Celebrating Christopher Tolkien's Cartography - Tor.com

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he heard oohing and aahing coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the noise took our adventuresome kitty to the Tor.com site. With a little digging in the posts, he found one about J.R.R. Tolkien's estate executor Christopher Tolkien's middle-earth maps.

That is one l-o-n-g post.

According to Jonathan Crowe, J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher Tolkien was the cartographer for all the middle-earth novels.  Each Lord of the Rings novel featured a map at the beginning showing where the action in the story took place. The inclusion of maps became an influence on the fantasy genre. The post explains Christopher Tolkien's work on the maps, his father's need and use of the maps, and the need for recognition of the maps contributions to genre. There are links to other posts about Christopher Tolkien's recent death.

Panzer says, "This little kitty always liked referring to the maps to see where everybody was going and what was in between the start and the finish."

Note: This post is way past h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s length. You'll need three gallons of tea, three dozen muffins, a sleeping bag, and a travel trailer (caravan) with a camp stove to cook your meals for today's reading selection and the links to other posts.

To read the post tootle over to Christopher Tolkien

J.D. Salinger estate agrees to ebook editions - The Guardian

Mom read that book.

Today as Panzer was relaxing in the sun on the back porch he heard clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Leaving his favorite sunny spot, our traveling kitty hopped in the Panzermobile and headed out. Following all the jocularity took him to The Guardian site. There with a little digging in the posts he discovered one about J.D. Salinger's books.

According to The Guardian post by Sian Cain, J.D. Salinger's estate has agreed to allow his books to be turned into ebooks. J.D. Salinger was the author of Catcher in the Rye among other such famous works. He was also against the internet and digital media. Four of J.D. Salinger's books will be released in the U.S. and U.K. immediately, while others of his works will be scheduled as they are assembled. Apparently, he wrote some works which were never released for publication before. There's a link included to an interview with Salinger's son in a previous post.

Panzer says, "A writer never knows what will happen to their work after they're gone."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to read the interview, bring another cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post tootle over to J.D. Salinger estate

Tolkien film-makers insist they were respectful after estate disavows biopic - The Guardian

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he heard angry shouting coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the noise took our inquisitive kitty to The Guardian site. There with a little digging in the posts he found one about the Lord of the Rings author  J.R.R. Tolkien.

According to Alison Flood, there's a "bio pic" of J.R.R. Tolkien's early years slated for release in May. The film-makers didn't consult the family or the estate about the material contained in the movie, but say the film is respectful of Tolkien. Since the family and estate had nothing to do with the film they refuse to endorse it. The post includes a link to a longer post explaining the family and estate's position on the film.

I'll do one about Mom and not ask. She'll like it.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... They made a film without consulting the family ... and ... now ... they want the family to say it's a great film. Well ... This little kitty doesn't think that's going to happen."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to the longer post, bring a muffin too.

To read the post tootle over to Tolkien film

The Business Rusch: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

What's Estate Planning?

 Panzer found a post at The Business Rusch blog that every writer should read.

Kristine Rusch's post deals with the fact it's important for more than one reason that we make sure we have our estates in place. We need to make sure we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure our estate is administered with our final wishes in mind. We especially want to make sure our copyrights are properly protected for our beneficiaries benefit.

Kristine has plenty of examples to illustrate her points of discussion. At the end of the post there are several links to resources to help you gain the information you'll need to put your estate together. (This is a very long post.)

If you're interested in estate planning for the writer, Panzer says tootle over to The Business Rusch: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Dorothy Parker's Ashes' Macabre Dance

Today, attorney Passive Guy is sounding the alarm about the dead authors.

Dead Authors? Watch out! It's the Dead Authors!

No. No. Not zombie authors. Dead Authors.

Dead Authors who didn't make preparations for their demise. As a result of this lack of preparation there are all kinds of problems for their executors. Not the least of the problems is the disposition of the author's remains.

Passive Guy is posting about writer Dorothy Parker's ashes and the long journey to a suitable resting place for them. Hence, the macabre dance (I love that phrase) of this post's title.

Interesting stuff here. Makes you think about getting your own affairs in order.

When An Author Dies

Passive Guy has a great blog post today that every author should read.

Yeah. Yeah. We're writers. Our words are immortal right? Well, we all need to prepare for the inevitable passing on of our estate and those immortal words.

So, go on over to What Happens When An Author Dies and learn what preparations you need to make.

Leave a comment for Passive Guy and tell him Panzer from Cats and Crime sent you!