news | Marie Marshall

September 16, 2013

Demons and Angels

A few days ago I asked you this question: What well-known character in children’s fiction is known in Chinese as Fú Dìmó? I had many interesting answers either as comments or tweets, some of which are contained in the montage below – including the correct character, which nobody guessed. Have a look at the montage, and see if you can spot the correct character. I’ll reveal the answer below.

Who is Fu Dimo?

I’m guessing that you had no trouble identifying each of the characters in the montage. Each answer was imaginative, even if Fu Manchu and the cast of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon stretched the idea of ‘children’s fiction’ a little far. Whoever guessed Harry Potter probably got the closest, but still ‘no cigar’.

The correct answer is… Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter canon. You could have spotted the phonetic similarity between ‘Voldemort’ and ‘Fú Dìmó’. It might have been easier to spot if the translators had gone with their first idea, and had used a character ‘Fo’ instead of ‘Fu’. However ‘Fo’ can have associations with Buddha, and that might not have seemed appropriate for such a villainous character as Voldemort. It has been pointed out that the etymology of the name ‘Voldemort’ suggests ‘wish of death’. This fact reminds me of the difficulty of translating literary texts (I have done a little translating, mainly between French and English, and I briefly worked with the late Vera Rich, proof-reading an unfinished translation from Belarusian to English). JKR’s translators went for a phonetic rendering with an appropriately sinister meaning, rather than taking a meaning from the etymology of the original.

Anyhow, thank you to everyone who played the game with me.

That takes care of today’s demon. Now what about tomorrow’s angels? Just a quick update on The Everywhen Angels, my soon-to-be-published novel. We have completed the major editing stage and are now looking at the first full draft, with our eyes open for any missed typos and new glitches. I received this comment from the publisher’s editor, himself no mean novelist: “… the book is something special. The characterisation is convincing. The narrative is entertaining and gripping, but at the same time shows a wealth of knowledge and research and introduces challenging food for thought on abstract matters…” That is quite something for a YA book. We’re still waiting for cover art, but hopefully the book will be out well before Christmas and in time for the publisher’s schools promotion.

More news as I get it.

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September 6, 2013

We’d like to know a little bit about you for our files…

bestchicklit

Nikki Mason at BestChickLit.com followed up her review of Lupa by conducting an interview with me. Read it here.

August 29, 2013

Corner of Bourbon and Dumaine

The corner of Bourbon and Dumaine in New Orleans is where you’ll find the famous Clover Grill. I’ve never been there, but then I’ve never been to Baku, Uppsala, Rome, or Harlem, and that hasn’t stopped me writing about those places, either realistically or as fantasy versions of themselves. ‘Plain Jane $3.99’ is one of my handful of New Orleans poems. It appeared in my first book of poetry, Naked in the Sea, which you can still buy. Just a couple of days ago a friend and fan, resident of New Orleans (and, I have to say, the person most responsible for making me write about her city) decided it would be cool to record herself and others reading my poetry aloud, and in particular the New Orleans poems. The first step was a recording of ‘Plain Jane 3.99’, which you can hear by clicking on either the street sign above, or the book cover to the left, or by following this link. There’s a smattering of adult language – you’ll have heard far worse – but if you like this recording, pass on the link, particularly if you’re in N’awlins or know someone who is. If and when any other poems become available I’ll let you know.

Meanwhile, I know you’re all wanting to know how the teen-vamp novel is coming. Patience. You’re also going to have to be patient about my second novel The Everywhen Angels, which is due out soon, and about The Phoenix rising from the Ashes (the anthology of sonnets for which I am Deputy Editor). I’ll let you know as soon as something happens. Meanwhile, how would you like the chance to get a free e-book copy of my first novel Lupa? The first step would be to enter the P’kaboo Facebook Share Contest and hopefully, having followed the instructions, to ‘Like’ my novel on Facebook. Go for it.

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August 26, 2013

Reviews, vampires, and storybook witches…

“Yes, my name is Miss Smith. No I will NOT ‘take a letter’!”

