tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post1681193081137542534..comments2024-02-18T00:24:05.514-08:00Comments on The Zoë-Trope: WAKE UP AND SMELL THE REAL WORLD: DIVERSITY IN FANTASYZoë Marriotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-49434851809902922602013-01-20T07:41:58.994-08:002013-01-20T07:41:58.994-08:00I just googled Quicksilver, and it looks amazing :...I just googled Quicksilver, and it looks amazing :D And then I realised that R. J. Anderson wrote the faery books, which I thought were brilliant, and if I hadn't just spent the remainder of my money on The Swan Kingdom and Shadows of the Moon I would go and buy it.<br />And The Swan Kingdom is really really good and even better than I thought it would be (and I was quite hyped up for it).<br />And yeah, that'll be fine :DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10913378682860413685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-63028495786712109852013-01-20T01:58:58.932-08:002013-01-20T01:58:58.932-08:00Cherie: I know of one YA with an asexual heroine a...Cherie: I know of one YA with an asexual heroine and that's Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson. I haven't read it yet but R.J. is a phenomenal writer and reviews are great. I'm glad this blog was useful for you - and I've got your email. I wonder if you would mind me answering on my blog?Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-17513091826319423752013-01-20T01:54:26.196-08:002013-01-20T01:54:26.196-08:00I know you posted this blog entry two years ago bu...I know you posted this blog entry two years ago but I only just saw it and I would like to say something too. One thing about YA novels that really gets me is that there are never ANY asexual characters (not in any I've read, anyhow). Characters are straight, or occasionally gay or bi (and it's always nice to see that) but I would love, one day, to buy a book, get home, and discover that the MC is asexual.<br />I've heard that asexual people make up 2% of the population (but I reckon those people are just the ones who've realised and that there are actually more) and as an asexual myself I actually feel kind of proud about it. Although there are always people who look a you when they find out and you can just see their eyes are saying 'Oh, what a shame. She'll never fall in love or have children and she'll die alone.'<br />So I would really love to see it one day, because maybe more people would know about it, too. I told a friend I was asexual and they replied 'Like a plant? So...do you self-reproduce?'<br />I mean, seriously -.-<br />Maybe it's because people enjoy a bit of romance in books. <br />This post is so amazing, though, and I've sent a link to my writer friends. Thank you for being so brilliant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10913378682860413685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-56947905772319729572013-01-20T01:52:53.945-08:002013-01-20T01:52:53.945-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10913378682860413685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-81220441796320912792011-08-04T08:30:59.869-07:002011-08-04T08:30:59.869-07:00JChevais: White and straight and cisgendered and a...JChevais: White and straight and cisgendered and able-bodied isn't really the majority in North America, or anywhere for that matter. That's what the constant outpouring of media images has made us BELIEVE, but it really isn't the case. And people who are not white and straight and cisgendered and able-bodied really can't be expected to move to their own nation and set up their own publishing companies, you know! :) They (we) need to be reflected in the media. The real world needs to be reflected in the media.Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-58361804196361127562011-08-04T08:11:52.452-07:002011-08-04T08:11:52.452-07:00OK. I'm going to leap on the bandwagon here an...OK. I'm going to leap on the bandwagon here and am going to admit right away that I haven't read all the comments so I don't know if someone has already said this. <br /><br />What we read is what publishers have decided to let us read because it'll make money for them.<br /><br />So... in North American cultures, this is largely about "the white/straight people" because that may be the larger demographic.<br /><br />But North American (or rather, Western English speaking) publishing houses are not the only publishing houses, just like Hollywood is not the only place blockbusters are filmed. I like to imagine that each region of the world tailors output based on the demographic of the region. It wouldn't make sense for an Indian publishing house to crank out books with white MC does it?JChevaishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02683339168047479228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-12565652614992171722011-02-15T04:18:02.692-08:002011-02-15T04:18:02.692-08:00N.K.: Thanks so much for responding! Your blog and...N.K.: Thanks so much for responding! Your blog and your RaceFail articles were a large part of the inspiration for this post.<br /><br />I actually chose that old, inaccurate map for the very reason you mentioned - because it's so ridiculously inaccurate, but still strangely reflects the way many people think. I should probably have captioned it to reflect that. D'oh.