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| Entering the world of Unbound Boxes Limping Gods... |
Cheryl Moore's world is quite different than any other I, as a professional book reviewer, have entered. Cheryl is looking for a publisher, so until then, she diligently works to present her world to us, her present and potential readers. I've been connected to Cheryl for quite a long time, always stopping to check out a new character pic on my wall, or from the email. But, for me...there was always a stack of books for which I had committed for a review and they needed to come first. But then everybody was caught in the Facebook group change fiasco that really created lots of problems for all of us and, in trying to keep up with changes of those I really wanted to keep track of, I decided to take the plunge...
Into Unbound Boxes Limping Gods...
I contacted Cheryl and she graciously agreed to allow me to spotlight her at BRH...
Imagine...Cheryl's world, Unbound Boxes Limping Gods, started 17 years ago...This reviewer still considers entering with trepidation...
My background is in business and I tend to think in a "planning" mode...a book or a story begins and ends. If the book doesn't flow in a routine, planned fashion, as prescribed by some basic rule, normally that used in hundreds and thousands of other books I've read or studied, then I am thrown into research mode: Does the method of presentation make sense? Is it disruptive to me the reader? Is there logic and effective thinking behind the presentation? Will other readers be satisfied and able to understand the intent of the author? For a novel, I would normally stop after 50 pages and refuse to read further, if I cannot be satisfied with the answers to my own questions.
Knowing that Cheryl's novels have not yet been published, I know that I must consider her work differently--perhaps like an anthology on a specific theme? That might work...I'm going to try that as the basis upon which I begin to read...
To help me, I asked for a chronological section of her work, to start reading. No, I have not read "any" of her work as of now. For me, I try not to read "segments" of any book. If a chapter is posted by an author to give a taste to potential readers, I rarely read it. If I do, I have found that later, when I may start to actually read a book, I begin to remember, to wonder whether I've already read the book, and I find it is greatly distracting for me. I normally have to start over in order to begin reading for content. When you are reading as many books as I do, you really can't afford rereading time, more than necessary, unless the book itself requires rereading in parts...
So, then it was the last week of July and I had not yet read any of Cheryl's work, which I would need to do in order to provide my own review sometime during the month. I woke up with an idea....how about reading and reviewing it online and invite my blog readers to participate in that activity. After all, after 1000 postings and readers across the Internet, this could be fun...
And I wouldn't be entering this new world all by myself...
Plus, I wanted to do an interview with Cheryl, so, why not do that online as well...
In fact, I already had several questions:
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Cheryl, How did you come up with the title Unbound Boxes Limping Gods? What does it mean to you? What do you want your readers to find in those Boxes?
Cheryl, Your artwork pulled me in long before I read a word you've written? What is your background in art? Are you formally trained? And are your characters envisioned in word form first or as they are graphically created?
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Soooooo, how about it? Want to come along and see how this works? Nothing has been discussed between Cheryl and I, other than that she has agreed to allow me to do this added online activity. Everything will be very informal, yet in an organized fashion, which will, in essence, follow what I normally do whenever I review or spotlight an author and her site(s)... You may just watch, or you can participate...by adding comments to either the author, Cheryl Moore, or to me...
Remember the old adage, no question is ever stupid! I've already admitted my stupidity because I know nothing about "Unbound Boxes Limping Gods" and, truthfully, can't even begin to conceptualize where I am going...Normally I would read a back cover blurb...but that isn't possible here...Oh well, let's do this!
If you want to look ahead, here's what I'll be reviewing as submitted by Cheryl:
Tthe 10 stories here are in order and also the dates / countries, in which they were set: (please ask any questions if you have them.)
1: Issue 9: The Guild Master's General (set in India, 3987)
2: Issue 16: Farokh Merek (set in China, 3988)
4: Issue 4: Samuel Merevija (set in India, 3996)
5: Issue 1: Alexand Merek (set in India, 3997)
6: Issue 5: Jarad Vijay (set in India, 3998)
7: Issue 10: Heyem Merek (set in China, 4002)
8: Issue 11: Ancille Merevija (set in China, 4004)
9: Issue 13: Anastasia Merevija (set in Poland, 4018)
10: Issue 7: Juba Apfvarzian (Set in The Sahara Desert, 4020)
Just to give you an idea about the character's relationships with each other, so you have some context (as a lot of time passes between each story and there are a lot of characters)
Alexand Merek is my main protagonist, Jarad Vijay is her husband, Samuel, Ancille and Anastasia Merevija are their children, Farokh and Heyem Merek are Alexand's brother and (identical) twin sister, Juba Apfvarzian is her close friend. (The Guild Master's General is seemingly unrelated and appears in various places through time.) Katherine De Somme (In Issue 16) becomes Alexand's wife, before her marriage to Jarad Vijay and Ichitumbu Jalhavi (Issue 13) is Anastasia's husband (as a result of her abduction as a child.) Wow, that looks like a lot of characters when I write them all down in a list, LOL!!
