A Mosque Upon My Bookshelves!

At long last! My copies of A Mosque Among the Stars have arrived!

I haven't had a chance to do more than flip through this anthology of science fiction stories related to Muslims and Islam, but I am eager to see what the stories are like. My own "Miss Lonelygenes' Secret" is in it, along with "Squat", by Donna McMahon, "A Walk Through the Garden", by Lucius Shephard, and the intriguingly titled "The Weight of Space and Metal" by Camille Alexa. The cover is by Lee Kuruganti.

Thanks for putting this together, Ahmed and Muhammad!


From the publisher's website:

A MOSQUE AMONG THE STARS

Edited by Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmed and Ahmed A. Khan, this anthology features 12 SF stories (originals and reprints) that portray Islam or Muslim characters in a friendly light.

Table of Contents Lucius Shepard: A Walk in the Garden Tom Ligon: For a Little Price Jetse De Vries: Cultural Clashes in Cadiz Howard Jones: Servant of Iblis Andrew Ferguson: Organic Geometry Ahmed A. Khan: Synchronicity Camille Alexa: The Weight of Space and Metal G.W. Thomas: The Emissary Kevin Miller: A Straight Path Through the Stars Pamela Taylor: Recompense C. June Wolf: Miss Lonelygenes' Secret D.C. McMahon: Squat Pages: 260 Price: $20 + shipping To order: email zc.press@gmail.com

Bitten by Book Reviews.

I had the rather odd experience last week of dreaming that if I was to be turned into a monster, I would like to be either a vampire or a werewolf, because they are bitten on the neck before they die.

Besides showing a sad misunderstanding of werewolf physiology, and a shockingly ribald undercurrent to my dreams, this does at least speak clearly to the love/not-love relationship it is possible to have with things like biting, and book reviews.

Being a sensitive soul, I was a little droopy after reading the review of Finding Creatures & Other Stories on the Bitten By Books site last night. Then a few hours later I saw another review posted to LibraryThing. The interesting thing about these two reviews is that in part they are commenting on the same thing, with extreme opposite reactions to it. A good reminder to me, when I am assessing a book, to remember that just because it isn't working for me, that doesn't mean it isn't working. (I shouldn't have needed the reminder--Charles de Lint says the same thing in the intro to my book. Oopsies.)

Anyway, to save you, dear readers, the trouble of searching around for these reviews, I will copy them here and let you struggle to your own conclusions.


Mar 8, Review by Ricki
Finding Creatures & Other Stories by C. June Wolf (out of a possible 5 tombstones)
***

A collection of short stories is a good way to get a feel for an author. Canadian author C. June Wolf’s writing style comes across loud and clear in Finding Creatures & Other Stories.

Finding Creatures & Other Stories is a collection of 15 short stories. While some of the stories are fantasy and some are sci-fi, a few are closer to just plain fiction. In all of them, though, the main character learns some important inner truth, but often in a bittersweet way. A lot of the stories also have origins in religions and beliefs from various parts of the world, making each unique in their own way.

Out of all of the stories, the two that I enjoyed the most were the title story, “Finding Creatures” and “Miss Lonelygenes’ Secret”. “Finding Creatures” is a heartwarming story about a lonely girl who meets an invisible horse who helps her make friends to fit in at her new school. Also ending on a positive note is “Miss Lonelygenes’ Secret,” a sci-fi tale about a matchmaker who finds a way to make her own match.

Wolf excels at poetic prose, as evidenced in every one of her stories in Finding Creatures & Other Stories. However, most of these stories, while beautiful, were hard to really get into, lacking a connection between the reader and the main characters. Also, the dismal endings of some made the whole collection somewhat of a downer. Plus, many of the stories has a post-modernist feel to them as they lack an easily identifiable climax or conclusion.

If you enjoy beautiful short stories or learning about other philosophical beliefs, C. June Wolf’s writing will appeal to you. However, for those looking for a fun paranormal read, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

***************************************

(Interjection from the future: As I said, this didn't exactly make my day. But I went back today - 4 June 2009 - and discovered these wonderful comments. The last is by the owner of the Bitten By Books site. Now that's a vote of confidence. Thank you, all!), all

1. Comment by Ursula Pflug — April 3, 2009 @ 4:50 pm

   I really enjoyed Casey’s book and so did Charles de Lint who wrote a lengthy introduction.

   I’ve reviewed it for the April Internet Review of Science Fiction.

