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Sunday Inspiration: What Makes You Come Alive
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
―Howard Thurman
Interview with H. Brackwater
[Mr. Brackwater prefers to go by Brack. I’m not sure if he doesn’t like his given name or if he’s just a little paranoid about revealing his true name to strangers. Whatever the case, he was kind enough to visit with me and share a little about his life.]
DP: Thank you for meeting with me. I understand you first met your wife because of an argument?
HB: That’s right.
DP: Do you remember what it was about?
HB: Yes.
DP: Would you like to tell me?
HB: No.
DP: …
HB: …
DP: I just thought—
HB: It’s between me and Thora. What’s your next question?
DP: Uh. You traveled a good deal when you were younger. What was that like?
HB: Really good. Those were really good times. My father was a gearsmith, you know. He’d go wherever there was work: Arland, Iwashe, Cài Penlly. All up and down the Mother of Rivers. And every place is a little different, you know?
DP: What’s one lesson you learned in your travels?
HB: I guess you gotta do right by people, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
DP: Treat them the way you’d want to be treated.
HB: <nods> All coins are struck from silver.
DP: Is that a dwarfish expression?
HB: You ain’t never heard that? Yeah. It means, no matter who you are, you’re the same as everybody else. We all got the same needs, right? I’m a businessman. If you’re my customer, I don’t look at your size or the shape of your ears. I treat you just the same as everybody else.
DP: Not everybody thinks that way. I understand there are some who get nervous about having a metal-weaver around.
HB: <sigh> Yeah, that’s true too. Probably a lot of why we moved around so much when I was a kid.
DP: Could you explain that a little bit?
HB: Folks don’t always know what do to with what’s different. I bet it’s the same on your side of the Mere, too. You see, iron and magic don’t always get along. Your people used to carry around iron nails in their pockets to keep my kind of people from bothering them. And it can work, too, if you know what you’re doing. Iron sets up…you might call it a field. Keeps magic from being too, well, magical.
DP: I see.
HB: Most folks where I’m from won’t even touch the stuff. They say makes ‘em feel empty inside. Like they ain’t even connected to their chaos anymore.
DP: Their chaos is the source of their magic?
HB: That’s right. So somebody like me, who can work with iron all day long? Pfft. I can see most folks would think that’s kind of freaky. Scary even. It ain’t right. I’ll call ‘em on it, too. But I guess I can see their point of view.
DP: Is that important? To see other people’s point of view?
HB: You want to walk around in my work boots for a day? <chuckles> You want me to try on those shoes you’re wearing? ‘Course it’s important.
DP: Because all coins are struck from silver.
HB: Damn right.
DP: So now you live in Goblintown. You’ve raised a family there. How do the people there treat you?
HB: They’re all right. Of course, Thora knows a little about healing magic, and nobody complains about having a healer around. And she ain’t a metal-weaver, anyway. She weaves earth, same as my oldest son, Laurin. Now Duren—he’s the middle one—he’s gonna be a metal-weaver like his old man, but he’s still young.
DP: And your daughter?
HB: Ulfa’s bound to take after her momma, but she’s got some growing to do first. No, the Goblintowners are all right. Goblins don’t think twice about welcoming strays—if there’s something in it for them! And like I said, everybody needs metal fittings and tools and cranks and whatnot.
DP: You serve a purpose.
HB: And it feels good to be useful. It’s no good just taking up space. You gotta do something, you know?
DP: You’ve lived in bigger towns, places with a lot to offer. Do you regret ending up in a little, out-of-the-way place like Goblintown?
HB: Big is overrated. Any place can be home if you let it. Goblintown’s my home. I expect it always will be.
DP: And when there’s a problem?
HB: I’ll be there, doing what I can do.
DP: You mentioned your children. What do you hope for their future?
HB: Same as everybody, I guess. I want them to grow up to do the right thing. To make me and Thora proud. One of these days to make their own kids proud. Did you know my oldest just got married? <chuckles> Found himself a trollish girl, of all things!
DP: Congratulations.
HB: By the Seven, I’m gonna be a grandpa before too long! Can you believe it? But I want those grandkids to know their parents were strong. That’s what I want for my children. I want their own kids to grow up knowing they never gave in, were never untrue to themselves. <sniff> I want ‘em to hear their kids say, “That’s my daddy!” “That’s my mommy!” and swell up with pride ‘cause they’re a hero to their children, you know? ‘Cause when I hear my own kids say that? Boy, there ain’t no better feeling in the world. So that’s my hope for them.
DP: Yes, that’s, uh… That should be enough. <sniff> Thank you once again for your time.
You can learn more about Brack and his family in Dead of Night.