<br /><br />You make such great points here, which make me reconsider this issue YET AGAIN. I think that's part of the process, to keep constantly revising our own understanding instead of expecting the world and our conception of it to be fixed. Thanks a million times for commenting! I'm really honoured :)Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-89749954987394856862011-02-14T05:14:00.249-08:002011-02-14T05:14:00.249-08:00Just saw this, via a link on one of your readers&#...Just saw this, via a link on one of your readers' sites; thanks for writing a brilliant article. At the risk of adding this too late to participate in the conversation, I wanted to point out one ironic thing -- the map at the top of your post. It's obviously an imitation of old maps designed before the real proportions of the world were confirmed; Australia is obviously too tiny, Antarctica is bigger than the rest of the world. But Africa is also far too small -- in reality it's far larger than the North American continent. South America is almost equal in area to North America. And so on.<br /><br />One of the reasons why so many readers honestly believe that straight white, etc., people are the majority of the world is because the media greatly overrepresents them and underrepresents everyone else, yes; you're right to call that out. But another reason this happens is because so many of us -- all of us -- are <em>badly educated</em>. We've been the recipients of deliberately-skewed facts and wild supposition for centuries, most of it with a racist slant, and we don't even know it. We're not just encouraged to be "colorblind", but <em>facts-blind</em> -- and for those of us who protest this, we're accused of "revisionism", as if it's a terrible thing to want the unvarnished truth. Or as if revisionism hasn't already occurred.<br /><br />Medieval Europe, for example -- the setting of choice for most fantasy writers. Zoe, you mentioned that it might be logical for a writer doing a European fairy tale in a European setting to have an all-white cast. But really, it isn't. Southern medieval Europe was, for a good chunk of time, ruled by the Moors; most influential families of the time (e.g., the Medicis) had some part-Moorish members. The Silk Road, which brought Chinese and Middle Eastern traders into Europe on a regular basis, was a major source of trade. It brought Chinese and Middle Eastern technology, too, that revolutionized European civilization -- the mouldboard plow, for example, and writing. Even the Nordliest of the Nordic types, the Vikings, had contact with American Indians long before Columbus; they shared Greenland with the Inuit until they essentially destroyed their environment and were forced out. Frankly, <em>real</em> medieval Europe was far more diverse than the all-white <em>fantasy</em> of medieval Europe that readers seem to think is so realistic.<br /><br />So for readers like Steph or Nate, who find themselves defaulting to "writing white" because it's all they've seen, in fiction or in real life -- I used to do this, too. I had to start making a conscious effort not to. And I've found that it helps to study reality -- not the local, too-small-for-statistical-significance reality of our hometowns or the communities we grew up in, but the global and historical reality. Once I began to understand where my local reality fit into a larger tapestry, it became infinitely easier to write diverse fantasy. I just had to make my fantasy worlds look like the real world.N. K. Jemisinhttp://nkjemisin.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-4407866708106694072011-02-05T15:30:58.940-08:002011-02-05T15:30:58.940-08:00Your comments are extremely shrewd and insightful,...Your comments are extremely shrewd and insightful, Steph, and far better expressed than mine! Thanks for responding.Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-15241151930716628902011-02-05T14:54:36.693-08:002011-02-05T14:54:36.693-08:00Megha: I am Asian, and yet I imagine a white chara...Megha: I am Asian, and yet I imagine a white character for most books I read, unless I am told otherwise. Perhaps it is my American side coming out? I would LOVE to be able to naturally imagine an Asian person as the main character when I first start a book. Unfortunately, it has long been subconsciously ingrained in me, since my childhood, that whites are the majority, and thus it is "easier" to imagine them as the main character. I'm not condoning this sort of thinking, but it is the very real fact of what happens in my--our--world. It's a societal thing, definitely, and I'm still thinking about how we make take steps towards changing this attitude of minority deference to the white majority, and it is only if both whites and non-whites commit themselves to actively overthrowing these assumptions about racial makeup that progress can be achieved. I so wish your first point was true, but you make some wonderful points as well!<br /><br />I appreciate that Nate was brave enough to state his opinion here. He does bring up the kind of thinking that so often hinders more progress from being made. Race is not simply a political issue; it is a HUMAN issue, so regardless whether you are writing and reading for escapism or for "political" reasons, it cannot be separated from its HUMAN relevance. We minorities are not dictating the majority and insisting that they show diversity in their writings: in the words of Paolo Freire, that is how we got into this situation in the first place, with an oppressor-oppressed dichotomy. The oppressed (in our case, us minorities) do not climb out of this unequal relationship of power by taking on the characteristics of the oppressors, by insisting that things be some way or another. It is only when both parties can engage in constructive and equal dialogue that progress will occur. There is no "me against you" going on; we are all trying to work for the same side. :)<br /><br />Nate also asks the question: "So where do we get a greater diversity of heroes from? Well I see these coming from 2 places. Firstly each ethnic group. There are talented writers who are not white as the poetry circle has shown that. So why are we not hearing from them?"