#Gael Baudino

[judgeitbyitscover]

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino

Cover art by Dawn Wilson

ROC, August 1990

A doorway between worlds opened, releasing Christa, her harp--and her quest. Imprisoned for centuries, she had escaped from the faery Sidh and the musician Orfide, weavers of spells and schemes. But the doorway had shut too quickly, leaving her lover behind in the endless captivity of a timeless world.

Now, in contemporary Denver, Christa discovers the way to her loved one's freedom--stunning and powerful electric music that can break down the walls of time. So this Celtic maiden turns rocker, her harp transfigures into an electric guitar, and her newly formed band of heavy metal warriors, called Gossamer Axe, becomes her most effective weapon. Equipped to take on Sidh and Orfide, her dangerous odyssey through a rock world of evil drugs and sex begins--with Christa and her all-girl band on the ultimate road tour to faraway realms!

[sniperct]

anyway I need to share the synopsis for Gossamer Axe as I think its much more tumblr's speed

In ancient Ireland, Chairiste Ní Cummen, a harper, was trained in the secrets of music and magic, but her curiosity and pride trapped her and her lover in the realm of the fairy folk, the Sidh. Chairiste alone managed to escape, and now, living in the modern world as Christa Cruitaire, a quiet harp teacher, she is all but resigned to her inability to win her beloved’s freedom . . . until she discovers that the volume and violence of the electric guitar and heavy metal might prove brutal enough to forcibly breach the barriers between the human and fairy worlds. With the aid of her bandmates—who must themselves overcome inner demons of abuse, addiction, and prejudice—Christa is determined to use her newfound musical power to rescue the woman she loves.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: fairies

Fey, fae, fairies, faeries - pick your spelling, the fair folk are an undeniably popular trope in fantasy, and can be portrayed in wildly different ways, from cute pixies, to terrifying creatures of lore, to handsome and romantic beings of fairy tales. This list is a wild mix, all of them featuring fae or fae-like beings as central characters.

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Borderline (The Arcadia Project trilogy) by Mishell Baker*

Urban fantasy mystery. A year after a failed suicide attempt that cost her both her legs and her film-making career, Millie is recruited by a secretive organisation that works to control traffic to and from Arcadia, the land of faries, and given the assignment of tracking down a missing nobleman of the Seelie Court in Hollywood. Bisexual main character, excellent if you like me enjoy reading about deeply messy women.

Phaeton by Rachel Sharp*

Jack and Rosie, couple and hackers, just got their hands on a brand new device: the phaeton, a phone which, despite its crappy parts, is seemingly capable of doing the impossible. Utilizing their skills, they quickly realize it works not through technology, but by being remotely controlled by a living creature - a fae. This revelation throws them into a war between the fae of old and a new type of fae, able to withstand iron and looking to exploit their fellows through this advantage.

Rosemary and Rue (October Daye series) by Seanan Mcguire

Urban fantasy mystery. October "Toby" Daye is a changeling, half human and half fae, who, after having been burned by both sides of her heritage, has retreated to a "normal" life, away from the faerie world. But the murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back in, a curse forcing her to take on the mystery and find the murderer. While I found the first book a bit weak, the series does get better from there on, with engaging characters and interesting mysteries.

Knife (Faerie Rebels trilogy) by R.J. Anderson

Young adult. Young Knife is a Hunter, providing for a group of faeries living inside an oak, their population slowly dying. Long ago, their people lost almost all their magic, and without it they are doomed. But Knife isn't one to give up; recruiting the help of Paul, a human boy living nearby the faery oak, she is set on discovering the secret of - and solution to - her people's missing magic.

Among Others by Jo Walton

Magical realism. Growing up with a half-crazed mother, Morwenna found solace in two places: reading science fiction novels, and playing with the spirits of Wales alongside her twin sister. But after their mother tried to twist the spirits to her own whims with deadly consequences, Mori is sent off alone to private school, where she attempts to come to terms with what happened. This is less "teen girl on big adventure" and more "what happens after the trauma of adventure", with it being partly left up to the reader whether the fantastical elements are read as real or not.

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino

Centuries ago in Ireland, Chairiste Ní Cummen was trained in the secrets of music and magic. But her pride was her downfall, trapping her and her lover in the land of the Sidh. Only Chairiste escaped, hoping to one day win her lover's freedom in musical battle with the fairy that holds her captive. Now she is Christa Cruitare, harp teacher in the modern world and all but resigned to her loss. Until she comes across a great new music: heavy metal. Taking one last chance to win her lover's freedom, Christa sets out to gather other skilled musicians and bring them with her in her final battle.

