qcrisp
Grimscribe
Ironically, I was wearing a relatively formal jacket under my overcoat.
Does a kind of hound's tooth tweed count?
All God's Angels, Beware!
- Thread starter qcrisp
- Start date
Ironically, I was wearing a relatively formal jacket under my overcoat.
Does a kind of hound's tooth tweed count?
rhysaurus
Chymist
My latest blog entry is mostly about Quentin. It re-uses a photo I've already posted here, but that couldn't be helped.
******Latest Blog Entry******
******Latest Blog Entry******
Nemonymous
Grimscribe
I agree with Rhys when he wrote to me in the early nineties: "To talk about your own writing is like putting footprints into a perfect surface of crisp new snow."
ElHI
Mystic
I've just started reading All God's Angels, Beware! (tells you a bit how far behind I am in my reading schedule...), and I just had to write something after finishing Ynis-y-Plag :
...Wow!
I may had something later, when my blood have come back to a normal temperature, if ever.
By the way, what have become of the intended chapbook of 'leftover' stories?
...Wow!
I may had something later, when my blood have come back to a normal temperature, if ever.
By the way, what have become of the intended chapbook of 'leftover' stories?
Brendan Moody
Chymist
"Ynys-y-Plag" is one of my favorite weird/horror novellas of all time, the kind of story I look forward to rereading immediately after first finishing it. There's just so much there, from surface terror to visionary unease to philosophical despair to the subtle sociological element of the secret of the bwg.
Nemonymous
Grimscribe
Agreed.
This is a tiny bit of what I wrote in 2009 about this novella in my RTR of the whole book:
"This is an amazing novella, there can be no mistake - one that is remarkable and original and beautifully, mellifluously languaged, containing much of what I have already hinted at above and much much more. It is glib to say something is life-changing. But this must surely edge towards such a claim, at least."
qcrisp
Grimscribe
I felt I shouldn't leave this unanswered. Some people may remember that I parted company with Ex Occidente. It was not an easy decision, but I exercised my judgement as best as I could. Unfortunately, for this reason, there will not be any chapbook. I apologise to all those let down by this. I'm afraid that if I were to go into the reasons behind the parting of ways it would revive a controversy that - in the middle of a riot-torn London - I currently have no appetite for, especially considering the abuse I received at the time for the decision I made. Sorry if all this sounds rather solemn, but I did want to give an answer.
Thank you for your kind comments concerning 'Ynys-y-Plag'.
Freyasfire
Grimscribe
Hear hear!
qcrisp
Grimscribe
A short speech:
Thank you for the support and encouragement.
I think what I really need in order to put out more material is to stop reading de-motivational Buddhist texts and stock up on Red Bull.
The truth is, I have a great deal of unpublished material, most of which is better than my published stuff, but which is in particular need of revision.
Susuki, my sequel to Shrike, was written back in about 2008, but has only had minor revision, and needs more. As well as being a sequel, it is meant to be almost a stylistic/philosophical antithesis to Shrike, with lots of over-the-top stuff happening in it.
Domesday Afternoon, Volume I: Summerhill, was written... many years ago and is the longest thing I have finished in first draft, and in many ways the thing closest to my personal vision. It desperately needs revision. I think about three people have read it.
The Hideous Child was finished in first draft this January, and has made it to second and third draft. It needs at least one more draft. This is the one least in need of revision and for that reason most likely to get published, but it is by no means (in my opinion) the best.
The Lovers, a thematic but not literal prequel to Shrike. Not yet finished. A strange piece that a lot of work has gone into.
There are also various unfinished pieces scattered about in boxes here and there.
And I have plans for another couple of collections and a number of other novels. Not to mention translations of this and that.
The question is, will any of this ever see the light of day?
I hope that at least some of it will. I am actually hoping that my forties (which commence from next year) will be my most productive decade, and that I will finally put out some work I can actually be proud of.
What I most want to see the light of day:
The Magical Universe (a planned collection of futuristic semi-utopian tales, most of which are still unwritten, though one or two are written)
Argentopia (this will be a kind of epic fantasia based on a technicolour necrophile romance, as yet unwritten)
Susuki (with Domesday Afternoon, probably the best things I've written)
Domesday Afternoon (including the two volumes I have not yet written)
But there are other things that are more likely to see the light of day before these.
However, just let me finish those four things to my satisfaction, and release them to the world, and I think I can happily retire to Bhutan, or be eaten by soldier ants, or something.
Not that I necessarily want that to happen, because I do have other ideas for stories as well, which I won't even mention here.
What prevents the above from seeing the light of day?
Time, energy, motivation - lack thereof. That's all, really.
The future is uncertain. I shall try my best.
In the event that none of the above is ever finished, revised and published, I hope that what already exists is not too feeble to be of some interest or value.
