"John G. Hemry - Mightier Than The Sword" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hemry John G)

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Mightier Than the Sword
John G. Hemry
Suzanne entered the temple hesitantly, her footsteps sounding small in the great structure whose
marble pillars reached toward a ceiling emblazoned with pictures dark and bright. Before her, torches
flared around the great statue of Inspiration, Goddess of Writers. To either side of the goddess, lesser
idols in Inspiration's pantheon were ranked behind their altars. There stood proud Contract next to
faceless Writer's Block, while Slush was almost invisible behind the pile of offerings on his altar. Not far
away, several petitioners were down on their knees before the grim visage of Deadline, praying for the
extra time only she could grant.
Suzanne rendered honors to Inspiration, then turned toward the cubicles lining the sides of the
temple and approached the tiny cells where the Editors worked. One glanced up as Suzanne reached her
desk. "Do you have an offering?"
"Yes." Suzanne knelt and proffered her manuscript, carefully settling it into the Editor's offering tray.
"May I beg an audience?"
"An audience?" The Editor frowned, then shrugged. "You may speak."
"Oh, Editor, why have my previous offerings been rejected?"
"I'm afraid the Mysteries of Editing are not for the uninitiated."
"But, please, grant me at least a hint!"
The Editor sighed heavily. "Very well. You can scarcely go wrong if you follow your Muse."
"My Muse?"
"Yes. You do have a Muse, don't you?"
"Ummm." Suzanne looked around. "Would I know if I did?"
"Most assuredly. I'm afraid if you lack a MuseтАФ"
The Editor was interrupted by a sweet voice coming from above and just to the right of Suzanne.
"She lacks one no longer."
"You?" The Editor held up her hands, palms out. "Oh, no. Not Calliope."
"What?" Suzanne looked toward the voice and saw floating there the almost transparent figure of a
woman perhaps two feet high. "A Muse? I have a Muse?"
"Wait!" the Editor cautioned. "That's Calliope!"
"Is that bad?"
Calliope answered. "The Editor cannot say, can you? For Editors cannot reject a writer's Muse.
You see, dear writer, I have already revealed one of the Mysteries of Editing to you."
The Editor glared at Calliope. "You might mention to her that Editors can't reject the Muse but we
can always reject the manuscripts that Muse helps create!"
"Oh, posh." The dimunitive figure began drifting toward the exit from the temple. "Come along, my
writer."
Suzanne followed hastily, catching up just as the Muse floated out of the temple. In daylight, her
figure remained faint but clearly visible. "I didn't know Muses could be seen."
"Only by our writers, and Editors of course. Now, let's have a look at your latest offering."
Somehow, Calliope had retrieved Suzanne's manuscript from the offering tray. She quickly flipped
through it, then frowned down at Suzanne. "Oh, dear."
"I was trying toтАФ"
"My dear . . . what's your name?"
 "Suzanne. Suzanne ofтАФ"
"Suzanne's fine." Calliope drifted down to eye level with Suzanne. "If you have to explain to the
reader what you're trying to do, you haven't done it. That's lesson one. Lesson two is that it really helps
to write something interesting."