BestChickLitLogo Blast! I could do with a reliable secretary. It’s a funny old day. I feel as though I’ve only just sat down at the computer – in fact I logged on at about 5am and it’s nearly lunchtime. Thank heavens its a bank holiday! There has been a welter of tweets and emails, and a shed-load of stuff for me to deal with. The most pleasant was finding a review of my novel Lupa at BestChickLit, courtesy of Nikki Mason. It’s always gratifying to get exposure of this kind.

Another task today is dealing with my publisher’s editor, as we chip away at the imperfections in my second novel The Everywhen Angels, which is due for publication soon. We’re approaching the galley proof stage, and I can’t wait to see what the house artist will have dreamed up for the book jacket.

Meanwhile, what I am supposed to be doing is getting on with is my third novel, the vampire story. But it’s strange where research can take you when you’re doing something like this. I’ve been sidetracked by a chance reference in my research material (posh term for the rubbish I was scrabbling through on line) to one of my favourite anti-heroines of children’s literature, Miss Smith, ‘the wickedest witch in the world’. Before my pagan friends begin to complain about ‘negative stereotypes’ let me say two things: firstly, she’s fictional, and secondly she is far from stereotypical. Ever heard of a witch keeping toads in a fridge? Live toads? She sails blithely through four of Beverley Nichols’ novels, written between 1945 and 1971 on a tide of delicious malice, dressed like a Vogue model. Actually, delicious malice is just what I am looking for right now; an image has popped into my mind of a vampire bound to a dentist’s chair with ropes woven from fibres extracted from garlic plants, while someone forcibly removes its canines. And what about the next scene where its ‘Sire’ replaces them with a stainless steel pair? The thick plottens!

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August 22, 2013

“Can you write a teen-vampire novel for us?”

If you scroll down through this blog section of my web site, clicking on the older posts as you go (a worthwhile exercise, by the way, as there is some interesting reading there), you’ll come across occasional news updates of whatever my ‘latest project’ happens to be. So what happens to them? Where are the finished products? In most cases they simply aren’t. Finished, I mean. Many of them are little better than ‘good ideas’. Other things get in the way – editorial work, judging a competition, work, food, sleep, and so on. Mainly they run out of steam, or I run out of commitment, and I know that is a personal flaw – ‘successful authors’ don’t have this flaw, if you believe their soundbites. But I feel every project was worth starting, just to see if it would work, just to see if it would carry me along.

Anyhow, now that my second novel, The Everywhen Angels, is about to be published, I have been wondering why it has been so hard to complete a third. And then I was asked “Can you write a teen-vampire novel for us?” That’s as near as damn-it a commission! My instant answer was “Yes. No. Maybe.”

To tackle this I would need to re-think my daily schedule. I have been lazy when it comes to writing. I don’t do what good writers are ‘supposed’ to do, which is to spend a fixed time each day writing. I would have to re-commit to that. I would have to shelve the two novels-in-progress that I have. That wouldn’t be shelving much, I have to confess, because they are in the doldrums anyway; but as I shelved one to write the other and now would be shelving both, well that wouldn’t do much for my confidence in finishing the third. I would have to start turning down requests for my editorial expertise; I wouldn’t be able to start any other projects, I would simply have to focus on this. Then the teen-vampire genre has been flogged as near to death as the undead can be, and is lying there waiting for a stake to be driven through its heart. Stephenie Meyer has seen to that. Is there anything left to say? Is there an unused plot? Is there an unexplored twist, an unusual angle? You can see why I said “Yes. No. Maybe.”

However, it just so happens that I have a pottle of notes, fragments, poems, and short stories about a vampire hunter. Could something be reconstructed from these shards? Let’s see if I can bang a stake in without hitting my thumb, or anyone else’s…

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August 17, 2013

‘My life as a coble’, and other things

poetry life & times2

Poetry Life & Times has published a poem of mine, ‘My life as a coble’. You can read it here. A coble, by the way, is a clinker-built boat common to the east coast of the UK, particularly Yorkshire; its construction is thought to come down directly from the techniques used to build Viking longships.