   ---

   
   
2. Comment by Nicole Hicks — April 9, 2009 @ 7:57 pm

   Sometimes Happy ever after endings begin to pale, I will have to look into this for those times!

   ---

   
   
3. Comment by Rachel — April 9, 2009 @ 8:23 pm

   This is the kind of book I can really get into. I am going to have to get my copy soon. Casey is an amazing author and very kind. Good sense of humor. I enjoy some of her poetry from her site. Definitely worth checking out. You can’t really get much better of an an endorsement than Charles de Lint.

***************************************

sandragon's review

Many of these short stories are about people faced with making choices that any one of us may come to face in our lives. The fact that the circumstances surrounding the choices are often wondrous or fantastical is beside the point. To me, these stories are about what it is to be 'human'. Each story contains characters that were very real to me in the strength of their thoughts and emotions. In these stories there is hope and compassion, people who care about what's happening around them and people making connections no matter the differences between them.

I tend to blitz through short story collections, reading one story immediately after another, so that the memory of one story bleeds into another. This time I decided to do as Charles de Lint recommended in his introduction and took breaks between each of Wolf's stories; sometimes as little as 30 minutes between stories, sometimes as much as a few weeks. I'm glad I did as I really got to savour and appreciate each story, every one of which I enjoyed, although a couple left me puzzled.

sandragon | Mar 8, 2009 |

***************************************

To order Finding Creatures & Other Stories and judge for yourself, click here and choose from the many options.

A Delicious Review & Wee Updates

-->

I’m plunking along revising Làkansyèl (novel). This is both a tiring and an inspiring task. The first drafting was intense, scary, exciting. Returning to source materials and writing copious notes, then going through those notes and deciding what remains, what goes, what needs to be fleshed out, doing the fleshing, and then inserting them into the narrative…fascinating, nerve-wracking, a feat of endurance, and a lot of fun.

A few days ago I signed a contract with Adams Media for my contribution to the anthology Out of the Broom Closet, scheduled for release in September. This is not speculative fiction, or fiction at all, but is autobiographical and centers on spiritual life. So for that book I am using another name, to keep the two streams of my writing clearly separate.

I am pleased to be a part of this project and am looking forward to reading the other entries.

The Vancouver Public Library is the first library to order Finding Creatures & Other Stories—it is a relief to know that those in Vancouver who can’t afford to buy it will now have the option to borrow it. If you are in another town and would like the book to be available or simply can’t afford to buy it yourself, please consider asking your library to buy a copy. There are generally forms on library websites for suggesting purchases, or call or drop in and ask the procedure. Many thanks to those who requested FC&OS through VPL.

Although the publisher and I have sent out a number of review copies, and more copies of the book are showing up on LibraryThing, very few actual reviews have been posted.

Don D’Ammassa, longtime SF fan in the eastern US, posted this paired review, unfortunately contained in his “Horror” section. FC&OS is definitely Not Horror, so I’m not sure what good it will do, but the suggestion that the stories ought to have been published in Fantasy & Science Fiction or Realms of Fantasy is satisfying.

Finding Creatures & Other Stories by C. June Wolf, Wattle and Daub, 2008, $15.95, ISBN 978-0-9810658-0-9 1864

Both of these are from small presses and both are authors whose names I didn’t recognize…The second collection tends more toward contemporary fantasy. I hadn’t read anything by Wolf either, and most of these stories apparently first appeared in small press and Canadian markets. They vary from okay to quite good and once again I’m surprised that none of them came from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction or Realms of Fantasy. I’d rate the Wolf collection as slightly the better written of the two, but the subject matter in Thomas’ book appealed more to my personal prejudices. 12/8/08

A very lovely review appeared on LibraryThing this week.

Once opened Finding Creatures and Other Stories turned out to be impossible to close, I had to keep going and read just one more until too soon I reached the end. Even the most fantastic dreams, beings from other worlds and wild creations of human mind were made so real you'd almost expect to see some when you raise your eyes from the page. If only the book itself was as magical as its contents, after finishing one story there would forever be another.

Kirjastonhoitaja | Mar 3, 2009 |

I have also signed up for Twitter under the name C. June Wolf. My goal there is to write one 140 character or less comment each day tied to writing, as a way to keep focused and connected with others around writing. If you wish to follow my Twitters please search for me there or click straight from here to my homepage there. Unlike our beloved but in ways unwieldy Facebook, Twitter is brief and to the point.

