Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 6:19:39 PM
suzy-charnas     IP: 216.184.22.118

Hi, folks, checking in to clear out the usual accumulation of junk; AND to say hi to new (or repeat) visitors (Maddin, Juliet, Narnie, and Joypeneer); glad you came by. Messages here remind me to get busy and do some changes on the site to bring it up to date! Thanks, all.

Hi there Everybody, I'm not new on the site but I guessed now was as great as time as any to say hey there, so.. well whats up :)

Your site is great Suzy, will be back soon to read some of your work here, that I am sure will be as great as the site!

You are an amazing author!

I discovered a tattered copy of "Walk to the End of the World" at half priced books quite a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. I kept my eye out for other books by Suzy McKee Charnas and was pleasantly suprised when I was able to buy a brand new copy of "The Furies." The cover art by Rick Berry was striking and quite appropriate.
Since then I have read "Conqueror's Child" but I missed out on "Motherlines." I just ordered a copy through Amazon and I am looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the world of Holdfast. I have enjoyed this series in a way I have not experienced since I discovered the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs as a boy.

very pleasant place you've got here.with this hyar nawfangled gadjet I'm googling my way around the sz dimention. whistle up cuz,jjs

Hi,
just come across your site and thought i'd say hello.
Nice website and i'll be keeping my eye on it :-)

Maddin Swiss

Hi, Tisa --

Huge pleasure to hear from you!

Hi, Cyndi --

Lots of people tell me they had Weyland on their thesis committee, so the type is pretty widespread -- which is why I gave the old bloodsucker that job. I knew he'd fit right into a lot of people's reality! Yep, I am still in NM. It's a great place for writers, and lots of SF and fantasy authors live here.

Thanks for checking in --

Very nice site!

so very intriguing to make contact after all these years! i have never lost my enthusiasm, stimulated by you in my youth, for the magic of the written word and the world around us. and i am encouraged to see you have not lost one bit of your zest and energy. way to go, suzy!

Hi Suzy,
I want to ask if you still live in New Mexico. You mentioned a university in ABQ and I immediately thought of UNM. I know several professors in the English dept. that I would consider vampires because they suck the life out of their students. I got my BA there in 2008 and have moved on the NMSU for my masters. Taking a vampires class there and Dr. Linkin has us reading your book this week. Love it!!

Thanks for a review worthy of the film (Postman in the Mountains). I will be watching the film a couple of nights from now with a Chinese student friend - look forward to hearing his reaction.

It is the second entry I read tonight. And I am on my third. Got to think which one is next. Thank you.

Having good content can only get you so far unless you also provide a good atmosphere to comment in

Hey, woah, Cuta -- I don't know that "masterpiece" applies (I am assuming you're referring to "Tapestry"). I'll gladly accept "minor masterpiece", as a translation of "cult classic", another wonderful term that means "good book, but not One Hundred Years of Solitude", know what I mean? I know Tapestry is good because when I re-read it, there's just about *nothing* that I would change -- and people keep reading the dang thing, and it stays in print, but only because I keep it there by pretty much constant effort (these things do not happen by themselves, not in this culture of the Next New Thing Above All).

I do sometimes have this funny feeling, though -- the new edition of Tapestry finds new readers, and new edition of the Holdfast Books -- doesn't, mostly. Those are the books that I feel are my most significant work; Tapestry was -- a lagniappe, a flourish, a joyful arabesque in what I thought was an empty theater. I wonder if Weyland will live on, while all the men and women of the Holdfast books sink into obscurity -- the way Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes lives on, and his historical fiction about medieval England has sunk without a trace.

It's worth noting, perhaps, that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is an ancestor of mine, through my paternal grandmother.

Have you noticed that life is *very* weird, and unfolds in fractals?

Hello. It's a masterpiece. I have never thought people can have such ideas and thoughts. You are great.
By!

Hi, Vincent --

Lovely to hear from you (all writers love praise, since we get mostly criticism, necessarily, from our colleagues etc.). Dr. Weyland has been an ongoing source of delight and interest since he first popped into my head in 1978 or so. Right now, I have a sheaf of pages about his waking 30 yrs later (too early -- he is in a very cranky mood), and am hopeful of at least another story about him.

Meanwhile, the option agreement on the book -- which has been extended for about eight years now -- is about to lapse, unless the holder comes through with the required amount an does not do unconscionable things with the terms of the Agreement *after* they have been settled. Personally, I hope the option lapses -- someone else is waiting in the wings to take over and try a different approach (less $ for me, more personal and inventive campaign by the holder).

My dream-Weyland for screen of any size would be Jeremy Irons. Fat chance, alas. What do other folks think?

Two days ago I was in Barnes and Noble and came across your book The Vampire Tapestries. I came to this website in the hopes that maybe I would find the next edition and waking of Edward Weyland (Funny- now there's another Edward we hear of...). So I now must ask that you write another chapter or book. I'm dying to find out what the future holds for him when he wakes. I couldn't put the book down and now I feel empty without a sequel.
Finding your book twenty years later somehow parallels Dr. Weyland finding a memory after a long sleep. Have a great life.

Thanks for dropping by, Teksty.

