Signs of Wisdom

Zine
Title:	Signs of Wisdom
Publisher:	Chris Callahan and L.C. Wells/The Unknown Press
Editor:
Author(s):	Carol Mularski
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	1985 (December?)
Medium:	fanzine, print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Wars
External Links:
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cover by Letitia C. Wells

Signs of Wisdom is a gen Star Wars 146-page novel by Carol Mularski. It has the subtite: "A Desert Seed Novel," and it is the last story in the Desert Seed Series.

The cover is by L. C. Wells. The interior art is by Kurt Griffith, Nancy Stasulis, Letitia C. Wells, and Judy Low. It was edited and proofread any Chris Callahan and Letitia C. Wells.

Descriptions

From an ad in Southern Enclave: "Kaili Lars learns that would-be Jedi must pass a Test, which is different for each person."

From Star Wars Zine Bibliography: "Luke's stepsister and how she joined the Rebellion and became a Jedi teacher. Her love affair with her husband."

Comments in the Zine's Forward: Authortorial

First Novel, Last Story... and Why There's an Outline

From the author:

This publication of Signs of Wisdom is a special occasion for me. It's both my first novel and probably my last contribution to fan fiction, Star Wars or otherwise.

[snipped]]

Recognizing that (a) most of the zines in which my Desert Seed stories have appeared are now out of print, (b) many fans reading this are fairly new to Star Wars fandom, and (c) even old timers who have read the Desert Seed stories may not remember all the details, I decided to write a brief outline of my series, which appears here before the novel. I hope you find it helpful -- after all, I do often refer back to events in my older stories at various points in the novel, and don't want everyone to be mystified.

About the Sign Language

From the author:

I'd better explain a bit about the sign language "glosses" in parts III and IV. When there is a hyphen between two words, it means that the person "talking" is using only one sign which needs two English words to define it. Maybe that's not terribly important to the reader, but I'm a student of American Sign Language, and it's important to me. The sign language in Signs of Wisdom is not exactly ASL. I've changed some specific signs, and also some of the grammar. (So, those of you who also know Sign, don't write and tell me how wrong I am!) I didn't go to any great pains to describe every specific sign my characters use — at approximately 100,000 words, I didn't need to slow down this story any more! - but I hope that what is here gives the feeling of a way of communicating which is perhaps very "alien" to most people, but beautiful and expressive, nevertheless.

About Luke's Father's Name: A Preemptive Strike to Avoid Being Jossed

From the author:

There is one small inconsistancy between my older stories and this novel: Luke's father's name. When I started writing the Desert Seed stories in late 1978, It became necessary to come up with a name for the elder Skywalker. For a while I tried to think of an appropriate one, then gave up and decided not to add to the plethora of monikers for Luke's father already appearing in zines from many different fan writers. I just called him "Luke, senior" — and wished I could leave a blank to be filled in when Lucas finally told us the man's real name. Now that we know that the name's "Anakin," I'm very thankfully using it instead of "Luke, senior. If I were to do a Desert Seed collection, I would go through and gleefully change the name in those older stories — it would make absolutely no difference to any of the plots.

Thanks to Tenure: No Collection of "Desert Seed" Stories

From the author:

But there probably will be no collection of Desert Seed stories, mainly because if I were to have them reprinted, I'd want to make a lot of changes first — mostly improvements in writing style, plus updates in computer technology. (I have Wynn fooling around with punched paper tape for computer programning in one early story; Brett working on paper blueprints in another. Arrgh.) However, I don't have the time anymore to work on writing projects that won't help me to get tenure. So along with the story outlines I've included citations on editors and zines in which the stories appeared. If you don't have the zines and are interested in reading the stories, maybe you could buy the zines if still available, or persuade someone to lend you the zines or photocopy the stories. (For the latter option, it would be real nice if you wrote to the editors for permission.)

Sticking with Inconsistencies

From the author:

One thing I wouldn't do if I rewrote would

be to smooth out the inconsistencies between my universe and Lucas'. After all, I have as much right to be wrong about how the Star Wars saga turns out as the next fan writer. Actually, I'm fairly pleased to find that there's only one major and one minor discrepancy between Desert Seed and the Star Wars "canon." anyway. The major one is that In "Someone To Talk To," I have Luke telling Leia about Vader's true identity immediately after The Empire Strikes Back. The minor one is that the "hospital frigate" of the Alliance Fleet in the real Star Wars universe is a snubship maintenance and repair cruiser in my universe. I was able to work around these details fairly easily when including the events of Return of the Jedi in this novel.

