MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2349

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: delurking
	by Tessa Raethen <safaenya-+AT+-excite.com>
  2) Re: Misty's Newer Books
	by Tessa Raethen <safaenya-+AT+-excite.com>
  3) Pondering Warrl
	by Lisa Whitman <lwhitman-+AT+-nwcomputing.com>
  4) And now for something completely different.
	by "Misty's Secretary" <mistysdesk-+AT+-hotmail.com>
  5) Re: And now for something completely different.
	by Melanie Dymond Harper <mel>
  6) Re: And now for something completely different.
	by Reanna Laury <reanna20-+AT+-yahoo.com>
  7) Re: And now for something completely different.
	by Melanie Dymond Harper <mel>
  8) Re: Pondering Warrl
	by "Victoria H." <wukolia-+AT+-hotmail.com>
  9) Love and Frozen Mutton
	by Songjewel <songjewel-+AT+-yahoo.com>
 10) Re: And now for something completely different.
	by Kenneth Allen Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
 11) Re: And now for something completely different.
	by ShadowDreamer <shadskitty-+AT+-home.com>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 08:50:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tessa Raethen <safaenya-+AT+-excite.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: delurking
Message-ID: <18440086.963244228590.JavaMail.imail-+AT+-scorch.excite.com>

I noticed that many people have been surfacing from the beloved land of
lurkdom lately, thought I'd do the same.  To be fair (to myself, of course
:) ) I haven't been able to get to my email in about three and a half weeks
because I've been traipsing about Europe.  I'm totally clueless on the state
of all the threads, sorry if this is old news.

Christie writes:

Hi everyone,
>  
>  just delurking for a little bit to metion a wonderfull author.
>  I don't know if anybody knows this person, but she's really great!
>  
>  the author's name is Lynn Flewelling, and she wrote a great duolegy (hope
>  i spelled that right).


Oh, oh, oh!  My computer keyboard doesn't have the correct characters to
express my excitement...noisemakers and confetti might help.  I adore Lynn
Flewelling - very close second to Misty on my favorite authors list,
possibly even a tie.  I find their styles to be fairly similar, so I think
that anyone on this list looking for new material should give her a try. 
She and Misty are about the only authors I know that are able to write about
depth of emotions (case-in-point, LHM series for Misty, Stalking Shadows for
Lynn) without seeming overly-dramatic, sickeningly emotional, or just plain
fake.  PLEASE, I beg you all to give these books a try.  The relationship
between her two main characters is one of the most touching and real that I
have ever read - equatable (sp?) to Van and Tylendel/Stefen.  Oh, good news
for Christie - the duology is now a trilogy.  The last book is called
Traitor's Moon, and it's out in paperback.  Do you (or anyone else) happen
to know any plans for a fourth book in the Nightrunners series?  I keep
hoping, but so far it hasn't happened.

Zhai'helleva
Julia (who finally has the beginnings of a tan, thanks to Italian sunshine)





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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 09:03:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tessa Raethen <safaenya-+AT+-excite.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Misty's Newer Books
Message-ID: <19723499.963245007596.JavaMail.imail-+AT+-scorch.excite.com>

Ashandra writes:

<<It's through physical intimacy that trust is gained (which was crucial
when Kris was going to help Thalia) and sometimes true understandings come
through.>>

I think there's a lot of evidence that Misty subscribes to this kind of
idea, especially in the Gryphon series when Kaled'a'in were still being
used.  Can't get my hands on passages right now, but I remember a few places
where there were explanations for why the Kaled'a'in (am I using the right
word here?  Can't remember...I'm still on European time) sometimes got
physically intimate with their clients during treatement.  The physical
closeness helped said client to release tensions, open up, and form a bond
of trust with said Kaled'a'in, which made the rest of the treatment that
much easier.  Massages were used for the same reason.  I've actually given
quite a bit of thought to this idea, and the famed tendency of Heralds (and
Hawkbrothers, for that matter) to be a tad promiscuous when it comes to
physical relationships.  In another time or situation, I might dismiss this
as casual sex.  However, it never seems to be "casual" in Misty's mind, even
when the two partners are just friends playing around a bit.  There is
always mutual affection and respect involved, if not always undying love. 
And more often than not, the intimacy is used to comfort or heal rather than
for its own sake.  

Hope this makes sense - I started out with a point, I swear.

~Julia~






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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 09:11:22 -0700
From: Lisa Whitman <lwhitman-+AT+-nwcomputing.com>
To: "'mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk'" <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk>
Subject: Pondering Warrl
Message-ID: <B5B3316A9588D211BB2A00A0C9D03AE12CAA0F-+AT+-MS-NWC>

Heyla!

