MAGIC OF THE NIGHT

Hello everyone. My name is Tamar Myers. I am the author of 35 comedic mysteries set in the United States, but I have just begun a new series of books set in Africa—in fact, a lot of this series will be set in a remote area of the Congo, which is smack dab in the middle of Africa. So what makes me any kind of an authority on the Congo? How, and when, did I do my research?

Well, you see, my parents were missionaries to a tribe of headhunters in the then Belgian Congo. I was born there, grew up fluent in the local trade language, and did not leave permanently until I was almost sixteen. My books take place in the late 1950s, which is the period that I remember the best.

Although the country is now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is anything by democratic, nor is it Belgian anymore, so for the purposes of this blog, I shall call it simply the Congo. In the Congo, magic was serious business; it governed peoples’ lives. Usually the purveyor of magic was the village witchdoctor. The witchdoctor, by the way, was also the most powerful person in the village—not the chief. In “my” tribe, the Bashilele, the chief was actually a slave, captured from another tribe (more on that later, if anyone is interested).

At any rate, the witchdoctor had the power to put life-threatening curses on people. I have before me a book written by a missionary (a friend of my parents) who recounts the story of a young girl, Ngalula, who was given a pet goat by her uncle. The girl’s mother coveted the goat, but the Ngalula would not part with the goat. So the mother—with the aid of a witchdoctor—put a curse on the girl and she began to decline. She was later taken to mission hospital and everything was done to save her, but she died anyway. At her funeral—which was conducted by this missionary—a goat burst through the crowd, gave a frightened series of “baas,” and then dropped dead on Ngalula’s grave.

When Faith Hunter asked me to contribute to this BLOG I turned to my wall of bookcases, not expecting to find this very old book. In fact, I wasn’t even sure that I still had it. But my eye was immediately drawn to it, and when I took it out of the bookcase it fell open to this very page and my thumb was on this passage. Having grown up around witchcraft, I wasn’t at all surprised, and don’t think that this was a coincidence. Instead, I submit to you the possibility that it was the magic of this long dead witchdoctor still wanting to live on. And now you have it. Oops—good luck!

Now where was I? Oh yes, everything was governed by magic: magic spells, magic powders, magic amulets—all these things were used to ensure healthy childbirth and to ward off sickness and wild beasts. Since so many babies died in childbirth, this category has by far the most entries. One of the ways of making magic was simply to use words to fool the spirits. Give the unborn baby a name such as Cripple, Died at Birth, or No Account and the bad spirits might leave the baby alone. Don’t ever name your child Blessing, or Beautiful, because then you are really asking for trouble!

Leopard skins and teeth posses special powers. Look at any picture or TV footage of a traditional chief and you will see a leopard skin draped around his shoulders. That is because a leopard skin imparts strength. Just from growing up there I too have this “leopard thing” going on. I have a beautiful necklace which Faith Hunter made for me out of leopard claws. The claws are from a leopard that my father shot (it was killing one of our milk goats). Whenever I wear this necklace I feel a special kind of mojo.

Okay, that about does it for starters. I’ll be happy to answer any questions that I can about my life in the Congo, or about magical practices there. Please remember, however, that magic was never used for “sweet” things like fairies and such.

http://www.tamarmyers.com/

This is also going to be a very short, mostly fanboy post, because I’m on my way out the door to meet George R.R. Martin, who is in Ireland right now because they’re filming the pilot for hit television series A GAME OF THRONES, based on his best-selling novels.

So what I’m going to talk about, briefly, is one of the very cool aspects of SF/F fandom, which is that virtually all the professionals in the field are also fans. We’re all people who read in the genre, who admire writers in the genre, and who are generally genuinely excited to meet others of our ilk. I’ve watched authors who are well-known in their own right turn to gibbering idiots when presented with the opportunity to meet one of our greats, and that’s just pretty much flat-out awesome. I’ve also personally experienced meeting an author whose work I adore beyond reason, and realizing that “I love your books beyond reason,” I have almost nothing else to say to them. (This is more pronounced if the other writer is cripplingly shy, which in at least one instance was the case. Usually I can get a stone to strike up a conversation…:))

I think one of the things I love best about the professionals in my genre is that they’re almost always willing to share the limelight. Sometimes it gets difficult because everybody’s got something to say and they all want to say it Right Now–it’s not that we don’t want to hear what the other’s got to say, it’s just So Exciting!–but I haven’t yet met anybody who’s a diva. (I have heard nigh-unto-unbelievable diva stories about writers in other genres, so maybe I’ve just gotten really lucky with the SF/F authors I’ve met, but they’ve genuinely all been terrific people.)

