Nicola Griffith's Blog, page 21

Some book events up on YouTube

Here’s the first of my Menewood events to be recorded: talking with Ed Hall for Charis Books. He’s a good friend—we’ve known each other for more than 30 years. (If you’ve read The Blue Place and other Aud books you will recognise him as ‘Eddie,’ one of Aud’s Atlanta friends.)

A few days ago I did my final Menewood event—speaking with Karen Joy Fowler for Mysterious Galaxy. At some point that will go up on YouTube, too. I’ll post a link when it does.

Meanwhile, just in case you hadn’t seen it, here’s one from last year, talking with Alix Harrow about Spear for Harvard Books. It feels like a million years ago—though it was only 18 months…

Empathy is a powerful tool, and sharp—be careful how you use it

One adjective that’s used about my fiction more and more frequently is immersive.1 Reader immersion is my joy and my job—I’m very good at it. This applies to all my work, not just the historical novels such as Hild, Spear, and Menewood.

I used to teach a 6-hour workshop on how to do it. Then I wrote my PhD thesis on it. But for those who would rather dip your toes in before you plunge, I’ve distilled my thoughts to a 1,000-word craft article for LitHub.2 When and if you do find yourself ready to plunge, go read Norming the Other: Narrative Empathy Via Focalised Heterotopia.

Conversely, if you want a super sharp jolt, just go read my Writer’s Manifesto.

Enjoy!

Nicola Griffith on Writing Immersive Historical Fiction

1 Other popular terms are beautiful, brutal, lyrical, magical, intelligent, and brilliant. The genre doesn’t seem to matter.

2 Given the strict word limit, I think it’s possible that some readers who aren’t familiar with my work might be tempted to misread my warning—about handling negative experience carefully—as an exhortation to never do bad things to one’s characters. (If you’ve read any of my novels you know plenty of people get hurt.) That is absolutely not what I’m saying. I’m saying don’t rub your reader’s nose in your character’s physical torment—that’s just torture porn, and your reader will slam down their barriers so hard you’ll never get their empathy again.

Tomorrow! Last Menewood event, with Karen Joy Fowler

Tomorrow, starting 6pm PT, it’s my very last official Menewood virtual event. I’ll be taking with Karen Joy Fowler for Mysterious Galaxy. Karen and have known each other a long time, and we admire each other’s work. So it will be a very great pleasure to sit down and talk with her—about Menewood, life, writing and whatever else comes up.

Registration is free. And there are signed copies of Menewood available for sale—that is, if you buy a copy of the book it will co me with a book plate you can peel and stick in the book. I signed a bunch of them a couple of weeks ago so there should be plenty to go around.

This will be a lovely, relaxed way to end my tour. I hope you can join us. All details here.

World Fantasy Convention schedule—plus bonus challenge for collectors!

Kelley and I have had to make some last minute changes to our travel plans. We won’t be arriving in Kansas City until mid-afternoon Friday. So if you were expecting to see us at social events and panels before then, don’t be alarmed. We will be there, just later than expected.

Here’s what my truncated schedule looks like:

Friday, 27 October8:00 – 10:00 pm — Mass signing Saturday, 28 October12:00 – 12:50 pm — Panel: Magical Healing and Disability Aids in Fantasy (Empire A/B)1:00 – 1:50 pm — Kaffeeklatsch (Dragon’s Den)Sunday, 29 October10:00 – 10:25 am — Reading (Chouteau B)12:45 – 3:45 pm — Banquet and Award Ceremony (Atlanta/New York)

Mass signings can be interesting—anything from a handful of people showing up with dog-eared paperbacks to a massive line of people with bags and boxes of every single thing I’ve ever written. The only thing of mine I’ve never signed (aha! a challenge for all those collectors out there!) is my very first publication in a professional venue: a short essay in an issue of Spare Rib in the mid-80s.1 For the avoidance of doubt: I love signing stuff—old, new, tattered or brand new. I have no problem personalising for readers and none for flat-signing for collectors. If you want it signed, bring it! One caveat: don’t ask me to draw something, and if you ask me for a quote it has to a) be very short and b) you have to tell me what, exactly.2

As for the kaffeklatsch, well, I haven’t done one of these for long I’m not quite sure how they work! All I know is that I love talking about writing, I love talking about my work, and I love meeting readers, so we should all have a lovely time over a nice cup of tea or coffee. I believe attendees have to sign up for these things at registration. Depending on how many slots there are for each session, if you’re interested you may want to jump on it early.

