{"id":4873,"date":"2011-09-14T04:00:23","date_gmt":"2011-09-14T10:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/?p=4873"},"modified":"2011-09-13T16:56:03","modified_gmt":"2011-09-13T22:56:03","slug":"beyond-the-woo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2011\/09\/14\/beyond-the-woo\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Woo"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s always some woo in my books.<\/strong>\u00a0 As in, woo-woo.\u00a0 I suppose also as in “wooing,” but I swear I wasn’t trying to be punny when I started this sentence.<\/p>\n

(Was that convincing?)<\/em><\/p>\n

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about the Reckoners a lot lately,<\/strong> as I begin the preliminary work for the third Reckoners book.\u00a0 (The first two were THE RECKONERS<\/a> and STORM OF RECKONING<\/a>, in case anyone’s lost track, along with partner story, “Deep River Reckoning<\/a>.”\u00a0 So I’m taking another look at those books–at the things I did in those books.<\/p>\n

\"Sedona\"And I realize it was bound to happen–<\/strong>that I’ve finally set a book in Sedona.\u00a0 I mean, take one writer of things fantastical living only an hour away from the red rocks, canyons, and vortexes.\u00a0 Give her a decade of exposure.<\/p>\n

The inevitability of it is clear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seriously!<\/strong>\u00a0 Only an hour away from the woo-woo!<\/p>\n

Not that my characters were as enthused.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lucia Reyes:\u00a0<\/strong> Shopping?\u00a0 In tourist Trap World?\u00a0 I don’t think so.
\nLisa McGarrity:<\/strong>\u00a0 Reckoning?\u00a0 In Faux Woo-Woo World?\u00a0 I don’t think so.
\nTrevarr:<\/strong> [\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ]<\/p>\n

Oh, right.\u00a0 Trevarr.\u00a0<\/strong> He’s like that.<\/p>\n

Sklayne:\u00a0<\/strong> Me.\u00a0 You forgot about me.<\/p>\n

Sklayne.\u00a0 He’s like that, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sedona has to be both the most over-appreciated and under-appreciated place in the world.\u00a0<\/strong> Think SEDONA and you get crystals and vortexes, mantras and spiritual retreats.\u00a0 Because, sure… there’s a lot of that going around.<\/p>\n

But drive to Sedona from Flagstaff,<\/strong> and you end up winding through a canyon with dizzying hairpin turns, dropping a couple thousand feet in short order.\u00a0 Ponderosa pines and scrub oak cling thickly along the red rocks in a stark green and bluff-red contrast, and rushing creek and riparian water habitat thrives below.\u00a0 It’s alive and it’s stunning and it’s unlike anywhere else you’ve ever been.\u00a0 Suddenly you look at it all much differently.\u00a0 You look beyond the woo.<\/p>\n

You think, “This is a place where I’d like to sit.\u00a0<\/strong> I’d like to spend time.\u00a0 I’d like to write about.\u00a0 I’d like to help preserve.”<\/p>\n

Sklayne:\u00a0<\/strong> Vortexes.\u00a0 Tasty.<\/p>\n

Right.\u00a0 That’s the thing, isn’t it?\u00a0 So alluring, the temptation of the woo-woo.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> Sometimes I think it shadows the amazing nature of what’s already there.\u00a0 Because right there in Sedona, the world changes.<\/p>\n

Sedona sits at the Mogollon Rim, <\/strong>the profound natural dividing line between the Colorado Plateau and the lower Basin & Range country.\u00a0 Spend a few winters in the higher northlands, and you know right where the snow line lays:\u00a0 Above Sedona, it’s chains and closed roads.\u00a0 Below it, the fog clears out and suddenly you’re driving clear and free.<\/p>\n

Above Sedona, the land is all silent volcanoes and cinder fields<\/strong> supporting skiing and ponderosa pines growing thick and deep; the amazing San Francisco Peaks were formed by your classic hot-n-heavy volcano, topped by the classic dome explosion.<\/p>\n

Below Sedona, it’s a quick descent through juniper scrub desert<\/strong> to the broad sloping valley bowl of classic hot, hot desert.\u00a0 Saguaro, prickly pear, cholla spring up, while grasses grow sparser by the moment.\u00a0 Picture your cowboy hero, crawling along the ground with his tongue hanging out, a rattler coiled up not far away.<\/p>\n

And there in Sedona, you have it all,<\/strong> both above and below.\u00a0 North Sedona is full of canyons, swirling wind-formed rocks, Vultee Arch, and a plethora of stunning trails and views.\u00a0 As if I could resist taking the reckoning action out into those settings!<\/p>\n

Lucia:<\/strong>\u00a0 I’m pretty sure you could have.\u00a0 Or warned me to pack hiking shoes.\u00a0 And, the way things turned out, a bulk pack of sanitary wipes.
\nGarrie:\u00a0<\/strong> Bring it on!\u00a0 I’ve got ghostie vibes to hike out.
\nSklayne:\u00a0<\/strong> Squirrels!\u00a0 Tasteee!
\nTrevarr:<\/strong> [\u00a0\u00a0 ]<\/p>\n

South of Sedona’s main road, the land plunges down into the red rocks<\/strong>–striking red bluffs in formations so distinctive they all have names (Snoopy, Lucy, Chimney Rock, The Mittens, The Cow Pies, the Rabbit Ears\u2026.).\u00a0 It looks like someone turned the Earth’s crust upside down and left us all gazing at the roots of the rock.<\/p>\n

