Those awestruck faces belong to my dear darling Lori, aka Little Swing Fairy, aka Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy, and her other husband, that is, her nonfictional husband, the dashing Dutchman, Maarten. Once upon a time, Lori was American. Once upon a time, she grew up in a town where none of the buildings were older than the 1960s. There, she drove up and down the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible beetle, singing very loudly to Erasure songs with her best friend, me. THEN, she had the affrontery to get all cultural and fall in love with the Nederlander and move away to a place with tulips and snow and funny coffeeshops, where she now owns a cool house with a garden, near a canal and a petting zoo. And she speaks Dutch all sing-songy and has a United Nations of funky friends. Oh yeah, and she reads a lot! And has a cat named Freddy. And is the proud owner of several of my handwritten first works of fiction, including the esteemed Flesh Gods in Paradise!
And she persuaded the American Bookstore to order a certain book, so she didn't have to get it off Amazon UK but could buy it in a store, and even flourish the receipt. MY BOOK WAS PURCHASED IN AMSTERDAM. How cool is that? And it got to take a stroll and see the sights. I'm sure Magpie and Talon enjoyed the opportunity to spy on some humans. And perhaps, as Lori was reading the last few pages while stirring dinner at the stove, they even stole some "manny food," as they are wont to do.
Thanks, Lori! And thanks also to Rhonda the Stitchingnut who showed the faeries a knitting good time in Massachusetts. If you haven't read the book, psst, it has knitting in it!
5 comments:
I just put a link to you from here ... but got lost finding my way back home. ;-) LOL ... I've got a good friend in Holland also, but that's where she started from.
I LOVE thinking of your book being all over the country and world at large at long, long last!!! Its well past time that all the little, terrible children of the world were introduced to the wondrous Magpie Windwitch! And Lori, if you read this,hello to you and you look wonderful. Please buy me a ticket asap so I can come to visit you again in Amsterdam. I'm very, very serious.
Alexandra if you come back- we know where the Etty Hillesum house is! I can't buy you a ticket (ask your famous author friend, maybe she can hook you up ;-), but you've got a place to stay, a tour guide and a crazy cat we like to call Fatty waiting to greet you!)
Laini, I just spoke to Darina and she read your blog and wanted you to know that she was in the back of the beetle singing erasure with us!
Oh, G of my H, Flesh Gods in Paradise may be one of your better pieces of work, but it was of an entirely different genre (non-fiction, I believe?)but Dreamdark comes close! LOVED with a capitol F the book! (rated 5 stars on Amazon!)
Come to Amsterdam and visit your book!
Litte Swing Fairy
Hey Laini,
Your book just came in the mail from Amazon and already it's gone for a dip in the pool and done some gardening to boot. Just getting into it and enjoying Magpie. Having a tough time bringing her indoors, though, she insists on staying out...can you have a word with her...
This is a fun game. I can't wait to get my copy here in Ghor so I can send you a photo of your book in the mountains of Afghanistan.
You and Magpie taking over the world.
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