I was just re-reading "Winds" this past weekend.  And the part where Tarma
shows up for a cameo reminded me of an old question:  
In Oathbreakers, Warrl mentions something about whether the Star-Eyed would
let the stay together after death.

Any idea if that ended up getting resolved anywhere?  Any speculations?

Thanks!
Lisa

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 19:45:49 GMT
From: "Misty's Secretary" <mistysdesk-+AT+-hotmail.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: And now for something completely different.
Message-ID: <20000710194549.36558.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com>


Harry Potter.

So there.

I've now read the fourth Rowling book, and am halfway through a repeat just 
in case I missed any good bits :)

I love the Harry Potter books, and so do all of us at highflight, so there!

The fourth one is a clear departure from the previous books - it's got 
teeth.. and not really quite the cosy happy ending that readers may have 
come to expect either (though the last one wasn't quite that cosy was it?).

Anyway, highly recommended. Well done to Joanne.

Paul
Not on behalf. For me. My opinion. MINE! ya hear?


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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 21:04:04 +0100 (BST)
From: Melanie Dymond Harper <mel>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: And now for something completely different.
Message-ID: <200007102004.VAA06763-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk>


> Harry Potter.
> 
> So there.
> 

No arguments from this quarter -- I'm just disappointed I haven't had the
free time to finish the copy I bought on Saturday yet ;)

Mel
 

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 13:46:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Reanna Laury <reanna20-+AT+-yahoo.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: And now for something completely different.
Message-ID: <20000710204625.23324.qmail-+AT+-web1610.mail.yahoo.com>


<curiousity is peaked> Are the Harry Potter books
really that good? I mean, I was under the assumption
that they were for kids. I had heard that a bunch of
adults read them too, but kinda dismissed that rumor
out of hand.

For those who *have* read those books, if they are
written for kids, what makes them so special? I mean,
a child's book had better be damned good to get a cult
following. Also, are these books only big in the US?
Or are they popular in other countries as well. If
they are popular elsewhere, that adds more credibility
(in my mind at least; the U.S. has the tendency to
latch onto something "cool" when it really doesn't
deserve the attention).

<grin> I'm glad you enjoy it though, Paul, even though
I haven't read any of the books and wouldn't know
Harry Potter if he came and bopped me in the nose!
Good reads are always gratifying!

WTTW,

~Reanna
"Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us - if at all - not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men."
 - T.S. Eliot




--- Misty's Secretary <mistysdesk-+AT+-hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Harry Potter.
> 
> So there.
> 
> I've now read the fourth Rowling book, and am
> halfway through a repeat just 
> in case I missed any good bits :)
> 
> I love the Harry Potter books, and so do all of us
> at highflight, so there!
> 
> The fourth one is a clear departure from the
> previous books - it's got 
> teeth.. and not really quite the cosy happy ending
> that readers may have 
> come to expect either (though the last one wasn't
> quite that cosy was it?).
> 
> Anyway, highly recommended. Well done to Joanne.
> 
> Paul
> Not on behalf. For me. My opinion. MINE! ya hear?
> 
> 
>
________________________________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at
> http://www.hotmail.com
> 


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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 22:49:24 +0100 (BST)
From: Melanie Dymond Harper <mel>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: And now for something completely different.
Message-ID: <200007102149.WAA15319-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk>


> <curiousity is peaked> Are the Harry Potter books
> really that good? I mean, I was under the assumption
> that they were for kids. I had heard that a bunch of
> adults read them too, but kinda dismissed that rumor
> out of hand.
> 

Though they are written for kids in the sense that they
are school stories -- anyone who has read Enid Blyton in 
their childhood will know the sort of thing I mean -- they
have more depth and plot than Blyton's stuff. They're just
fun; the audio-versions are read by Stephen Fry and are
particularly entertaining, I'm told. (I suspect Stephen
Fry may never have made it across the Atlantic. Your loss,
folks ;))

> For those who *have* read those books, if they are
> written for kids, what makes them so special? I mean,
> a child's book had better be damned good to get a cult
> following. Also, are these books only big in the US?
> Or are they popular in other countries as well. If
> they are popular elsewhere, that adds more credibility
> (in my mind at least; the U.S. has the tendency to
> latch onto something "cool" when it really doesn't
> deserve the attention).
> 

They're something like numbers 1, 3, 6 and 7 on the fiction
best-seller charts in the UK. The author herself is Scottish.