Interesting website, i have bookmarked your site for future referrence :)

Hey, Cynthia, glad the old bloodsucker didn't disappoint when you did finally stumble upon him! I'm thinking about a new story (or maybe even a book) about him, not a sequal, exactly, not after almost 30 yrs -- well, no, it *will* be a sequel, although for him, it will be a matter of just a little sleep and then waking in a much altered world . . .

I can hardly believe I'm getting ready to say this, but here goes...I find The Vampire Tapestries calming and satisfying. It's a vampire book for thinking, feeling adults. It makes sense, so no matter how scary the subject matter, the actual story is clean and complete and rational, if anything about vampires or the subject of vampires could previously have been said to be rational, prior to the release of this book. How in the world did I miss "The Vampire Tapestry" for 28 yrs? What a jewel. I feel (there's that word again!)stupid, that I could have bumbled around for so many adult years and never have known about it.Thank you, Suzy McKee Charnas! Live long and prosper! (:

Hey, Jan -- nice to hear from you! And I'm delighted that you like "The Vampire Tapestry". The new edition (trade paper, very pretty) is just out, proving that you can't keep those vampires down.

In fact, I'm doing some thinking about another story -- maybe another book -- about my vamp, now that more than 25 yrs have gone by since the end of the last one.

Suzy, do you remember me? I'm Dorrie Iten's sister, and a distant cousen of yours. We met in Albq a few years back at a Mexican Restaurant. I just read your book "The Vampire Tapestries" and found it spellbinding, but disturbing! (that's a complement). Dorrie gave it to me when I was in New YOrk this summer. If you're ever in Seattle/Tacoma area - give me a call (253)759-4509.
Your cousen, Jan Gilden

Well, I've gone and done it: you now need a password to post on this guest book page, which was the only way I could cut off the flow of up to a hundred automatic spams that were appearing here today, reposted automatically as soon as I deleted them. Those who have some familiarity with my best-known book will have to difficulty in guessing the password even without the hint furnished below. Others -- read a book, get the hint!

Hey, Victor --

Nice to see you here! And thanks for the kind words. It's a great change from the god damned automatic spam I've been getting on this page, idiot posts by the hundred per day! Web host says, make it password accessible only, but then people like you couldn't drop by and say hello, so I'm holding off with that, at least for now . . .

Got any ideas about flashing back at those damn fools through their so-called net addresses.

Victor Rutledge here, visiting the website of one of the greatest new writers in all of Science Fiction/Fantasy. I like the site, now if I can just find the time to write you some Flash for it. lol

I am researching san francisco newspaper history and am looking for information on Professor Irving McKee, Sacramento State English department . I googled him and your article about your father came up. I want to find out about Professor McKee's writings in 1947 on the murder of Charles deYoung.
If you have any information, I would really appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks so much
Trish Kubal

Injunda,

There are no guys here, actually, but thanks for checking in.

Hello guys
I love your site

Good Night

Hello , im new here, my name is Lenkaa , i have been reading your site for long
, a very nice community :)

To all visitors: I can't post links here, but do try Googling Doris Lessing + Nobel Acceptance Speech: it's a doozy, published in its entirety in the Guardian. It's a killer piece. Then come back and tell me if you have any connection to an African country school that needs books. Thanks.

Dear Carole,

What a pleasure to hear from you about this! I just took down one of my own copies of the new edition and re-read my intro -- and by damn, it's as energetic and enthusiastic as I intended it to be, which is a good thing because otherwise I would be *very* cross and disappointed with myself. The debt owed by writers like me to Catherine Moore requires only the best we can offer in return.

But -- that cover!! That fat-thighed, wasp-waisted, skinny armed, top-heavy, knock-kneed, semi-naked chick-with-sword -- ouch! Well, never mind -- the stories themselves will correct *that* nonsense in no uncertain terms. In any case, as you say, the Paizo people are to be thanked for getting these stories out there again for new readers to enjoy.

Again, thanks for touching base here -- your comment means a lot.

I just recieved my publishers copies for Black God's Kiss. And have read your introduction, it is wonderful! You have captured the essence of C.L. Moore. She would blush at reading it, she was never one to toot her own horn, and she would be honored. You see I am C.L. Moore's stepdaughter, and am so glad to see her coming out in print again.

Hi, Stephanus II --

I had a reply here, but seem to have lost it since, to the effect that I like to speak up for "small" movies when they're worth a lot more attention than they seem to get from US viewers and reviewers. The concept of "boutique" marketing, for small but lucrative segments of larger mass markets, is rarely applied effectively to the film industry, where most "product" seems to be geared to 16 year old boys. Movies like "Away From Her" tend to come from -- well, Canada, as well as other places, but seldom from here. I loved "Ripley's Game" for being a sort of gem-like crime movie with sharp intellectual dimension that doesn't slow things down at all: a great achievement, duly ignored by the American movie-going public. Maybe it will find its audience through Netflix and similar services.

Your synopsis regarding "Ripley's Game" is right on and expresses exactly how I visualized it.

Just started 'Stagestruck Vampires'. Your work is superb. I'm a Phan and I think your tale of Erik and Christine was one of the best I've read.

I adore your Riding Women of the Holdfast series. By far they are the most realistic Amazon nation I hope the final chapter hasn't been written on them. I'd love to hear more about their origins.

I just read the Holdfast Chronicle novels and really dug them. Thanks for writing them.