Meanwhile, P’kaboo Publishers have taken on my second novel, The Everywhen Angels. More news later, including some possible promotional events.

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August 3, 2013

StAnza Poetry Festival: I’m on the ‘Digital Slam’ shortlist!

The podcast of my poem ‘O great maritime bears’ (actually written in imitation of Lisa Jarnot’s ‘Ye white antarctic birds’ and originally featured in qarrtsiluni e-zine) has made it through to the shortlist of the ‘Digital Slam’ competition at StAnza. StAnza is Scotland’s premier poetry festival, and is held in the ancient burgh of St Andrews. The winner is decided by votes cast by visitors to the StAnza blog. For me, it’s gratifying to get as far as the shortlist; of course I have to say that there’s some fine entries by other shortlisted poets, some of whom have submitted YouTube clips and so on, but if you would like cast a vote for me, that would be greatly appreciated.

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July 31, 2013

Naboland and Pittenweem

Glenshee – Winter, © Kirstie Behrens

Are you planning to go to Pittenweem Arts festival (3^rd to 11^th August)? If so, be sure to visit Venue 33, 7 Calman’s Wynd, where you will find the art of Reinhard Behrens, Margaret L Smyth, Kirstie Behrens, and David Behrens. This family group of artists grows in strength year by year, as the younger members hone their skills.

Reinhard Behrens is the creator of Naboland, where thrown-away objects find a new life, and a toy submarine voyages in and out of an almost-but-not-quite parallel world. One of Reinhard’s finds, the remains of a teddy bear, inspired me to write a prose poem – had the bear been dropped by a certain creation of Mary Shelley as he sped across the Arctic ice in search of his monstrous creation? I dared think so…

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July 31, 2013

Aval-Ballan Poetry Competition and other news

Just letting you all know that the results of the Aval-Ballan Poetry Competition are now published. You can see them here.

I don’t know if any of you out there has been involved in judging a poetry competition. It’s not as easy as it sounds, even for a poetry editor like myself. Differentiating between the poems in a long list of about one hundred with a view to making them into a shortlist of thirty is hard enough. Whittling that shortlist to twelve winners is damn tough, particularly as it involves negotiating with other judges. Picking a winner from that short-shortlist is almost impossible, particularly when, as I said when asked, “I can’t get a ciggie paper between the first five or so”.

Having made a decision I then sat back and began to feel like a poet. I have had a lot of poetry published, and even more poetry rejected by publishers – that’s the way it goes. Nothing is going to stop the unsuccessful entrants from being disappointed. Nevertheless I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world.

__________

Atlantean Publishing were kind enough to carry a notice in the July issue of their newsletter, The Supplement, advertising my 2013 collection I am not a fish. The notice also included one of the shorter poems in the collection…

Mr Coelacanth’s nightmare

Mr Coelacanth’s recurring nightmare
is that he is before a committee of hungry cats
who ask him the question, Are you now,
or have you ever been, a fish?

Never, he replies,
trying not to speak in bubbles,
trying hard not to let words
like gill and dorsal enter his mind

simon-williams-150x150 Some of my other poetry from this book was featured at the ‘Oversteps Day‘, Saturday 13th July, at Dartington Ways With Words Festival, read by Simon Williams, as part of the ‘A toast to absent friends’ event. Thanks, Simon, for ‘charming’ the audience on my behalf – much appreciated.

July 15, 2013

Lady Clare

clare

In 2006 I was experimenting with the sonnet and wrote many that deviated from iambic pentameter (yes, I know that I’m by no means the first poet to do that, and believe me when I say I won’t be the last!). One of these was inspired by J W Waterhouse’s sketch for ‘Lady Clare’, and featured lines of nine syllables in length, with an unstressed syllable at the end of each. Having had so many poems published that I have totally lost track, it was a great pleasure to receive the 10th Anniversary Issue of Rubies in the Darkness, the magazine of traditional, romantic, lyrical, and spiritually-inspired poetry, and find that my ‘Study for the Lady Clare’ is featured in it. The magazine may be obtained from Precious Pearl Press, 115 Green Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 6HG. Subscriptions cost £10 per annum.

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