<br /><br />We are hearing from them. But are we *really* HEARING them? Too often minority figures--and we'll just stick with writers in this case, since that is what we're talking about here--are seen as having to be the representative of their entire community. Whereas the same pressure is not demanded of white writers, who have the privilege of writing from a position that does not need to defend itself and its right to exist, be smart, contribute to the development of humanity, etc. There are other factors, too, like the fact that creative writing is not a career supported by many Asian families. But there are Asian writers out there. The sad fact is that when these minority writers are not actively writing about politically charged racial issues, then they are often not "heard," because obviously if race in a story is not constructed as a political issue, then race is irrelevant, right?<br /><br />Not.Steph Suhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834692034486125015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-70064511759938623992011-01-30T11:03:46.210-08:002011-01-30T11:03:46.210-08:00Thanks!Thanks!Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-29338346537019862632011-01-30T11:01:45.271-08:002011-01-30T11:01:45.271-08:00Loved this post, too. And I totally love Jem as we...Loved this post, too. And I totally love Jem as well :)Alessandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06652990135572677170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-43751212824356323742011-01-28T09:16:11.631-08:002011-01-28T09:16:11.631-08:00That was a great post, Zoe. I totally agree with e...That was a great post, Zoe. I totally agree with everything said.<br /><br />The only thing is, I think people need to be careful whilst writing from another point of view they are not used to. I could just decide to write from the point of view of an African person, yet not really understand their culture and how things work. Someone could fool themselves with loads of research and yet still not really know what it would be like to be from an African culture where things work very differently, and then risk offending someone more by writing about it in an unsuitable or British way. I can certainly not write about someone with cancer, because I have never had cancer and therefore have no experience of it. Tolkien is a good example of that. Some people would think that he just imagined everything in his world with his ingenious mind, but obviously he didn't. The reason he could write about wars is because he lived through one, fought in one, and lost friends in two wars. I'm not saying that you're not allowed to write about things you are not familiar with, as obviously this is not the case with fantasy and such (obviously you can write about anything in fantasy) But, I am a Welsh speaker, and live in Wales. I've always loved the language and fought over it, but if someone came from America and decided to write about the situation here, but had never really experienced it for himself, his writing would not be as close and personal to the Welsh people than if I wrote about it, or someone who had lived here all their lives. <br /><br />Obviously, this is not the case with everyone. Some authors really have experienced situations like these and actually can write about another country as they lived here. But, the point is, not everyone has. I couldn't write about a life as an Asian woman, nor could I write about an African child with Aids. And that is why most people do not. Of course, when you are writing about something like New York or London, then of course you have to include diversity, because that is how it is in the real world and you can't change it. But, when it is set in the past or fantasy, as Tolkien did, of course people are more comfortable writing about what they have experienced. It's a natural thing, and that is why people do it. <br /><br />But the reason that Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings wasn't because he wanted to show diversity, but because of the message. Many writers write to write a good story, but many writers like Tolkien or Jostein Gaarder write for the message and the morals in the story, and because it reflects life. What people write and why is completely up to them, but if you have no experience of something, you cannot write about it as well as someone who for example has battled disabilities all their life. They could write about it much better than I or any other privileged person ever could.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-85593797629350209022011-01-28T01:55:29.312-08:002011-01-28T01:55:29.312-08:00Megha: Extremely well put. Good work, little grass...Megha: Extremely well put. Good work, little grasshopper :)Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-55089516678707461732011-01-27T09:31:57.337-08:002011-01-27T09:31:57.337-08:00I have a snow day, in case anyone was wondering wh...I have a snow day, in case anyone was wondering why I'm not at school. :)Isabelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-29225930232443190592011-01-27T08:57:10.108-08:002011-01-27T08:57:10.108-08:00Oh, Megha, that's a really good point! Thanks ...Oh, Megha, that's a really good point! Thanks for pointing that out. :DIsabelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-10003779469838976052011-01-27T08:49:47.900-08:002011-01-27T08:49:47.900-08:00Something I picked up from Nate's comment:
