Thursday, November 11, 2010

Gail Carriger

Gail Carriger began writing to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon, according to her official biography. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by a harem of Armenian lovers, where she insists on tea imported directly from London and cats that pee into toilets. She is fond of teeny tiny hats and tropical fruit.

Her books include Soulless, Changeless, and Blameless.

Recently I asked Carriger what she was reading. Her reply:
There's this lovely thing that happens once you're in the realm of professional writer. Firstly, you meet fellow authors and feel compelled to read their books. Secondly, you are given books to blurb. For both these reasons, I recently read M. K. Hobson's The Native Star which I very much enjoyed. It's an Old West with magic, zombies, and steampunk overtones. The hero's name was Dreadnaught Stanton, which was reason enough to pick it up, if you ask me.

After I finished reading I wanted ... to work on steampunk costuming.

I've just finished J. Daniel Sawyer's ebook And Then She Was Gone, a noir detective novel set in the Bay Area. I enjoy his off the cuff writing style and clever turn of phrase, even though crime fiction is not my preferred genre. I always try to read something as different from my own voice as possible when I'm on a deadline, so as not to be unduly influenced. This one fit the bill perfectly.

Next up is The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, of which I have a galley. I'm taking it with me on an upcoming road trip and really excited as it purports to be humorous steampunk, something I am always looking for. Also it's co-authored. I have a peculiar affection for male/female coauthored fiction.
Visit Gail Carriger's website and blog.

My Book, The Movie: Soulless by Gail Carriger.

The Page 69 Test: Changeless.

--Marshal Zeringue