Ms Bond has a story about a famous Lost Colony getting lost all over again...
1. I am delighted by the news from Gwenda Bond of the sale of her YA novel, Blackwood to Angry Robot (as part of a two book deal). Here is the summary:
On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.
Miranda, a misfit girl from the island's most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can't dodge is each other.
Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America's oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.
More on the new YA imprint from Angry Robot at io9.
2. I have just started Delia Sherman's Freedom Maze for my April column and have to tell you, as soon as I read the line about how "horses sweat but women glow", Ms Sherman had me heart and soul. That is such a classic southern saying - one that was used with no small amount of snark when I was growing up - (Lord do you sweat sitting on the vinyl seats of a car with no air conditions - LORD DO YOU SWEAT!). I feel like I'm already halfway home with this one. Looking forward to reading and reviewing it.
3. I have now read both of Elizabeth Hand's upcoming titles, the adult mystery Available Dark and the teen urban fantasy Radiant Days. I was already staggered by her previous publishing duet - the YA title Illyria and the mystery Generation Loss but now....well now I am in a place of abject joy. Radiant Days will be in my April column an I'll be writing about both books here soon (still getting my thoughts in order), but if you are a writer interested at all in your craft then you should read the work of Elizabeth Hand. Her use of language is stunning but it's how she manages to switch so easily from the brittle brutality of Available Dark to the lush romance of creativity unbound in Radiant Days that so impressed me. In a perfect world, this would be the author with the seven figure contract and massive amounts of press coverage. For now you'll just have to take my word for it (along with all the early reviews including a star from Booklist for Available Dark) and make a point of seeking out these titles. (Dark is the sequel to Generation Loss - it stands alone okay but is better if you read them in order.)
4. Yesterday I received an email from an 82 year old gentleman who checked my book out of the library in Baltimore and wanted me to know that he enjoyed it very much. How awesome is that?
5. Finally, I'm working on an essay about Nome and the early flights there, the town's position in the Alaska myth pantheon and how we used to fly convicts into the farthest north prison in the US (not a surprise that this is in Alaska, is it?). Also, Balto wasn't supposed to be the final lead dog on the serum run; his musher refused to stop when he was supposed to. Basically, Togo, who led the far more difficult portion of the race, was robbed. (My essay is not about Togo but I can't write about Nome without mentioning him.)
