen Fry, anyone see that 'Wilde' movie?? He played Oscar
Wilde and Jude Law (another of my favorite actors) played his lover Lord...
gee can't remember his name but his nickname was Bowsie (spelling?). Good
movie really.
As for Stephen Fry's writing abilities he's quite good. Read one called 'The
Liar' and it was hilarious! Didn't really understand what they were all
fussing about, but it was really entertaining!


well, got to dash!
Teresa
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

Hi all,
nothing really important, just this:
Oscar Wilde's lover's name was Lord Alfred Douglas son of the Marquis of
Queensberry or at least this is what I remember from my high-school English
Literature lessons...hope it's right.

Have I said that I love Oscar Wilde? And I love that movie!
Bye!!

That was a wonderful movie-- really caught the pathos of his situation. And
Frye's likeness to Wilde was quite eerie!

I put in another positive vote for Frye's "The Liar". Very much the sort of
humor you'd expect.

>gee can't remember his name but his nickname was Bowsie (spelling?).

I think the spelling is commonly "Bosie" - somehow he always seemed kind of
a wimp to me (based on reading stuff, but I haven't seen the movie yet)

Dine
______________________________________________________
Since when do they have orgies?  And why aren't I on the mailing list?
        Xander - BtVS

<< Gormenghast is odd.>>

Odd it might be, but if you live in Canada and get 'Space: The Imgination
Station' and you want to watch it, it's going to be on this month.
Personally, i've never read the book, and am not going to watch the mini
series on space.  The comericals look a little odd.  Still, if any of you
living in Canada, want to watch it, it's going to be on.

In fact today (Sunday, the 6th) they are going to be showing some sort of
making of specail.  It's on at 7:30 my time (which is Atlantic time i
belive). I think the series starts on the 15th although i'm not sure....

~~Chase

Sorry, folks, the premire is on the 13th at 8:00 Eastern Time.

~~Chase

Hi gang

I adore Oscar Wilde.  Anyone who can write "The
Importance of Being Ernest" as well as "The Picture of
Dorian Gray" is tops in my book.
I had the good fortune to play Gwendolyn in "Ernest"
once.  It was so wonderful.  We studied those lines as
if it where Shakespeare because you KNEW that Wilde
had thought about every comma, every period and every,
every word.  I think we were all picture perfect.  I
remember being very newvous before the show and elated
afterward.
It was great fun.

I also love Stephen Fry.   His Jeeves is the prototype
for the character.

Andrea

"I always carrier my diary with me. One should always
have something sensational to read on the train."
         Gwendolyn from "The Importance of Being
Ernest"
           ---Oscar Wilde--



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com

That distant cackling laughter you hear may be me.  Just heard from my agent
that the Polish edition of _Luck_ finally arrived at her office (only five
years late) and that it has a new and very unique cover.
Apparently it shows a man and woman in modern dress holding *guns*.

"But," Lucienne assured me, "they are standing by a harbor. You do have
a harbor in the book!"

(shaking head)  Whaddya gonna do?  Be interesting to see how it sells.  I'll
post a scan of it when it arrives, for the archive.



Lynn

Who would read the Nightrunner books if they were recorded? Would they be
one reader, or one male/one female, or full cast of characters? And who
would be best to do it?

guns???  Guns??  Oh man.  You know they say never to
judge a book by its cover, but when a person is in a
bookstore, it is usually the cover that catches the
eye.  I would never pick up a book with two people in
modern dress by a harbor with guns.  And LOOK at what
I would have missed!!!  It is bad enough when they
have a cover that has a scene not in the book but in
an entirely different era??  Lynn, I can't wait to see
it.  All those sci-fi lovers out there are going to
find an interesting book of fantasy.

Are you sure they bought YOUR book??  It is the
correct cover?  They didn't make a mistake, did they?
It must be hard to let you "Baby" out of your care
into the big bad world where god knows what will
happen to it.

Andrea -- puzzled over the book business


> Lynn
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com

In a message dated 2/7/00 7:15:56 PM, achavez47@... writes:

>Are you sure they bought YOUR book??  It is the
>correct cover?  They didn't make a mistake, did they?
>It must be hard to let you "Baby" out of your care
>into the big bad world where god knows what will
>happen to it.


