It seems that Mr. Fillion feels another kind of force at Christmas…

Tweeted by NathanFillion >>.

Gotcha, didn’t I? You thought you were going to see something really strange! The power of words…

See, I was tying up the last ends of Christmas shopping over at Amazon’s site. The site suggested I employ a special phrase to make my online buying easier. The suggested phrase was:

Amber’s Unusual Apparatus

Now, perhaps it’s because I see the world through the writer’s lens (which is a bit like peering through Alice’s Looking Glass) but I can’t get this wonderful, provocative phrase out of my head! I feel a picture book taking shape — but only because I refuse to write for an adult audience. Adult. You knowatimean.

Anyway, if the hustle and bustle of the holidays gets you down, just think of this magical phrase and everything will seem a little more interesting.

Amber’s Unusual Apparatus

Perhaps we’re fantasy writers — it could be this magical gadget:

Or if we’re talking sci-fi — how about this?

If we’re literary writers, maybe this?

Or if, as my daughter would have it, the apparatus was for animals?

That’s my gift to you, fellow bloggers, just a spark for the imagination. I think there’s nothing better.

Merry Christmas!

Is this the future of magazine publishing? Of books?

What is that? E-reader on steroids?

Over at the Market My Words blog, Shelli said it: how I’m feeling today. Just reading the list of mom’s responsibilities makes me tired.

At the center of a busy life >>

And I used to be so good at enjoying the moments…

1977, the year of Star Wars, the year of my birth, is also the year a quaint book was published about a boy wizard (yes, you heard right) who doesn’t know about his powers.

It’s called Charmed Life, by Diana Wynne Jones, and it is the first book in a series called The Chronicles of Chrestomanci. There are eight books set in the Chrestomanci universe, though not focused on the same characters (and written over the course of 29 years!).

Charmed Life starts slowly, in a “dear reader” fashion — a way that would not fly in today’s grab-em-by-the-throat publishing environment, and it does a fair bit of distracting head-jumping*. Those are the cons. But let me tell you something — if you loved Harry Potter, you’ll enjoy Charmed Life (and, really, all other Diana Wynne Jones books, but let’s stay focused).

In the Chrestomanci world, those who work magic are of different classes, rated by power. Warlocks, Witches, Necromancers, Mediums are every day people, living alongside those with no magic. The more powerful Magicians and Enchanters are more rare, and a person who has no selves in the other, parallel worlds is the most powerful Enchanter of all.

In Charmed Life, a very talented young witch named Gwendolyn and her magic-less brother nicknamed Cat are sent to live with a powerful man called Chrestomanci. Hijinks ensue… I won’t spoil them for you!

But alongside the fantasical, as in the Harry Potter stories, the quirky humanity of the characters and the relationships between them seem real and human. Cat and his sister have a rocky relationship, but he loves her nonetheless. This loyalty endears him to the reader, even as you grow to hate the selfish, power-hungry sister. What’s amazing to me is how it is so clear to the reader that Cat’s sister is villianous while it mostly escapes Cat’s notice. Sure, he’s uncomfortable with her behavior, often, but he never grows angry or resentful of her.

Cat doesn’t change that much in this story, which is unusual for a main character, but what’s interesting is that you, the reader, change over the course of the book. Cat is someone you find yourself caring about. He’s young and imperfect, and joins in a good many wrong deeds (that he often has reservations about but is to weak to stand against). You begin to want to protect him, to help him, to somehow get him out of his mounting troubles, especially since it is clear he isn’t going to have a flash of brilliance or a wave of courage to help.

And in the end, when certain realities about his sister are revealed, you want to cry with him, and you cheer him when he finally is angry and stands up for himself.

It’s a gentle story, in the emotions. It’s a fantastical story, in the actions. And who doesn’t love a good battle of witches (or any crazy creature, for that matter!)

I give it four out of five nods!

* Head-jumping is when the thoughts of one character are explained right on the heels of the thoughts of another. This is a faux pas by today’s standards, though I daresay only writers really notice. What a grumpy bunch we are.