Obviously the reading will be one of my favourite sessions. I’ll read from and chat a bit about Menewood. I have a handful of different readings—everything from death and danger to joy and exhilaration—so I’ll see how the mood takes me on Sunday. You want to know how those chewy names are pronounced? Come listen!

Apart from that, you will most likely bump into me in the bar. It seems to be where Kelley and I spent most of our time at conventions. If you do, please feel free to come and say hello.

1 I think it was issue 170, but it was a long time ago and I wouldn’t swear to it. It was a short essay—and truly an essai: me trying to work out how I felt and what I thought of the realities of power in BDSM practice between women. Basically, I was wondering whether it was possible for two women whose sex play is based on power/pain/violence, particularly if the roles of top and bottom are fixed, to be truly equal. I was tired of hearing my friends argue about it in the pub and at meetings and wanted to figure it out for myself. I don’t think I reached a conclusion—as I say, it was a long time ago. I was very young.

2 Sometimes my right hand gets stiff—this is the reason I’ll sometimes refuse to use your special sparkly pen or crayon or whatever—and sometimes my brain is tired and just not willing to think of clever things to say.

Ecce Hild! The art and craft—and work, so much work—of early-medieval embroidery

Last night I did a book event at Village Books in Bellingham. It was a lovely event—but that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. One of those in audience (@Joi_the-artist on Xitter) brought me a marvellous piece of embroidery she’d made, interpreting the cover of Menewood into a Bayeux-style embroidery panel.

About the Embroidery

Here are some thoughts from Joi—and three of her photos.

Here are I picked Bayeux-style stitches because they existed in Anglo-Saxon needlework prior to the Tapestry, and it’s likely Hild would have known those stitches, or similar ones. The borders are stem stitch, which is still done today. It’s a stitch that creates bold edges without the gap between stitches that you get with straight stitch. Here are some stem stitch areas on the Tapestry.

The large color blocks are a distinctive Anglo-Saxon stitch that is no longer in use. It’s a shame: this method covers big areas quickly and gives a distinct, almost woven texture. It’s especially lovely for depicting cloth.

These stitches are worked by doing a satin stitch across the entire block of color. Then perpendicular lines are added at about 1cm intervals (usually the same color but not always.) This second set of lines is then couched down with tiny stitches.

I did use cotton cloth to stitch on, because it’s easier to work with than linen, but the thread is wool, which is accurate to the tapestry. I also tried to use colors that were in use on the Tapestry, rather than a modern palette.

@Joi_the_artist

When Joi says “couched down by tiny stitches” she really means tiny: you can barely see them. This whole panel is not quite 2cm wide.

How many stitches on the head of a millimetre?

It’s also wonderfully 3-dimensional.

Just look at the colour and dimension in these stylised trees!

This small panel represents a staggering amount of work and skill. Just imagine reaping the flax, retting it, scutching it, spinning it, bleaching it, weaving it. And that’s just for the base. Then for the woolen thread there’s shearing the sheep, washing the fleece, combing and carding, spinning, dyeing… Not to mention planting the plants, harvesting, treating etc to make the dyes. And don’t even think about digging the ore, smelting, and all the other million and one steps it would take to make the tools to make this one, 17 x 23 cm panel.

We are so used to just clicking on a link and having whatever we want drop-shipped to us overnight that those of us born in this time and place simply have no conception of the sheer work and skill and planning that even the simplest artifacts required in early seventh-century Britain.

Here are a few more photos of Joi’s art. First, the banners and falling arrows in miniature.

You can even make out the boar…

This one shows the cross and ragged detail at the collar.

And here’s the whole thing. My photo on this overcast Sunday morning does not do it justice.

