Sisters of fantasy

Did I get a major plot point in To Kill a Mockingbird totally wrong in the last post? I need to reread it. A good excuse. Rereading Hunger Games now before I tackle Mockingjay, and loving it.

Big, gooey thanks for all who helped out in Writing for Charity last week. When I have news about how many books we get to give to kids and how that goes, I'll post about it. So exciting!

I recently got a copy of Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder's new book, Except the Queen. A blog commenter mentioned that I was in the dedication. "That can't be," I thought. "I don't know Midori, and I've only met Jane Yolen twice briefly at conferences. She is the queen. I'm just a newbie. Maybe she knows someone else named Shannon Hale."

Then I saw the dedication:

I'm sure you're all familiar with Jane Yolen. Her life is far-reaching, her career expansive. She's published and edited hundreds of books--picture books, short stories, poetry, middle grade, young adult, and adult. When you hear of someone writing so many books, it's easy to assume she's mass market in some way, formulistic. She's not. She's a wordsmith, a story crafter. She is in many ways the matriarch of the science fiction & fantasy community. Both times I've seen her at conferences, I think I probably blush and shake a little, because I am in awe of being in her presence. I know maybe that sounds silly, but trailblazers and talents like Jane Yolen deserve respect.

So. To be recognized by her. To have her list me by name as a "sister of fantasy," to include me alongside writer heroes like Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley, Terri Windling, Ellen Datlow, Angela Carter, Holly Black, Kelly Link, Diana Wynne Jones...holy cow, ALL of them. I want to fall to my knees like Wayne and Garth and insist I'm not worthy! It makes me emotional, to say the least.

And you know what more? It makes me want to keep writing. I would very much like to deserve to be a sister of fantasy.