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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

I which I break another heart and am happy about it, chortle

From: Morgan

Hello. It’s 4:11am and I just finished reading Blue Place, after finishing Ammonite barely a week ago.

This... This is a lot like S&M. Because this hurts so goddamn much, I can barely comprehend it. Just this howling bleak ripping empty space. But I want more despite the pain. I enjoy it on a deep emotional level, on a primal one of need.

You are a cruel mistress, Nicola Griffith. I can’t sleep after that. I stayed up for love in the land of fjords, and now I’m staying awake for a slow, graceless, jaundiced death. And in the wake of it all, there isn’t even retribution. Necks are snapped, faces punched inside out, fires started. But it’s all so terse, colorless. Twigs atop a fire that could melt stone.

You are a masterful writer, someone who really understands life, love, and the way minds work. (Also wood. As a carpenter, that was pretty awesome). There’s never a moment where I stop, and can’t look, because I see the trainwreck coming. Never a time when I want to just drop the book and say "What gives? Why don’t you just make a logical choice instead of being such an asshole?" It all grows so slowly, in real time, with all the little seemingly pointless details that grow and blossom and thrive, both in intrigue and romance. No tropes, no shortcuts, no convenient details. It’s beautiful. And I love you for it. But right now I kind of hate you too. I have to drive for three straight hours today and I have an exam somewhere in there, maybe even a date. And all through it, there’s going to be this awful pit.

I hope you’re happy.

Ah. Sorry. But perhaps it will be some consolation to hear that there are two more Aud novels, in which her life improves. Gradually, it's true (detail by detail), but still...

I remember getting about a third of the way through The Blue Place (or, as it was called originally, Penny in My Mouth) and realising that Julia would have to die. I felt terrible. I ran through all sorts of scenarios in which she could survive but it just didn't work. It didn't feel true. So I stuck to my course, feeling like a monster. But the ending was inevitable; Julia is too perfect to live. Besides, I needed her to die in order to set Aud on her path.

So now I warn readers: do not finish The Blue Place in a public place. Read it privately. And know that Aud's story isn't over (there's Stay and Always). She does find the possibility of happiness. And of course she has those blazing moments of joy along the way.

And, actually, yes, I am happy. Not that you feel so gutted (again: sorry), but that I could take you on that rollercoaster ride, give you a taste of someone else's life. I think that's what fiction is for; for me, that's the point. I'm glad to be able to do it.
This blog has moved. My blog now lives here: http://nicolagriffith.com/blog/

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Monday, January 14, 2013

Frost like salt, sun like lemon

We've had brilliant sunshine and cracking cold here in Seattle for a few days. With great sunsets--which I always forget to photograph. It's been very dry (which kills all the allergens, kills those fuckers dead, and I dance on their grave). I took these two snaps yesterday. It was early afternoon and the lemon sun was sharp enough to sting. Frost sparkled on grass and shrubs like salt:

Yeah, it's blurred. It was cold.
I stepped shivering back into the living room through the front door and was immediately struck by the streaming light and shadow thrown by the front window around the back window.

Light and shadow are on my mind today. In about two hours, I begin the Author Photo ritual. I'll let you know how it goes. Let's just hope the studio is warm...
This blog has moved. My blog now lives here: http://nicolagriffith.com/blog/

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Thursday, January 10, 2013

A photo of me

Generally only seriously weird people ask me for my photo. (Oh, and publicists...) Oddly, I've had two requests for photos in two days, neither from particularly strange people. So, okay, here you go. This is what I looked like the night before last. Don't say I don't do anything for you.

taken with my phone in low light
This blog has moved. My blog now lives here: http://nicolagriffith.com/blog/

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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Hild: coming 11.12.13


This is the print-out of the seventh and final draft of Hild. It's the version you'll read (after a few copyedits*). It will be published in the US by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. November 12th, 2013. Or, as it would read in this country:

11.12.13

Oh, I love the numberliness of it all!

I don't yet know when it will be published in the UK--not too long after the US, I hope. Other countries will be later: translations take time. When I know, you'll know. Stay tuned.

It's a big book: 207,000 words. Just the thing to curl up with before the fire with a glass of wine, or a cup of tea, and, while the wind howls and hail beats on the window, immerse yourself in another time and place.

That's my goal: an immersive read that is so physically, emotionally, and intellectually convincing that you feel as though you've lived another's life alongside your own.

I can't wait to get it into your hands. I'll keep you updated every step of the way.

---
* I'll be doing a big post sometime soon about process and timing and publicity. But, eh, today is not that day.
This blog has moved. My blog now lives here: http://nicolagriffith.com/blog/

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