What do this picture, a detail from Terry Windling’s Deer Maiden (which hangs on our wall; we bought it at a Tiptree auction a few years ago)…
this piece of music, Hedningarna’s “Viima,” which is part of my Hild playlist…
and Riva Lehrer’s portait of me, which she finished at the end of last year…
have in common?
Nicola Griffith 
Haven't the faintest, but Rita Lehrer's portrait of you is pretty damn awesome!
Nice blog…found you through an MS site…can't recall which one at the moment.
Which of your books shall I read first?
That depends very much on what kind of thing you like. If you like grit and urban despair (which ends well) and near-future science fiction, then Slow River is probably your best bet. If you like other-world SF, with a much more traditional structure, then Ammonite. If SF isn't your thing, then read the three Aud books, starting with with The Blue Place. It's published as 'a novel of suspense'. Some people call it noir. I just call it a novel about a woman who kills people. It has a hard ending–but things look up for Aud in Stay and Always.
If you like memoir, and can find a copy, there's And Now We Are Going to Have a Party: Liner notes to a writer's early life. It covers my life in the UK and how I met Kelley and moved to this country. One day I'll get around to writing the next one.
If you prefer short stories, I have a mini-collection (about a hundred pages), With Her Body.
You can read more about my books on my website.
They are all the green man/.green person mythology from England and Wales. Have you ever read anything by Geoffrey Household? I'm an old hippie, but see if you have. It's all about being human, pre-human and much more.
Nope :)
Maybe they had snow leopards in Wales just after the Ice Age but…nope.
Therianthropy? I don't know how the music fits in, but it is wicked good stuff!
You are getting warm…
I'm not smart enough to get this either — I was reading the comments to see if the answer appeared. My best thought was something about human souls as represented by animals. The portrait captures my own impression of you as someone with the leopard's kind of power. BTW I have a similar Terri Windling drawing, also bought from the Tiptree auction: “Coyote Child.” I saw it and had to have it.
I always find the notion of me as a leopard appeals to my vanity :) So thank you.
Which is “Coyote Child”? Is there a link to the image?
And, ah, those Tiptree auctions. They'll bankrupt us all…
This still intrigues me, but I can't find any good answer. Another hint, maybe?
All will be revealed…but not til next summer :)
I just checked online and couldn't find a copy of Coyote Child. My print is too big to scan. It's similar to the Deer Maiden drawing, though. Both remind me of the characters in her book The Good Wife.
You couldn't just take a picture of it? Eh, never mind. I'll imagine…