Amanda Hockingthe lovers, the dreamers, and me
The feature in the paper about me will be printed today, but it hasn’t happened yet, so I’ll talk more about that later.
What I’ve decided to talk about, instead, is what I’m passionate about: Muppets.
I’ve just been getting a lot of Muppet news lately, which excites me to no end. (Click the links for details.)
May 16th will mark the 20 year anniversary of Jim Henson’s passing. His legacy is amazing and brilliant. With puppets and imagination and a real understanding of wonder and magic, he’s gone onto to inspire generations of people, and I’m sure he will for generations after.
If you’re wondering how this ties into my writing, I’ll tell you how: I can’t think of any other person that had such a profound effect on my ability to imagine, dream, and tell stories. When I was young, all my stories were basically fanfaction to the works of Jim Henson.
(The only one I remember vividly involved a British princess named Isabella going through a labyrinth and something with a unicorn and David Bowie.)
Jim Henson continues to inspire me today. Vampires may not seem a direct relation to him, but urban fantasy is, and I’ve written about a lot more than vampires.
More than that, he is the direct motive for me finally publishing my books and working so hard on this.
In October, the Jim Henson exhibit filled with Muppets, props, and everything Henson will be in Chicago – the closest it comes to where I live. I need to save up money to go, and I’m hoping that I’ll make enough money over the summer (in conjunction with my full-time job working with people with disabilities).
So, here’s to you, Jim Henson: For teaching to me dream when I was a kid, and inspiring me to reach for my dreams as an adult.
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My Scales Are Wrong says: I was a hopeless romantic so I always wanted Jareth and Sarah to get together (because every girl needs a controlling, misogynistic man in her life) and re-wrote the ending to my liking where Sarah marries him and becomes the Queen. 😉
I added the unicorn to my spin, because I love unicorns. That was the one thing I thought Labyrinth was lacking.
Ahhhh…the movie Labyrinth with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. Great movie. No unicorns though. Perhaps you were thinking of Legend with a very young Tom Cruise in a short chailmail dress. 🙂 great post.
Reading back over your blog posts after I know you’ve become so successful, is a little like looking into a crystal ball. At this point in time, you’re at your first big month of sales – the $362 by the end of May. Then things skyrocket. I’m looking forward to reading the post where you got to go to the exhibit.
Cheers!
Arial 😉