Hello all!

Well it's been a very long time since you heard from me, and I do apologise. And welcome to all the new subscribers - we're now coming in at over 1,000 on the mailing list. Since becoming 'gainfully unemployed' in November last year I've been doing a little globe-trotting, and my ability to send out newsletters has been dependent on a series of rather unreliable laptops. I succeeded in January/February, failed in March, and didn't even try again until now. I did actually write a newsletter in March, but the contact lists on my laptop had corrupted, so despite hours of trying, I didn't manage to get it out to you. It is in the site archive though, so you can read it here: http://www.brightweavings.com/warpweft/newsmarch.htm. I spent the end of April and the beginning of May travelling in Toronto and New York, and was lucky enough to meet up with several Bright Weavings denizens whilst doing so. Thanks to all of you for your hospitality and time! I then decided to do one more little holiday before returning to Israel, and went to Provence for a few days in early June. Why do I tell you this? Because to make up for the fact that I haven't written a newsletter for so long, here's a photo from Provence. The Roman arch in the picture on the right is located in the town of Orange, Provence, and it was the direct inspiration behind the Arch at Lake Dierne in A Song for Arbonne. It's not a great scan - sorry - but I hope it's clear enough to give you some idea of the Arch, which really is majestic, even if it would have been even more astonishing to come across it in the middle of fields and countryside the way Blaise did instead of in the middle of a roundabout in an uninsipiring town! The rest of Provence was absolutely gorgeous, in case anyone is interested. Anyway, I am now back home in Jerusalem, and am praying that my desktop computer isn't corrupted, and I will be able to send this mailing out. If you're reading it, then I guess I succeeded! So, after that rather long-winded preamble, on to the news part of the newsletter....

GGK News
****************

A new trade paperback of A Song for Arbonne will be released by Roc in the US in November, although it will probably hit shelves by the end of October. There is also a reissue due in the UK in September - of Tigana, A Song for Arbonne and The Lions of Al-Rassan, also with new covers, based on the Canadian designs by Cathy MacLean.

Tell them that in the next newsletter there will be a very exciting piece of GGK news that you will all welcome. And no, I'm not telling - yet. Just keep your eyes peeled for the next newsletter, and try not to hate me too much for teasing you like this. :-)

What's New on Bright Weavings
**********************************************

For those of you who didn't see the March newsletter, I'll include everything that's new on the website since the last newsletter that was actually sent out:

The Croatian publishers certainly put care into their presentation of GGK's books - their regular GGK artist, Igor Kordey, has produced another beautiful piece of work to grace the cover of their edition of Arbonne. This is reminiscent of the John Howe cover, with the Arch of the Ancients by Lake Dierne being shown as backdrop to the scene that opens the book...

http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/covarbonne.htm#croatia

> More Covers

Two more covers that were added to the site in July - the Polish cover of Sailing to Sarantium (don't worry; nary a naked lady in sight), and the American cover of a new trade paperback edition of A Song for Arbonne, due out in November:

Polish Cover: http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/covsarantium.htm#poland
American Cover: http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/covarbonne.htm#roctrade

> 'Silvenes'

A new area opened up on the site to complement our reader art and music - reader poetry (which has joined the music section, now titled 'Music & Verse.' William Bazzell has contributed an accomplished poem titled 'Silvenes' which is inspired, as will be clear, by The Lions of Al-Rassan and the beautiful cities that existed for a time, before their destruction in the fall of the khalifate. Well worth a read...

http://www.brightweavings.com/music/bazzell.htm

> Lisen

A new image for the site sent in by a reader - Annah Hutchings has given us her conception of Lisen of the Wood, together with an explanation of why she chose Lisen to portray, and the methods she used...

http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/lisen.htm

> Translated Reviews

In the reviews section, there are some links to some foreign language reviews of GGK's books. Marie Adele sent in a translation of one of the French reviews of Tigana - just as well, because the link to the original review seems to be no longer extant! But at least now you can read the translation...