What a good site! I think it wasnt easy to post here so much information. Thank you, I will add it to my bookmarks

Hey, Washington --

That's flattering, but I'm not a designer; I had to find a real webmeister for that part. I just picked BGs, fonts, page layouts, etc. I'm very much an internet newbie still as far as tech savvy goes. Good luck in finding somebody really good, though. My advice is to start googling free BG and font sites now, and bookmark what you really like; a good designer will use your input to make something that suits you.

Hey, Suzy, it's Jeanne Kalogridis -- we met at a DRACULA convention. I write historical fiction now, and I just got my new website and blog up and running. Wanted you to know that I wrote an entry on the fact that THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY is my all-time favorite vampire fiction. You can see what I wrote at historyisabitch.com.

Very happy to see your site! I have a copy of STAGESTRUCK VAMPIRES which I'm going to tuck into shortly.

The site looks great ! Thanks for all your help ( past, present and future !)

Margaret,

Well, dear, that's what they pay me for . . .

Emily,

I didn't "find" it. I made it, or rather had it made for my site. You might have to hunt around a bit, but you can probably find the background image among patterns listed as "marble", if you look around. The place that I got them from is no longer a valid url, unfortunately. Good luck!

goodCool guestbook, interesting information... Keep it UP. excellent site i really like your stuff.

Eva,

Thanks for your response. Yes, we all have our favorites, we who saw the stage show early on and responded to the true core of pain at its heart -- the suffering, I suppose, of a homely little guy in love with beauty of all kinds, from a pretty and gifted singer to music itself. All that was sanded off for this Disneyfied screen version, which might as well be made of mice and pumpkins for all the bite and power it has.

"Close your eyes, for your eyes
Suzy,
Loved your notes on Phantom of the Opera... yes, they took many of the lyrics out... adjusting it to the movie crowd need.. ..including on of my favorite and powerful line of the Phantom...
"In the dark it is easy to pretend --
"That the truth is what it ought to be . . . "

Thanks a lot for this great resource. Useful info, great design, good structure. Keep it up!With the best regards! William

nice guest book i love the backround also.

Audrey,

Thanks for commenting.

Teddy Baer Hugs and Magical wishes from New Orleans. I am a storyteller and author of the Theodore Da Baer series. I love visiting other sites and signing guest books.
You have a lovely site.

AJ

Well, I'd give you a site to go to, but this format won't allow me to do that. So, Google "background textures", "background images", and "background colors" and see what you find, if you're interested in the pink marble effect on this page.

The actual layout, font, etc., was done by the person who designed the page, so I can't help with that. Good luck.

Happy New Year, visitors, and thanks for stopping by -- we're snowed under here, 1-2 feet of snow in a day and a half, so life has ground to a standstill -- no driving, and not much walking, with all the ice on the ground. But we've got food in the pantry, power and heat and water, phone service, and computer -- which is more than can be said for many many residents here in town and out in the rest of the State. So, I kiss the old year goodbye with a grateful heart. Good wishes and good luck to all for the year that's coming!

Hi, Linkhon --

Uh -- that's what they pay me for, y'know?

Happy holidays!

Hi, Johan (surely not Joahn?),

I hope you've said something nice! My German never was much, and is now zehr rusty.

Abraham,

I didn't find it; I made it. Do a bit of research on the net and come up with your own -- it's actually a lot of fun.

Hi, traveler --

I envy you, going to spend some time in Italy! I'm no travel agent, but there are lots of great guidebooks available. My favorite spots are Venice (especially in winter, when it's damp and mysterious -- pick a hotel *not* around St. Mark's but on the Dorso Duro and take the tragetto -- a small gondola-type ferry that crosses the Grand Canal at many points -- over to the central attractions); Florence of course -- also best in Winter, although always crowded -- there's a coffee shop there that has the best hot chocolate in the known world, but I can't recall the name -- ask, somebody will tell you!; and Rome, preferably in a hotel on the wrong side of the river, not in the midst of everything (the bus system is excellent for getting to whatever you choose -- take time to see the old cemetery for foreigners, which is small, beautiful and has some stars buried in it); I'd say Naples, but they've been having serious crime problems there again recently, it says here in the papers -- so maybe Genoa instead, Venice's ancient rival. Food lovers faint over Bologna, which I've only passed through. If you get a chance to go there, Sicily is wonderful -- Agrigento with its ancient temples in particular, and Ortygia -- check the guidebooks! Hotels' ratings and prices change, and I haven't been in several years. The ruins at Segesta and Sellinunte are also gorgeous, and the seafood is first-rate. There's also an archaeological site in the middle of the island with one of the best-preserved Ancient Roman mosaic floors found so far.

In any event, good luck -- and if you run into difficulties, remember that the Italians' first response to being presented with a problem (your train was late and all the taxis that usually hang around the station are gone, say) is usually "No, impossibile," but if you just hang around and expand thoughfully on the nature of your problem, the converation will gradually shift to "Let us see," and finally, if at all feasible, a solution will be brilliantly improvised (in our case, the station-master, who was going home anyway, drove us to our hotel and dropped us off there on his way). People seem to like a real human interchange around a problem, a little story-drama, rather than a swift, cold, efficient conclusion. When you slow down a bit and get into the rhythm, it's not just relaxing but absorbing too -- which is, I think, the whole point. Why should we not provide interest and entertainment for eachother while we're in this hard world together?