Ithink possibly my faborite meet-a-writer story is my husband’s. We were at WFC a few years ago, and joined a circle of writers standing around chatting. Well, a circle of people, a few of whom I knew and who were writers. Introductions were made, including a white-haired gentleman who shook Ted’s hand, said, “Hi, I’m David,” cheerfully,” and on went the conversation. About thirty seconds later Ted got a glimpse of the guy’s name tag, and it was David Drake, one of Ted’s favorite writers.

Ted nearly had a heart attack from sheer excitement, and from the amusing fact that this guy, who has been writing for decades and is a pretty significant name in the field, didn’t think it was worth mentioning his own last name in a groupl of SF/F readers and writers. But that’s my general experience with our clan–so if this post has a point beyond ZOMG I GET TO GO MEET GRRM!!!, it’s probably “don’t be afraid to introduce yourselves. We very rarely bite and we’re almost always willing to talk.”

And now, if you’ll excuse me, ZOMG, I GET TO GO MEET GRRM!!!

First, as pertains to my state of mind:
Monday and Tuesday were my crises-of-faith days, (giggle, giggle) and the members of this list offered some really good pointers on how to deal with a young writer. Thank you all. I remember the desperate need to be published. I understand when a young person says, “I’m ready. I am!” But isn’t. For a teenager, every need is so much sharper, so much more intense. When I was a teen, I wanted to be published and had chosen an arbitrary deadline. No, I won’t tell you what it was, but I will say that I didn’t make it. My work wasn’t good enough. It was amateurish, and childlike. *I* wasn’t mature enough to see all that, and I collected a *huge* number of rejections, despite the fact that I had done such intense and prolonged research into the publishing world and the life of writer. I was still writing, mind you, but as I look back, I now understand that I was growing in maturity both personally and as a writer. It hurt, but I wasn’t ready to be published.

Years after my arbitrary deadline for publication, I finally found it. It hasn’t been an easy ride. More like a mechanical bull with some of its gears missing—a wild rodeo ride for a while, followed by times of just moseying along, and once or twice, just plain stopping dead. It hasn’t been easy, but I persevered, and I really can’t tell anyone why I didn’t just call it quits and do something easier.

I’ve made good money most years, but the money and the market are, neither one, dependable enough to make it a sensible career choice. I’ve made great fans, better friends, and written some books I am intensely proud of. I’ve been published with a co-writer and alone, under three pennames, in two genres and many subgenres, been orphaned, remaindered, dumped several times, and, still, the joy of a sale is the end-all and be-all of my life. I rather think that I have stuck with it all because of the youthful desperation to be published. Therefore, I honor that need and that drive and that hopeless, helpless yearning for publication in myself and in others.

Second, my state of publication:
Bad news first. The AKA has been dumped again. Mira Books is not picking up any more Gwen Hunter books and has returned the rights to six of the eight I wrote for them. It was a bad fit, as there is nothing about romance in my books and they were always shelved in the romance section. Still, it hurts. It is a door closed. Okay — slammed — in my face.

Now the good news. I’m not bragging here. I’ve been tossed off the rampaging bull of the publishing life too many times for that. I’m…ruminating. Sharing. And I’ve had great news these last few weeks.

Charlaine Harris reviewed my book on her blog at the end of October. It was a *very nice* review. My numbers are still good. Skinwalker was released in July, and now, nearly four months later, it is still being ordered and sold and no stripped covers have returned. You have no idea how wonderful that is! I’m going on twenty years as a published writer and seldom has that happened. My numbers on Amazon are still very low for a four-month-old book. And Blood Cross has been street dated, meaning that no bookstore can release it for sale before the release date of Jan. 5, 2010. That also means promo money (have no idea how much or where it will go) and pub-expectations of good things to come. I don’t know what the sell-ins are, but I expect them to be good. Skinwalker sold to Russia (a new country for me!) and ROC picked me up for another contract which I signed and returned in October. It wasn’t for bigger money, but I have fingers crossed for a bonus. My friend Kim read Skinwalker and loved it. (It is always nice when someone important–other than mom–likes your work.)  All positive things in my life. But even better is the improving health of my family. (Sooo many crises averted there!) And the new rescue dogs the hubby and I adopted. I write better with dogs under my feet.

Which brings me, lastly, to the state of my writing:
The rewrites of the proposal went fast. The rewrite of the hundred page manuscript (so far) to reflect the proposal changes have taken a week longer than I wanted, so I’ll have to bust it to get the book done on time. I am staring at my usual nose-to-the-grindstone lifestyle through the holiday season. But I can do it. I hope! You see, I have this desperate desire to be published….

So. What is your current state of mind, state of publication, and/or state of writing? Anyone want to share?
Faith Hunter
FaithHunter.Net
GwenHunter.Com