THE COYOTE ROAD now out in handsome Trade Paperback edition

[ellenkushner]

. . . and at a very reasonable price! The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales, edited by the fabulous duo of Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, and illustrated (yep, one "decorative illo" per story plus a truly glorious cover) by Charles Vess, made a huge splash in 2007 hardcover with stories by Charles de Lint, Kelly Link, Holly Black, Carol Emshwiller, Caroline Stevermer, Ellen Klages, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Patricia McKillip and other faves - and had stories on last year's Nebula ballot by Delia Sherman (read her great interview about it - and writing in general - here, and interviews with all of last year's nominees here) & Kij Johnson (also a World Fantasy nominee), and for some weird Nebula reason I hope no one will explain to me, Jeff Ford's story in the same volume is on this year's Nebula ballot.

I have a story in it as well, "Honored Guest," with Jessica Campion (Rose & Alec's daughter-to-be in TPOTS, Theron's sister in The Fall of the Kings) as the trickster, narrated by a young girl (love that first person!) in a setting based on the Chinese Story of the Stone , which I read back in college and have loved ever since. I remember hearing about the anthology, desperately wanting to write a story for it - I do love tricksters, and have even done an entire Sound & Spirit radio show on them! plus an essay, "Meeting Trickster" - but I really wasn't sure what I could write about. Then I remembered Jessica.

People have asked me whether I'll ever do a novel about her; but realizing she's a trickster made me understand why the answer was always "No": tricksters are unreliable. They are good for an anecdote, an episode, a last-minute rescue . . . but plots (for novels) do not ride on the backs of tricksters.

Feel free to argue me wrong. Cite Jack Vance & Patricia HIghsmith if you like. All I know is, I couldn't do it.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

*lol* ok, maybe i am not a real author. but coyote is the dea ex machina of my novel -- when push comes to shove, she's the one who shows up, and then things sidle sideways, slanted quite off the line of what might have been an expected trajectory.

coyote is also a strong figure in "buffalo gals won't you come out tonight" -- you could argue that that le guin's work is short fiction, but it is an awfully *solid* piece, with at least the heft of many works containing far more words.

i cannot of course speak at all intelligently, let alone authoritatively, about what *you* can or can't do. but i can observe that saying "i couldn't do it" is not even remotely equivalent to saying "it won't work for me any other time either" :)

bah. this wasn't the intent of my post at all really, which was just to say OH SQUEE I AM SO GETTING THAT BOOK! :)

[dlstephenson.livejournal.com]

I love Tricksters! But I do agree with you. While they'd make a fascinating main character I'd tear all my hair out and climb the walls if I had to depend on one. That's akin to relying on the weather.

I added COYOTE ROAD to my To Be Read List -- aka "The TBR List That Ate the Northeast Coast." But this definitely sounds up my alley. (You had me at "Trickster" and "Charles de Lint"!)

neighbor of the beast

[auroramama]

Tricksters' relatives, on the other hand, make great protagonists. (I can't believe you didn't cite Neil, but perhaps he goes without saying.) Most of us aren't Tricksters (I did say most) but a lot of us seem to have run into them.

lyonesse, I love "Buffalo Gals", and it isn't all that short. Anyone a Trickster actually cares for, relative, foundling, or lover, is bound to have an interesting life.

[elswhere1.livejournal.com]

Not that this changes your point-- people write what they write, and g-d knows I couldn't do it myself.

But...Anansi Boys?

[elswhere1.livejournal.com]

No, wait, never mind, I take it back--the trickster isn't the protagonist there, is he.

I think I just loved that book so much that I can't resist mentioning it given half an excuse. In fact, I'm going to go recommend it to someone right now.

[auroramama]

Yup, that's what I was thinking of: loved one(s) of the Trickster.

[elswhere1.livejournal.com]

Yep, that makes sense!

Er. Not that we have any in OUR family;-)

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Meh heh!

Well, the Campion-Tremontaines are colorful, too.

[yaoi-in-exile.livejournal.com]

D'oh! I guess you wait long enough, anything's cheaper and travel-sized-er. Oh, well. I love mah super-special-double-deluxe-choco-coated hardback copy. One of those things you can wear to chapel. :3 Good that they're selling so well, tho'.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

"One of those things you can wear to chapel."

(snork!!)

Regarding tricksters...

[hazelwitch.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...what about Tamora Pierce's Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen? There might be a case there...