Bon voyage!

Hallo everybody
I am going to go to Italy, but I don't know which cities to visit
Can you advise me something ?
Perhaps you have been to this country, if yes, where exactly and which hotels did you stay?
Will be grateful for your help

Rebeca -- do you mean, copy the background images and colors that were used in designing my site? If you like them, go ahead -- there's no copyright on the design, only on the text. I'm glad the result pleases.

Hi, Jimmi123 --

Thanks for the news -- it's about casting in the UK TV SF series "Doctor Who", for those who aren't familiar with same -- but isn't this rather an odd place to post it?

Elizabeth:

Sorry, I'm not a web designer myself. I've had the help of some very knowledgeable and skillful web design people in setting up this site. Its virtues as a design are largely their work, with a lot of detailed input from me -- but I wouldn't have a clue as to how to design for someone else. I can offer comments as a net-browser, of course, from the point of view of how your existing site appears to a visitor, if that would be of any help?

Crow, I trust you've said something *nice*, in which case, thanks.

Thanks for the compliment, but I'm curious: just what information from my site did you use?

Wonderful and informative web site.I used information from that site its great.

Hi, Sami --

Thanks for your message! I'm still mulling over whether (and how) to try to get MY FATHER'S GHOST back into print (it was a dismal failure in terms of sales and rights have reverted to me). I'd just let it go and move on, but I keep hearing from readers like you, who found it anyway somehow and say it has been important to them, so -- I guess I'll just have to gird up those lions of mine and see if I can engineer a new edition somewhere.

I should clarify, by the way, about being a self-styled "mid-list" author: it's not supposed to be a description of the quality of one's work, only of the way publishing houses assess the quantity of your book that they think they can sell. The way it works out is, if your book sells in less than best-seller numbers, that makes you a "mid-list" author, ie one whose work is bought by publishers only grudgingly and then gets published with little or no support from the publisher by way of advertizing etc. They figure they're not going to make any money to speak of on your book anyway, so why bother spending money on it?

This is, of course, a self-fulfilling prophecy in most cases -- if you don't promote a book, readers who might have bought it don't know it's there so -- surprise surprise! -- they don't buy it; and then the publisher turns around and blames the book for the poor sales figures -- and prints even fewer copies of that author's next book, because obviously the author is merely "mid-list". The books scheduled to be pushed into becoming best-sellers are the top of the list. "Mid-list" is, actually, the bottom, and it's full of very good books that might have the chance to become best-sellers if only they got some decent publicity. This leaves nearly the whole burden of publicizing any book (except those books that need no publicity to be best-sellers because their authors' names are popular brand-names) up to the author -- who is actually supposed to be writing more books!

This is one of the reasons that I don't encourage people to choose writing fiction as a career . . .

Hi, Suzy! We met at an ArmadilloCon (Austin, TX) a few years ago, when I attended a "My Father's Ghost" reading you were doing. I was the short, zaftig, smart-aleck woman with the enormous cast on her leg. (With all the people you meet, I don't expect you to remember me; I'm just giving you background.) I promptly bought your book, never suspecting that I would soon be watching my own father wither away & die. During the most difficult times, your book was priceless to me. I read parts of it over & over, especially when Dad was driving me nuts. So many of my friends are going through this now with their aging parents, and I just keep recommending your book to all of them. It's better than any self-help drivel; your genuine experience and writing from the heart meant something to me, & made it all bearable. I can never thank you enough for that - although I'll probably keep trying.

One more thing: Despite the fact that you modestly described yourself as a "mid-list" author, I have to disagree. You are absolutely
top-drawer! I have 4 favorite authors: you, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Fred Saberhagen, & Roger Zelazny. Only the best, as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks again, Suzy, for writing the book that gave me the tools I needed to deal with the worst time in my life, and to still feel okay with it.

Plus, you write one Hell of a good story, too!
Stagestruck Vampires, eh? Looks like I have a new book to get - and that laundry is just gonna sit a little longer.

Um, K? Go to my homepage and click on the center entry in the center column under my name. That button is titled "Byways" and leads to an index of all the essays and reviews I've posted on the site. I think my review of "The Swimming Pool" is the second or third entry under "Reviews" on the Byways index page.

I'm trying to find an interpretation of the movie Swimming pool and having a difficult time finding something on the web. Can you help?

Christine, you're the best -- and your brilliant and talented husband likewise. Don't know how much I'm actually *doing*, but I admit that I do sometimes talk a good game! And always hope that it's more than that.

Thanks for pointing out the blog to folks; I wish I could get to it more regularly, but like all of us, do the best I can.

Hope to see you both before the summer's out -- let me know by email if you're one or both of you will be in town any time soon.

Suzy! Your blog helps remind me there are people out there DOING something not only about
our troubled country, but also the human condition itself. Since you long ago urged me to
write to the man who is now my husband, of course I listen to your every word. And I can
attest to the fact that your mother-in-law, one of my favorite people, was indeed elegant and
her wedding present to us was a night in her apartment, dinner included! As for the blog, I have alerted
everyone on my list to it, and have often heard comments. More people are reading it than
you know. Gendron sends a whale of a greeting...

