For years, as I would assist kids who enjoyed fantasy, sci-fi, and horror novels, I would think, "These kids will love books by Christopher Golden . . . in ten years."

Golden's first novel, OF SAINTS AND SHADOWS, was released in 1994. This dark horror story about a vampire named Peter Octavian contains what Buffy Summers would describe as "violence, strong language, adult content." This and the subsequent Octavian novels - referred to collectively as THE SHADOW SAGA - were not written for kids.

Golden continued to write stories shelved in the fiction/literature department (or sci-fi/fantasy or horror, if the bookstore or library has genre breakouts) until he became involved in the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER line, which was in teen series. He was one of the first authors on board with the BtVS books. He authored or co-authored multiple original novels based on the television series as well as companion books such as the first volume of THE WATCHER'S GUIDE and THE MONSTER BOOK. Then Simon & Schuster started an adult line of BtVS novels, shelved in sci-fi/fantasy series instead of teen series. These books were longer and meatier than the teen BtVS line.

BODY BAGS, Golden's first novel in the BODY OF EVIDENCE forensic murder mystery series, came out in May 1999. (Note that this outdates CSI by nearly a year and a half.) BODY BAGS and the books that followed it were shelved in teen fiction and featured a college-aged protagonist, the intelligent and quick-thinking Jenna Blake. BoE offered ten books which I in turn offered to teens and adults alike. In fact, when a new book came out, some parents and teenagers who would teasingly fight over who got to read the book first!

A few summers ago, Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski released a quartet of juvenile fantasy novels entitled OUTCAST, starting with the book THE UN-MAGICIAN. Finally, finally, I could give Golden books to eight year olds. In fact, due to the timeless nature of this fantasy series, I put these books in the hands of kids, teens, and adults alike.

Golden has continued to write books for adults. His novels and series range from urban fantasy to Victorian ghost stories and everything in-between. He has brought mythology into contemporary settings (THE FERRYMAN, THE VEIL), dabbled in dark magick and time travel (THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN), even re-told Peter Pan as a coming-of-age story set in 1981 (STRAIGHT ON 'TIL MORNING). These and more are the titles you'll find in the sci-fi/fantasy or horror sections of the bookstore. Mature older teens gobble up these stories just as quickly as adults, while other parents hold on to the titles for their kids to read when they are older.

Christopher Golden has successfully written for adults, teens, and kids. If I can claim the same too someday, I'll be a happy girl.

Here is a quick rundown of his most popular works for different age groups.

( Read more... )

Visit Christopher Golden's official website to learn more about the man, the myth, the legend.

Browse through my Golden-related posts at Bildungsroman.

See my other author spotlights.

IRL (In Real Life): The Bronze Documentary Project, which was written, directed, produced and edited by Stevie Tuszynski, is now available on DVD. Get it at createspace.com and use the discount code V3BNN4DJ to save $5! The disc is NTSC, region-free, and includes the complete 55-minute documentary plus promotional trailers, a gag reel, and more.

The first feature-length documentary to take on the subject of online relationships, IRL (In Real Life) chronicles the life, death and afterlife of an online community called The Bronze, made up of fans from the official website for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The documentary looks at what happens when online relationships move from the Internet into "real life." In their own words, Bronzers talk about what lead them to seek out the community, the prejudices and misconceptions they had to face from family and friends about their Internet activities, and the effect the experience had on their lives.

I created the following meme about books and organization just for fun. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments here or post your answers at your own blog and link back to Bildungsroman.

1. How do you organize your books? By genre, by last name, by title, by publication date?
   
2. Do you have a shelf reserved for your favorite books and/or authors?
   
3. What is the first title and author on your bookshelf?
   
4. What is the last title and author on your bookshelf?
   
5. What genre dominates your collection?
   
6. Which author is the most represented? (You own the most number of books by . . . )
   
7. You own all of the books written by . . .
   
8. You own the entire series of . . .

( Here are my answers. )

I am pleased by the success of this meme. All the cool kids are doing it. Participants include John Green, E. Lockhart, Melissa Marr, Literaticat and Carrie Jones. Other have commented right here, directly beneath the original post. Many thanks to everyone who has played along!

Archives: Veronica Mars, Buffy Summers, Eliza Dushku and Shiri Appleby
Resources: Neptune High, Freeze Frame and Granolith

Cordelia and Lorelai - separated at birth?

I am particularly proud of how this set turned out. All of these icons are up for grabs.

Three to tease:


See over thirty icons and wallpaper at Your Girl.

Teasers:


See full songset.