Word to use today: deasil.
Deasil means going round something in the same direction as the hands of a clock. This is also the way the sun travels if you live in the top half of the world. The word deasil has long been used in magic spells.
It comes from the Old Irish word dess, which means either right or south, and sel, which means to turn.
Genre - a rant!
Oh, I suppose I can see the point of genres. I mean, the booksellers and librarians have to know which shelf to shove the books on, don't they.
Although, come to think about it, libraries usually rely on stickers. Odd that they should shun words like that.
But anyway, I suppose that genre-labelling helps to let people know that a book will feature a murder, or a love story, or probably (at the moment) both, with some dead-fit vampires thrown in (see what I did, there?).
Boxes, that's what genres are: useful things.
But you try putting an eel, or love, or Niagara Falls in a box.
I mean, suppose someone had written a novel about elves (fantasy) and Nazis (historical fiction) with chases (thriller) just the merest touch of a love story (romance) the odd skeleton (horror) and the whole survival-of-the-fittest thing (hm. Might even be getting a bit literary, there, you never know).
Where would that book fit? If there's no genre box for it to go in, can it exist at all?
Well, yes, it can, as it happens, and I hope you don't mind my mentioning it but it's being published today.
It's called ICE MAIDEN.
Um...yes, as it happens, it's by me.
It contains the word deasil, too.
Hurray!
And I can heartily recommend it too! Happy Publication Day and agree with you about your books being quite unclassifiable! Very good and readable every one of them but UNCLASSIFIABLE!
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