Ernst,

Thanks for your kind note. It led me to go back and reread my essay on "Ripley's Game", and you're right -- it's damned good! I'm not a great fan of Malkovitch as an actor -- there's something very weirdly detached about his performances that sometimes puts me off -- which is why I was so struck by his portrayal of Tom Ripley in this picture.

As for the more analytical comments, well, I'm a fiction-writer, after all, more interested in character and the *meaning* of action than in fights and chases themselves, so I can sometimes see further into a good film, full of strong resonances, than people who are primarily film fans. Particularly, of course, when a movie is made from a novel. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed my remarks about this film, which I'm afraid too few people have seen; and a great pity that is.

Dear Ms. Charnas,
I discovered you today, quite by chance, while looking for material concerning a film (and its book)that is short listed on my list of top favorire films I have viewed it (and vicariously lived it)many times; Ripley's Game.

You are the only critic that I have read who understands the story and who understands Ripley, and who appreciates what I think to be the greatest theme in literature, which you describe so well as "the grand baller of discovery, realization and redemption.
I deeply resent Highsmith's leaving us such a limited (in numbers) buffet, but the selections are choice. I don't appreciate being left hungry.
I'll be back.
With gratitude and admiration,
Ernst

Apologies, everyone -- lately I've had an infestation of dumb advertizing posts posing as Guestbook messages; I've been deleting them as they appear, but they seem to be set to automatically pop up again even if I remove them several times a day. I'll be talking to my ISP and other advisors about ways to block/filter them out. Til then, please don't be put off posting legitimate messages here by the occasional surviving piece of infantile spam.

You're right! I *do* rock! Heading out to do a reading and lecture appearance at an eastern college, and they have pumped up my writerly ego something fierce! Thanks to everybody who's stopped by with an appreciative comment lately.

Nacamuli, damnit, I emailed you -- where are you (I went to school with this guy, and now he won't talk to me!)??

I have just finished the Holdfaster Chronicles and had to tell you what a marvelously real, detailed world you have created. I was truly moved by your writing. So much so that I do not want to start a new book because I want to linger and ponder where Alldera and the others went. Thank you.

Jenn (and others who've read THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY and enjoyed it),

I'm happy to hear from you. I've been looking in on some of the furor over Anne Rice's latest book and her response to criticism on Amazon from some of her disappointed readers. THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY has been suggested by some posters, there and elsewhere, as a really good vampire novel, but several times with the comment that it is out of print.

The book is *old* (1980), but it *is not out of print*, as anyone can tell by searching Amazon. It's been available since 1993 in a very nice trade paper edition distributed by the Unversity of New Mexico Press, the result of my finding a small press publisher for it after Tor junked it for not selling fast enough in their 1986 mass market paperback edition.

So help me (and Weyland) out here, will you? If you find someone repeating that TAPESTRY is out of print, *please* take the trouble to post a correction if you can.

The saga of that book, its whole life long, has been my relentless (and so far successful) work on keeping it in print, mainly by keeping knowledge of its existence out there bookstore-and-readerland. To have people talking about it now on the net as if it were some scarce relic of the distant past really burns my buttons, glad though I am to see my novel remembered by readers with affection and respect.

Really, folks should know better; I mean, Weyland is a *vampire*, right? HE KEEPS COMING BACK, the tough, wily old bastard.

I just finished reading The Vampire Tapestry. What a wonderful book! I love your style, and I'll look for more of your writing. =)

You've done a great job! I really enjoy your website.
Nice job
Kkane416@mailbox2000.comane

Thanks, Lynn. I'll be pleased to hear more from you when you've finished the book, and if you still feel strongly about it, please put the word out there, will you? The only chance a book like this (by someone not all that well known outside of SF/F, about someone else whom nobody has ever heard of at all) is through word of mouth. Any and all boosting to help GHOST stay in print is much appreciated.

I just started 'My Father's Ghost'. Have many issues with an estranged father, now passed on, whose ashes reside in the closet of my library, as I have no idea what I want to do with them. Just a chapter or two into the book,checked out from our local library, but have read enough to know I'll be adding this to my personal library. Have a feeling it will be very enlightening to my spirit. Much thanks for writing it,and will be in touch at the end, for a final note.

No hard feelings, Patrick; always happy to see a response from somebody who had some fun at my site. Drop by any time, you are welcome.

I just finished reading your article on Swimming Pool, and I think you nailed it to some extent. Your overall perception about the concept of the Movie and it's fiction versus reality plot is the same that I have with the difference that there's a third dimension to the whole Story, it's how the Director(Ozon) visualizes the Book she has written. Because what the viewers see is a poorly written Story by Sarah(sexual or detective doesn't matter) which Ozon with cruel eye dissects and mocks because the third layer added to Story is mostly visual, if you would only take the book she's written it would be an embarrassing Experience. The ravings of sexual frustraded middel-aged woman that peak with a sexual encounter with the Gardener, witch reminds me of Douglas Sirk who took the cheapest Stories and turned them into satirical Masterpieces on american society like "All that Heaven allows".And about your remark on how Ozon judges his own Movie, first it would be pretty stupid of him to explain what his intensions where, because it's part of the Movie to discover this for yourself and the way he describes his own work makes clear that he took that attitude from Rainer Werner Fassbider with whom Ozon has a lot in common. In the end I hope there are no harsh feelings about my comment because it's just my opinion and still think you grasped more then most People.