In the Jaded Grove by Anela Deen

After years of war, pixie soldier Simith is tired of bloodshed and secretly sets up a meeting to discuss peace. But he’s betrayed and forced on the run - right through a door to another world. Meanwhile, Jessa is on her way home when she encounters a man about to be killed, and intervenes to save his life. With that simple act, the fate of the two - and that of the war - become interlinked. While I found the general execution of this one a bit weak, the concept and characters are interesting, and it’s a fun take on the portal fantasy genre.

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

Catherine Helstone's brother Laon has traveled to Arcadia, the dangerous land of the Fae, and has since lost contact with her. Worried sick and desperate for news, Catherine embarks on the perilous journey herself, but on arrival she fins herself isolated and in danger of the Queen of the Fae, who is hard on her brother's heel.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett*

Historical fantasy. Emily Wilde is a professor who prefers the company of faeries, dangerous but bound to rules she can understand, to that of humans, who she finds inexplicable. Working on her faerie encyclopedia, she travels on a research expedition to the faraway Hrafnsvik, hoping for some solitary months of study. Her hopes are dashed when Wendell Bambleby, rival scholar and possible faerie in hiding, arrives on her doorstep. But Wendell's aggravating presence is far from Emily's only problem, as the Hidden Folk of Hrafnsvik turns out to be far more dangerous than expected.

The Watchers by A.M. Shine

Horror. When her car breaks down, Mina tries crossing a forest by foot. As the sun goes down she finds herself lost with something dangerous closing in; at the last second, a woman appears and urges her into a bunker. Inside is a room with a mirrored wall, in which a group of strangers, stranded just like Mina, huddles through the night. Outside in the dark, something malevolent watches them through the glass. Will the group ever be able to escape the forest? While I found the characters somewhat unconvincing, this is a spooky story with fascinating lore.

The Call (Grey Land duology) by Peadar Ó'Guilín

Young adult horror. After having scorned the fae, Nessa's nation has been cursed: every teenager will, at some point, be called into the Grey Land for 3 minutes and 4 seconds before being returned. 9 out of 10 are returned dead. Trying to keep their country alive, children are sent off to training schools to prepare them and better their chances of survival. Her legs having been twisted by polio at a young age, Nessa's chances are worse than most, but she is determined to make it through her call alive.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher*

Horror. When her grandmother dies, Mouse takes on the task of clearing out the old woman's home. But as she arrives at her grandmother's home she realizes her mistake: her grandmother was a hoarder, and Mouse has her work cut out for her. As if this wasn't bad enough, among the things left behind Mouse finds her step-grandfather's journal, describing various horrifying encounters. All nonsense, Mouse, assumes - until she starts making her own encounters in the dark forest surrounding the house.

Faebound (Faebound series) by Saara El-Arifi

Elven sisters Yeeren and Lettle have grown up in the shadow of a forever war, one as a soldier and the other as a diviner and teller of prophecy. But when Yeeren makes a fatal mistake and is exiled, the two leave their familiar world for the first time - and end up with the mythical, and believed extinct, fae. Here they must juggle their own loyalties and hearts with political intrigue as they try to find a way to survive and return to their home. While I didn’t personally dig the romantasy vibes of this and found the elves and fae could’ve been more interesting, if you like epic fantasy with heavy romance, both f/f and f/m, you will probably enjoy it.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik*

Historical fantasy with strong fairytale vibes. Miryem's father is a moneylender, but his inability to collect on debts has left his family on the brink of ruin. Desperate and ruthless, Miryem steps in to take his place, and suddenly the family's luck has turned. But Miryem's reputation of being able to turned silver to gold catches the attention of the Staryk King - dangerous creatures who seem made of ice body, mind and heart. In her schemes to survive the King's demands, Miryem's actions ensnare a local farmer's daughter as well as the new wife of the tsar. As their fates are bound together, the three girls may change their land forever, for better or for worse.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Young adult romance. Isobel is an artist with a particular and dangerous set of clients in the fair folk. The fairies cannot create art on their own, and her portraits are highly coveted. But as she paints a portrait for the autumn prince, Rook, Isobel makes a mistake: she paints human emotion into his eyes. This weakens Rook before the fairy court, and in his fury he spirits Isobel away to stand trial for her crime.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

In a desperate attempt to win the heart of the beautiful Victoria, Tristran Thorn makes her a promise to fetch the falling star they both saw crash one night. But to do so, he must enter the land of Faerie, where nothing is as it seems, least of all the fallen star, who isn't very keen on being given away as a gift.

