Friday Links Meets House
Originally published at tansyrr.com. You can comment here or there.
I’m excited that the new Sarah Rees Brennan novel was released this week - her gothic girl-detective-meets-house YA Unspoken, and as far as I know (Schroedinger’s PO Box, anyone?) I might already have my copy!
Sarah has wound up her two series of blog essays, Gothic Tuesday and Sleuth Thursday (sob! I’ll miss them!) with a parody of Northanger Abbey. Yes, she parodies the parody. She has no shame!
ELEANOR: Oh Catherine, great to see you. Look, I was wondering if you might come pay me a visit at my home in Northanger Abbey. I know my dad’s a little weird and the house is a little Gothic and creepy, but-
CATHERINE: Did you say Gothic and creepy? I’m there. I’m there with eldritch bells on.
ELEANOR: Oh, fantastic! You may be interested in our antique furniture-
CATHERINE: Ghastly skeletons!
ELEANOR: -we have a very nice shrubbery…
CATHERINE: I hope there’s a nun who got buried alive!
ELEANOR: -also our roses always get first prize at the flower show-
CATHERINE: Can’t wait!
ELEANOR: Sometimes I worry we’re having conversations in two different dimensions.
CATHERINE: Maybe there’s an interdimensional portal to a demon realm at your place!
Sarah also talks about the central concept of her novel over at John Scalzi’s The Big Idea. But enough pluggery, let’s get some linkitude under our belts.
This one’s for my friends on Twitter discussing the ‘maternal driveby’ and how many people (often complete strangers) like to get in the face of a pregnant or new mother: a hilarious article at McSweeney’s of all places entitled “Hello Stranger On the Street, Could You Please Tell Me How to Take Care of My Baby?”
A reader of my Supergirl post this week passed on a link that made me sad but hopeful, in which the creators of the awesome and girl-friendly comics “Supergirl’s Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade” plotted out the later adventures of their Kara for the ninth grade and beyond, and have sketches to prove it. The sad thing is that this comic doesn’t exist but the hopeful thing is that it doesn’t definitely not EVER exist yet.
Nicola Griffith talks about the new Kindle Paperwhite which looks amazing and points out in particular some of the features that might appeal to writers.
Bitch Magazine talks about what Rhianna and Agatha Christie have in common, and reclaims them both to the side of feminism. I think.
Sleeps With Monsters addresses the idea of male writers who “get it right” when it comes to writing interesting, complex female characters, and discusses a few of her favourites. Me, I still have that GRRM quote running around in my head this week: “You know, I’ve always considered women to be people.”
Speaking of writing women as if they are people, the legendary Greg Rucka was interviewed on the 3 Chicks Review Comics podcast, and he talked at great length about his work, the amazing characters he has got to handle, why Wonder Woman is his favourite, and what’s wrong with the comics industry as a whole as regards diversity etc. Really compelling stuff, and that’s before the revelation about the comic that never was: a Greg Rucka Wonder Woman Year One drawn by J.H. Willams. He also talks about his ‘creator-owned’ work and the recently released new series of Stumptown, and lots of behind the scenes comics stuff. Well recommended.
[SPOILERS FOR CURRENT SEASON OF DOCTOR WHO IN THIS LAST LINK, DAVID THIS MEANS YOU]
[Calapine has written an adorable piece of fanfic exploring what might happen if a certain Doctor had not left a certain Dalek to die horribly in an exploding planet, and instead taken her on board as his companion. Did I mention adorable?]
Now for the last (so far?) of the Super Best Friends Forever shorts - I’ve been hunting this one online for ages! Disappointed there wasn’t as much of this series as I was hoping for, as it appeals instantly to all the kids in my life, many of whom are boys - SBFF might be aimed at girls but it’s active and funny and I’ve often watched the clips surrounded by laughing boys between the ages of 4 and 9. Get it together, DC Shorts! You’ve got a winner on your hands here, and in these My Little Pony days, a full length series of SBFF could well take off into the stratosphere.
Speaking of adorable…
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