The night gets darker on July 1.
Interview with Morty Grindle
[I sat down with Morty Grindle a few months ago, just before the events of Dead of Night. Fictional characters often have a uniquie perspective on life, and Morty was no different. Here’s what he had to say.]
Darrell Pursiful: You’ve lived in Louisville for a while now.
Morty Grindle: That’s right, about six or seven years. Before that, I was in Saint Louis. And before that… well, a lot of places.
DP: Do you like it there?
MG: The people are nice. The pollen’s kinda rough in the spring. <laughs> With a nose like this, you think about things like that!
DP: I can imagine. So what do you do for fun?
MG: It’s fun enough meeting people, trying to make sure they have a nice stay. I work at the Brown Hotel, you know? Folks come through there from all over the world. You never know who’s gonna want something special—the name of a chiropractor who makes house calls, a table at Jeff Ruby’s. That kind of thing.
DP: And you can help them with that?
MG: If there’s one thing better than meeting people, it’s connecting the ones who need something with the ones who can give it to ‘em.
DP: So who’s the most interesting person you’ve helped?
MP: <straightens up> Listen, Mr. P., you want to talk about me, we’ll talk. Just don’t ask me about my clients, okay?
DP: I’m sorry, I just thought—
MG: ‘Cause that’s kinda sacred, if you know what I mean. They trust me to take care of ‘em. They don’t need anybody else up in their business. Got it?
DP: Absolutely. Please forgive me.
MG: Just so long as we understand each other.
DP: Of course. <flips through notes> You don’t live at the Brown.
MG: Nah. I got a place over in Underborough. It’s kinda small, but it suits me fine. The rent is cheap. Plus, there’s always lots going on in Underborough. Lots of merchandise goes through there, you know? The kind of stuff you don’t usually see on this side of the Mere. The other day I picked up a shamlee cap, and all I had to do was give a guy the number of a good lawyer that don’t ask too many questions.
DP: A shamlee cap?
MG: You put it on, and it makes you look human.
DP: Wow. I’d love to see something like that.
MG: I already traded it to a troll that lives under the Kennedy Bridge.
DP: Ah. I guess I assumed—
MG: That I’d keep it for myself? Why would I want to do that?
DP: What was I thinking?
MG: Now don’t get me wrong. I take care of my clients for a reason. I do ‘em favors, eventually I’m gonna call in a favor from them. That’s the way these things work. But I figure, wait till I need something big, you know? Until then, keep the deals in motion. That’s how you build trust.
DP: I don’t see how your system would work without trust.
MG: I know, right? A deal’s a deal. That’s what I always say. If you can’t live up to your end of it, then what kinda man are you?
DP: You seem pretty definite about that.
MG: Yeah, well. Not everybody treats it that way. Something I learned the hard way a few years back.
DP: Somebody went back on a deal?
MG: <eyes flashing> Somebody stabbed me in the sarding back, if you’ll pardon my language. <fists clenching> Jonbo Loudy. By the depths, if I ever see that bob-washer again…
DP: I didn’t mean to upset you.
MG: What? Oh, it wasn’t you. It just gets me kinda worked up, you know? Some folks think a promise still means something. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that not everybody sees it that way.
DP: That was a long time ago, wasn’t it?
MG: <shrugs> Don’t change nothing. Sure, I was just a kid back then. But there’s right and then there’s wrong, is all I’m saying.
DP: I see.
MG: And nobody—and I mean nobody—gets between me and my clients. That’s what Loudy taught me. I don’t need to learn it twice.
DP: You’ve lived in the Fallow for going on thirty years now. What do you appreciate most about it?
MG: What’s not to like? The music is great. Oh, and the food? Have you ever tried Thai food?
DP: Yes, it’s one of my favorites.
MG: Me too! I tell you, we didn’t have anything like that back in Cuttywatty. I still miss a good merrybrew, though, especially in the summer.
DP: I’m not familiar with that drink.
MG: It’s kind of traditional around the holidays. Gamaufry’s makes a pretty good brew, but it’s never as good as homemade. The secret’s in the berries. If you like, I can hook you up with a bottle or two. Just say the word.
DP: Thanks. I think I’ll pass.
MG: Your loss. If you ain’t looking for brew, how about a new suit? I know a guy in Saint Matthews—
DP: Maybe next time. Thanks for chatting with me today.
MG: My pleasure, Mr. P. Don’t be a stranger.
You can read Morty’s story in Dead of Night.
The night gets darker on July 1.