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Now I have new questions:
Cheryl, you are located in the UK, yet your stories are set in so many other countries. Have you traveled to any of them? Or do research? And how do you decide where to travel in order, I assume, to ultimately have some continuity?
Cheryl, you timeline for your stories are way in the future? Did this allow you a measure of flexibility in writing? Or what vision did you have to look hundreds and thousands of years into the future?
JOIN WITH CHERYL AND I THIS MONTH, WON'T YOU?!!!!!!
Definitely intriguing. I don't often read excerpts either.
ReplyDeleteHi, Sheila, it was a gamble when I started these stories a year ago. I wasn't quite sure about the reception they'd receive. I think it's a matter of personal preference in terms of reading excerpts. Hopefully these will add to the novels, once the first has been published one day. Thanks for reading, it's much appreciated. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteQ: Cheryl, How did you come up with the title Unbound Boxes Limping Gods? What does it mean to you? What do you want your readers to find in those Boxes?
ReplyDeleteA: Hi, Glenda. Unbound Boxes is a reference to particle physics. My protagonists have a device called a ‘writer’ which was invented by a physicist called Anesidor Sumian. (After the murder of her mother, see issue 2) The characters use their writer’s to travel around and to store things inside. I’m quite hardened to losing things and people, as it’s a natural part of life, but these writers or boxes allow my characters to keep precious things safely inside. The child in me loves the idea of protecting things and people. The ‘writer’ enables the possibility of conjuring things from apparent nowhere. Some characters regard this as magic. The characters have very strong links with their writers, as these keep them alive. They are mostly nomadic people, on the fringes of society, who carry their lives inside these ‘boxes.’ Without them they’d die. Unbound Boxes is also a reference to the potential freedom this ‘magical’ item gives the protagonist and reader alike.
As for limping Gods. Most of my characters can’t age. They live in our future, but they aren’t technically immortal. My father died at a relatively young age, along with a lot of his side of the family. Since then I’ve been looking for ways to run away from that finality. I don’t like the prospect of death, although, my characters aren’t gods, they’re highly flawed and human. In the future there’s a chemical called SIR2HX, which shuts off the ageing process. This could be controversial, for obvious reasons, but it enables me to carry out some complicated story arcs, in the novels. The characters age, differently, and it’s not necessarily a good thing. It allows me to hold onto them for longer.
As for the reader. I like the idea that people can imagine their own precious things, people they care about, have lost or are close to, as they read. It’s a very emotional journey, which I’m hoping people can relate to.
Q: Cheryl, Your artwork pulled me in long before I read a word you've written? What is your background in art? Are you formally trained? And are your characters envisioned in word form first or as they are graphically created?
ReplyDeleteA: I trained in Glamorgan University as a fine artist and then as a Graphic Designer later on in The Surrey Institute of Art and Design. I’m a writer first. I’ve always been more passionate about writing the novels and short stories, so my characters are written and then drawn! Although it is amazing to be able to see characters come alive through art. It makes them real to me, almost like looking at a photograph of someone you’d desperately like to see again, but can’t. It’s frustrating!
Q: Cheryl, you are located in the UK, yet your stories are set in so many other countries. Have you traveled to any of them? Or do research? And how do you decide where to travel in order, I assume, to ultimately have some continuity?
A: The characters dictate where the stories are set. I lived in Iran as a child, so have a different perspective about how people and cultures change, depending on where you live. I’ve traveled a bit since then, but mostly it’s based on research. I’ve been writing these characters since I was seventeen, and placing them in location is second nature. I’d love to be able to travel to some of the places I’ve written about!
Q: Cheryl, you timeline for your stories are way in the future? Did this allow you a measure of flexibility in writing? Or what vision did you have to look hundreds and thousands of years into the future?
ReplyDeleteA: It definitely allows for flexibility. I am a huge fan of feminist science fiction. As a child I felt very isolated, as a lot of people do. I wasn’t a typical girl and possibly needed more reason than most to justify my worth as a ‘human being'. There were positive female protagonists about, but they were scarce. I found most of these in science fiction and fantasy films and novels. The possibility of creating a world in which I fitted into, was very tempting. I love Margaret Atwood, Joanna Russ and Neil Gaiman. It felt natural to set the lives of my fledgeling characters, in a place removed from my own time. It isn’t strictly science fiction, but this futuristic setting seems to fit both me and my characters. Although I probably wouldn’t really want to live there, because it’s quite a scary place and I’d die the day I arrived!