Gwenda, Author at Gwenda Bond

Look There And A Sweet Deal

Blackwood / By Gwenda / December 4, 2012

Home from first mini-leg of this week's travel, and brain is playing catch up…as is the rest of me. A couple of quick things I wanted to point to, though.

Thing the first – Blackwood gets reviewed by the one and only Colleen Mondor in her latest column at Bookslut. Snippet: "Bond concocts her own gumbo of story here, with a blend of mystery, thriller, paranormal, and romance to create a densely packed adventure that sucks readers in with a blistering plot pace but then keeps them riveted with some truly dark and scary moments. … Thoughtful teens will eat this novel up, and honestly, who could blame them?" This whole review made me so happy, because this was the book I wanted to write and Colleen is one of the people whose taste on books I trust and admire most in the world. *beam* Also happy-making to be sharing that column with some of my own favorites from this year.
Thing the second – Strange Chemistry is running a buy-one-get-one-free e-book deal for any of the five launch titles–including Blackwood–through December at the Angry Robot Trading Company, where you can always get DRM-free versions of its e-books (along with 6 and 12 month e-subscriptions where you can get them all automagically and at a hefty discount). The prices are UK-ized, but the deal's good everywhere (it'll convert to US $ when you check out). All you have to do is go to this page, select the books and the discount will be applied at check-out.

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Friday Hangovers

Hangovers / By Gwenda / November 30, 2012

Novel draft currently sitting at 323 pages with about three or so chapters to finish, which means it will be the longest book I've written. My goal is to get the last chapters all drafted by Sunday afternoon so that I can cart my print out along for the polish and read-through pass next week, which is a flurry of travel and things, ending up with a whirlwind trip to NYC and out to Rhinebeck for the Oblong Books event (preorders available if you want a signed copy but can't make it). Anyway, I love this weird crazy book but am nervous as hell about it, and will be glad when it is complete and out of my hands for a bit. (No, this isn't The Woken Gods. This is secret book.) (NYC peeps, I hope to see some of you–will be in touch.)
I can't remember if I've mentioned this here, but I am SO excited to have an essay (mine's called "Asking for a Friend") in the upcoming collection of essays about The Mortal Instruments series from Smart Pop Books, Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Here's the TOC and some info from Cassie, as well as a link to her introduction. Check it out.
Malinda Lo has a couple of must-read posts this week: Heteronormativity, fantasy, and Bitterblue Pt. 1 and Pt. 2.
"The Rise of the Backdoor Fantasy Story" by Annalee Newitz; I love these kinds of books.
Helen Lowe talks with one of my favoritefavorite authors Elizabeth Knox at SF Signal.
A really interesting profile of the generally delightful Tavi Gevinson. I do wish she seemed to like or read modern YA–though perhaps sentimentally, because her inspiration for Rookie was Sassy, which introduced me to the Weetzie Bat books (and many other wonders). Still: Rookie is great.
RT rounds up some page to screen deals, including Blackwood (which makes me happy because I adore RT).
Fabulous keynote address text from Beth Kephart at Publishing Perspectives: "Lamp Lighters and Seed Sowers: Tomorrow's YA."
"Derelict to Divine: Charlie Chaplin's London Water Tower Home."
Skulls carved from books. And, on that note, happy weekending.

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GENIUS AT WORK*

Silly Games / By Gwenda / November 28, 2012

I'm not saying Llama Font fixes everything…well, maybe I am. For instance:

You will finish this novel. SOON.

How can it not be true if llamas said it? LLAMAS SPEAK ONLY THE TRUTH.

*This refers to the llamas and their creator(s), not me, obviously.

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Tuesday Hangovers

Hangovers / By Gwenda / November 27, 2012

Still. working. on. it. (Though going well, on track I think, etc.) In the meantime, a few links.
At the First Second blog, some reasons titles get changed.
Writing fight scenes, advice from some experts: "The most common mistake is probably the one that cannot really be corrected. Most fight scenes with weapons go on too long. The saying in the Filipino arts that I do is there are only three good stick fights: thud; click, thud; click, click, thud. Anything else means you don’t really know how to fight. Since most of the time, stories are about extraordinary people with extreme skills, fights that last minutes–even a minute–are unrealistic."
A profile of the divine Liz Hand.
PW covers a panel on the YA blockbuster.
I do love a missing (or imaginary) island.
Fantasy heroines from the 1980s in art nouveau renderings; love these.
Daniel Handler interviewed in the NYT: "You have to wonder if dictators muse about how scary they are to certain young generations. Nowadays, with social networking, you could actually just name somebody. That would be terrifying if you were a dictator and you said, “There’s no one I hate more than such and such,” an 11-year-old in Lincoln, Neb."
Midori Snyder pulls out some of the Voynich Manuscript's most lovely pages.
A nice Blackwood shout-out in Heroes & Heartbreaker's recent look at some YA and romance novels being adapted for the screen. (If you haven't seen the gorgeous first teaser trailer for the City of Bones movie, then what are you waiting for? It's also at that link. I. cannot. wait.)
And another one among these recommendations from Suzanna Hermans of Oblong Books on WAMC–the one and only Libba Bray and I will be at Oblong at 4 p.m. on December 9. Come out if you can. (I'll also be in NYC briefly before and after.)
With that, I'm back to work.

