Craig Laurance Gidney's Blog, page 43
June 9, 2014
BOOK REVIEW: Saffron and Brimstone by Elizabeth Hand. The post-punk Shirley Jackson
Imagine a postpunk Shirley Jackson, and you have Elizabeth Hand. Like Jackson’s oeuvre, Hand’s stories are heavy on atmosphere and the supernatural occurrences have psychological underpinnings. Her characters are outsiders, artists and damaged people, and when they don’t live in isolation, they live at the periphery of society, in various subcultures. The opening “Cleopatra Brimstone,” […]
Fur & Gold: Variation #1, is now available on the Nook & Kobo!
The Nook link is here The Kobo link is here (It’s also on Amazon now and will be on iBooks soon). The second in the Variations series, “Liturgy of Ice,” is coming soon! Liturgy is a dark, erotic take on The Snow Queen. Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: kobo fur & gold, nook, variations
June 6, 2014
EVENT ANNOUCEMENT: WordsOut: The LGBT Summer Conference for Writers, Publishers, & Librarians
I’ve been working on creating this event with the staff of DC Public Library. Now I can officially announce it! Come on by, if you’re in DC. Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: authors, dc public library, lgbt, librarians, publishing, wordsout
June 5, 2014
EVENT: Author Craig Laurance Gidney at the DC Public Library on June 26, 2014
I will be talking to teens about my YA novel Bereft at my neighborhood library on June 26, 2014 at 4 PM. I’m honored, excited and nervous all at once. Ana Elisa de Campos Salles, the librarian who set the talk up, made this poster. Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: dc public library, Events
June 2, 2014
Queer Weird Fiction: Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren
I first encountered the work of Science Fiction Grandmaster Samuel R. Delany (1942 – ) when I was in my late teens. When my older brother left for college, he left behind a copy of Dhalgren. You know that classic Bantam Edition, the one with the ruined city and the swollen and sickly orange sun. […]
May 30, 2014
Queer Weird Fiction: Joe Orton’s Head To Toe, a camp surrealist fantasia
British writer Joe Orton is famous for his blackly comic plays and and for the tragic manner of his death: being bludgeoned to death by his lover with a hammer. He is less well-known for his fiction. He published one novel, Head to Toe, a brilliant piece of Weird Fiction that languishes in obscurity. I […]
May 29, 2014
On Transphobia: A Tale of Slurs and Privilege
RuPaul’s Drag Race has been criticized for using certain terms that are considered harmful for the transgender community. The segment “You’ve Got She-Mail” has been removed from the show, and more recently, RuPaul doubled down on the use of the word “Tranny.” Rather than dialoguing about the usage of the terms, RuPaul has descended […]
May 28, 2014
Why Dark Fiction?
I actually don’t think I write horror, as in flesh-eating zombies or vampires or splatter punk. I tend towards dark fantasy or ‘weird’ fiction. But there is a definite darkness in what I write. And the forthcoming collection (not to mention the eBook series, Variations) has at least one piece that could be considered […]
Maya Angelou: April 4, 1928-May 28, 2014
When I was in college, I had the opportunity to see Dr. Maya Angelou read poetry at Smith College. To say say she ‘read’ poetry, however, is imprecise. She performed poetry. She used her entire body, from facial expressions to grand gestures, even incorporating dance movements. And that voice–the most basso profundo of contraltos–emblazoned the […]
May 18, 2014
Writing Advice: How to Avoid Stereotyping In Your Fiction.
One of the things that I hear about stereotypes is, “but there are people who like that.” We all know Southern dudebros who drink brewskis and watch NASCAR. Uptight white guys who can’t dance. Sassy gay best friends. Tiger moms. Fat people who are funny. The Wise Ethnic Elder. Etc. So, how do we, […]