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey*

Young adult. Ellie cares mostly about hanging out with her friend Kevin and pining after her crush Mark, but when a string of grisly murders - all the victims missing their eyes - starts taking place in her town, it’s the start of something ancient and dangerous, as vengeful fairies battle for immortality. Set in New Zeeland and based on Māori mythology.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

Novella. When Floralinda was first locked in a tower by a witch, princes kept coming to try and save her. But none of them made it past the dragon on the first floor, let alone the monsters after it, and now the supply of willing princes seems to have dried up. Starting to grow desperate, Floralinda captures and makes a deal with a small fairy for it to assist her in escaping the tower.

A note: all these Holly Black books are set in the same universe and do on occasion cross over, but can be read independently.

Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales trilogy) by Holly Black

Young adult. Sixteen-year-old Kade, used to traveling around with her mother's rock band, has just found herself back in her childhood home town. Here she meets up with old acquaintances - not all of them human. For Kade has always been able to see the faeries invisible to most humans. Among them is a handsome faerie knight she finds injured in the woods and chooses to help. In doing this, she becomes embroiled in a struggle between two rivaling and highly dangerous faerie courts.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Young adult. Siblings Hazel and Ben live in Fairfold, a strange town where people leave out milk for the fairies and tourists come to look at a fairy prince locked in an enchanted sleep in a glass coffin in the woods. But things have been getting even stranger in Fairfold; the fair folk are getting more agressive, and the glass coffin in the woods gets shattered. As unrest spreads throughout the town, Hazel keeps a secret that may unravel it all.

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of The Air trilogy) by Holly Black

Young adult. When Jude was seven, her parent's were murdered by a spurned faerie lover of her mother's, while she and her sisters were stolen away to be raised at the High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong in this dangerous land. Her struggle is made all the harder by Cardan, handsome faerie prince with a knack for pestering her. As she strives for some semblance of power in this dangerous realm, Jude gets involved with a conspiracy that may change Faerie forever.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Sinners (The Fae Feast series) by Eka Waterfield

Niavin isn't just a sidh Lord, he's also a drug lord, providing the fae's drug of choice: toxic human pollution.

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

Romantasy. Lore Alemeyu's village is under ruthless Fae rule, trapped within a forested prison. To protect her village, Lore makes a deal with a Fae lord to organize an enchanted library which only a human can enter.

Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire trilogy) by C.S. Friedman

On a planet far away, a priest, an adept, a sorcerer, and an apprentice are drawn together to fight against the evil fae which preys upon humanity.

That Self-Same Metal (Forge & Fracture Saga) by Brittany N. Williams

Young adult historical fantasy. Joan Sands works as a stagehand for William Shakespeare's acting company. Secretly, she’s also blessed by the Orisha with magical powers, and the ability to see Fae. And lately, the Fae are up to something...

Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans

Three teens - one cursed to sometimes be invisible, one who grew from a seed in the ground, and one who has yet to find his real name - find themselves sharing magic and the ability to speak with dryads and fae.

The Wind City by Simmer Wigmore

Old forces are gathering in Wellington, as the displaced iwi atua of legend reappear and decide to make the city their home, and not all of them mean well.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist, Malice by Heather Walter, Poison Kiss by Ana Mardoll, Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

[wiltkingart]

Do you have any book recs that are f/f or have female or nonbinary main characters, or or maybe no romance but have good like. Gender ..? I remember u recommended blindsight and I read it and loved it. So if have any other recs, doesn't have to be similar genre, but other recs without romance strictly? I think I like your taste in books

(sorry this was kind of a vague ask but I'd be interested in whatever recommendations u think of)

i have a few you might like!! unfortunately i don't seek/read nb books personally, but for f/f romance there's This Is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar, of course. i do think it deserves the spike in popularity it got recently, especially if you eat up flowery writing like a starving beast. The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling is kind of a tame horror with f/f romance but i liked it more for the whole scary cave exploring plot, and the romance felt secondary anyway. Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear is space scifi about a lesbian MC whose salvaging mission uncovers a terrible crime. has some f/f interactions but does not end in romance.

and then for gender, the Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee series features a cis woman with a cis guy living in her head and the only way i can explain it is it comes off as one of the most Gender things ive ever read, even if the 2nd book's plot kind of sucks. it has a Lot of unique and cool scifi concepts too (math weapons and pretty geometry and living gunships), and other nb and trans side characters. plus the author is trans himself. The Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley had a lot of unexpected gender moments (and casual bisexuality). it's a world where casual sex changes are normal, and it comes off surprisingly forward for being written in 1977. the writing feels smooth and modern, and is overall very weird (affectionate) with a cool female MC.

