In the winsome world of fantasy, everyone can be a star. You can be whatever you wish: a unicorn, a fairy, a demon, a five-legged space alien with fifty-five fangs, an all-too innocent human being (homo sapiens sapiens ordinarius), or even a rusty old machine, a meat-eating plant, a square red rock, or vapor.
Given the wide range of possibilities, why is it that none have so far decided to take the plunge and accept my offer of immortality (see previous posting: 14 April 2011)? (Did you think I meant "immorality"?)
Sure, the uncertainty factor is great.
For assisting the Author in connecting with publication-advancing personnel, the Author will incorporate the help-mate into the story of The Dream Land III: Diaspora (in which our hero and friends assist an ignorant population in escaping their world as an approaching comet threatens to destroy it). Is that so bad?
One might wonder of the fate of such a fictional incorporation. The Author has promised not to kill off the character (you will survive the comet!), and the Author hereby promises not to show the character in any unfavorable, humiliating, degradating, or embarrassing manner or situation. Neither will the Author force the character into any unsavory relationship or require any particularly disgusting behavior, including the eating and drinking of certain unappetizing yet common gustatorial items of Ghoupallesz.
Heck, you can even choose a pseudonym, if you wish! Instead of John or Mary, you could be Samot or Sammu (fully acceptable Ghoupallean names).
So, come on down and make a deal. You could be famous. You could be in a novel on a shelf near you.
Imagine! You could take your friends and family there and point to the book on the shelf, then take it into your hands and turn to, say, chapter thirteen, and begin reading how the protagonist, one Set-d'Elous, meets you in a bar and buys you a drink in exchange for your tale of woe--or tale of joy. You decide. Won't everyone be amazed? You...in a book...acting and speaking...and living forever on paper--or in bits and bytes in the ebook version.
Think of the possibilities!
(PS--The above was written tongue-in-cheek and fingers-on-keyboard but the request for introductions, suggestions, recommendations, etc. is entirely genuine. Thanks for your support.)
I did not see your previous offer Stephen. Immortality in a book eh? Sounds like the beginning to a Edgar Allen Poe story ;-). What's the catch?
ReplyDeleteWell, immortality as long as the book remains in print, and for as long as copies of the book remain intact...until the ink fades off the page and the paper crumbles away....
ReplyDeleteThere's no catch. You get to be a character in the book. I've used friends' names in my stories previously, as minor characters.
For example, in A BEAUTIFUL CHILL, my male protagonist grades student essays and I attached those names to the "student" writer. The student named "Carla" was credited with writing an anti-pornography essay in the book. Kind of an inside joke.
What a great idea Stephen. Hope you get a few introductions along with the chance to offer immortality to those select few with an "in" in the writing business.
ReplyDeleteIt just occurred to me one day. I'd had done it before (sans requests) for fun, so I thought why not put the same idea to good use.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Danielle (see comment above) closely resembles the evil Empress of the Sekuatean Empire in The Dream Land trilogy. So that role is already taken.