Jim C. Hines » Goblin War

Goblin Wedding

Fan mail is always nice. I love hearing from people who have enjoyed the goblins or the princesses, or even just a short story I wrote. But this week, I received an e-mail that took it to a whole new level of writerly awesomeness.

Bartosz Walczyk from Poland e-mailed to thank me, explaining that Wojna Goblina (Goblin War) was directly responsible for him meeting his fiancee Ann. Today’s post was late because I was waiting on permission to share the story. In his own words:

I’m a teacher at school and I have been assigned a substitution to one of the schools - as I had some free time then, I took up the challenge. You have to imagine that at school there is always much work that needs to be done, so time is really short. And shy as I am, I don’t like going to people, greeting and meeting them. Especially when I know that I will be working with them for very little time. But when I saw someone sitting in a corner of the teacher room reading Goblin War, I had no choice but to approach that woman. And this is how it started. Believe me, without the book, I would never have done it.

Bartosz and Ann are engaged to be married in 2011, and I’m told one of the first things they did together was to finish reading Goblin War.

Coolest. Reader. E-mail. Ever!

My heartfelt congratulations to them both. And for the rest of you, forget match.com and e-harmony and the rest. If you really want to meet your soul mate, pick up a copy of Goblin War [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy]!

So I’m (obviously) back from ConFusion. Had a wonderful and crazy time. Saw many excellent people, and did not get to spend near enough time with most of them. (I did get to play with the Buckell twins though. Twins = exponentially increased cuteness!!!)

Brain and body are a bit fried. I’m planning to write something a bit more coherent, but in the meantime, have a picture of me and Chewie from the con. This photo was taken mere minutes before Chewbacca turned and ripped the arms off of that stormtrooper behind us. Click the thumbnail for the larger shot.

Dedications

I’m still taking interview questions. I’ve got a dozen or so good ones, but nothing silly yet. Knowing y’all, this surprises me. If you’re interested, e-mail a question at mermaid@jimchines.com and I’ll add you to the drawing to win a copy of Strip Mauled. All I ask is that you post the Q&A on 10/6 when Mermaid officially comes out.

This was what I saw Sunday afternoon in the SF/F section at Schuler Books in the Meridian Mall. Isn’t it a beautiful sight?* That little hand belongs to my son, who lit up at the sight of Daddy’s books on the shelf. He was almost as excited as I was.

Of course, he got bored fast when he had to wait for Daddy to sign everything. But then I took him back and showed him the dedication page for Goblin War. He read the letters one by one, and all the energy came rushing back. “That’s me!” Then he looked up at me and asked, “Why is my name in your book?”

It’s a good question, and got me thinking about the dedications I’ve done, and why. In part, dedicating a book is a gift I can give that feels special. But there’s more.

Goblin War: To My Son

Because you embody everything I love about my goblins–the cleverness, the humor, the berserker attacks against your Daddy…
Because even if you betray me and ascend to the rank of Death God, I’ll still watch over you and protect you.
Because of Shadowstar’s “He’s my son” scene on pages 300-302.

Stepsister Scheme: To My Daughter

Because my wishes for you include Snow’s joy, Talia’s strength, and Danielle’s heart.
Because you’re as beautiful as any princess.
Because you don’t need to be rescued.
Because without you, this series wouldn’t exist.

Mermaid’s Madness: To My Wife

Because this was the worst deadline pressure I’d ever experienced, and you still loved me when it was all over.
Because in so many ways, you are the Beatrice of this family. (Even though your Dad’s pontoon boat isn’t quite as cool as the Phillipa.)
Because part of this series is about family and teamwork, and you’ve taught me so much about both.

I didn’t know how to explain all of this to a four-year-old. So I just told him it was because I loved him, and that I’d explain it more when he was older. He seemed content with this. But the whole thing left me feeling unusually sappy, so I thought I’d share with you all.

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*Most bookstores won’t have it in stock yet … though it might be worth a phone call to check