This is actually par for the course with foreign editions, from what I've
heard from other writers.  Having no control over the situation, I console
myself with the fact that the checks clear  nicely.  ;-)

Lynn

My question - did *anyone* involved with the Polish edition actually read
the book?  I certainly don't understand how they could have come up with a
cover like that if someone (like say, the editor or art director) had.  I
know frequently the artists work from a brief synopsis, but doesn't anyone
look at the rough drafts, or even the completed work?

I've never understood publishing, and this is just another example of a very
odd business.

Dine, who can't wait to see this cover
______________________________________________________
Since when do they have orgies?  And why aren't I on the mailing list?
        Xander - BtVS

If one person read it, I'd have to vote for Peter Wingfield.  I could listen
to his voice reading a dictonary.

BUT NOT TONIGHT!!!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!!

The debate was long and it was passionate, but in the end, human rights are
more important than "special rights" in my town.

A quick background: I live in a town of 16,000 in northern lower Michigan. 4
years ago, the Traverse City Commission turned down a proposed law about
non-discrimination practices for hiring city employees. The debate 4 years
ago was heated and passionate.

After two seperate city elections, it was felt that the time was ripe for
another attempt at non discrimination. The TC Human Rights Commission
proposed that a resolution, while not a law... is able to convey the will of
the city for it's residence and employers, should be passed.

When it was proposed, the American Families Association, a nation wide
"family values" organization sent members from downstate to the study
session. When it became appearant that the vote was going to go against them,
they started circulating a petition to change the city charter to prevent any
gay protections from now until kingdom come.

Well the vote was tonight, and after a lot of bantering by the religious
folk, the civil rights people got to speak. We shined... Anyhow, the
commission voted 6-1 in favor of the resolution. One member switched his vote
from the election 4 years ago.... It was a wonderful event...

I think the funniest moment was when Mr Glenn from the AFA was speaking. He
mentioned that if this non-binding resolution was passed, men would be walking
into work in women's clothes, and employers wouldn't be able to stop them. Poor
Mr. Glenn did not realize that Margaret Dodd, one of the most popular city
commissioners (who happens to have a sharp tongue) was born and raised in
Scotland. Mrs. Dodd replied to the argument by saying, "As someone who comes
from a country where the men happen to like dressing up in skirts..."  at which
point the audience (including many of the commissioners) roared laughing....

Anyways, I want to give thanks to the Lord our God for this great small first
step in my town's history. I look around and know that my town is as racist as
the deep south. It is heartening that our straight supporters had the guts to
stick to their guns, and to argue on our behalf.

Chad
Chad
"Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is."
Albert Camus

Lynn,

In between a host of extremely drab graduate textbooks, I have found little
time to read any fiction.  Yet on a whim, I found the first of your
Nightrunner books at amazon.com.  While I have a serious dislike for most
science fiction, I do enjoy reading fantasy books.  Unfortunately, most
fantasy I've read left me wondering whether the time and money invested was
worth it.  Your books have not only given me a new author to follow, but
they've also inspired me to give the fantasy genre another chance.  After
Book 1, I felt so attached to your characters and impressed by the Watcher
world that I immediately bought the remaining two books in the series.  I
even found myself (and this is highly unusual) quoting lines from the series
in my thoughts..."Take what the Lightbearer brings" or wanting an
opportunity to say..."Though you thrust your dagger at my eyes, I will not
flinch."

All of which leads me to wonder, when will your next book come out?
I know it's not focused on Seregil and Alec :( , but I'm sure your next
novel will be just as engaging.
As an admittedly impatient person, I just couldn't hold back the question
any longer.

Kesha Green
Urbana, Illinois
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

Good for you, Chad! Reinforces my belief that the battles are fought at
the community level, and persistence and good will can triumph.  Just
love to see outsiders put in their place, too.

Peggy, occasional neighborhood activist

--
"Your dog dresses better than you do."
"Well,duh."

Maybe that´s the kind of cover polish people are attracted by. Kind of the only
way to sell a fantasy book there ;-)! Surprise - you just bought a fantasy book!
Stefanie

I´d certainly buy such a thing. I already enjoyed german books on tape very
much. It´s a great possibilty to read - hear a book you loved again and again.
After I´ve finished a book, I´m often sad that I have to put it on my shelves,
because there´re so much new books waiting for me...
Stefanie