Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Jan 9, 2005 19:52:29 GMT -5
I just came from BAKKA-PHOENIX™, where MR. MINISTER FAUST read from his very funny COYOTE KINGS OF THE SPACE-AGE BACHELOR PAD™, a Science Fiction story set in Edmonton, Alberta.
Normally, I find that authors reading their own work aloud provides disincentive to buy & read their books, as they often indulge themselves in cleverism &/or condescension, but MR. FAUST was tremendously entertaining, providing sufficient pre-story background to get my attention, but not so much that the story was spoiled for me.
Also, the chapters that he read were in First Person Subjective (my least favoured form), so when MR. FAUST affected different character voices & timbres, it really served his purpose well, causing the story to come alive off the page in such a way that I hope serves audiences in my own work.
MINISTER FAUST is very Pop Culture & media-savvy, with more than a basic understanding of what drives his intended audience, & he spoke of his desire to see the word "geek" redefined in current parlance as "any person whose knowledge of a given subject drives up the wall other people who care deeply about that same subject".
(Exempli gratia: "sports geek", "stocks geek", "SHAKESPEARE geek", et cetera)
MR. FAUST spoke of his own work @ jobs other than writing (including dishwashing, which is well-known to me!), & how these things have influenced his life & work, with especial regard for the development of the book he is promoting currently.
The presence of author MS. NALO HOPKINSON as fellow audient lent additional authority & gravitas to the proceedings, & she was gracious as always; likewise MR. JOHN ROSE, the ex-proprietor & founder of BAKKA™, while the staff extended wonderful hospitality to all gathered there (I was given a can of COCA-COLA™!), while speaking of other authors' works (MESSRS. TERRY PRATCHETT, TOM HOLT & a woman whose name escapes me, but whose book I shall likely obtain, as well).
I recommend highly any opportunity that presents itself to converse with MR. FAUST, for he is everything that one might hope for in a Science Fiction author, which is to say, respectful of & toward his intended audience, while embracing openly his own enthusiasm for the material.
Normally, I find that authors reading their own work aloud provides disincentive to buy & read their books, as they often indulge themselves in cleverism &/or condescension, but MR. FAUST was tremendously entertaining, providing sufficient pre-story background to get my attention, but not so much that the story was spoiled for me.
Also, the chapters that he read were in First Person Subjective (my least favoured form), so when MR. FAUST affected different character voices & timbres, it really served his purpose well, causing the story to come alive off the page in such a way that I hope serves audiences in my own work.
MINISTER FAUST is very Pop Culture & media-savvy, with more than a basic understanding of what drives his intended audience, & he spoke of his desire to see the word "geek" redefined in current parlance as "any person whose knowledge of a given subject drives up the wall other people who care deeply about that same subject".
(Exempli gratia: "sports geek", "stocks geek", "SHAKESPEARE geek", et cetera)
MR. FAUST spoke of his own work @ jobs other than writing (including dishwashing, which is well-known to me!), & how these things have influenced his life & work, with especial regard for the development of the book he is promoting currently.
The presence of author MS. NALO HOPKINSON as fellow audient lent additional authority & gravitas to the proceedings, & she was gracious as always; likewise MR. JOHN ROSE, the ex-proprietor & founder of BAKKA™, while the staff extended wonderful hospitality to all gathered there (I was given a can of COCA-COLA™!), while speaking of other authors' works (MESSRS. TERRY PRATCHETT, TOM HOLT & a woman whose name escapes me, but whose book I shall likely obtain, as well).
I recommend highly any opportunity that presents itself to converse with MR. FAUST, for he is everything that one might hope for in a Science Fiction author, which is to say, respectful of & toward his intended audience, while embracing openly his own enthusiasm for the material.