Bu...Something I picked up from Nate's comment:<br /><br />But an Asian person, when reading a book, would naturally imagine an Asian character. An Australian person would think of an Australian character. And so on.<br /><br />So it's not OBVIOUS that someone's white. Internationally bestselling books SHOULD include a mention of culture. Even everyday stories should. We can't assume the world is white.<br /><br />Something I picked up from Alex's comment:<br /><br />If you want to know your character, you need to know their race. If you want your READERS to know your character, you NEED to know their race. Same sentence, different importance.Meghahttp://enadream.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-77681599535010495372011-01-27T08:43:31.439-08:002011-01-27T08:43:31.439-08:00Flameraven: thanks for commenting! I'm glad yo...Flameraven: thanks for commenting! I'm glad you liked the post.Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-22580145976196835382011-01-27T08:42:37.124-08:002011-01-27T08:42:37.124-08:00Nate: "After all I believe it is very unfair ...Nate: "After all I believe it is very unfair to expect or even demand that white writers should have to write about another culture or race. That should never happen. If they choose to then BRILLIANT but most people write (and read) for escapism, not for political reasons. Therefore they want to imagine themselves in the story and I believe it is perfectly fine for them to do so."<br /><br />I'm afraid I have to disagree with you very strongly there, Nate. Letting writers of any race, culture or sexuality off the hook by saying that it's unfair to ask them to include people different to them is silly. My post doesn't try to dictate to people - it merely points out the stupidity, narrow mindedness and unconscious predjudice that causes writers to erase people different from them from their own writing. Writers who never think to write about any gay character, any disabled character or any character with a different racial background ARE displaying prejudice. Unconscious prejudice, but prejudice nontheless. As another commentator pointed out, we rarely see male writers saying 'I couldn't possibly write from the POV of a woman!' or vice versa, and yet THAT is a much greater paradigm shift than writing from the perspective of a person with skin of a different colour. Refusal to write anyone who is different to you results in stagnation and complacency and NOT in better, more diverse and more realistic books, which is what I think everyone should want.<br /><br />Nini: Your point is well made. I too have noticed that in many books, white is sort of the default setting and race/skin colour is only pointed out when it's something else. I make an effort in my own books to describe everyone's colouring, because to me it's *interesting*! But if I tell you that one character has blue eyes, blonde hair and pale, freckled skin and another has dark skin and soft, curling dark hair, I hope I've made them equal, in a sense. by not assuming that you will take either of their races for granted without a textual cue from me.<br /><br />Alex: I think I know what you mean. That uncomfortable feeling is the awareness of your own privilege as a white person in our extremely messed up, racially unequal world. It's good that you know it's there - now you have the chance to examine it and try to overcome it so that you can become an ally for people who don't have the same privilege you do and who are also struggling to make the world a better place.Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-20557268736359549912011-01-27T08:32:18.212-08:002011-01-27T08:32:18.212-08:00This is a very good post, and I totally agree. It&...This is a very good post, and I totally agree. It's especially egregious in fantasy/sci-fi stuff, because you have an entire created world where anything can happen, and most people stick with a vaguely European, all-white setting. That's so boring. Especially since Europe was really not nearly as all-white as we tend to assume.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-75525503930244024752011-01-27T07:51:42.495-08:002011-01-27T07:51:42.495-08:00That's a really good article, thank you, Zoe. ...That's a really good article, thank you, Zoe. I was watching Blood Diamond last night (a very good film, but often very difficult to watch) and I could feel this guilt creeping over me: because by including characters of other ethnicities I feel a sense of accomplishment, as though I have done something charitable, and that's awful. Blood Diamond is one of those "real-world reminder" films which just makes you think, I'm not doing enough. One of those films that makes you feel guilty about your lifestyle because even the writer character in the film, a white journalist, was doing all she could to help the situation. I'm pushing at some deeper philosophical point here that I'm never going to be able to grasp so I'd better shut up. I guess all we can really do in the end is what's best for us in the sphere we know. <br /><br />Hm. Don't know what to make of my own comment.<br /><br />Also! I have to agree with Nini; it does seem strange to point out the skin colour of a character who isn't white, and never mention the skin colour of the white characters, as OF COURSE they would be. Very odd. But this is one thing I noticed in Daughter of the Flames, that I remember being impressed by even before this conversation came up: that the characters' skin colour was just a fact, and not pointed out and overdone.Alex Mullarkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12385523523229124157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-67295329417964948032011-01-26T18:55:18.889-08:002011-01-26T18:55:18.889-08:00Thought I drop back into the conversation. You'...Thought I drop back into the conversation. You're absolutely right about my comment about "natural diversity." You do need to kick them in the butts sometimes.<br /><br />I love Alex and Lauren's comments and your response to them. I remember reading an article by Ursula Le Guin on her responding about the casting choices for "Earthsea." She too said the same thing about colorblindness, something that stuck with me.<br /><br />I want to go back to Lauren's comment, about not pointing out someone's race. I have a small problem with that because it seems to be one-sided. I noticed that in most YA and children books a minority character will most likely be pointed out as that ethnicity. Yet the funny thing is, the main character (most likely white) is never "said" that they are white. We are left to assume that they are, but never with the ethnic minority characters. I know that, chances are, if a character is described as pale skinned with blue eyes and blond hair, then they are white. Yet, when a writer writes that a character is black, Latino, Asian and never writes that a character is white, it makes me feel that being white is a default choice.Nini V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03224290886604785747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-55009141108866072552011-01-26T17:13:59.566-08:002011-01-26T17:13:59.566-08:00Hey Zoe,
