DUNE 7 BLOG

Monday, May 1, 2006

Penny's Guest Blog

This is a special installment from Frank Herbert's daughter Penny --

WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF DUNE

I am the daughter of Frank Herbert. He and my mother married very young and were divorced when I was a year old. Living with my mother, I have no recollection of my father until I was about 7 years old. My mother remarried and dropped me off to stay with him and my stepmother, Beverly Herbert, for two weeks. At that time, I mostly remember the thrill of having an instant brother named Brian Herbert, age 2.

Over the following years, my visits with my father were sporadic. A few weeks in the summer. A Christmas vacation. Then one summer I spent three months with my Dad and my loving stepmother. By then there were two brothers (Brian and Bruce), and I was ecstatic to be the big sister to two fun-loving little boys. I was also instantly exposed to living in the home of a science fiction writer. One day it was fun stuff -- going to the beach, going shopping, going to the movies. The next day it was being quiet while the legendary author was clicking away on his manual typewriter. If I'd known what to listen for, I am sure I could have heard the creative juices flowing.

This man, my father, was creating the incredible universe of "Dune." He was putting thousands of words on paper each day. He was a man of many words...quieting his boisterous children with just one. That word was "callate!" (pronounced kye-a-tay), the Spanish word for "Shut up!" I also remember learning many loving words from this incredible man, who would sing entire love songs in Spanish to my stepmother.

Penny