Some new fic to push—Mara Greengrass has written a new Batman story that is just lovely. The focus is on a young Dick Grayson, training to be Robin, and the best description of what this tale is about can be found in a scrap of dialogue: “Engineering is about testing to destruction,” Bruce said, settling into lecture mode. “You don’t understand how you can make things better until you understand when and why they break apart.” The story is called Engineering 101, and is located at: http://mara.ink-and-quill.com/viewstory.php?sid=199&PHPSESSID=cfff67b9375430941f90360e0b5f535a
Neil Gaiman has posted the link to one of his own remarkable short stories, A Study In Emerald, which, unsurprisingly, has been nominated for a Hugo award. I love that man’s imagination—he is, in my opinion, a beautiful craftsman of the written word. The link is: http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/StudyinEmerald.asp
I’m still in China, and I’m scheduled to fly back to the US next week. I’m really, really going to miss Beijing. China is an addictive place to live and visit. It isn’t enough to stay a day or a week—real time is required, time to walk and sit and soak in the stones and the scents and the language. I’ve written some fan-fiction that takes place in Asia, and the one thing I’ve always tried to express is the organic quality of the cities in this part of the world—the constant movement, the endless growth, the age and evolution. I adore America and all it stands for, but American cities—with the exception of New York—don’t have the life, the soul and energy, of urban areas in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Or maybe I’m just nuts. I don’t know. I’m not a city girl, but these are places that get their hooks in you, and never let go.