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Gone Writing

3 Comments / Write Talk / By Gwenda / November 23, 2012

Three days off to concentrate, and one last act to revise (aka mostly write) of the new novel. Can it be done?

Techniques to be employed:

Now–armed with my golden coffee mug of truth and invisible typewriter–off to work I go.

(But as I said elsewhere: So much I'm thankful for this year and so, so many people I'm thankful to. That includes all of you who stop by here. Love to you guys.)

p.s. So far so good. Also, thing too cool not to share:

Part one of Erin Keane's Gift Guide for Salon suggests Blackwood for the Suzy Bishops (from Moonrise Kingdom) in your life, featuring perhaps my favorite description of the book ever as "a weird book for weird girls." I adored Moonrise Kingdom and all Suzy's fake YA novels, so this is an especially happy-making thing. Lots of great suggestions, and I think the concept of theming the guide around some of the year's most iconic characters is what sets it apart from the usual and makes it so much fun.

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Monday Hangovers (Some Links & Big News Redux)

Blackwood, Hangovers / By Gwenda / November 19, 2012

My hugest thanks to you guys for the congratulations and excitement here, there, and everywhere about the Blackwood TV deal. I promise I will try not to be obnoxious about the BIG news, but because it was announced late Friday and many people spend the weekend away from the computron (freaks! I kid…because I'm a shut-in–at least until I finish this new manuscript):

Here's the Deadline story and my post about it from Friday night (see also: io9 ). It's wonderful to be able to share this news with all of you and stop being coy, and I hope you'll keep your fingers crossed for the project as it proceeds. I am obviously THRILLED.

And now a few other links:

Locus put up my review of David Levithan's fabulous Every Day from this month's issue.
"The Myth of the Fake Geek Girl" by Rachel Edidin (an Associate Editor at Dark Horse Comics) at io9.
Most writers who know Holly Black also know that she is a book whisperer. Mette Harrison shares some of the magic after listening to the master at work at World Fantasy: part one and part two.
A great interview with the delightful William Alexander at Publishers Weekly, following his wonderful middle grade debut Goblin Secrets' win at the National Book Awards in the young readers category. YAY.
"The Dudes of YA, a 'Lit-Erotic' Photospread."
Finally, monkeys riding a capybara. (Via Jenny D.)

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The Big Secret Revealed: Blackwood TV Deal (!!!)

20 Comments / Blackwood, TV Goodness / By Gwenda / November 16, 2012

From Deadline:

MTV has put in development Blackwood, a drama from Lionsgate Television and Kelsey Grammer’s Grammnet Prods. It is based on the young adult book of the same name by Gwenda Bond, which was published this past September on the Strange Chemistry YA imprint of UK-based science fiction publisher Angry Robot Books. DC Comic book and television writer Peter Calloway (Brothers & Sisters) will write the adaptation.

More info there!

Perhaps now my obnoxious secret-keeping can be forgiven? I AM OBVIOUSLY VERY EXCITED.

My hugest thanks to Brian Taylor (and everyone else at Grammnet, of course), Lionsgate TV, writer Peter Calloway, and to my faaaabulous agents Jenn Laughran of Andrea Brown and Nate Matteson of Gotham Group. And to MTV(!). You are all awesome amazing crazymazing. (Also, goes without saying but saying it anyway, thanks to Amanda Rutter and the rest of the SC/AR team.)

Before you ask: does this mean Blackwood will definitely be a TV show on MTV? Not yet, no, but certainly it is an excellent starting point for that to happen. I am beyond thrilled with the team behind this, and it's the perfect network, so I'm extremely hopeful and cannot wait to see how the development proceeds. What's been done so far has been fabulous.

You all know how much I love TV, so in short:

Look out, Snoopy, there is a lot of happy dancing going on here. I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful for this entire year.

Updated to add:

io9 on the news (Thank you, guys!)