And with that, I return to Làkansyèl.

As for you, may you notice one clear moment in your day and meet it joyfully.

Casey

Amazing Interview Stats

I was in touch this week with Irma Arkus, of HiSciFi.com, who interviewed me at VCon 33. In the course of conversation I remarked to her that although there was only one comment left below my interview, I knew of several people who had listened and enjoyed it. This is her reply:


Feedback is the hardest thing in the world. But to make you feel a bit better, the interview itself has been downloaded 168 times, and on Mininova, the show that features the interview has been downloaded 751 times and counting.

 The general interviews receive over 500 downloads off site, and are listened to over 100 times - it just takes a little while. That is only the "tip of the iceberg" so to speak, because most of them on average are downloaded (in a course of a 60 day period) over 3000 times. That is of course, only based on information available from sites I monitor, and these files tend to travel wide and far.

 I've worked at CTV for Vicki Gabereau show, and this nation-wide broadcast program, that was distributed daily, kind of like Oprah, had but a handful of emails and responses. So, trust me, even though it may seem like little, the fact that there are thousands of people who go out of their way to visit the sites and intentionally download the interviews, is quite amazing. This is not a show that is handed to listeners on a silver platter. They don't "incidentally" hear bits and pieces of it, but look for it, intentionally. I always thought that that is amazing.

 Anyways, I just hope that makes you feel a bit better. And do let me know if you write any new material that you would like to promote.

Sincerely,
Irma Arkus

HiSciFi @ VCon: C. June Wolf, author of Finding Creatures & Other Stories

• Great interview!

Black History Month & Haiti Booklist (Plus a Note to Academics Writing About Haiti)

René Depestre

In the midst of More Important Things, and sometimes instead of them (after all--is there EVER an end to the MITs?), I have here and there been entering favourite books into my virtual library on LibraryThing. (An activity people are as likely to respond to with, "Why on earth would you want to do that?" as with "Oh, that sounds wonderful!") (You see now how the world is divided up?)

In the last few days (while I'm supposed to refrain from typing because my arms are hurting) I've entered twenty or so books about, or set, in Haiti. Most are nonfiction, but a few are novels or collections of short stories. A couple are folktales or YA literature. It has been a great pleasure to go over these books again in my mind, to reconnect them with their titles and author names, where I had forgotten them, to assemble them with each other in a dear library of books borrowed, given, or purchased. I look forward to remembering and entering and rediscovering many of the books that I have read and let go. And to discovering more, as my thirst for books on Haiti is reawakened.

Yesterday I began reading The Festival of the Greasy Pole, by René Depestre, a book I have had for awhile and haven't read. It occurred to me later that this, being February, is Black History Month. In honour of this fine book and that celebration, I want to share my humble list as it so far exists, and an invitation to a reading (if you happen to be in Vancouver, BC) given by my friend Addena Sumter-Freitag and two other local authors at Britannia Library on 18 February 2009. (Details below.)

A brief note about the list:

Most of the books on this list I have enjoyed or found useful in one way or another and would recommend. A couple I had trouble with because of unnecessarily academic language--language which made the ideas hard to understand and the writing difficult to plod through.

When you consider that the majority of people in or concerned about Haiti are not English-speaking academics, it seems rudely elitist to me to truss potentially important ideas about that place in jargon that non-academics (like me!) find mind-numbing.

A word to the listening, therefore, from my biased but doubtlessly reasonable point of view:

Yes! Research your thesis. Struggle to write what you have observed and done and concluded and recommend. Publish it. Defend it. Then translate it, at the very least into common English. You don't need to hire anyone for that; you can do it yourself. Best of all, if you are able, translate your book into Haitian Creole.If you aren't fluent in the language yourself, can you find someone to do it for you? If it's a work you think is of value to Haiti, wouldn't it be wonderful if it was available to the people to whom it would mean the most? (I know, I know. If only we had such money...) (And if there is a reader out there eager to translate my short stories into Creole I'd love to talk!)

Rant complete.

Have a look below at the invitation to Addena's reading, at the bottom of which you will find My Haiti Book List. Suggestions of wonderful books to do with Haiti are always welcome (as are donations of such books!).

