How shall I start this? I have never been in this position before, a place where for the first time something of mine will become so public. This autumn, my first novel, Pilgrim of the Sky, will find its way into the hands of readers. Some may come because they love steampunk and heard this has something to do with it – and it does, in part. Some may come because they heard it was a romance, and it is – in part. And yet others still may come because they’re looking for fantasy, science fiction, or something altogether unclassifiable. I hope they will all be pleased. And if they are not, I understand. Books are strange things, and from the beginning I’ve thought of this as my odd little book. And odd little books aren’t usually the sort of thing that exist without polarization.
Not surprisingly I have tried many times to put this book into just a few words, and failed. Pilgrim of the Sky is not mainstream. It is not “the market”. It is a book about a woman, the people she loves, the worlds she travels, and the power she commands. But even that sells it short. It is about this woman and reflections of herself. It is about this woman and the decisions she makes with the power she is given. It is about this woman and the way she loves. And perhaps more than anything, it is a book about this woman who has to look at herself far more deeply than any of us ever have to. Because she is so much more than most of us will ever be.
Perhaps that is confusing. Or tantalizing. Or both. My hope is that in the coming months I’m able to shed some light on this rather unusual novel. It took a very long time to write, you see, and it is taught me many things along the way. I’ve learned about rejection. I’ve learned about my limits. When I began this book I was a word typing machine. 4000 words in a day was easy. But now, writing goes far slower. It turns out the human body has limitations. After spending the better part of my lifetime cramped over a keyboard, things just don’t work like they used to.
But that is neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that this book has brought me great joy. It has brought me a feeling of great accomplishment in one of my darkest hours. In the next few months, I hope to be able she share with you a little bit of what went into Pilgrim of the Sky. I will talk about poetry, mythology, religion, feminism, art, history, philosophy, physics… I think you get the point.
So this is all a very roundabout way of saying please, stay tuned. You never know what — or who — might be lurking in the shadows.
The windows were drawn tight with thick velvety curtains cinched with clasps to keep out the cold. Whatever dream this was, she was finding a strange, vague sort of joy in the detail of it, in the vivid intensity. It was as if she’d walked into a chiaroscuro painting, what with all the firelight and texture. Perhaps that was her defense mechanism, after all–descending into great artworks. Was this Carravaggio, she wondered distantly?