Mel

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 14:46:47 PDT
From: "Victoria H." <wukolia-+AT+-hotmail.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Pondering Warrl
Message-ID: <20000710214648.12299.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com>

  Heyla!  Since it seems everyone is delurking I decided to stick in a word. 
:)

  Lisa says:

>I was just re-reading "Winds" this past weekend.  And the part where >Tarma 
>shows up for a cameo reminded me of an old question:

  *grin*  I like that part... having Tarma as part of the group of leshya'e 
Kalenedral was a nice touch on Misty's part.

>In Oathbreakers, Warrl mentions something about whether the Star-Eyed 
> >would let the stay together after death.
>Any idea if that ended up getting resolved anywhere?  Any speculations?

  I was wondering this earlier also.  If you check out the Firebird website 
in the Ask Misty section, though, several people asked her whether Tarma and 
Waarl stayed together, and she said they did.  I'm glad... I always was fond 
of the Tarma and Kethry stories. :)

  Wind to thy Wings,

  Vicky


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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:32:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Songjewel <songjewel-+AT+-yahoo.com>
To: MLML <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk>
Subject: Love and Frozen Mutton
Message-ID: <20000711003244.15047.qmail-+AT+-web1004.mail.yahoo.com>

> >> Song(me) writes:
>I think what we may be disliking about her YA
> style is that she doesn't write as much about
> romantic or sexual relationships...in all the books
> people tend to love, there is some king of
> relationship like that. In  O- and BB, there isn't
> really any hard-core stuff Keisha and Daren are
> together, but not in detail, << 

No, I'm not a sex fiend! *grin* I may like a little
hentai now and then...but THAT'S NOT THE POINT ^^; 
Allow me to clarify the earlier statement; when I say 
"Romantic or Sexual", it's leaving an option. In other

words, I'm not saying all the good relationships have 
to deal with sex, I'm saying that we like th detailed 
descriptions of how people interact. She goes deeply 
into their feelings about themselves and each other
and 
gets inside their minds A LOT. In the YA books, she 
doesn't seem to do that quite as...umm, depthfully
^_^;

>>Reanna writes:
>But truthfully, I want to read
>a book where the heroine or hero *doesn't* get the
>prince or princess, or where the hero or heroine
isn't
>even (horrors!) interested in love. In all of her
>Valdemar books, Misty has managed to have some love
>interest. I want to see one without.<<

*grin* have you read the Oath- books lately? To be
honest, I 
haven't either (my she'enedra has had them forever),
so I 
can't be sure, but it seems to me that those
characters aren't
interested in sex. HOWEVER, the reason I liked those
books was
that the relationship between T and K was really deep,
as well 
as T and the Star-eyed, Warrl, etc.

>>Paul writes:
>That plan however, never came to fruition - there are
no current
>plans for Misty to continue writing Darkover.<<

DANG!!!

>>Rainwing writes:
>I noticed that while Misty writes about many gay
characters, 
>she doesn't seem to write about many lesbian ones. 
Unless I am 
>mistaken, the only lesbian characters we actually
know anything 
>about are Keren, Sherril, and Ylsa.  None of them
main characters
>and all of them lifebonded to eachother.  Compared to
the list of 
>very significant gay characters like Van,
'Lendel/Stef, Firesong, 
>Silverfox, and An'desha, they seem rather scarce and
insignificant.  
>Is there a reason for this?  Does Misty have a
preference to 
>writing gay rather than lesbian characters?<<

Actually, I thought about that for a while when I
first read the 
series through. I though that maybe since Misty's a
(straight) woman, 
she knows what it's like to be in love with a man, so
it's easier 
for her to write "depthfully" (my new word!!) about
people who love 
men. I dunno if that makes much sense or not...

Do Ice Cream Sheep constitute frozen mutton? I heard a
Mary had a 
little lamb variation about that...

"Mary had a little lamb, 
it was a greedy glutton.
She fed it Ice Cream all day long,
and now it's frozen mutton..."