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Tuesday Hangovers

Hangovers / By Gwenda / November 13, 2012

Let's get this link party started with a fantastic kickstarter I urge you to support. John Picacio–who's been nominated for or won every fantasy/SF art award under the sun, and deservedly so–is launching a new business. First up is the 2013 John Picacio Calendar, filled with amazing art and which you can snag exclusively via his kickstarter (plus other bonus goodies, depending on your contribution level). I've known John for years, and I suspect his world domination is nigh. And it couldn't happen to a more talented, nicer, or harder-working guy.
Alexander McCall Smith on the allure of lady detectives in fiction, celebrating a new edition of the book featuring the very first fictional woman sleuth.
Pyromaniac fun with candles just in time for Thanksgiving.
Fairy wrens and secret passwords.
The nine circles of Dante's Hell…in lego.
I found this comparison of women's magazine covers when they launched and now fascinating. (That first Glamour cover!)
Laini Taylor on independent bookstores, e-reading, and more. So much of this resonated with me. Yes.
An editor's perspective on editorial letters at Pub Crawl.
Truly excellent interview with Philip Pullman–I was surprised by his superstitions. Snippet: "This is the value for me of writing books that children read. Children aren't interested in the least about your appalling self-consciousness. They want to know what happens next. They force you to tell a story." Also: A His Dark Materials TV show really could be amazing.
This post by Kathy at Stellar Four about YA novels where male and female characters work together as equals made me very happy, not least because it includes my Phillips and Miranda in its list of couples.
And last, my KidLit Cares auction item ends tonight at 10 p.m. EST. I'm offering a 50 page SFF critique, with bonus spitballing or pitch help via phone or email if the writer so chooses.
And now it's back to work. End in sight, deadlines swirling, etcetera.

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Wednesday Hangovers

Hangovers / By Gwenda / November 7, 2012

Happy Wednesday, because yes, yes, it is one. To celebrate, a collection of many links…
An excellent Vulture interview with Callie Khouri about Nashville et things. Snippet: "We’re constantly looking for songs that we love, and then we write towards them. We go, “Here’s where we’re starting, story-wise,” and then as we go along, we get a bunch of songs that we know we want to record, and we record a block of them. Then we just start folding them into story at various points." (You are watching this show, right? RIGHT?)
I've been remiss in not pointing to the indiegogo to help revitalize legendary and amazing children's/YA bookstore Books of Wonder. Go here for more info and to pitch in; they've got two weeks left and are less than halfway to their goal.
The entire archive of Omni magazine is online.
Also via io9: freaky dancing pig.
The New York Times hit Kentucky's doughnut trail. Combine it withthe bourbon one, and you know you want to come visit.
Getting ready to entertain for the holidays or need a great cookbook for a gift? I can't believe I haven't mentioned the FABULOUS Kim O'Donnel's brand-new cookbook, The Meat Lover's Meatless Celebrations, the follow-up to her The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook, which is a stand-by in our house. Here's a great review of the new one. (I believe we test-kitchened at least one recipe in here and it was AMAZEBALLS. Must get a copy and try the rest, stat.)
The cat cafe culture of Tokyo at Messy Nessy Chic.
Fascinating Slate look at the National Book Awards intrigue in 1962, the year Walker Percy's The Moviegoer won. (Semi-related: In Nancy Pearl's recent Locus magazine interview, she said The Moviegoer didn't hold up for her when she went back for a reread. Which has now made me afraid to read it again, since I loved it the first time around. Ah, here's a post from Pearl about her disappointing revisit.)
Why Authors Are Crazy tumblr. (Hat tip to Malinda Lo for the pointer.)
The most excellent Carrie Ryan has a brand-new book out, the second in the Infinity Ring series, Divide and Conquer.
PW covered the KidLit Cares auction.
Great post on showing and telling from Zoë Marriott.
The always super-smart Beth Revis on why sometimes you have to delete to move ahead with a project…and why that is winning.
Tie-in dolls from Twilight, LOTR, The Vampire Diaries, and others repainted to insanely realistic results.

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Signal Boost: KidLit Cares

Uncategorized / By Gwenda / November 5, 2012

Kate Messner's amazing KidLit Cares effort to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief is growing by the moment, with more fabulous stuff up for grabs all the time and people adding onto existing auction items. I'm kicking in a science fiction or fantasy partial critique, with some extras.

See all the auction items and bid at Kate's site or on check them out on Pinterest, and help spread the word.

Still very much thinking of you, east coasters.

(And now back to getting actual writing done (!) — I know, I can't believe it either. Apparently the car crash I luckily walked away from on Friday scared the stasis right out of me.)

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