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Noted British fantasy and science fiction Diana Wynne Jones has decided to stop treatment to fight the lung cancer she was diagnosed with last summer, according to Ansible 275.

You can email at the address (e-mails to meredithxyz at googlemail dot com) where well-wishes will reach Diana.

A prolific writer and Hugo winner, among her better-known works are:

• Howls Moving Castle
• Fire and Hemlock
• Archer’s Goon
• A Sudden Wild Magic
• The Tough Guide to Fantasyland

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The purpose of the book was as a way to raise funds for an emergency medical fund for members of the group who are unable to pay for their own medical treatment.

At 203 pages, the book is chock full of more than 100 recipes for everything from Starship Trooper Chili to Night of the Living Meatloaf. Many of the recipes are included for humor’s sake – but most are functional and a few standouts are sure to impress your friends.

Some are delicious despite their names, like Deborah Wheeler’s “Worm Pie” – which is actually a delicious and not-totally-heart-unfriendly spaghetti casserole made with olive oil and turkey meat. Another better-than-its-name-suggests is Melissa Crandall’s “Pull My Finger Carrot Cake” – which is utterly delicious and does not, as its name suggests, cause gas in those lucky enough to eat it.

There are also some delightful healthy and heart-friendly surprises – like Poul Anderson’s skill with recipes – including a favorite fish dish from his time in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism).

But I doubt I’ll get up the gumption to try Grant Carrington’s “Ultimate Peanut Butter, Cream Cheese, and Onion Sandwich” – ever. Although it was interesting to read how he came up with the idea and about his success (or lack thereof) of getting others to try it.

Perhaps the best quality of this book is that it contains recipes that a fan’s favorite authors actually cook for themselves or family and friends. Additionally, the recipes range in skill levels from the utterly simplistic to near-gourmet level, to allow cooks of every skill level a chance of cooking like a published author.

“The day after I had been diagnosed I was working in the garden and I suddenly realised I was whistling, and I thought regrettably there is this sort of inner well of humour or good nature, there is some kind of insuppressible source of good humour that I can’t actually manage to get rid of.”

For the complete article, visit the following link:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article4085858.ece

ADVICE FOR NEW WRITERS:

I’d suggest that every writer should join a critique group — a gentler one if they really are writing virgins. I belong to another one that I value for the insights of some of the members but would never submit anything there for criticism. I previously belonged to one that had members who delighted in stomping on any perceived weaknesses. You must learn to evaluate criticism, not succumb to it.

ON LOOKING FOR AN AGENT

Unless you have been advised by an established writer to approach an agent or publisher of their acquaintance, with at least a good word if not an outright recommendation, don’t waste your time.

Check out the full interview here: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/05/25/104108.php

SEATTLE–When readers return to stores with gift cards and unwanted holiday items, they’ll find a new gift waiting for them on bookstore shelves: Toby Bishop’s novel of women and winged horses. Released on Dec. 26, Airs Beneath the Moon is the story of a farm girl who accidentally bonds with a winged foal, forcing her into conflict with the prejudices of her culture and the desires of a powerful duke who would take her horse and her freedom.

“Horses – especially those that can fly – are an avenue of power for women,” said author Toby Bishop. “When I was growing up, girls were still being told not to let boys know how smart we were. Pairing a girl with such a powerful creature in a working relationship is an icon of the power all girls have inside.”

An award-winning Science Fiction/Fantasy writer, Bishop’s previous books have been described as:

“Lyrical and persuasive,” – Publisher’s Weekly
“An exploration of the mysteries and complications of being human, disguised as a science fiction adventure,” – Romantic Times Bookclub
“Luminescent” and “complex,” – Library Journal
“Thoughtful and effective,” – Kirkus Review
“[Her] exquisite prose and her universal themes of feminist heroism light the book brightly,” – Booklist.

Having ridden horses since age 6, Bishop brings a high level of realism to this novel. The relationships between the women and their horses emphasize the complexity of learning to ride a flying mount and the magic of the human/animal bond.

Airs Beneath the Moon is the first book in The Horsemistress Saga. For a list of the winged horses and their bloodlines, along with preview chapters of the novel, visit: www.TobyBishop.net. Author photos and a printed interview are also available at that site for use by members of the media.

About Toby Bishop – www.TobyBishop.net

Ms. Bishop is a former concert and opera singer who has published 8 novels under the name Louise Marley. She is a winner of the Endeavor Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer Octavia E Butler died suddenly Saturday, a victim of an apparent stroke. At age 58, she had achieved much more than once would expect from a dyslexic African American lesbian born to a shoe shiner.

For her work, she had been awarded two Nebula and Hugo awards.

Below is an excerpt from her bibliography at Wikipedia and reprinted under this GFDL license.

Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947-February 25, 2006) was an American science fiction writer, one of very few African-American women in the field, and a leading lesbian writer. She won both Hugo and Nebula awards, and was the first science fiction writer ever to be a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.”

Butler was born in Pasadena, California. Her father, a shoe shiner, died when she was young; her mother raised her in a struggling, racially mixed neighborhood. As a child, she was considered shy and a “daydreamer;” she was later diagnosed with dyslexia. She began writing at the age of 10 “to escape loneliness and boredom.” She was 12 when she began a lifelong interest in science fiction.

After getting an associate degree from Pasadena City College, she attended California State University and UCLA. She gave credit for her development as a writer to the Open Door Program of the Screen Writers Guild of America and the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop.

Butler moved to Seattle in November 1999. She described herself as “comfortably asocial–a hermit in the middle of Seattle–a pessimist if I’m not careful, a feminist, a Black, a former Baptist, an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty, and drive.” She died of a stroke on February 25, 2006 at the age of 58.

It appears that UK author Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials Trilogy) is not fan of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series.

The Narnia tales, a series of seven stories written by Lewis, at the time best known as a Christian studies scholar, are touted as fantasy morality tales. Like Lewis, Pullman is best known among readers as a writer of fantasy novels for children and young adults.

The Walt Disney Company owns the film rights to the stories and plans a series of feature films, the first of which opens in December. Disney is targeting three main audiences with its marketing campaign: fans of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, fans of Harry Potter-type children’s fantasy and evangelical Christians.

Disney believes evangelicals will respond favorably because Lewis based many of his Narnia characters on people from the Bible.

But Pullman says Lewis included more than mere bible references in his works. In an interview with the London Guardian newspaper article, Pullman said, “If the Disney Corporation wants to market this film as a great Christian story, they’ll just have to tell lies about it.”

Pullman said that despite inclusion of some Christian doctrine in the stories, Lewis failed to include the New Testament’s message of love and forgiveness for one’s fellow man. The tone of the stories is a “peevish blend of racist, misogynistic and reactionary prejudice; but of love, of Christian charity, … not a trace,” The Guardian reported Pullman as saying.