My predilection toward geekdom and nerdiness has once again paid off. I troll through a LOT of SFF/speculative fiction ezines, which are a gold mine of the funny, irreverent, and strange. I love good novels, too, but I like the short form for speculative fiction, because it’s just so classic — it’s how all the greats got their start, writing for Amazing Stories and the like. Anywho, look who I found today? YA diva Cecil Castellucci. Check out this short story for adults from Strange Horizons.
One of the things I admire most deeply about Castellucci is that she is who she’s gonna be. She writes graphic novels. Short stories. Novels. None of them are quite what other people are writing, and she’s hogtied to any particular style or genre. I so very much want to be the same — write all different kinds of novels, and not have people complain that something is out of character or whatever. I want to keep on surprising others — and myself.
A classically surprising person right now? Is Shannon Hale. People thought she had a “type” of story, and they were cool with that. Bayern books? Check. Fairytale retellings? Check. Middle grade tall tales? Check. We’re cool, right? Some people were a lot less cool with Austenland which I thought was fun. The Housewife and the Actor? Has those same people even more confused. God forbid that the woman changed directions, struck out for new inspiration, and came up with the …*gasp!* unexpected! Her readers may not survive their shock.
Go Cecil. Go Shannon. Here’s to being unchained and transcendent.
I echo those supportive shouts: Go Cecil and Shannon! I like my authors like I like my actors: versatile, able to create various characters in different genres!
Cecil's going to be at readergirlz in July, when we spotlight The Plain Janes by Cecil + Jim Rugg!
I just seem to love everything Shannon Hale writes, no matter what it is.
Hear, hear! Here’s to forever being surprising, open to variety, willing to experiment.
And, hey–I can’t WAIT to see that new book in person. If it’s not at my bookstore I will make them order it.