for something Not scifi, Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino is an urban fantasy about a magical celtic harpist utilizing the power of heavy metal and friendship to save her lover still trapped in the faery realm they both tried to escape. so it's got an established romance but its more about the journey (and the music) to get her woman back.

tldr; for you personally I'd say Machineries of Empire, Ophiuchi Hotline, and Ancestral Night would be the strongest matches based on you being a Blindsight enjoyer and wanting little to no romance. hope this helps! :]

[sprotteswelt]

Help No 2

Toss or keep? Please comment or message if you know anything about these books or their authors. Please also take a look at the first post, I'd love you forever!

[the25centpaperback]

Gossamer Axe by Gaèl Baudino, cover by Dawn Wilson (1990)

[lesbianfantasybookreviews]

Gossamer Axe

by Gael Baudino

Author: Is a woman. She was a wiccan living with her partner who is a woman when she wrote the book, but became a quaker later. I’m not really sure how to feel about that.

Story/Plot: 5/5

A well written story with good pacing and enjoyable content.

Characters: 5/5

The main character is an ancient Celtic woman who is trying to free her lady love from the faery Sidh. She has a very fluid and non-monogamous sexuality, so it might be good to know that one of the people she has an intimate relationship with is a man. She forms a band made up only of women who are all endearing an sympathetic.

Tension/Drama: 4/5

So, there’s some intense content in this book including: the first fictional character with aids, a character who struggles with trauma from childhood sexual abuse, misogynistic and abusive me, and there are characters that die. Overall it’s a very powerful story and I think well worth the intensity.

Happy Ending?: 5/5

The lesbians have a satisfying ending.

[auntiehalo]

Everyone go home; I found the Ultimate Thriftstore Gem©️:

Baudino, Gael. Gossamer Axe. New York, the Penguin Group, 1990.

[hedgehogreads]

“Janet,” she says, “it’s junk.”

I knew what she would say already, but I am nevertheless chagrined. I have flown this fighter for many weeks, and now I have destroyed it. An old friend has been betrayed.

“I can salvage the engines.”

This amounts to informing me I can have the boots from a colleague’s corpse.

 - Gael Baudino, “BItterfoot”, from Sisters in Fantasy 2

[sendmeyoureyes]

It was hard to have hope, harder still to give it up.

Maze of Moonlight (Gael Baudino)

[obeymestudentcouncil]

Neri’s Information

Neri Devronis Age:25 Height: 5’5” Body type:  Round, chubby side of curvy Hair:  Deep brown naturally, dyed burgundy Eyes:  Grey

Likes:  

Music-she’ll listen to just about anything, although she really doesn’t care for rap/hip hop most of the time.  She can quickly pick up on the lyrics and sing along, decent mid-alto range.

Dancing-Especially if she’s alone she loves to dance.  If there’s a good amount of people dancing at a party, she might be inclined.  Took a semester of ballroom in college so she knows the basics and is self-taught at Bellydancing:  a secret that she doesn’t share often.

Reading-Primarily she reads fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance, though if something sounds good she’ll read it regardless.  She grew up on the likes of Dragonlance, Mercedes Lackey, Anne Rice, and Gael Baudino.  Almost always has a book, usually a very worn paperback, stuffed in her bag in case she has to wait for anything.

VIdeo Games-If she’s not reading, she’s likely got a controller in her hands.  Old school RPG’s are her favorite, but she does play action-rpgs, fps, and occasional platformers too.  She has puzzle games on her phone to help unhitch her brain and night and distract her enough to go to sleep.

Dislikes:

Chores

People- She’s worked enough retail jobs to dislike people in general.  Being an asshat to someone doing their job will piss her off in no time.  

Herself, sometimes- She knows she’s not always the nicest person, she does have a bad habit of talking behind people’s back and gossiping that she tries to curb but it’s not always effective.

Being talked down to/having her intelligence insulted-  Neri takes pride in her intelligence.  She knows she can have her dumbass moments, and everyone has moments of less than common sense.  But talk down to her like she’s an idiot and she’s going to be pissed.