Just a thought! ^_~
~Songjewel

=====
Priestess of Nuriko
Spokes-otaku for Desert Bloom
Mistress of the Pagemasters

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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 22:45:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kenneth Allen Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
To: Misty Lackey List <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk>
Subject: Re: And now for something completely different.
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.4.05.10007102231230.12940-100000-+AT+-copland.udel.edu>

On Mon, 10 Jul 2000, Melanie Dymond Harper wrote:

> They're just fun; the audio-versions are read by Stephen Fry and are
> particularly entertaining, I'm told. (I suspect Stephen Fry may never
> have made it across the Atlantic. Your loss, folks ;))

Not at all!  At least, if we are talking of Stephen Fry from "A Bit of Fry
and Laurie" and all those wonderful Jeeves and Wooster shows.  And guest
bits on every extant BritCom, or so it seems.  I love Fry. =)

Someone, whose name escapes me, but their last name was something like
"Laury"(?) wrote:

> > Also, are these books only big in the US? Or are they popular in
> other countries as well. If they are popular elsewhere, that adds more
> credibility

No, no.  The HP books were a sensation in Great Britain before they became
popular in the US.  And the current episode (Book 4) is expected to be so
popular with adults in Canada that the Canadian version comes in two
versions: the "children's" version, and an "adult" version that has a
bland cover so that people can read it on the train or bus without being
obviously involved in a "kid's book."

> For those who *have* read those books, if they are written for kids,
> what makes them so special? I mean, a child's book had better be
> damned good to get a cult following.

I don't know how to describe it.  They are, for want of another word,
"magical." =)  The characters are actually fairly well-developed and the
plots are engaging and reasonably complex.  My only dislike is that the
main "muggle" characters (the non-magical ones) are Harry's adoptive
family and are a particular nasty demonized foster family.  But part of
the charm for most readers, I expect, is the idea of escaping the muggle
world we live in.  And I suppose I should approve of the books' structure
since it makes use of the "demonized world" entry milieu (the
identification and description of which is my one real contribution to
academic literary theory *grin*).  Oh well.  I highly recommend the books
to anyone who loves the idea of magic in the real world.  Particularly the
old traditional view of magic: witches and wizards and potions and
familiars, and all that lot. =)

May the seas be your solace and the forests a refuge for your spirit,

Cennydd
Councilor of Mist

Kenneth Allen Hyde     |  No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife
Univ. of Delaware      |  between the shoulder blades will seriously
Dept. of Linguistics   |  cramp his style  -- Old Jhereg proverb
kenny-+AT+-Udel.Edu         |  A mind is a terrible toy to waste! -- Me

//www.ling.udel.edu/hyde/prof/ken.html



------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 22:22:20 -0600
From: ShadowDreamer <shadskitty-+AT+-home.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: And now for something completely different.
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20000710222220.006fef3c-+AT+-mail>

Paul writes:
>I love the Harry Potter books, and so do all of us at highflight, so there!
>
>The fourth one is a clear departure from the previous books - it's got 
>teeth.. and not really quite the cosy happy ending that readers may have 
>come to expect either (though the last one wasn't quite that cosy was it?).
>
>Anyway, highly recommended. Well done to Joanne.
>
>Paul
>Not on behalf. For me. My opinion. MINE! ya hear?

Hehe, no need to get so defensive.. =)  We DO talk about other books
besides Misty's once in a while.  I mean, we GOTTA have something to read
between her books, right? =)  Yes, I too enjoy the Harry Potter books, and
DEVOURED the latest.  When my husband finishes it, I will read it again.
And I'm glad you will share your opinions with us, Paul. =)

Reanna writes:
><curiousity is peaked> Are the Harry Potter books
>really that good? I mean, I was under the assumption
>that they were for kids. I had heard that a bunch of
>adults read them too, but kinda dismissed that rumor
>out of hand.

Well, I enjoy them.  If you like Tamora Pierce's stuff, or the Dark is
Rising series, you will probably like them.  I believe they are also quite
popular in the U.K. but wouldn't know.  They're not exactly "deep", but
they're GREAT reads and a lot of fun.  You ought to at least try the first
one, if you get the chance.
There's also a big uprising of the Fundamentalist Christians over them.
Seems they're evil and full of evil witchcraft and might actually teach
their kids to think for themselves.  But these are the same people who were
raging over Pokemon, so...

Well, that's all for today, I guess.  Nothing more to reply to.  Except to
Songjewel, who said there wasn't romantic intrest in the "Oath-" series,
there was.  In Oathbreakers, with Jadrek.  It wasn't overt on the sex
scene, but the romance and some sex hinting were there.  Also, there was
the scene where they were working in a brothel, although that was dream-sex...



Known to one and all as ShadowDreamer, formerly MorningStar
Mindmate to the tawny eagle Ryia!
Original Member of the Order of Unsung Heros
(http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/oouh/)
shadskitty-+AT+-home.com
morningstar-+AT+-poetic.com
Web page is moving...watch this spot for updates!

------------------------------

End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2349
**********************************