Thank you.
Thank you for the support and encouragement.
I think what I really need in order to put out more material is to stop reading de-motivational Buddhist texts and stock up on Red Bull.
The truth is, I have a great deal of unpublished material, most of which is better than my published stuff, but which is in particular need of revision.
Susuki, my sequel to Shrike, was written back in about 2008, but has only had minor revision, and needs more. As well as being a sequel, it is meant to be almost a stylistic/philosophical antithesis to Shrike, with lots of over-the-top stuff happening in it.
Domesday Afternoon, Volume I: Summerhill, was written... many years ago and is the longest thing I have finished in first draft, and in many ways the thing closest to my personal vision. It desperately needs revision. I think about three people have read it.
The Hideous Child was finished in first draft this January, and has made it to second and third draft. It needs at least one more draft. This is the one least in need of revision and for that reason most likely to get published, but it is by no means (in my opinion) the best.
The Lovers, a thematic but not literal prequel to Shrike. Not yet finished. A strange piece that a lot of work has gone into.
There are also various unfinished pieces scattered about in boxes here and there.
And I have plans for another couple of collections and a number of other novels. Not to mention translations of this and that.
The question is, will any of this ever see the light of day?
I hope that at least some of it will. I am actually hoping that my forties (which commence from next year) will be my most productive decade, and that I will finally put out some work I can actually be proud of.
What I most want to see the light of day:
The Magical Universe (a planned collection of futuristic semi-utopian tales, most of which are still unwritten, though one or two are written)
Argentopia (this will be a kind of epic fantasia based on a technicolour necrophile romance, as yet unwritten)
Susuki (with Domesday Afternoon, probably the best things I've written)
Domesday Afternoon (including the two volumes I have not yet written)
But there are other things that are more likely to see the light of day before these.
However, just let me finish those four things to my satisfaction, and release them to the world, and I think I can happily retire to Bhutan, or be eaten by soldier ants, or something.
Not that I necessarily want that to happen, because I do have other ideas for stories as well, which I won't even mention here.
What prevents the above from seeing the light of day?
Time, energy, motivation - lack thereof. That's all, really.
The future is uncertain. I shall try my best.
In the event that none of the above is ever finished, revised and published, I hope that what already exists is not too feeble to be of some interest or value.
Thank you.
sundog
Chymist
Quentin,
Do you have particular publishing schemes for these titles - such as wanting to publish the prequel and sequel to Shrike (a beautifully produced book!) through PS publishing - or are you satisfied with self-releasing them through Chômu Press?
As far as I'm concerned, the sooner your finished and polished work is published the better. Your poetic prose is needed.
qcrisp
Grimscribe
Shrike was... actually hard to say what the influences were in a way, apart from the names dropped in the text. Susuki is definitely Mishima-influenced, however, more than anything else I've written. Other influences on it would be Ueda Akinari, Izumi Kyoka, and, again, other names dropped in the text (I'm very transparent). I think it's better than Shrike. I'm really beginning to feel bad about letting it gather dust for so long. My local is Sainsbury's. I'll check and see if the Red Bull hasn't been looted.
This is a question I can get my teeth into. However, I'll try not to make too much of a meal of it.
I don't have definite publishing schemes for any other work as yet. That is, nothing at all has been scheduled for the future, except that I know Tartarus are set to re-release Morbid Tales. I have one or two irons in the fire, but at the moment too tentative for me to say anything. I probably shouldn't speculate as to who can or should publish what, as I might tread on toes, but there are, anyway, enough options that I don't think I need to despair on that front.
In terms of my personal and actual plans, I'm trying to psych myself up to revise The Hideous Child for publication, as this seems to be an achievable goal (fingers crossed) that will hopefully prepare a path and build momentum for me to revise and publish the next thing (perhaps Susuki).
I did present my obstacles as simple - lack of time, energy, motivation - and in a way they are, but behind them there are complex factors that tend to develop into a vicious circle hard to break. I think a comprehensive description of those factors would really tax the patience. It's very tempting for me - for instance - to apportion blame here or there for the chronic unpopularity of my work, but laying blame doesn't get any books written (well, apart from those books that are thinly or thickly disguised catalogues of blame), so it has to be back to the Red Bull.
Another complicating factor is simply the way that I work. I tend to panic if I'm not writing something new, as I feel that I will therefore lose creative momentum, and this creates a tendency to put revision (which is very much needed) on a back-burner. And since I can't bear to release insufficiently revised work, it often lies there for years and years, finished, but not ready to submit.
So, I suppose I simply have to prioritise and be methodical. I will say that the comments here spurred me last night to make a start on another (hopefully the last) round of revision for The Hideous Child. So, many thanks for that. I just hope I can keep up it up.