Truth is, I enjoy the woo-woo.\u00a0<\/strong> The vortexes, both male and female in essence; the crammed, tight little shops along Highway 89.\u00a0 There you can get crystals, furs, a plethora of T-shirts bearing eagles, wolves, and largely misrepresented Indians, and–if you look in the right place–maybe a badger skull to add to the collection at home.\u00a0 (Ask me how I know.)\u00a0\u00a0 Geodes, vortex tours,\u00a0 and any little thing with a whiff of New Age magic\u2026this is the place!\u00a0 It’s all worth a little wallow.<\/p>\n

Sklayne:\u00a0<\/strong> Tingles!<\/p>\n

But for me, the rich treasure of the area comes in the land,<\/strong> which carries a woo-woo all of its own–just because it is.\u00a0 And in the end, even if it was crystals and vortexes that tickled my idea generator, it was the land that drew me, and which helped drive this story.\u00a0 What the land and its creatures deserve.<\/p>\n

Lucia:\u00a0<\/strong> Let’s just sit on Sterling Ridge and look down on the pass for a while.
\nGarrie:\u00a0<\/strong> Non-ethereal woo-woo.\u00a0 Want me some of this.
\nTrevarr:\u00a0<\/strong> *just happens to be standing close to Garrie*<\/p>\n

…Sklayne:\u00a0<\/strong> When can I eat it?<\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/strong><\/p>\n

first appeared more or less in this form, in the Tor newsletter<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s always some woo in my books.\u00a0 As in, woo-woo.\u00a0 I suppose also as in “wooing,” but I swear I wasn’t trying to be punny when I started this sentence. (Was that convincing?) Anyway, I’ve been thinking about the Reckoners … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,74],"tags":[157,54,10],"class_list":["post-4873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-scenes","category-land-keeping","tag-behind-the-scenes","tag-land","tag-reckoners"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb2lc3-1gB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1800,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/07\/07\/behind-the-scenes-deep-river-reckoning\/","url_meta":{"origin":4873,"position":0},"title":"Behind the Scenes: Deep River Reckoning","author":"Doranna","date":"1007.07","format":false,"excerpt":"...Wednesday Deep River Reckoning Deep River Reckoning is a Reckoners short story newly available on Kindle: the journey of a woman recently passed strikes close to home for Garrie and Trevarr, as living and dead clash over the mysteriously damaged spirits of the Rio Grande. I wanted an excuse to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Behind the Scenes"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/snippets\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Deep River Reckoning","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doranna.net\/covers\/c.deepriver.eyes.SM.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3552,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2011\/02\/23\/and-me-without-my-towel\/","url_meta":{"origin":4873,"position":1},"title":"And Me Without My Towel","author":"Doranna","date":"1102.23","format":false,"excerpt":"Can't you just feel taxes creeping up on you?\u00a0 Can't you, huh, huh? Well, wuh.\u00a0 I find that, organizationally, I'm still digging out from the two years of domicile in transition.\u00a0 This year, I find myself in the middle of two things--scraping together facts and figures from a system that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Storm of Reckoning","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doranna.net\/covers\/c.storm.reckoning.SM.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3512,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2011\/02\/16\/ode-to-a-cocker-spaniel\/","url_meta":{"origin":4873,"position":2},"title":"Ode to a Cocker Spaniel","author":"Doranna","date":"1102.16","format":false,"excerpt":"The excitement of the day! My Backlist eBooks are being featured on Daily Cheap Reads today! If you have a Kindle, Daily Cheap Reads is a great place to find inexpensive books of all kinds--indie, sales, and repubs.\u00a0 This month features many of our Backlist eBooks writers, so...way cool! And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlist Ebooks"","block_context":{"text":"Backlist Ebooks","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/backlist-ebooks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3489,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2011\/02\/09\/where-in-the-hell-is-doranna\/","url_meta":{"origin":4873,"position":3},"title":"Where in the Hell is Doranna?","author":"Doranna","date":"1102.09","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my favorite videos ever comes from Where in the Hell is Matt:\u00a0 Dancing Badly across the World. (I am happy, because I just realized that since I now listen to my music via computer, I can now download the amazing song for this video!\u00a0 Go, me!) Well, this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Storm of Reckoning","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doranna.net\/covers\/c.storm.reckoning.SM.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":965,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/03\/31\/snippety-the-reckoners-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4873,"position":4},"title":"Snippety: The Reckoners","author":"Doranna","date":"1003.31","format":false,"excerpt":"posted on Wednesday Here's another little goodie from The Reckoners....Garrie, trying to convince a reluctant team to head from home town Albuquerque to San Jose--and just now realizing that she's not going to get them all... =============== \"Look, chicalet,\" Lucia said, voice quiet. \"You know I'm in. The shopping, right?\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Snippets"","block_context":{"text":"Snippets","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/snippets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Reckoners","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doranna.net\/covers\/c.reckoners.SM.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7550,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2012\/12\/12\/the-next-big-thing\/","url_meta":{"origin":4873,"position":5},"title":"The Next Big Thing","author":"Doranna","date":"1212.12","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doranna My friend Julie Czerneda tagged me for this blog meme--she's already done hers, and you can find it at that link. 1. What is the working title of your next book? Am I supposed to have a single answer for this?\u00a0 I'm working on the backlist production of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlist Ebooks"","block_context":{"text":"Backlist Ebooks","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/backlist-ebooks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reckoner Redeemed","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/reckoners.working.FB_.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4873"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4882,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4873\/revisions\/4882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}