Author Introduction--Sherwood Smith

Another exciting edition of Author Introduction! This time, I've invited Sherwood Smith, who's most recent fat fantasy (almost as fat as my current mess) came out from DAW this past week. Check out her books from DAW, after pondering the following life-questions regarding fantasy and why we all love it!

"Hi, I'm Sherwood Smith (sartorias) and I'd like to thank jpsorrow for his invitation to blat and toot in his blog.





On July 1st the third of four books in my Inda story cycle came out, King's Shield [Amazon, Mysterious Galaxy]. You can find the summary stuff at the Amazon site or else on my website here or here. If you really want detail, some readers have built a wiki here.

But I'm thinking that there might be something more interesting to discuss. I mean, if you haven't heard of me, there's nothing to talk about after your eyes glide past my grafs of yodeling about my stuff. "I began writing about this world when I was 8 years old—-135 notebooks—-made my first globe at age 19, on a beach ball, which has the advantage of built-in time zones." Who cares, if no one knows anything about the story?

What I think is of more interest, perhaps, is this gathering of writers of broad canvas fantasy, in particular DAW authors, that I find here. Josh also talks about writing process, as he's as passionate about his work as the rest of us are about ours. I guess what I wanted to do while I'm here is open up the possibility of discussion about what it means to be a writer of Fat Fantasy. Despite the scorn that is sometimes flung our way ("fat fantasy is all neo-conservative hogwash, hearkening back to a good old days that never existed" is the most common slamdunk I've seen) I find when I read good fantasy that the writers are exploring archaeological levels of the human experience: emotional growth or twists, the costs of power, the effects of change (whether small or catastrophic), and the bland-sounding,
but fundamentally important issue: what it means to be human. But we've chosen to explore those issues within the context of magic, castles, royal whosis of varying degrees, and a few monsters thrown in. (Even when the monsters look like the heroes. Even when the monsters are the heroes.)

So . . . what brought all of you to write in a form that requires massive amounts of research in everything from plate tectonics to ancient city construction to forms of barter? Why aren't you pouring your wisdom, passion, and insight into tight little postmodern novels focused on hapless middle class workers crushed by governmental rot and by urban despair? I know why I'm not . . . despite Nabokov (otherwise brilliant) who insisted that the sophisticated reader doesn't identify with characters, I do identify with characters. I like putting on a different body and point-of-view, and I really, really like going out and being able to Do Something, whereas in this world, if I, a fifty-something, glasses-wearing, arthritic old bat, went out crusading, I'd find my sorry ass in jail within minutes. If
I wasn't run over by a truck first. In short I embrace escapism—-especially escapism that is fun, yet makes me think."

( Sherwood Smith's Other Books )