Gwenda Bond

I’m absolutely thrilled to introduce today’s guest: Gwenda Bond! Steeped in all things literary—especially the mysterious and fantastical—Gwenda has guest-edited a special young adult issue of Subterranean Online, been a guest on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and amused myriad and countless readers with her Dear Aunt Gwenda column in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet (edited by Kelly Link & Gavin Grant).

Gwenda is best known, however, for her novels The Woken Gods and Blackwood, and will be even more of the talk-about-town in October with the release of Girl on a Wire, her story about a daredevil heroine who discovers danger and passion lurking beneath a circus big top.

Want to learn more about Gwenda Bond? Of course you do. So, here she is with What Was on Gwenda’s . . .

Mind: A story—then again, this is pretty much always true. But this one is a little different, because it’s a collaborative project my husband and I have been working on together that we’re just getting time to circle back around to. I didn’t know whether I’d be able to collaborate on fiction, but we wanted to give it a try and, in fact, it’s been a blast and really creatively rejuvenating.

Desk: An ET: The Extraterrestrial pen cup, the bright orange brick of The Chicago Manual of Style, assorted little boxes containing forgotten business cards and mysterious cords to technology that may or may not still exist in this office, a few comic books, some tiny circus-themed buttons my agent sent me after she read the first chunk of my circus book in draft, a fancy green leather notebook covered in inspirational sayings from the endless supply of fancy notebooks my mom gives me every x-mas. Oh, and my computer and some lip balm.

Nightstand: A teetering tower of books, including Genevieve Valentine’s The Girls at the Kingfisher Club (out later this year, a genius reimagining of the 12 dancing princesses in 1920s New York), Emily Arsenault’s Miss Me When I’m Gone (a mystery recommended highly by Colleen Mondor on Chasing Ray), Kristin Kittscher’s The Wig in the Window (a wonderful MG mystery), VCFA’s own Caroline Carlson’s Magic Marks the Spot (another utterly delightful MG novel), and my Kindle in its leather book cover designed to mimic the Neverending Story, complete with auryn (etsy!).

Playlist: A whole bunch of stuff I discovered via Said the Gramophone’s best songs of 2013, several songs by The National I’ve been playing on repeat, and a Brazilian cellist/singer named Dom La Nena I heard on our local college radio station and immediately came home and bought up everything I could find by.

Catalog of Fears: Right now I’m in that nervous in-between space knowing that Girl on a Wire is starting to be (or soon will be) read by some of the people who will read it early, which is also the dreaded space-time when the book goes out to other authors for possible blurbs, and if there’s a more nauseating place to be, well, it’s called release month. (In this case, that’s October.) *insane laughter* At any rate, I don’t know any authors who truly enjoy this part—you walk around half-convinced everyone will hate it, that it will turn out you and your agent and editor have all, in the parlance of Heathers (since it’s just opening as a musical, why not?), had a brain tumor for breakfast and convinced yourselves the book was any good. This too shall pass.

Window Sill: One very bossy polydactyl cat named Hemingway, staring into the forbidden outside world. (I know, it’s like having a cat named Cat, but he came with it.)

On the Floor: One moderately demanding dog named Emma and one perfect angel dog named Puck (well, perfect except for when he wants to kill–which is anytime he meets strangers). Between the cat and the dogs, this is the triumvirate that rules my workspace.

TV Screen: The Veronica Mars movie! Because how perfect was it? Pretty perfect, even better than I’d hoped.

To keep up to date with Gwenda, follow her at www.gwendabond.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gwendabond, and on twitter @gwenda.

To pre-order Girl on a Wire click below:

And be sure to stop by on March 30 for my own What Was on My . . . and on April 10 for the incredible Julie Berry, author of the 5 ★ All the Truth That’s in Me.