Still incomunicado

[desayunoencama]

Alas, still no resolution on the phone line problem. Am hopeful telefonica will send a technician out this afternoon.

Recent reading:

Friday I read Nina Kiriki Hoffman's YA fantasy A STIR OF BONES. She's a lovely writer. Good emotion. Although I think I liked her earlier series (THE THREAD THAT BINDS THE BONES and THE SILENT STRENGTH OF STONES) better. Haven't yet the two sequels to this one yet, though. (Am reading in story-arc order, even though the next two were published first.)

Friday I also read Jane Haddam's A GREAT DAY FOR THE DEADLY. Sob, now I have no more Gregor Demarkians left unread. WIll have to go looking for the other series that was recommended.

Saturday I read Lynn Flewelling's fantasy novel HIDDEN WARRIOR. This is not so much the sequel to THE BONE DOLL'S TWIN as the second half of the book that just stopped mid-story. Some curious gender-play, in HIDDEN WARRIOR it's more interesting because the character is finally aware of her gender-dysphoria, whereas in the first book we as readers knew what had happened but the character was unaware until nearly the end of the book... Wrote a review of it for LAMBDA BOOK REPORT.

Yesterday, I read Francesca Lia Block's WASTELAND. I don't know. Lately her books have all seemed flat to me, after the Weetzie Bat series and GIRL GODDESS #9. I know Firebird is reprinting ECSTASIA and PRIMAVERA, so I may reread those, which are from her earlier period...

Meanwhile, translating trains, trains, and more trains. Choo-choo!

Comments

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

I really, really loved Francesca Lia Block's book of erotic stories, Nymph. I wrote a review about it last September for
strange horizons (http://www.strangehorizons.com) when circlet reissued it.


I'd never read her before I read this, so it took me to her Weetzie Bat books -- I've only read a couple, but, again, for me, love.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

NYMPH is a lovely little book, and I like the paperback cover much more than the original mini-hardback one.

I was very happy when Cecilia once commented to me that Francesca had sent the manuscript to her because of me (I forget it if it was my own collection THE DRAG QUEEN OF ELFLAND or more likely my anthology THINGS INVISIBLE TO SEE).

I was happy to sell the foreign rights to the book in Germany, although so far that's the only country I've been able to place it so far. ( I handle the foreign rights for Circlet, and a few other queer or SF presses, including Firebrand who'll be bringing out your next novel; just sold the first two DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR into Spain, yay!)

Do look for Blocks' YA story collection GIRL GODDESS # 9, too.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Wow -- such a lovely compliment -- that your work brought Francesca to Circlet. I'll look for Girl Goddess #9, and some of your work, too, since I haven't yet had the pleasure.

And that's great about selling Dykes to Watch Out for in Spain, too! I think Alison Bechdel is so brilliant and funny and delicious -- and that combo of writing and drawing -- don't know how those of you who do that do that. She wrote a blurb for my forthcoming novel, Venus of Chalk, that I thought was unbelievably beautiful -- said that reading it was a religious experience, which had me floating for days.

Karen at Firebrand had mentioned to me that you were doing their foreign rights. With all of that reading, writing, cooking and all -- you must be in constant motion.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

I saw the blurb in your LJ, congrats. I think Bechdel is wonderful. I'm excited to read her forthcoming non-DTWOF autobiographical graphic novel she just sold to... Houghton Mifflin, I think it was.

I was so excited to appear twice in DTWOF: once, when SWITCH HITTERS is made fun of in the background of a scene in Madwimmin's Bookstore, I really felt I had arrived. (OK, so Gregory Maguire trumped that by being the answer to a question on JEOPARDY but... I was still very pleased.)

And she also gave me a tip of the nib once when I, I forget why/how it came up, gave her a gag that she used in one of the strips.

As for sampling something of mine, I think (from what I know of your reading tastes) I'd suggest THINGS INVISIBLE TO SEE as the best place for you to start...

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

She sold the graphic novel to Houghton Mifflin? How great!

Very cool to have been in the strip twice.

I'll look for Things Invisible To See -- I do love magic realism -- my second novel featured a flying cow.

[lcohen]

Saturday I read Lynn Flewelling's fantasy novel HIDDEN WARRIOR. This is not so much the sequel to THE BONE DOLL'S TWIN as the second half of the book that just stopped mid-story.

oooh! i've been holding off on reading TBDT because i'd heard that it needed the rest of the story. does this one finish it? might i be able to read the two of them, once i lay my hands on part two?

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

If you read them both togther, then yes, the story arc of THE BONE DOLL'S TWIN and HIDDEN WARRIOR does come to a resting point. But TBDT by itself simply stops. From what I've heard, these were meant to be a duology, consisting of the book that is now split as TBDT and HW and the sequel, which I assume Flewelling's working on now. But evne though it's techincally a trilogy now, it's still really a duology in how the story arc works.