Textile art in seventh-century embroidery-on-linen style by Joi the artist: a stylised rendition of the cover of MENEWOOD (original art by Anna and Elena Balbusso) showing stylised trees to the left, banners to the right, a horse at lower right, with Hild standing on the word Menewood, tiny golden arrows falling from the sky and, above it all, Ecce Hild: Behold Hild.

Third Place was fabulous!

Last night at Third Place Books was practically the Platonic Ideal of a book event. A good stage—completely accessible. A great crowd—lots of people, lots of energy, a good mix of fans and new readers. And a perfect interlocutor: Neal and I had a great conversation about genre writing, literary writing, and immersion—and how and why genre writers are just much better at immersive world-building. We talked about ‘Roman’ vs. ‘Redcrest’, the logistics of war, and what makes Hild so singular. With the audience Q&A—again, lively and interesting and varied—we had excursions into health influencing observation. textile production as vital economic technology, and why my characters never, ever rebel—though they do sometimes help me pay attention to things I might otherwise have ignored.

Nicola Griffith and Neal Stephenson at Third Place Books. Photo by Spencer Ruchti

Then I signed a lot of books (they sold out of Hild) which took about an hour, partly because I’m one of those writers who is genuinely curious about her readers. I like to find out who they are, what they like to read, what they do and (especially) don’t like about my books—though I make it clear they have zero obligation to chat. I’m always happy to just flat-sign plenty of books for the collectors, shy folks, and those in a hurry.

Here’s me and Neal afterwards, tired but happy.

Nicola Griffith and Neal Stephenson at Third Place Books. Photo by Spencer Ruchti.

So why wasn’t it an absolutely perfect event? Because all the bars and restaurants were closed by the time we were done. Lake Forest Park closes early—stops serving food at 9pm. Obviously we could have driven a few miles to to a neighbourhood of Seattle, but as the group of us who wanted to keep the conversation going all live in different parts of the city it was just too complicated.

Apart from that? Yes: perfect!

Coming up: Third Place, Brick & Mortar, Village Books

Wednesday, 18 October, 7:00 pm—Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park

Last time I was on stage at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, it was with Chuck Tingle. That was a crazy evening: 300+ people screaming and hollering. I can’t really blame them: we were almost an hour late to start because there were ‘technical difficulties,’ that is, a missing dongle meant Chuck couldn’t run his slide show from his tablet. Fortunately, I’d brought my iPad Pro, so we just set him up a account on my tablet, downloaded the right software and his slides, and used that to run everything. But it meant that the audience Q&A was necessarily truncated because, frankly, the staff needed to go home for a well-deserved rest with a damp cloth over their eyes.

That’s not going to happen in Wednesday! For one thing, I’m not using AV. For another, I’ll be in-conversation with Neal Stephenson and We. Will. Start. On. Time. Well, that is, ‘on time’ in bookstore terms which usually means six or seven minutes late while everyone straggles in with their mocha lattes and flat whites and is too polite to just say to people, ‘Move up a space so I can sit down.’ And people remember to turn off their phones while the bookstore events person goes through a bunch of housekeeping items. But then we’ll start, and it will be glorious!

What will we be talking about? I don’t know! That’s the beauty of these things. But given that Neal is as much a research-and-logistics geek as I am, I suspect it won’t be like any other conversation I’ve had about Hild. And I can’t wait for a fu ll-throated Q&A. I truly love this part of the evening. I hope you’ll come and be part of it. It’s free, but the Third Place does like you to RSVP so they know how many chairs to set out.

Thursday, 19 October, 6:30 pm—Brick & Mortar, Redmond

Last time I was at Brick & Mortar in Redmond it was to talk about Spear. I’d never been there before, but it’s a lovely, light and airy space. And, like Auntie’s in Spokane, readers here love to engage with the author—and of course I like that too!

This is not going to be the standard Menewood-focused evening but, rather, all about how and why I put realk people—queer people, people of colour, disabled people, enslaved people as well as the usual straight white nondisabled sword-swinging heroic types—in my historical fiction. It’s part of Brick & Mortar’s regular series of Word Craft events hosted by Alexandra Oliva, so we’ll be talking a lot about characterisation, the wrong-headedness of history, and—of course!—Spear and Hild and Menewood. Again, the event is free. It would be lovely to see you there!