Personality: 

 One thing Neri decided when she joined the program was that she wasn’t going to just let herself sit off to the side for once.  She’s making more of an effort to be outgoing and make new friends.  Generally, she tends to be the quiet one until she’s comfortable with someone so this new change is hard and she does occasionally stumble at finding things to talk about. Once she gets to know someone she opens up a bit more, tending towards a louder, more excitable attitude. She has a fairly quick wit, with a tendency towards sarcasm.  She will not often back down once she’s made a decision; the exception being if her opinion of a person changes.  Neri is also most often the mom friend of the group.  She’s used to being the caretaker, the mediator, and the listening ear.

Weaknesses:

She has a lot of self-confidence issues, which she tries to overcome.  She will make a decision, work to follow through with it, and start to waffle when the self-doubt hits.  Because she’s so accustomed to being the rock for everyone else, she has problems asking others for help when she needs it, telling herself she needs to take care of her problems herself to not burden her friends with them.

Mannerisms:

  She talks with her hands, the more into the conversation she is, the more she does it.  When she’s nervous or her self confidence starts to fail, she tends to bite her lip, sometimes averting her eyes as well.  She also does this when she’s in thought, along tapping her lips with a finger and quirking her lips to one side.  Also blushes easily, whether from embarrassment or from being flustered.

Background:

  She graduated from college about 2 years before.  Things didn’t work out for her the way she’d hoped, and the college’s promises about helping grads find jobs turned to smoke.  She’s been working paycheck to paycheck since, not sure what to do with herself.  So when she came home one day to find an invitation to join an exchange program, she decided why the hell not, maybe it would lead to something better.

She chose to take classes in biology, philosophy, and ethics when she arrived at RAD, enjoying comparing the courses in the Devildom to the ones she had a background in back home.  Comparisons between the two became a side hobby of hers, and she’s considered the possibility of asking for an extension to her stay, maybe teaching a comparative course for demons preparing to head to the human world.  To this end, she added Devildom Law to her course load as well, despite hating it with a passion.

Style:  Neri doesn’t have a definitive style, she prefers comfort over fashion, but she likes to look pretty. She likes her skirts knee-length or longer, or pants and capris.  She loves flowy shirts or if more fitted, not tight on her tummy.  She prefers deep jewel tones and black for her clothing with silver jewelry.  And chokers, she absolutely loves chokers.  With the exception of her black wedge heeled ankle boots, she sticks to flats, no arguments accepted.

[pretzelpizzapuppy]

📖 ?

Fave Book: I don't really read much anymore buuut I really like Strands of Starlight by Gael Baudino (I need to read the rest of the series, major tw for... lots of stuff if you wanna read this tho) and I really like the Wings of Fire and Guardians of Ga'Hoole series! If you like Warriors you should read them bc they're like Warriors except about dragons and owls respectively and they treat their disabled characters really well (unlike Warriors) and also WoF has gay characters if I remember correctly. Oh also WoF deals with mental illness really well :)

[sniperct]

Okay so the fantasy book (part of a trilogy in fact) I read that talked about kent state was by a writer named Gael Baudino (She also wrote this FANTASTIC lesbian rock band fae story called Gossamer Axe)

The premise is a teaching assistant survivor of the kent state shootings, to a history professor.

She basically ends up in the super sexist fantasy world that spun out of his mind and takes over his role as this powerful dragon rider and gradually starts trying to un-sexist the world. It was published in 1988 and I think pretty heavy handed in a lot of ways that make sense for the time it was published. Fresh off the vietnam war still, war vs peace, feminism and patriarchy etc

I enjoyed it as a kid, I don't know if it holds up (there's rape and a lot of other triggery content and its honestly a bit in the vein of the earlier Pern novels in the 'def not a kids book' way) but I do want to re-read it and I read gossamar axe a lot more recently and that was pretty good.

I'm also curious as how some other things hold up as there was an entire troop of soldiers all turned into women and that part VERY MUCH INTERESTED ME at the time I read it and gee I wonder why now.

[amusewithaview]

Have you ever read The Rook by Daniel O'Malley? I think you'd really enjoy it. Also, what are some of your favorite books? I love your writing so the things you read must be just as great!

Googled it and it looks interesting, I’m putting it on my “to read” list - thanks!

(Note: this got really long so it’s going under a cut.)

