The Hild audiobook came out yesterday. In celebration, here are two short videos taken from the Hugo House gig in Seattle last month.
First, the longest: 31 minutes of the real me, complete with, ah, language. I’m answering readers’ questions about all kinds of stuff: research, writing process, knowing the ending before you begin, publicity for aspiring writers, and so on.
Second, one of the readings–from the very beginning of the book–which is much shorter, about 8 minutes long:
There’s more; we got the whole evening on tape. If you like these clips I’ll post the whole enormous video (intro of me, my intro to the evening, two readings, whole Q and A). It’s long, absolutely, but if that kind of thing floats your boat…
All camera work by the amazing Kurt Lorenz.
Nicola Griffith 
Nicola — These are just to whet the appetite for the book itself. Good choice for the reading! The line, “She wasn't afraid .. . she was three, she had SHOES” . .. was the moment I was sure would be there . . . and I laughed out loud when it came! Ye be a right deft wordsmith, woman! Will happily attend your virtual post of the event entire . . .
I'm guessing it would be interesting to compare and contrast this reading (and the long one I also do, from much later in the book) with the audiobook–though it couldn't be a direct comparison, as my reading are edited for performance and the unabridged text is, well, not. Also, one is live and the other not. And so my reading is raw, not shaped in any way.
Just watched the Q&A.
Relieved that I'm not the only one annoyed by pretentious Tolkien pronunciations in the LotR films lol. It's like when I hear people doing bad accents in other movies – just tell us you're from somewhere and we'll believe you and groove with it.
Really liking the advice/honesty about developing a writing routine, especially the idea of just getting in there and writing. I think that's why I don't join writing support groups even though people keep mentioning them… I worry that if I join those I'd not be getting the point.
If I've nothing to write I don't think anyone can help that but me.
I'm giving the Master & Commander audiobook a go now after your recommendation. What is it about the series you enjoy? So far I like that it's treating the era like a contemporary setting and not getting too bogged down in perfect detail (although I like immersive fiction, I think I prefer immersion into a personal journey rather than florid visual description). Basically it feels like a human story – not a historical one.