Saturday, 21 October, 6:00 pm—Village Books, Bellingham

Last time I did a thing for Village Books I was interviewed on stage for the Chuckanut Radio Hour—mostly talking about So Lucky. That part was fine—really good, actually; I was on my best behaviour because radio. It was when the recording red light went off and the Q&A began that things got…raucous. Let me just say, it’s a lively crowd in Bellingham and I’m looking forward to this!

I’m especially looking forward to it because it’s a full hour of me solo—which I haven’t had the opportunity to do since Seattle Central Library in spring 2022 for Spear. For this one I’m thinking of doing something different, including lots of visuals. But we’ll see. I haven’t quite decided yet.

This event costs $5, or you could combine the price of a ticket with purchase of a book with discount. Either way, I’d love to see you there!

Menewood updates

I’ve now done two events, Powell’s in Portland, and Charis, virtual. There are a few photos of the Portland event here and there on various platforms: Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky. The Charis event will go up on their YouTube channel soon; I’ll link when it does. Next up: Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane, on Saturday. It’s my first visit to Spokane and I’m looking forward to it—especially I’ll be meeting two very fine writers there, Sharma Shields and Alexis Smith, who’ve I’ve talked to a lot online and am happy we’ll finally meet in person. Alexis is my interlocutor for the events, and interviewing is something she’s extremely good at! I have one more virtual event coming up, for Mysterious Galaxy—when I’ll be in-conversation with Karen Joy Fowler—and a few more in-person things. Check my events page for details and updates.Another lovely long review is out, this time from Nerds of a Feather:

“Menewood is a fantastic sequel to Hild. It’s rare for a second book in a trilogy to eclipse the first, or even equal it, but it feels like Griffith has done just that here. It’s a novel full of paradox – present, relatable humanity against a true immersion in a historical context; a lens of the natural world used to make plain the most human of problems; an intimate character portrait and a wideview lens on the politics of a whole kingdom—but it never falters, drawing it all together into a seamless whole with an ease and grace that belies how truly deep it feels, when you pause to scratch the surface. It is a book about a strange, singular woman, and her view on the world around her, and it is a marvel.”

Roseanna Pendlebury — Nerds of a Feather

And of course I couldn’t resist making little quote tiles:Oh, and the digital version of Hild is currently on sale for $2.99 on all US platforms. If you’ve been wondering what all the fuss is about—or lent you lovely hardcover to that friend who never gave it back, but now want to reread it before diving into Menewood—now’s your chance to find out for very little financial risk. There again, you could always borrow it from the library.

Coming up: Charis Books and Auntie’s Books

Charis Books and More, Virtual: Weds. 11 Oct, 7:30pm/4:30 pm

On Wednesday I’ll be talking to Edward Hall about all things Hild and Menewood. I’ll be doing two short readings (7 mins and 2.5 mins) but mainly it’ll just be me and Eddie, an old friend, talking about the writing and the reading of this ten-years-in-the-making novel. This is a virtual-only event that begins at 7:30 pm Eastern/4:30 pm Pacific and lasts one hour. I hope you’ll join us. Please register here.

Auntie’s Bookstore, In-person: Sat. 14 Oct, 7:00 pm

On Saturday Kelley and I will be making our very first visit to Spokane—it’s hard to believe we’ve lived in Washington for nearly 30 years and have never made it. But we’re going to fix that! I’ve heard many good things about Auntie’s so I’m really looking forward to it. My interlocutor will be Alexis Smith, who is responsible for my favourite-ever interview in Moss magazine a few years ago—so I know this will be a great conversation! I do hope you’ll jo in us. It’s free , but please RSVP here.

Menewood as Objet d’art

Menewood is beautiful. Yes, yes, authors often say that about their books—we’re just like new parents who beam fondly at the squalling, squashed turnip-looking thing in their arms and declare fatuously, “Isn’t she beautiful!” And, okay, yes, I am totally biased, but also, Menewood really is beautiful! It’s not just the lush gorgeousness of the Anna and Elena Balbusso’s cover art, but also the interior design (which I’ve talked a bit about before), and—extremely important but often neglected—how the physical object handles.