There are a few gem's in this articl...Hey Zoe,<br /><br />There are a few gem's in this article, so I'll definitely be tweeting to it. I'll also book mark it for a future spot in one of my "Article Hunts" =)<br /><br />Anyways, race is one of those issues that I'm still getting my head around. I get rather torn up when it comes to this issue as I love learning about other cultures and other races. I'm especially in love with all things Asian. But at the same time I am very proud to be white and British and I am proud of my heritage, which is how I think everyone should be.<br /><br />There are many reasons why writers mainly include an all white cast, though one of your previous commenter’s stated what I believe to be the main one. Writers don’t intentionally do it, they’re not being prejudiced it simply doesn’t occur to them. I do apologise but I can’t find the comment to directly quote from it.<br /><br />I am all for seeing a wider ethnicity of main characters but at the same time there needs to be a balance to this. After all I believe it is very unfair to expect or even demand that white writers should have to write about another culture or race. That should never happen. If they choose to then BRILLIANT but most people write (and read) for escapism, not for political reasons. Therefore they want to imagine themselves in the story and I believe it is perfectly fine for them to do so.<br /><br />So where do we get a greater diversity of heroes from?<br /><br />Well I see these coming from 2 places. Firstly each ethnic group. There are talented writers who are not white as the poetry circle has shown that. So why are we not hearing from them?<br /><br />Secondly and the one that interests me the most is an education in World Building. From reading through the comments and what I’ve studied and observed on my own I see that most people already have their characters before world building.<br /><br />So when you’re trying to “open people’s minds” to writing about other ethnicities I’d come from the world building angle as opposed to the politically charged “race” angle. If someone came up to me and said:<br /><br />“you need to include an Asian as your main character because it is your ‘duty’ as a white person to show equality.”<br /><br />I don’t think I would show them too much kindness, as I find that rather offensive. However if someone pointed out an interesting part of my world - maybe due to geography, politics or some other element I’d created - then presented the idea of writing about a character from there I’d be much more open to it. I realise I haven’t explained this part well so I’ll come back and expand on it after a few comments and once I’ve thought some more on it.<br /><br />Another option is to take charge yourself and lead by example. I think Cindy makes this point brilliantly:<br /><br />“my cover change did upset people, but what upset *me* was that so many of them who were upset never bothered to read my book. much less supported the original cover by buying it, or borrowing it, or telling someone about it. and that didn't help my stories in any way, alas.“<br /><br />There seem to be plenty of people in the world who happily stand on a soap box and preach about how bad it is that everyone writers about white characters. Yet when they have an opportunity to lead some actual support to a writer they vanish and merely stand on their box some more. I think you mentioned that you’ve written about non-white characters yourself so it’s good to see you’re helping.<br /><br />As I say, this is a topic that really has me torn. Does any of what I’ve said make sense to you?<br /><br />Right, off to tweet for you :)<br /><br />Nate<br />The World Building School<br /><br />p.s sorry about the SUPER long post.Natehttp://www.worldbuildingschool.com/aboutnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-75014648389280028012011-01-26T15:30:35.146-08:002011-01-26T15:30:35.146-08:00Yep, Shadows will be out in July in the UK, and pr...Yep, Shadows will be out in July in the UK, and probably Spring 2012 in the US. I've had no luck selling rights anywhere but the US, unfortunately, but I hope that will change in the future (and the same for you!). Rights sales don't half move slooowly if you're not a bestseller. *Sigh*Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-21858524409447093992011-01-26T15:21:19.686-08:002011-01-26T15:21:19.686-08:00zoe, that is so true. i know everyone at my publis...zoe, that is so true. i know everyone at my publisher works hard and is passionate about books. thanks for reading Silver Phoenix. i'm glad you enjoyed it!<br /><br />and Shadows on the Moon will be out in the uk? i hope so. i've had no luck selling uk rights so i'm really heartened that books like sarwat chadda's The Devil's Kiss and Dark Goddess as well as malinda's Huntress will be on the shelves there. and yours too!cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12175698109176599954noreply@blogger.com