Craig Laurance Gidney's Blog, page 39
November 12, 2014
The Book Giveaway has ended
November 10, 2014
World Fantasy, Moonbeam Awards, Birthday Book Giveaway
This past weekend, I attended and volunteered for the World Fantasy Convention, which was practically in my backyard. In addition to catching up with and meeting various writer friends, I enjoyed the panels and the readings. Congratulations to the WFA winners, especially Ellen Datlow (Lifetime Achievement) and Sofia Samatar (Best Novel).
While I was at World Fantasy, my YA novel BEREFT received the Bronze Moonbeam Award (in the Mature Issues category). Unfortunately, I could not be at the ceremony. Thanks to the Moonbeam Award Committee and to the fellow winners, which include fellow Tiny Satchel Press author Lisa R. Nelson. More about the awards is here).
Finally, today is the last day to enter my GoodReads Book Giveaway for SKIN DEEP MAGIC. The contest ends tomorrow–my birthday! The winners will receive an autographed copy of the book in the mail.
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: BEREFT, goodreads, Moonbeam Awards, tiny satchel press, world fantasy 2014
November 4, 2014
I will be attending the World Fantasy Convention this weekend
I will be attending the 2014 World Fantasy Convention this week in DC (actually, in nearby Crystal City. I am scheduled to volunteer in the Hospitality Suite for a few hours, but I will be around the hotel and bar (though I’ll going back home during the nights). I am not on any panels. I hope to meet some fellow authors, reconnect with old friends, and maybe, gain some new readers!
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: appearances, world fantasy 2014
October 28, 2014
Mention of BEREFT at Bookriot
Alison Peters of the weblog Book Riot includes BEREFT in a list of Coming Out and Coming of Age YA LGBTQ books. It’s great to have my book listed among work by such folks as David Levithan, Francesca Lia Block & Malindo Lo.
Of BEREFT, she says:
It’s every young, closeted/confused gay, black boy’s worst nightmares, all at once.
Read the rest of the list here.
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: BEREFT, yay!
Afro-fantastic Horror Fiction in “Skin Deep Magic”
There are two outright horror stories in Skin Deep Magic.
“Death and Two Maidens” is set in Victorian London, and is about the life—and afterlife of a young charwoman, Prothenia Jenkins. The tonality of the piece borrows heavily from penny-dreadful fiction (example: The Phantom of the Opera, Bram Stoker’s Lair of the White Worm). I won’t say more about it, because, as River Song from Doctor Who says, “Spoilers!”
“Sugardaddy” was inspired by a couple of things. The narrative convention, which is in the form of a young girl’s journal, is a homage to everything from Stoker’s Dracula to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. I love the interiority of the technique, and the slow build rhythm. It is a tale that is partially about body horror. I have a couple of (well managed) chronic conditions. Before I was diagnosed, there was a sense of horror as my body began to behave in ways that were unpredictable and unpleasant. “Sugardaddy” was kind of cathartic to write, as I got used to the transformation.
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: death and two maidens, horror fiction, penny dreadfuls, sugardaddy
October 21, 2014
Goodreads Giveaway for SKIN DEEP MAGIC
I’m giving away 2 signed copies of my new book, Skin Deep Magic, on my birthday (November 11th). Please enter!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Skin Deep Magic
by Craig Laurance Gidney
Giveaway ends November 11, 2014.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: book giveaway, goodreads
My interview with author Robert Jackson Bennett
Check out my interview with two-time Shirley Jackson Award winning author Robert Jackson Bennett at the Washington Independent Review of Books. His new novel, City of Stairs, is really good.
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: author interviews, fantasy, new weird, Robert Jackson Bennett. Shirley Jackson Award, science fiction, washington independent review of books
October 18, 2014
Me at DC Author Festival 2014
Photo by Marc Bernstein
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: dc author festival, dc public library, Events
October 15, 2014
Story Threads: Notes on “Mauve’s Quilt”
Quilts are functional art. In addition to providing comfort and warmth, they can tell stories. Even in the most abstract level, there’s a narrative unfolding.
Homages to cultural traditions are echoed in the various patterns found in Amish quilts.
African American quilts were supposedly used to convey messages to the Underground Railroad network*.
The third story in my collection, “Mauve’s Quilt” is a kind of quilted narrative, weaving two story strands together. The quilt titular also serves as functional art: an (abstract) expression of an interior landscape and a sanctuary.
*Whether or not this is true is debated.
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: gee's bend, quilts, skin deep magic, story notes
October 12, 2014
DC Author Festival on October 18th at the MLK Library
If you want to hear me read a story from SKIN DEEP MAGIC, I will be appearing at DC Author Festival next Saturday.
It will be held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Many DC-based authors will be there, including mystery writer George Pelecanos, Tom Doyle and Caroliva Herron. I read at 11 AM, and will be selling copies of my book the rest of the day.
Here is the address:
901 G St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
And the website: http://dclibrary.org/node/45013
Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: dc author festival, dc public library, Events