A wonderfully site.<DIV style="width=400;height:5px;overflow:hidden;">
I must come back.
</DIV>

"The Swimming Pool" synopsis...

Thank you for making sense on the movie! It's 2:00 am and I just finished the movie and reading through endless overviews on the web that made little sense overall. I believe you nailed the movies meaning and captured thoughts I had only begun to develop. Nice...

Hey, Errol,

Thanks for dropping by -- you've got some fine SF writers down your way too. And as far as
I'm concerned, *every* reader is a treasure to their nation.

Cheers

IM NOT A REAL GOOD READER BUT I RECKIN YA BOOKS
IS REAL TOPS.
I COME FROM THE FAR NORTH OF AUSSIE LAND.

Suzy, It was so wonderful to meet you at the PCA/ACA conference in San Antonio. I thoroughly enjoyed your reading of "Boobs" and I know Tony will love the signed copy of The Vampire Tapestry I have sent his way. I hope to teach the Vampire in Literature, Culture and Film again next spring. At that time, I hope to invite you as a special guest lecturer. I'll be in touch. Thanks again for a wonderful time!
Mary Findley
Vermont Technical College

I am a film studies student who was desperate to write an insightful review of The Swimming Pool. While I had constructed my own confusing theory as to what really "happened" in the film, I have been scouring the Internet trying to find reviews or comments that support my theory. Though far-fetched, I was starting to think I was the only person in the world (or on the Internet) that actually understood this movie. Then I found you. Excellent summary and interpretation. It was refreshing (and relieving) to see the word "satire" used in some form three times in your article. It was precisely the support I was looking for!

Hey Suzy,

A fantastic review of Swimming Pool....every person who claimed the film was poor should read your review to get an overview of what it was about.

Personally, I loved the film, and am currently hunting down a DVD copy so I can watch it again. Its one of those films that really makes you THINK.

Cheers,

Mandy

This is a somewhat belated reponse to the essay in the "Byways" section from last summer, "Toto, We're not is SF-land anymore". Having only recently become better aquainted with your work, I stumbled upon your website a few days ago. This evening I read the essay in question and felt compelled to say that I agree with your position. Some brief thought on the matter prompted me to hand over this nasty tidbit of scientific "advance" from the summer of 2002.

http://www.sunysb.edu/ovprpub/tsc/polio.html

I discovered this fact that scientists can now go around calling themselves gods (having officially created life from non-life) during a well intentioned search for a friend intended to collect information and support for her decision to not vaccinate her child.

I had, until recently, been assuaging my fears of planetary doom with the reassurance that "we haven't blown ourselves up yet and look at all the opportunity we've had to do so!" I took the restraint from extreme violence that I saw in the daily interactions between people I know to be a specices trait that had allowed us to survive so far. Less optimistic this evening, I saw that "restraint" fall firmly into the category of denial and fear. And, I realized that fear grows out of the unwillingness to self-examine, a trait present in most of those around me and by extension to the interaction of the species as a whole.

I promise it isn't my intention to reinforce doom and gloom. There certainly is a small group of humans who are willing to confront the pain of looking at their true selves and their errors. I've met some.

Sweet Xtc, two small points:
1. A criticism of any value is signed - or can't you back up your opinions?
2. I've never even heard of 'The Swimming Pool', and it may or may not be tripe - but to label someone as a 'substandard' writer because they have a certain opinion of it... well, as Suzy says, poor baby!
Hello, Suzy, popped in to say hello,and find you're in trouble. I do hope you don't find those incredibly potent and devastating Xct arguments too much for you!
Well, I'm off again - can't hang around at my age! Give my love to Kelsey and Edie!

The swimming pool was tripe. It is a poor attempt at art and is in reality a meandering story that goes no where. I guess a substandard writer would try to pass this convoluted ending off as art, where we all left to theorise what the reality is. This is called poor writing.

I just finished watching Swimming Pool. I love to surf the net for reviews and comments on movies I've just seen and Swimming Pool was definitely one I had to research. Your synopsis was incredible! I love your style! Finally someone who thinks and writes like me - I used to get criticized by vindictive and untalented professors for writing the way you do. Never change your style, it's your trademark :)
Good Luck!

I would just like to commemorate your work. I have much enjoyed your Holdfast Chronicles. Although I am male (or muck..) I was quite entertained by your ability to capture the raw emotions of adventure, tranquility, warfare, despair, you name it. I hope you continue to produce such captivating novels.

Your review of Swimming Pool was extraordinary. WE weren't sure what to think of it as we drove away but your synopsis makes more sense than any other explanation and makes the movie rewarding.
Thanks.

I really like your review of the Swimming Pool. You have made sense out of it for me - and I agree. I think we are seeing what she is writing - and it is all fiction. I am going to check into My Father's Ghost. Sounds interesting.

Thanks, Suzy, for your review of 'The Swimming Pool.' Though devoted to films, this is the first time I've gone on the internet to search for an interpretation. I'm a writer, too - 2 children's books - and I admire a good plot, but hadn't gotten any farther in analyzing this one than that her murder of Frank reflected her anger at her rejecting father. Thanks, again.