Other, more thorough lists of books related to Haiti can be found, of course. Primary are the lists to be found on Bob Corbett's site. Start with Haiti: Book Reviews. If you are interested in buying, check out his Books For Sale. Ebony Grigsby of Tampa, Florida, lists Haiti books suitable for K-12 on Amazon. For books in French, as well as aids for learning Creole, try The Haitian Book Centre. For books of interest to those wishing to aid Haiti and other countries, books that will help you know what is needed, see Sharon Gaskell's list (hi, Sharon!) at Starthrower Foundation. Books for Understanding has a list of books on Haitian history.

One disappointing note, the French Caribbean Restaurant on Columbia Street in New Westminster has closed its doors permanently.

Have a wonderful Black History Month, everyone.

Love,
CJDub

Celebrate Black History Month!

A program open to all ages

Wednesday February 18 7:00 pm- 8:30 pm Free Join us for our 4th annual celebration featuring music, poetry, film and more. Special guests include Addena Sumter-Freitag. Britannia Branch 1661 Napier Street

Photo by Shelley Whitehead

	Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, Karen McCarthy Brown		2001	anthropology, Haiti, Vodou		Tears through a lot of misconceptions. Gives insight into Haitian culture, the religion of Vodou and its importance in the community, and into an individual of real character.
	Finding Creatures & Other Stories, C. June WOLF		2008			I'm not rating it. I'll let other readers decide!
	The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus, Irving Rouse		1993	archaeology, colonialism, Columbus, Haiti, slavery, Taino
	The Kingdom of This World: A Novel, Alejo Carpentier		2006
	Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti, Frances Temple		1991	Aristide, Haiti, poverty, YA		A reminder of the strength of courage of Haiti.
	Reflections of Loko Miwa, Lilas Desquiron		1998	Haiti, Vodou, women, zombie
	The Sun, the Sea, a Touch of Wind, Rosa Guy		1996	art, Haiti, mental illness, women
	Fever Season, Barbara Hambly		1998	African-American history, fever, Haiti, Louisiana, mullato class, racism
	Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, Donald J. Cosentino		1995	art, Haiti, lwa, religion, ritual, spirits, Vodou
	The Beast of the Haitian Hills, Philippe and Pierre Thoby-Marcelin		1964	class conflict, greed, Haiti, lwa, ritual, spirits, Vodou
	Lydia Bailey, Roberts Kenneth		1947	American role in Haitian revolution, Dessalines, fiction, Haiti, Haitian Revolution, Toussaint L'Ouverture
	The Uses of Haiti, Paul Farmer		2003	colonialism, foreign control, France, Haiti, history, poverty, racism, slavery, United States
	Voodoo in Haiti, Alfred Métraux		1959	anthropology, Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	The butterfly's way : voices from the Haitian dyaspora in the United States, Edwidge Danticat		2001	creative nonfiction, fiction, Haiti
	Breath, eyes, memory, Edwidge Danticat		1994	fiction, Haiti
	The farming of bones : a novel, Edwidge Danticat		1998	fiction, Haiti
	Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, Maya Deren		1983	anthropology, Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	Haiti, History, and the Gods, Colin Dayan		1998	Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	Madame Dread: A Tale of Love, Vodou and Civil Strife in Haiti, Kathie Klarreich		2005	Haiti
	Life in a Haitian Valley, Melville Jean, Herskovits		1971	culture, Haiti, history, religion, social structure, Vodou, Voodoo
	All Souls' Rising, Madison Smartt Bell		1995	fiction, Haiti, history, revolution
	The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier, Amy Wilentz		1989	Aristide, Haiti, history
	Open Gate, Boadiba		2001	bilingual, Creole poetry, Haiti
	When the hands are many : community organization and social change in rural Haiti, Jennie Marcelle Smith		2001	community organization, Haiti
	Christophe, King of Haiti, Hubert Cole		1970	Haiti, Henri Christophr, history, Roi Christophe
	Voodoo: Search for the Spirit, Laennec Hurbon		1995	Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	Haitian Vodou Flags, Patrick Arthur Polk		1998	Flags, Haiti, Vodou, Vodou Flags
	Voodoo and the art of Haiti, Sheldon Williams		1969	Art, Haiti, Haitian Art, Vodou, Voodoo
	Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance, Beverly Bell		2001	Haiti, women
	Masters of the Dew, Jacques Roumain		1971	fiction, Haiti
	The Comedians, Graham Greene		1967	dictatorship, fiction, Haiti
	The Festival of the Greasy Pole, René Depestre		1990	dictatorship, Duvalier, fiction, Haiti, Haitian fiction