I…read a lot of…stuff.  Some of it may be to your tastes, some of it may not.  Here’s a list of some of my faves/the books that made me who I am today, in no particular order:

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Ilona Andrews’ series “The Edge”

Anything written by Sharon Shinn, start with Summers at Castle Auburn

White Fang by Jack London

Crown Duel/Court Duel by Sherwood Smith

Firebird by Mercedes Lackey

The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix

The Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The Young Wizards series by Diane Duane

The Immortals series by Tamora Pierce

The Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

The Hurog series by Patricia Briggs

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley

The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain

The Tale of Lanen Kaelar series by Elizabeth Kerner

Maus by Art Spiegleman

The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

The Republic by Plato

The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts

The Time Quintet by Madeleine L’Engle

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper

A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer

A Little Princess by Frances Hogdson Burnett

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist (specifically the Magician duology)

The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville

The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey

Bambi by Felix Salten

The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Blood & Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

The Fledgling by Jane Langton

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Dragonlord series by Joanne Bertin

(most of) the Redwall series by Brian Jacques

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

The Unicorn series by Tanith Lee

The Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong

The Truth series by Dawn Cook

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

The Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier

Candide by Voltaire

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Wayfarer Redemption series by Sara Douglass

Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

The Firekeeper saga by Jane Lindskold

The Symphony of Ages by Elizabeth Haydon

The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea

The Tredana Trilogy by Joyce Ballou Gregorian

The Keltiad by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino

The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

[biandlesbianliterature]

“A new magic has entered the realm of the Sidh–and its name is rock n’ roll!” – Gossamer Axe front cover blurb

I will admit that I picked this up primarily because of the cover. A woman in high fantasy/ancient Celt robes, hair billowing behind her, playing an electric guitar? Add in the cover blurb (and the promise of queer content), and I was on board. Because I bought it mostly for cover appeal–I collect lesbian pulp, so I clearly have a weakness for ridiculous covers–I didn’t rush to start reading it. Instead, I waited for a time when I felt like reading something fun and a little bit silly. Unbeknownst to me, Gossamer Axe takes its rock n’ roll Celtic fantasy premise very seriously.

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino was reviewed @ The Lesbrary

[sanders-sides-thuri]

What’s your favourite book? Do you believe in an afterlife? What’s your favourite thing about LJ?

1. I always say Lord of the Rings for this, and I do really enjoy it. My dad started reading The Hobbit to me when I was four and read a little bit almost every night and finished with Lord of the Rings when I was six--I cried the next day at school because it was over. And I met LJ through LOTR fandom, and found some other amazing friends there that I have to this day (hi @shirasade, @starcallersaturn, @magickalmolly, @laughing-baubo, @songspinner9 and others who I am missing from this list!). 

So while the book definitely has issues and isn’t necessarily the one I reread the most often, I’d say it’s probably one of the most influential on my life.

For pure reading pleasure...The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce or Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino

2. I want to. I hope it’s real. I don’t want to think this is it, and I’ll never know what happens after I die, that human consciousness is confined to our bodies and doesn’t continue when they give out. I want to think my mom can somehow still see me and still know how much I miss her. I want to have an unshakable faith that there’s more out there than we can understand and that I’ll either get to come back again or experience other things.

But part of me is very afraid there isn’t, and that’s not rational to believe there might be. I feel like I’ve experienced and made contact with things outside the mundane that could be evidence of something more--but I can’t be certain that’s not neurons misfiring or hope biasing my objectivity.

I hope there’s something out there that we recognize as the divine, that some form of my Gods are real, and I don’t think there’s anything bad about behaving as if they are.

But I really just don’t know.

3. My favorite thing about @randomslasher​. Oh man. Like I haven’t written a book already!!

I could say their nose--it’s small and adorable and turns up at the end and even if you push it down it pops back up because it’s too happy.

I could say their kindness and compassion--they pour all of themselves into everything and care SO MUCH and want to rescue and take care of everything and everyone they can. If we had infinite money we would have a sprawling animal sanctuary and probably dozens of foster kids and rooms for all our friends who are struggling, because their heart is the biggest I’ve ever known.

I could say their strength--they deal with more pain than any person should have to and still push through it to live. They work every day to see and appreciate their own worth, even though they were given little reason to believe in it when they were young. They will push others when they have to, strong enough to know when they need to be firm, relay hard truths, strong enough to take someone’s anger to help that person grow (and that person has often been me). 

I could say their talents and skills--because there are SO MANY of them. LJ can write, can draw, can play music--piano and ukulele--can sing, is the best at their job in our large company--basically anything they put their mind to they can not only do, they excel.

I could say that they’re brilliant and funny and ridiculous and kind and sweet and strong and adorable and I love them with all my heart and still have to pinch myself when I look down at my left hand and see that ring. Because I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d ever get so lucky.

But for right now I’ll say that they remembered to start the crockpot before we left this morning! 😘