Your review brought the movie back to life, days after I saw the scenes. I had these same thoughts in an infantile form, but couldn't put them into words as you have. Your clarifying words are so vivid and palpable, that I will look forward to your future insights.

Loved your analysis of Swimming Pool, especially your comments about its satire. I was not suprised to see many reviewers thought the French Julie was real. Perhaps they did not stay for the final scene?

Hi, Kate --

I went to The Swimming Pool without my hubbie, and never gave all the nudity etc. a
thought, really -- if you think of it as (slurp) salacious French sexyness breaking down
Sarah's "coldness", it's annoying as such simplified crap always is; if you see it as Sarah
playing in her fictionalizing mind with the idea of the hyper-sexed Lolita figure for her
own sly and satirical purposes, it has a whole different impact. Well, it does if you are a
woman; the guys are on their own . . .

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am now able to go to sleep. After seeing the movie this evening, I was haunted by my inability to make the "dough" come together. Your review was intellectually stimulating, rewarding, redeeming and ENTERTAINING. I am going to buy your newest book!! Thank you. Dolores

Thank you so much for your interpretation of "Swimming Pool". I was sooo confused but intrigued after seeing the film. My husband, who's usually pretty good at figuring out obscure plots, couldn't come close on this one. 'Course he may not have been paying so much attention to the plot, given the other "content" (sigh!)

Hi Suzy,

I loved your review of "League of Extraordinary" whatever. Had you read the graphic novel, you would have been more outraged. Mina (Whilhemina) Murray (cast-off married name Harker)is a normal (not vampire with an embarrassing scar on her neck) woman who leads this "merry" band. Quatermain is an opium addict, they are in London not Venice, the Thames not the canals, and Tom Sawyer was never on the Continent, let alone in the story.

The movie makers worked hard to screw this one up, and I won't bother to see it. Connery is one of the producers, so one can but guess why Quatermain was set front and center. I, too, am a major Connery fan, but as a fan of comic, I can make myself want to go.

Dear Suzy:
I read your article on the League and I could not stop smiling and laughing for hours. Yes indeed Nemo is bit weird in that film.
It's interesting to note, that I have been part of an organization on USENET ( of my own making!) known as the 'The League of Idiots' for some time.
I simply had to fill in something in the organization part of the USENET id set up, and thats what came to mind within 2 secs.
I was thinking of the organization further but thats another story.

Best regards,
Fred Frith.
THE League of Idiots.

Hey, Chad --

I wrote the piece on "The Swimming Pool", figuring that if anybody would know what Ozon was doing in his movie about a writer, it would be a real writer, ie me, Suzy Charnas -- certainly not Director Ozon himself, if he really meant the bilge he was spouting in his interviews about the movie! Thanks for the response.

SMC

I don't know who wrote the editorial on "The Swimming Pool," but it is genius.

Dear Suzy,
Re: My Father's Ghost
I have now finished the book and cannot say enough good things about it . Suffice to say it was a most deliciously written and wonderfully moving book. Thank you -- Doris --

Dear Suzy,
Your book was in our online bookclub and I am just now about halfway through. Have never read any of your other books, (am not into sci-fi) but I am loving "My Father's Ghost". My first comment after the first read in the bookclub was that your writing is "exquisite", and have not changed my mind. Just finished reading your interview on Booksense.com. Was so glad that was available to me and now am enjoying your site and your father's pictures, etc. You have to be a very strong and resilient person. Don't know if I could have done what you did, but we get to reap the benefits (as well as your father) by your accounting of the experience.
Thank you very much,
Doris

Dear Suzy - I ran across "Dorothea Dreams" during a recent move and decided to look you up on the internet. I was very impressed with your website and I can't wait to read "My Father's Ghost." You may remember me - I worked for Steve at ST&B for a few years back in the late 80s. Steve is still my favorite boss of all time. Please tell him "hello." I wanted to thank you again for the personal tarot card reading you did for me in a conference room at ST&B during a very difficult period in my life. It was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I have since taken up tarot card reading myself. I really enjoy it but I'm not giving up my day job! Take care of yourself and I'll keep checking your website for updates on your work.

P.S. I really love your father's self portrait.

Why do people think that just because people reach 65+ they become Aunt Bea or Mr. Rogers? More importantly, no one ever wants to admit that, as a care provider, far too often it is a thankless job coupled complicated with more guilt than anyone should have to deal with. Granted, there are exceptions, but unfortunately there are far more Robyns than Mr. Rogers'. I was truly touched by your honesty and admired your ability to cope with everything that was laid on you. Having over 400 senior citizens here to advocate for on a daily basis, I know firsthand the emotional drain it can put on you to try and do the right thing when someone's tear filled eyes are staring at you and begging not to be put in a home. I've recommended Ghost to several seniors, as well as their family members and their feedback has been extremely positive. There is comfort in knowing that someone else has struggled with the financial and emotional burden that seems to go hand-in-hand with caring for those we love. Congratulations!

Just finished reading My Father's Ghost. Three of us are caregiving parents, 92 & 95, in their home by taking turns staying overnight. My Dad abandoned his first family and was emotionally unavailable to us four daughters in his second family. I'm recommending your book to people I know in a caregiving situation--it says it all, a frustrating but still rewarding and learning experience. The three of us doing the caregiving keep a journal, communicate our feelings, and still find things to laugh about. Really good writing. Thanks for writing it.