Sunday Inspiration: Living in the Present
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
—Lao Tzu
Science Marches On—But It Didn’t Step on Me (Yet)
In the Caretaker Trilogy, I have played with the conceit that the dwarves and trolls of world mythology are hominins from a parallel human lineage: Neanderthals, Denisovan hominins, etc. I’ve previously commented on how the prehistoric world has taken on a decidedly “Tolkienesque” tone in recent research. If anything, things are getting even more complex.
So I’ve been excited to learn that a recent scientific study has identified DNA from the Chinese Harbin skull, generally dubbed Homo longi or “Dragon Man” (from the Dragon River where it was found), as a Denisovan. Here is a nice, accessible summary:
What this means is that the Denisovans, formerly only known from a mandible, a finger bone, and a few other tiny fragments, now has a more or less complete skull and even a face.
I have always been careful in my behind-the-scenes resource documents to describe dwarves and trolls as “derived” species or “chronospecies”—not exactly what anthropologists are digging up from the earth, but close enough that I can draw on scientific findings to add flavor and detail. And now I’m glad I did, because this new finding doesn’t introduce any scientific gaffes into the Caretaker Trilogy. Nothing I have written about the physical appearance of trolls, the kindred that I’m basing on Denisovans, is suddenly flatly wrong because of the new information.
This is fascinating! And it doesn’t make me look uninformed to readers in the future! (Yes, I know, that’s an awfully selfish take on this major advance in the understanding of human evolution. But it is what it is.)
Anyway, you can read more about trolls and their cousins in Dead of Night, the second book in the Caretaker Trilogy, which is soon to be released.
The night gets darker on July 1.
PS: Isn’t “Dragon Man” a cool name?
Dead of Night: What’s It All About?
Dead of Night, the second book in the Caretaker Trilogy, debuts on July 1. In the first book, Rune, a defector from Faeryland trying to make a new life on Main Street USA, finds himself in a mess when his old life comes back to bite him. In book two, the threats originate in the supernatural underbelly of what, for lack of a better term, we’ll call the “Real World.” That is to say, he doesn’t have to battle elves, trolls, or other faery creatures. Rather, he has to battle monsters that he grew up believing were only myths, monsters that can only exist among humans, whose overly-complicated souls sometimes splinter and create unspeakable horrors.
But the real threat is more internal and affects nearly every important character in the novel. It is the threat of failing to forgive.
Some of the monsters in Dead of Night are literal vengeance demons. Their anger and thirst for revenge fuel an unnatural life (or unlife) constantly lashing out at those who have offended them. Some characters have been wronged and have to decide whether—and how—to forgive someone who has hurt them.
What about Rune? Well, if you know how he feels about his past, maybe you can figure whom he needs to find a way to forgive.
Some of these characters rise to the challenge. Others are doomed to pursue vengeance until it destroys them.
I hope you enjoy their stories.
The night gets darker on July 1.
Sunday Inspiration: Truth Bursts Through
If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.
—Émile Zola
Sunday Inspiration: Miracles
The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.
—Hans Christian Andersen
Sunday Inspiration: Ego
if you measure
the length
of your ego,
it will equal
the distance
between you
and your freedom
—Yung Pueblo
Design Notes: Building a Better Vampire
Properly speaking, vampires are a phenomenon of Eastern European folklore. But there are lots of other creatures that some writers want to shoehorn into the “vampire” template.
It’s me. I’m “some writers.”
In my defense, I actually started Dead of Night with some of these other creatures in mind. I just realized that “vampire” was a handy, if not entirely accurate, shorthand to group all these creatures into some kind of whole.
What that means is that “vampires” in my story world display great diversity, and the ones that take center stage are not entirely what anybody thinks of when they hear that word. These are creatures that have been described as vampires, vampire-like, an inspiration for later tales of vampires, etc. They exist somewhere in the murky territory between ghost and demon. Though they do, in fact, prey on mortals, they are more often motivated by vengeance than by hunger.
All this to say that, in terms of the story, “vampire” should be taken in its broadest, most generic sense. A vampire is any human-shaped, demonic, cannibalistic monster. It doesn’t have to be undead. It doesn’t even have to drink blood. What it does have to do is terrorize the living.
Some of these creatures are essentially malevolent ghosts who didn’t receive the proper burial rites. Others play into all the ancient tropes of scorned women who’ve turned into monsters to prey on unfaithful men. Others still are grim revenants from the northlands who terrorize the countryside, often accompanied by packs of vicious dogs and can grow to giant size. And, of course, there are the “classic” vampires from the Balkan region.
All of these nightmares make an appearance in Dead of Night. I hope you’ll read it and tell me your favorite!
The night gets darker on July 1, but you can pre-order today from Bookshop (paperback or ebook) or Amazon (ebook).
Darrell J. Pursiful 