Art

The Balbusso twins create their art the old-fashioned way with ink and brushes—not the digital kind but ones you can hold in your hand and tap the handle on your teeth when you’re thinking. Here’s a short behind-the-scenes video borrowed from their Instagram feed:

Behind-the-scenes video of the Balbusso twins painting the cover of Menewood

The whole, of course, is lovely. But I’m also fascinated by some of the detail.

Detail from cover artwork by Anna and Elena Balbusso

Just look at that horse! It’s brilliant—fabulously powerful, the essence of warhorse, with the swirl of colour in the background hinting at some and flame, and the red filigree somewhere between tree branches and abstract arteries. Take a closer look at the left—the detail of the frayed weave of Hild’s cloak. It’s just perfect.

Detail from cover artwork by Anna and Elena Balbusso

The banners delight me for the simple reason that it means Anna and Elena Balbusso read the book and paid attention: the raven and the boar are the totems of two rival families—exactly right.

Detail from cover artwork by Anna and Elena Balbusso

The gold around the arrows could be flame or it could be bright sun glinting on the death raining down from the sky. It does’t really matter. The whole is a marvellous tapestry of movement, texture and colour.

I like these images so much I used them as background to some of the quote tiles I build for my own amusement.

The physical reading experience

But I want to step back and consider the novel as a book: that is, how it works. I’ve already talked about how it works as story—why I divided it into the Books, Parts, and Chapters that I did. Now I want to focus on the physical mechanics.

After the gorgeous cover, my guess is that the first thing a reader will notice is how big the book is. And it is BIG: 5.5cm thick. When I first picked it up I expected it to weigh a ton but…it’s light! I discovered that when I was taking pictures of it: it’s lighter than Hild even though it’s 25% longer. Cool, I thought, and went on taking pictures. (Really, authors really are like besotted parents; I love this book with a mad crazy love and want to take pictures of it in every light and circumstance and company…)

On Saturday it was my birthday. We went to the pub. I took along a copy of Menewood so we could leaf through it and find a couple of nifty readings for upcoming events (uh-huh, right nothing to do with the fact that I simply couldn’t bear to be parted from it ). I ordered a pint of Guinness, opened the book, and set it on the table.

Menewood about to enjoy a quiet pint

And that’s when I discovered something terrifically, amazingly, magically cool about this delicious book: whatever page you open it to, IT STAYS PERFECTLY FLAT!

Look, Ma! No hands! (And a clover for luck.)

Seriously, perfectly flat. Unless like me you have small hands, or perhaps compromised arm strength, you have no idea what a boon that is. I don’t mind admitting that when I first saw this book I was worried: I thought the size and shape and weight would make it unwieldy. But when you add the lightness to the fact that it lies perfectly flat without any weight to hold it open, it starts to feel miraculous.

I was so taken with this that when we got home I experimented. The first thing I did was open it right at the beginning, to the Table of Contents and facing map.

Big fat book staying open all by itself

Look at that: perfectly flat and nothing holding it open. I can read this book all day if I want and not get tired.

How is it possible to make a book open just 0.01% of the way through—8 pages on one side and 712 on the other—and lie perfectly flat?? It’s magic, it has to be. I always knew book designers were wizards but, wow. I am amazed. Here are more pics to prove it—and, bonus, more maps!

The beginning of Book Two, about 40% of the way throughPart IV, Lord of Deira

For a refresher on how the book is structured, and why, see Three Books, Seven Parts, 38 Chapters

Maps, maps, maps. These are ©Jeffrey L Ward.

These maps are based on my files, with the fonts professionally tidied up for publication. (Here’s a reduced-size file of my original of Deira, if you’re interested. One day I may post the large-format full-colour version—but today is not that day.)

And finally here’s one last photo of Menewood looking all moody and autumnal—just ready for you to curl up by the fire and read. and, hey, it’s the weekend…