The Spoils Of Secrecy
ENTRY #33
0905.13
I have never been one that has been bothered by spoilers. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I knew about "Luke, I am your father" at least 24 hours before The Empire Strikes Back opened. It was a review that aired on NPR's All Things Considered. I remember hearing the following day that there was much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and calls of complaint to NPR over this little revelation. So much, in fact, that the review was quickly edited before the west coast feed was sent.
I'm also remembering an old Peanuts strip where Linus was watching Citizen Kane on TV. Lucy walks by and blurts out that "Rosebud" was the sled, leaving Linus screaming in frustration in the final panel.
In both instances, I could never understand why people would get so worked up over something like the revelation of a plot point, whether major or minor. In the case of The Empire Strikes Back, knowing that Darth Vader would acknowledge his paternity to Luke before the movie started did not lessen my enjoyment of the movie in the slightest. (What it did was make me just a little curious as to when said acknowledgment would transpire.)
Things have been a little interesting since I received the ARC of Tap & Gown that I won. I haven't read the book cover-to-cover, but I have skimmed enough of it where I know all of the major and most of the minor plot points. Enough where I could hold a decent discussion of the book with any interested parties.
There is just one problem. While there may be plenty of interested parties, Tap & Gown won't be available to them for another couple of weeks. At the moment, I think the only person with whom I could discuss this would be Diana Peterfreund (aka dpeterfreund) herself. And I think she is more interested in whetting the appetites of her other readers.
Normally, I probably would have blurted out something by this point. But with secrecy being part and parcel of the Rose & Grave novels, there is something fun about being the position to say something like, "I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you." Which means I'm reduced to the level of an eight-year-old teasing people with, "I've got a secret! I know something you don't!"
I have slipped a few times. There was one discussion on the peterfreundfans LJ community that I settled, with the caveat "I can't tell you how I know this, but I know." I suppose most of the people who read that comment knew whence my knowledge came, and didn't press me for details.
On the one hand, I could get away with dropping this line from Tap & Gown:
"The Knight Poe was mollified. Hale? Not so much."
Trust me, it's from a very funny section of the book, and when you read it, you will be chuckling. I can probably also get away with this quote:
"A: Your mom called. I told her you were off being naughty. -- L"
And probably even this one:
"Also, I was getting cat hair on my skirt."
On the other hand, I don't think I could get away with mentioning plot twists like [REDACTED], or [REDACTED], and especially not [REDACTED]. I think too many people would be upset with me, not the least of which would be Diana herself.
Yesterday, I found myself making a comment on Diana's blog that would have given away just a little too much too soon. Rather than delete the comment, though, I did a little bit of judicious editing to eliminate anything that hadn't been revealed in the first three books.
I may have to resort to that tactic until the release date for Tap & Gown. It might actually be fun, but I will be glad once the veil of secrecy has been lifted.
-30-
0905.13
I have never been one that has been bothered by spoilers. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I knew about "Luke, I am your father" at least 24 hours before The Empire Strikes Back opened. It was a review that aired on NPR's All Things Considered. I remember hearing the following day that there was much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and calls of complaint to NPR over this little revelation. So much, in fact, that the review was quickly edited before the west coast feed was sent.
I'm also remembering an old Peanuts strip where Linus was watching Citizen Kane on TV. Lucy walks by and blurts out that "Rosebud" was the sled, leaving Linus screaming in frustration in the final panel.
In both instances, I could never understand why people would get so worked up over something like the revelation of a plot point, whether major or minor. In the case of The Empire Strikes Back, knowing that Darth Vader would acknowledge his paternity to Luke before the movie started did not lessen my enjoyment of the movie in the slightest. (What it did was make me just a little curious as to when said acknowledgment would transpire.)
Things have been a little interesting since I received the ARC of Tap & Gown that I won. I haven't read the book cover-to-cover, but I have skimmed enough of it where I know all of the major and most of the minor plot points. Enough where I could hold a decent discussion of the book with any interested parties.
There is just one problem. While there may be plenty of interested parties, Tap & Gown won't be available to them for another couple of weeks. At the moment, I think the only person with whom I could discuss this would be Diana Peterfreund (aka dpeterfreund) herself. And I think she is more interested in whetting the appetites of her other readers.
Normally, I probably would have blurted out something by this point. But with secrecy being part and parcel of the Rose & Grave novels, there is something fun about being the position to say something like, "I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you." Which means I'm reduced to the level of an eight-year-old teasing people with, "I've got a secret! I know something you don't!"
I have slipped a few times. There was one discussion on the peterfreundfans LJ community that I settled, with the caveat "I can't tell you how I know this, but I know." I suppose most of the people who read that comment knew whence my knowledge came, and didn't press me for details.
On the one hand, I could get away with dropping this line from Tap & Gown:
"The Knight Poe was mollified. Hale? Not so much."
Trust me, it's from a very funny section of the book, and when you read it, you will be chuckling. I can probably also get away with this quote:
"A: Your mom called. I told her you were off being naughty. -- L"
And probably even this one:
"Also, I was getting cat hair on my skirt."
On the other hand, I don't think I could get away with mentioning plot twists like [REDACTED], or [REDACTED], and especially not [REDACTED]. I think too many people would be upset with me, not the least of which would be Diana herself.
Yesterday, I found myself making a comment on Diana's blog that would have given away just a little too much too soon. Rather than delete the comment, though, I did a little bit of judicious editing to eliminate anything that hadn't been revealed in the first three books.
I may have to resort to that tactic until the release date for Tap & Gown. It might actually be fun, but I will be glad once the veil of secrecy has been lifted.
-30-