Last summer I attended Mythcon 42 in Dallas, where Tim Powers was the Guest of Honor. I’d been getting to know Tim in fits and starts over the last couple of years because he is a wonderful conversationalist.
He is, of course, also an award-winning author who writes what he calls “secret histories.” That his works get categorized as “fantasy” should give you an idea of the sorts of things that might be “secret” in his books. His novel On Stranger Tides was optioned to provide the basis for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (due for release in May 2011).
While at Mythcon, I impulsively gave Tim a copy of The Scribbler’s Guide to the Land of Myth. I had copies with me for sale, after all. I gave him the copy in the afternoon after one panel. Later in the day, after dinner, I stopped at his table to chat and he promptly said, “About your book!” I was surprised that he had had time to even glance at it. He’d read just a little, but been completely caught by that what he’d read. He promised to give me a praise blurb.
I didn’t go chasing him for it, but when our paths crossed again at Loscon this Thanksgiving, he was happy to write up the promised paragraph for me.
And here is what he wrote for me —
The Scribbler’s Guide is an indispensable reference book — both to look up mythological figures in and to browse for original ideas. I wish I’d had it thirty years ago!
—- Tim Powers