Please Be Kind with Feedback

From the author:

I'd welcome LoCs, would love to know what you think of Signs of Wisdom and of the Desert Seed series in general, of course I'll delight in praise, but I'll endure negative commentary too. Please, be gentle! I put the better part of a year and a lot of emotion into this story — I'm likely to be much more vulnerable concerning it than I've been about any of my other stories.

Thank You, Thank You!

From the author:

I'd like to acknowledge all the fan editors who have published mv Desert Seed stories - Bev Clark, Barbara Green Deer, Linda Deneroff, Chris Callahan, Tish Wells, Jani Hicks, and Maggie Nowakowska. Mot only did they find my efforts acceptable, but they did everything within their power to improve them, make them more acceptable to readers. Thank you ail for your literary expertise, and your kindness to me. I'd like to especially thank Chris and Tish for publishing Sions of Wisdom through Unknown Press, even though they had planned on ending their careers as zineds after Contraband 3. Their willingness to be my publishers took a gigantic load off my mind - I was not looking forward to publishing this novel myself. Chris and Tlsh, you are true friends!

A very special thanks, and all my love, to Connie Faddis and Jan Lindner, who read, commented on, edited, and (most importantly) cared about Desert Seed since the very beginning. Their encouragement and sisterly friendship and occasional figurative kicks In the seat of my pants!) have been invaluable to me over past years, both as a writer and as a human being. Signs of Wisdom is dedicated to Connie and Jan — perhaps an inadequate expression of gratitude to them for all they've done for me, but the best one. l can think of right now.

Fanworks are a Privilege, Not a Right

From the author:

I think it only right that I acknowledge George Lucas and Gene Roddenberry (I started out writing Star Trek stories) for their generosity in allowing me and other fan writers to play In their universes, and make their characters dance to our tunes. Despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, I feel very deeply that writing fanfic around copyrighted stories and films Is a privilege, not a right — one that I would feel very uncomfortable about extending If I were In the copyright holder's place. Fortunately, George and Gene are more generous and forbearing than I, helping to make Star Wars and Star Trek fanzine fandom possible. Together with those of other media fandoms, zines constitute what has to be one of the best writer's training schools In existence. All fan writers, not only I, have found deep enjoyment and learned so many valuable skills from it.

"Blatantly Romantic"

From the author:

In closing... I have to eat some crow. Signs of Wisdom Is perhaps best described as an SF romance, or a romantic fantasy. As I've already told Pat Nussman, I can never again complain about anyone else's stories being Blatantly Romantic! (If you're familiar with the issues of Jundland Wastes of late 1982 - early 1983, you'll know whereof I speak. If you aren't — don't ask!)

Outline: Where Previous Desert Seed Stories Appeared

• "New Arrival" (previously titled "The Children, Part One") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "Fantasy's End" completed September 1981, published in September 1982 in Skywalker #6
• "Reluctant Renegade" (previously titled "Kaili, Part Two") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "True to the Blood" completed September 1980, published in May 1981 in Guardian #3
• "Black Sheep" (previously titled "Wynn, Part Three") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "Wishes Deferred" (previously titled "Luke, Part Four") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "Shore Leave" completed March 1982, published March 1984 in Contraband #2
• "Letters" (previously titled "Letters, Part Five") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "Visions of Doom" (previously titled "Visions, Part Six") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "Old Friends" (previously titled "Old Friends, Part Seven") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "Reunion" (previously titled "Reunion, Part Eight") completed February 1979, published in November 1980 in Skywalker #4
• "Nomads of Fate, Nomads of Choice" completed August 1981, published in May 1982 in Guardian #4
• "Someone to Talk To" completed May 1980, published in May 1982 in Twin Suns #3
• "Reflections in Still Water" completed in July 1983, published in April 1984 in JediStarDarkFalconKnight
• "Signs of Wisdom" completed August 1984, published as a standalone zine in December 1984

Interior Sample

• 

  Kurt Griffith

• 

  Nancy Stasulis

• 

  Nancy Stasulis

• 

  L.C. Wells

• 

  Kurt Griffith

• 

  Nancy Stasulis

• 

  Nancy Stasulis

• 

  Judy Low

Reactions and Reviews

1984

SIGNS OF WISDOM is a Star Wars story, but it's also very much a human story. Its theme doesn't depend on the SW universe, Lucas' or the author's, for its existence. Personally, I'm very impressed by the political and social settings Carol has devised. And I'm even more impressed at the way she's told a solid human story within and around those settings, not allowing either story or setting to overwhelm the other.

1986

I enjoyed Carol Mularski's Desert Seed novel, SIGNS of WISDOM (which is a look at the Star WARS universe from a different perspective.