Since this story is now available in Emerald Tales Issue #4 - Carnivale - I thought I would talk a little bit about how the concept came to be.
Most of you know by now that my love is secondary world fantasy - stories set on worlds not our own. When I saw that the theme for Emerald Tale's was Carnivale, I had two thoughts: a) "Very cool!" and b) "Hrm, that it makes it difficult for a secondary world writer ..."
Being contrary, I didn't stop there. It brewed on the back of my brain for a while. Then, somewhere in the grip of a nasty bout of insomnia, it snuck up on me.
Carnivale means "farewell to flesh." That just has endless possibilities for fantasy interpretation. But why would someone leave their body? I thought about inspiring music, like a muse. That's when the term "chord-dancer" came to me and ... well ... danced around my brain.
So I got up at something like 4am and sent an email inquiring if an interpretation of the term "Carnivale" would be potentially appropriate.
Then I went back to bed, still mulling over the story. Sometime past 7am, I finally fell asleep ...
So a night's sleep for a story idea - fair trade?
About Me
- Lindsey Duncan
- I'm a professional harp performer, chef / pastry chef, and speculative fiction writer from Cincinnati, Ohio. My contemporary fantasy novel Flow is available from Double Dragon Publishing, and my science fiction novel Scylla and Charybdis is now out from Grimbold Books. I've also sold a number of short stories and a few pieces of speculative poetry. I write predominantly fantasy, usually epic and/or humorous, with some soft science fiction. I play the traditional lever harp with a specialty in Celtic music - but I also perform modern and Renaissance tunes. And yes, you read that right - I have a diploma in Baking and Pastry and an Associates in Culinary Arts and am currently working in the catering field at Kate's Catering and Personal Chef Services (Dayton, KY). I am a CPC (Certified Pastry Culinarian) and CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine).
2 comments:
That's why I didn't write a story for this one, because I like secondary worlds as well and I already have a Carnival Series, so I'm gearing up for the next theme: A Midsummer's Night's Eve. Are you going to write for that one as well?
I don't think that one is in the cards for me, but maybe a future issue. Feels a little odd to me since I'm also proofing, but if something really strikes me, it's hard to resist. :-)
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