Finally got around to looking at your website and I am impressed! It's certainly one of the better ones I've visited.
Would Pop be impressed? He'd try like hell not to show it!

Hello, Tanu -- boy, it was wonderful to read your comments today -- I just looked over my
books' listings at Amazon.com and was pretty dashed to find that for a lot of my work, very
negative comments are the first ones the visitor there meets -- which must put off a lot of
prospective readers who quit bothering after one or two nasty dismissals of whichever of my
books they are checking out.
Tanu, you can do me a favor (and it's a favor you can do for every other author whose
work you like, too, and believe me we all appreciate it tremendously): you can go over to
Amazon and find the page of the book that you are so enthusiastic about that you want to
let other people know, and scroll down til you find Amazon's invitation to add something to
their "reader's comments" on the book. If you did that for THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY, for
instance, it would help to offset some of the ugly stuff that currently leads off the reader
comment section -- pretty strange, since there are also lots of very enthusiastic comments,
if you read on down the page, and you'd think that if Amazon really wants to sell books, they'd
rather lead off with a couple of the more positive comments, hmm?
Well, they are not known for being friendly to authors, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Anyway, please, if you liked TAPESTRY, do go and sound off about it at Amazon, and
Barnes and Noble too if you have the time; that's a really good way to get the word around,
and something you can do for any author with books listed there, as a practical and effective
way to really thank them for giving you a story that you loved.
Thanks again for stopping by -- I'm really glad to hear that you found that TAPESTRY
held up on your second reading, years later; in fact that might be the best thing you could
say over at Amazon, in support of the book! There aren't many books by *anybody* that hold
up that way!
Thanks again, and I'll definitely look into The Palace discussion, now that you've
alerted me to its existence. "See" you there, maybe.
Suzy

Dear Suzy, I went to London back in 1992 or '93 (I forget) and purchased your book "Vampire Tapestries" (iron press, I believe). I read the book a long time ago, and just recently again tonight. It was as if I was reading the book anew - gripped my attention til the wee hours of the morning. When I first read your book, I was in total awe. Almost ten years later, I am still in awe. The tapestries that you weave with your characters, how they blend and mix, the subleties and complexities remind me indeed of a fine tapestry. Literary fine-dining at its absolute best! If I were eating something wonderful, tasty, exotic, sumptious and complex, and I had to describe a book to compare the textures and richness of characters and descriptions, Vampire Tapestries would be like that meal. It leaves you satisfied, you remember it and you want more of it.

I am a big fan of the horror genre (vampires in particular). I used to subscribe to the now defunct Children of the Night fanzine (I published some short stories there as well as some cartoon drawings), ran a vampire discussion board on the now dead Eworld (Mac-only online world) - you'd be interested to know that X-Files was the hottest topic but the vampire board would sometimes beat X-Files in posts! Just recently I started hanging out at The Palace (avatar chat) and joined in on a vampire palace, and we discuss your book there :-)

I was so fascinated by your book that I decided to a web search on your name and was very glad to have found your page!! I am eager to read your other books as well. You are truly one of my favorite authors!

Tanu in Hawaii

Hi, Eva,

Thanks for dropping by! I always enjoy taking an hour of so with one of Katje's
classes -- you folks were attentive and sharp (except for a few sleepyheads, but
that's college life for you). What other books have you read in her class that you
liked? I like to keep track of what reading people are enjoying.
You can answer, if you care to, on my newsgroup rather than here, since
that's set up for discussion; the link to the newsgroup is on the front page of my
site.
In any case, I hope you find other courses at UNM as off-beat and interesting
as Katje's! Can't be easy . . .

Best,
Suzy

I thank you very much for being our guest in Katja Schroeter's Vampire Class at UNM.

I just wanted to say if you (suzy) ever wrote a science fiction book.Also,I love your webpage!!!

Very nice site. Easy to navigate through with relevant links. My question is simple. How do you and Vonda find the time to do this sort of stuff and still write all those wonderful books. Do either of you ever sleep?

Wow, now I know how it should be done. Chock full of goodies, easy to access, easy to use, just enough fhals (I like the switch in the buttons)... Wish I were an English-speaking Sf writer and had stuff like this to put on my site! In short : I love it, and will visit often.

All the best

Suzy, just stopping by to say hey. I love your website and enjoyed reading the stories.

Wow! Now I see the finished site and it looks fabulous. I love the clouds by the way, wonderful background. Also the accessibility from each page back to another or the beginning is something few sites have and makes it so easy and enjoyable instead of fighting/waiting to see each page. It is fast and wonderful to look at too. I think it came out really great. Congratulations!

Greetings, all! My guestbook is officially open, and if I had coffee and cookies they would be laid out for all visitors. If I ever find a luscious background image of same, maybe that will go here instead of this handsome pink marbling, which I use instead as an hommage (femmage?) to my mother-in-law, who knew better than anyone of my acquaintance how to entertain visitors with elegance and panache. The panache is over there in the cut-glass bowl . . . help yourself!

Suzy's newest book is Stagestruck Vampires