Guest Bloggery!

Juliet McKennna (jemck) invited me to take the mic today… talking about writing a western, against all plan or intention.

Excuse me while I hyperventilate a little....

via Barrnesandnoble.com

"With all due respect to Steve Earle, the devil’s right hand is a largely overrated appendage. In Laura Anne Gilman’s stark, sparkling Silver on the Road, the star of the show is the devil’s nimble, freshly minted left hand: Isobel, not a day over 16, reared alongside saloon girls and gamblers, and very suddenly sent off on a Western odyssey she cannot begin to understand.

...While Isobel may perfectly capture all the feelings of inadequacy of adolescence—who am I? What do I want out of life? How do I menstruate on the open road?—she’s also a modern encapsulation of the hero’s journey.

In fact, that’s what Gilman does best here, infusing the classic with the modern. Her cocktail of Western folklore, Native American mythos, and known history are seamless, and will be a particular treat to fans of the other master of that kind of mashup, Neil Gaiman."


*falls over a little, giggling like a madwoman*