Joel Clarkson writes:
I’m sitting in a pub in Hampshire, England, enjoying a pint, and I thought I’d drop you a note.
Just read a bit of the Auralia’s Colors chapter in an internet cafe in Oxford this morning. Can’t wait until it comes out. Really great stuff!
Reading your chapter in the shadow of Lewis and Tolkien’s old haunts was an experience in of itself, makes me that much more enthusiastic to read the book!
How are the sequels coming?
Well, Joel… funny you should ask. The first draft of the sequel is due to the publisher in two weeks, and I’m really excited about it. Auralia’s Colors is “The Red Strand” of “The Auralia Thread.” The sequel is looking more and more like “The Blue Strand.” To me, Auralia’s Colors feels like a spooky myth or a very strange dream. The sequel is part-adventure-story/part-monster-movie. But I’m just the storyteller, and I’ve been drinking far too much coffee this week in order to get the story finished on time, so what do I know?
It sends chills up and down my spine to know that you’re reading about Auralia and thinking about it while enjoying a pint in England. I had the pleasure of sitting in a booth at The Eagle and Child once upon a time, where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to critique each others’ stories. It’s easy to understand why so much great fantasy storytelling came out of that part of the world. I wonder if I have a bigger challenge writing that kind of thing here in tech-savvy Seattle, Washington. I don’t know. The excessive rain does make for good writing conditions.
Speaking of The Eagle and Child, I’ll be starting a new blog soon with that very title. It will be a place where I publish conversations that I have with other writers and artists about their work, their lives, their imaginations, and their faith. Stay tuned…
Want to turn in your own “Where’s Auralia Today?” report? Read Chapter One, which is available here (PDF), and send me a report!