Sunday, November 14, 2021

Immortal Muse - Review, Stephen Leigh Interview, and Prelude to a Deleted Chapter Reveal

IMMORTAL MUSE BY STEPHEN LEIGH: REVIEW, INTERVIEW, AND PRELUDE TO A SECRET CHAPTER - New Black Gate article posted, and the deleted chapter is posted too: A DELETED EXCERPT FROM IMMORTAL MUSE, REVEALED AND ANNOTATED BY STEPHEN LEIGH


Left, Paperback cover (artist unknown); Right cover art by Tim O'Brien.



Stephen Leigh is a Cincinnati-based, award-winning writer of science fiction and fantasy, with thirty novels and nearly sixty short stories published. He has also published fantasy under the pseudonym S.L. Farrell. He has been a frequent contributor to the Hugo-nominated shared-world series Wild Cards, edited by George R.R. Martin. Stephen taught creative writing for twenty years at Northern Kentucky University, and has recently retired (but not from writing). His most recent novels have been Amid The Crowd Of Stars, the SunPath duology of A Fading Sun and A Rising MoonThe Crow of Connemara, and Immortal Muse. His latest novel, Bound To A Single Sun, will be published by DAW Books next year. Stephen is married to Denise Parsley Leigh; they are the parents of a daughter and a son; he is a musician and vocalist too, active in several Cincinnati bands.

In 2014, Stephen Leigh published his Immortal Muse novel (check out the 2014 Black Gate release), an alternative-history, fantasy fictionalizing alchemy's role in artistic muses. Wow! Of course, Leigh had to be interviewed as part of the "Beauty in Weird Fiction" interview series. Indeed he was interviewed in 2016 before the interview series merged into Black Gate. If you are interested in the aesthetics of horror and weird fantasy, check out the thoughts of our recent guests like Darrell SchweitzerSebastian JonesCharles GramlichAnna Smith Spark, Carol Berg, & Jason Ray Carney (full list of interviews at the end of this post).

This post wraps up (1) a review of Immortal Muse, (2) the interview with the author on Leigh's muses, and (3) teases readers within an announcement. Okay, we'll cover that last one first. There is a missing/deleted chapter from Immortal Muse that Stephen Leigh will be posting on Black Gate soon, over 11K words with annotations on (a) why it was left out of the final book and (b) how facts were woven into this fantastical alternative-history. It serves as both a stand-alone short story and an engaging behind-the-scenes look at writing. The article with the missing chapter is posted here.

Let this review and interview stoke your creative fires (link)

BTW, interviewing is rewarding in itself, but receiving kind feedback from the interviewees and readers really hits home. 
“Seth, I honestly think that's one of the best interviews anyone's ever done with me: great questions that forced me to answer in depth. If anyone wants a glimpse into "how I write", your interview would be an excellent choice! Thanks for reminding me of it, and for giving everyone the link!” - Stephen Leigh