Craig Laurance Gidney's Blog, page 53
October 2, 2013
Sneak Peek at a new Wattpad Cover
The short story THY FATHER’S LIES will be posted this Friday. Below is the cover image I created. Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: cover art, wattpad
October 1, 2013
MUSES: Danielle Dax, the Silver-Tongued Sibyl
“Up in the Big House, they’re branding niggers!” Danielle Dax gleefully warbles in her song, “Evil Honky Stomp.” A tape-loop of a sinister trumpet plods along with a collage of strummed and plinked sound effects. “Ugly boys with pious mouths,” she coos. The matter of race and the master narrative is skewered and laid bare […]
September 27, 2013
Imaginary Beefcake Interview
The local gay bar paper/rag/newsletter has a section called Coverboy, which features beefcake pictures of a DC dweller, accompanied by an interview. It’s very reminiscent of The Jet Beauty and Page Three girl spread, only gayer. I will never make into those pages. And I am well aware that questions are tongue-in-cheek, and really, superfluous. […]
September 26, 2013
FICTION: Quench by Craig Laurance Gidney. TW-violence, homophobia. Inspired by a Throwing Muses song.
I wrote the story “Quench” after listening to a song by Throwing Muses, entitled “Vicky’s Box,” about twenty years ago. The story is about a lost young man and his sexual compulsions. It’s a kind of realistic horror story, and closely mirrors the sad story of the late Matthew Shepard. You can read the story […]
September 24, 2013
The Importance of Visibility: Patrick Ness at the National Book Festival
Last Saturday, I got to hear author Patrick Ness speak at the National Book Festival. I’ve read his Chaos Walking series, and am looking forward to his adult novel. He writes high concept fantasy and science fiction that deals with gender issues. He was a charming speaker with a nice self-deprecating sense of humor. But […]
BOOK REVIEW: City of Bones by Martha Wells. Proto-New Weird Fantasy
City of Bones by Martha Wells My rating: 4 of 5 stars An earlier entry in the Martha Wells oeuvre, City of Bones nicely balances her intricate, almost mystery-styled plots with her imaginative world-building. It’s admirable how the author manages a certain baroque richness to the prose, while maintaining a fairly action-packed, complex plot. The […]
September 23, 2013
Imaginary Book Covers–Dreaming Darkness
I’ve been playing with a photo-editing software, coming up with book covers and titles for as yet unwritten tomes. I thought I’d share some. First up, Dreaming Darkness. Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: imaginary books
September 22, 2013
Childhood Heroes: Katherine Paterson & Susan Cooper at the National Book Festival
I had the opportunity to hear two of my favorite children’s book authors speak today at the National Book Festival. They were the rock stars of my childhood. Katherine Paterson is mostly known for her excellent contemporary fiction for kids, notably Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved. But my favorites were her Japanese […]
September 20, 2013
Nina Simone/Zoe Coalrose
Fellow college alum Michael Dorfman pointed me to this fascinating 2010 article written by Joe Hagan about the mercurial Nina Simone. The article, entitled I Wish I Knew How To Be Free, uses Simone’s secret diary entries to cast light upon this talented but troubled woman. Struggles with her identity, her marriage, her career and […]
September 18, 2013
NEW FICTION: His Medium by Craig Laurance Gidney. Inspired by a Kate Bush song
My story HIS MEDIUM is a piece of short horror fiction, influenced by a Kate Bush song, “Mother Stands For Comfort”. Filed under: Book Reviews Tagged: flash fiction, horror fiction, kate bush, serial killers
