Happy New Year!
My interview with fellow DC author and future Lethe Press author Philip Dean Walker is now up at Lambda Literary.
Check it out here!
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan: A dreamlike travelogue
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Winner of this year’s Lambda Literary Award in the SF/H/F Category
Beautifully written, with a meandering plot.
The story moved slowly and the dramatic tension was in the doldrums. The lapidary prose and the elegiac mood is what propels this novel forward, rather than a proper plot. The worldbuilding was vague, both a strength and a weakness. (It suffers from the Planet of White People syndrome issue; seriously, where are the POC?) The characters were well drawn but some POVs were unneccesary and didn’t really reveal anything. (Why, for instance, is there a whole chapter from the point of view of the messenger, or from one of the clowns? They add nothing to the story). I feel the author missed opportunities to build suspense; the plot only takes place in the last 20 pages or so. It is better to take this book as a dreamlike travelogue than full-fledged novel. I’m looking forward to Logan’s next book.
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PHOTO: A photo of me reading in New York City
Last Friday I read from “Lyes” in my collection Skin Deep Magic as a part of the Lambda Literary Finalist Reading series. A friend snapped the photo above.
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Lambda Literary interviews me about my collection, Skin Deep Magic and diversity in Speculative Fiction
Virgins No More: Writers on their First Book Signing
Over on the Lambda Literary site, Michael Graves interviewed me along with a bunch of other writers about our first time doing a book signing. Check it out!
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My novel BEREFT gets a great review from Lambda Literary
Reviewer Lydia Harris says of BEREFT:
“Gidney’s storytelling abilities, complemented by his deftness with words and strong writing skills, result in an outstanding contribution to the young adult genre. The believably realized characters, strong description, and relevant knowledge of the adolescent experience, when combined with his willingness to take on the “hard” controversial issues facing today’s youth’s marks him as an author to watch. Undoubtedly his future work will be even more rewarding for readers”
Read the rest of this great review over at Lambda Literary Online.
Gidney’s storytelling abilities, complemented by his deftness with words and strong writing skills, result in an outstanding contribution to the young adult genre. The believably realized characters, strong description, and relevant knowledge of the adolescent experience, when combined with his willingness to take on the “hard” controversial issues facing today’s youth’s marks him as an author to watch. Undoubtedly his future work will be even more rewarding for readers. – See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/06/24/bereft-by-craig-laurance-gidney/#sthash.ZCCNJcDy.dpuf
Gidney’s storytelling abilities, complemented by his deftness with words and strong writing skills, result in an outstanding contribution to the young adult genre. The believably realized characters, strong description, and relevant knowledge of the adolescent experience, when combined with his willingness to take on the “hard” controversial issues facing today’s youth’s marks him as an author to watch. Undoubtedly his future work will be even more rewarding for readers. – See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/06/24/bereft-by-craig-laurance-gidney/#sthash.ZCCNJcDy.dpuf
Gidney’s storytelling abilities, complemented by his deftness with words and strong writing skills, result in an outstanding contribution to the young adult genre. The believably realized characters, strong description, and relevant knowledge of the adolescent experience, when combined with his willingness to take on the “hard” controversial issues facing today’s youth’s marks him as an author to watch. Undoubtedly his future work will be even more rewarding for readers. – See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/06/24/bereft-by-craig-laurance-gidney/#sthash.ZCCNJcDy.dpuf
Gidney’s storytelling abilities, complemented by his deftness with words and strong writing skills, result in an outstanding contribution to the young adult genre. The believably realized characters, strong description, and relevant knowledge of the adolescent experience, when combined with his willingness to take on the “hard” controversial issues facing today’s youth’s marks him as an author to watch. Undoubtedly his future work will be even more rewarding for readers. – See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/06/24/bereft-by-craig-laurance-gidney/#sthash.ZCCNJcDy.dpuf
Craig Laurance Gidney 
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