http://www.brightweavings.com/reviews/index.htm#marie

> Fate and Free Will in The Fionavar Tapestry

When I was at university, I took a course in Arthurian Legend, but the Fionavar Tapestry wasn't on the syllabus. Shelley McLennan took a similar course this year at the University of Waterloo, but she managed to write her final paper on the Tapestry, and we have it here on the site as our newest addition to the undergraduate scholarship section:

http://www.brightweavings.com/scholarship\fate_freewill.htm

In the Forums
**********************

Before I wade through the rather large amount of posts that have been made in the past three months to find the gems to share with you, I'd just like to share one particular gem that still makes me laugh when I see it. A student posted a question on what people thought the theme of Tigana is. This can get a tad frustrating as it's clear that often when students post that kind of thing they haven't read the book or done the work and are just looking for other people to do the work for them (not that this a criticism levelled at all students; far from it - but it has happened on the forums occasionally). Anyway, as Alec said in his response on this particular occasion, if you've read the book you'll understand his neat encapsulation of the book. And it is this: "Tigana is, at its most basic, about two pigeons who need help from a bear to save a big hand." Brilliant summation Alec. And hilarious.

> 'The masked presence of something else...'

Here's a discussion for you on the following excerpt from Lord of Emperors that even got GGK involved in the answers: "But what the doctor in Rustem - the physician at the core of what he was - saw in the clear blue northern eyes across the room was the masked presence of something else." Zonian wanted to know what the presence in Gisel's eyes was, and much discussion followed. See for yourselves at:

> Diarmuid and Alkibiades

GGK's answered a few more questions, including Genevieve's, which was about the place of art in people's lives, and Nicholas's, which was about which places in the world are the most inspiring to him - and he also treated us to some information on the origins of Diarmuid: "The inspiration was the character of Alkibiades, from Athens' golden age, about whom I wrote a long paper in university. The purple prose and apoplectic invective he evoked from the grand Victorian Age historians of classical Greece intrigued me, and I did a lot of digging into his story. Fascinating, compelling, enigmatic, glamorous figure..." There's more. Read it at:

> Fidelity, Desire and Love in Arbonne

Ilana had a very perceptive take on what the three roses of the Arbonnais ritual truly represented in A Song for Arbonne. She says: "I thought that the three roses representing fidelity, desire and love were indicative of the Arbonnaise view of relationships, whereby the three elements could not exist simultaneously. In other words, marriage precluded love and desire, affairs outside marriage precluded fidelity and love, and courtly love precluded desire and fidelity--i.e., was never consummated from the standpoint of desire, and from the standpoint of fidelity was overruled by the obligations of marriage. This is the tragedy of Arbonne, as exemplified by all the loveless relationships and forbidden liaisons..." To read more, or give your own opinion, click here:

> Alienor

The group read of Tigana is pretty much over now, but there was some very interesting discussion on many topics in that thread. The one I'll focus on here specifically is the night tryst between Alienor and Devin. Much discussion was had about what was intended/felt/meant by both the characters and the author. The discussion focused on these words:

Devin: Is this what happens to us?...When we are no longer free. Is this what happens to our love?
Alienor: It is one of the things that happens to us...A kind of insurrection in the dark that somehow stands against the laws of day that bind us and cannot be broken now.
Devin: Possibly that...Or else an admission somewhere in the soul that we deserve no more than this, nothing that goes deeper. Since we are not free and have accepted that.

Discussion focussed on the contradictory (or not?) viewpoints espoused by Devin and Alienor, what has indeed, happened to their love and what it means, what accepting bondage meant to them and more. A fascinating discussion with some spirited differences in opinion:

> Captions That Never Were

Alec and Francois had a little fun with some of the covers of the different editions on view in the art gallery, and gave them captions, including the following:
Canadian Omnisbus edition:
So that's what happened to the ozone layer!
Danish edition of the Wandering Fire:
When Barney finally turned to evil...
UK Tigana hardback
By the power of Avalle!
US Tigana
We'll be alright. So long as they don't attack from the left.

To enjoy more, or compose your own offering, click through here:

And that, finally, is it from me. Apologies that it took so long to get back on a roll and get the newsletter out. Don't forget - exciting news next newsletter! And just a warning that that next newsletter might also be a trifle delayed - no, no, not going jetsetting again, but I am moving apartments at some point in the next few weeks and I don't know how long that will take and when I'll be organised enough to switch the computer on again!

Oh, and one last thing... I'm keeping this site and newsletter totally free of advertising, but have no qualms when it comes to advertising myself! I'm doing a fair bit of freelance work, designing websites, and if anyone needs one, or knows someone who needs one, please send them my way! Thank you.

Until next time,

Deborah