Leigh Bardugo's Blog, page 757

eventhepartofyouthatlovedhim:Looking at Genya in her white and...

eventhepartofyouthatlovedhim:

Looking at Genya in her white and gold kefta, I wasn’t quite convinced. I’d lived at Keramzin for most of my life, but I’d never felt I belonged there. And even after a year, the same had been true for the King’s Army. The only place I’d ever felt I belonged was with Mal, and even that hadn’t lasted. For all her beauty, maybe Genya and I weren’t so different after all.

by Andrea Hrnjak(via @sjaejones)

by Andrea Hrnjak

(via @sjaejones)

Holly Black's Tumblr: For all the women I have loved who were dragged through the mud

Holly Black's Tumblr: For all the women I have loved who were dragged through the mud:

aiffe:

I’ve read a lot of great essays about how fandom is female-majority and creates a female gaze and a safe space for women and etc. But spend five minutes in fandom and you’ll have an unsettling question.

Why does a female-majority, feminist culture hate female characters so much?

This is a long read but well worth it. Asks provocative questions in a thoughtful way.

I will say that I’ve been seeing more love for Sansa, Brienne, Korra, Katniss, Tris, and to a lesser extent Tessa on my dash, and I hope that speaks to increasing positivity within the fandoms, but that may have to do with the people I choose to follow.

I’m also really proud of the love I’ve seen given to Alina and Genya (and Zoya and Baghra) in the Shadow and Bone tag.

my reaction reading Siege & Storm

cageddandelion:

 MALINA

 MAL

STORMHOUND

DARKLING

ALARKLING

DARMA

 

The last scene of MALARKLING 

At the end of the 5 chapters

1. This delights me.

2. Wait… what is Darma?

Reader Megan Cheang sent me this illustration on Facebook and...

Reader Megan Cheang sent me this illustration on Facebook and gave me permission to post it here.

She says:

“the drawing is called Hidden Sun and is basically about Soldier Alina leaning against the mirror, silently crying because she is denying who she really is and is betraying herself. the mirror image of her is Grisha Alina who is tearfully smiling as she summons her light. the idea is that the mirror reflection is who Alina truly is.”

Thank you so much, Megan

The Secret Root: Angry Rant: Publishers think only girls read YA, and it is ruining boys

The Secret Root: Angry Rant: Publishers think only girls read YA, and it is ruining boys:

thesecretroot:

I love Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone. It’s a wonderful, awesome book. It’s like Harry Potter written by a 19th century Russian novelist. It’s difficult not to enjoy, and it has the same sweeping, romantic feel that a lot of great YA shares with big, enveloping fiction for adults.

But…

Hey there,

First of all, thank you for the kind words on Shadow and Bone.

I’m reblogging this because I think there are some important issues here and that you addressed them thoughtfully. (It’s also important to me that a reader not feel ignored when he or she voices something less than 100% fannish.) I agree with a lot of what you had to say. To paraphrase Libba Bray:  There are no boy books. There are no girl books. There are just books.

The vast majority of YA readers are women and girls. Is this because most of YA is marketed specifically to them? Definitely a possibility. And I think that we do male readers a disservice when we send the message that female characters are fundamentally “other.” (However, to say that publishers are “ruining boys” feels extreme to me.)

A few additional thoughts:

1. I think Macmillan did a fantastic job keeping the covers of Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm gender neutral, so I’m sorry that you weren’t happy with the choices they made.

2. I think I get where you’re coming from, but I also think describing a particular item as only appealing to girls (or boys) is problematic in its own way. Men and boys can and do wear nail polish—particularly in colors like gray and blue. If you don’t think they could or should, I think it’s worth asking why. I had one male reader approach me at an event to object to the polish. But I’ve had other male readers snap it up for themselves or for their wives, girlfriends, or daughters.

Also, if a promotion like this is somehow alienating, is it because we teach boys that there’s something shameful in liking things that (some) girls like?

3. There will be other giveaway items associated with the book—buttons, bookmarks, and possibly more.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts and for your praise of Shadow and Bone. 

Lb

ardawling:Fancast: Max Irons as The DarklingLove Max and...

ardawling:

Fancast: Max Irons as The Darkling

Love Max and this is so gorgeous. Also that image top left with the map of Ravka?

Ahem, luxcapacitator, I’ve been trying to answer your totally fascinating fanmail and tumblr...

Ahem, luxcapacitator, I’ve been trying to answer your totally fascinating fanmail and tumblr won’t let me.

(In other news, I’m trying to make progress through the non-anonymous asks. Sloooowly…)

riddle-my-hiddles

riddle-my-hiddles

Do you think you'll ever release a novella or something from a different character's POV? Like after Rise and Ruin and everything. I think it would be very...enlightening. (*cough cough*I sorta love the whole darklingxalina concept)

Right now, I don’t plan to release any Darkling POV until after the entire trilogy is published. But… you never know ;)

I can tell you that, in addition to the Mal letter, there will be some new alternate POV content coming out before the release of Siege and Storm. I’m not quite sure how it’s going to work yet and I can’t reveal any details, but I’m really excited to have been able to tell a bit more of this character’s story, and I hope you guys will like it.