Whedonistas: My First Essay

I’m thrilled to announce my inclusion in Whedonistas, “A Celebration of the Worlds of Joss Whedon By The Women Who Love Them,” edited by the fabulous duo of Lynne M. Thomas and Deborah Stanish. The book will be released March 15, 2011, by Mad Norwegian Press.

I’d never written a personal essay before “Something to Sing About,” but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about my favorite TV show ever, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. In the end, I wrote the essay in two days because once the words started pouring out, I just couldn’t stop them. (Revision took much longer, natch.)

My essay deals with some issues in my life that have needed exploring, but that I’ve never put into words before. I watched Buffy during its entire 7-year run, and it continues to influence me today, long after the show has ended. So…yeah. This essay and this book are really, really important to me.

But there are a gazillion reasons to get excited about this collection. Take a look at this amazing ToC, which includes one of my favorite people — Heather Shaw — and a few other names you just might recognize:

Whedonistas:
A Celebration of the Worlds of Joss Whedon By The Women Who Love Them
Edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Deborah Stanish

Lynne M. Thomas and Deborah Stanish: Introduction
Seanan McGuire: The Girls Next Door: Learning to Live with the Living Dead and Never Even Break a Nail
Nancy Holder: Ramping Up for a Decade with Joss Whedon
Sharon Shinn: Outlaws & Desperadoes
Jane Espenson (Interview)
Jeanne C. Stein: My (Fantasy) Encounter with Joss Whedon (And What I’ve Learned from the Master)
Sigrid Ellis: The Ages of Dollhouse: Autobiography through Whedon
Heather Shaw: A Couch Potato’s Guide to Demon Slaying: Turning Strangers into Family, Buffy-Style
Laurel Brown: Smart Is Sexy: An Appreciation of Firefly’s Kaylee
Caroline Symcox: Teething Troubles and Growing Up
NancyKay Shapiro: Transgressing with Spike and Buffy
Priscilla Spenser: Brand New Day: The Evolution of the Doctor Horrible Fandom
Elizabeth Bear: “We’re Here to Save You”
Mariah Huehner: Imperfectly Perfect: Why I Really Love Buffy For Being a Pill Sometimes
Kelly Hale: My European Vacation
Lyda Morehouse/Tate Hallaway: Romancing the Vampire and Other Shiny Bits
Juliet Landau (Interview)
Maria Lima: I Am Joss Whedon’s Bitch
Jackie Kessler: Going Dark
Jaala Robinson: Joss Giveth
Sarah Monette: The Kindness of Monsters
Jody Wurl: Shelve Under Television, Young Adult
Dae Low: The Browncoat Connection
Racheline Maltese: Late to the Party: What Buffy Never Taught Me about Being a Girl
Meredith McGrath: How an Atheist and His Demons Created a Shepherd
Jamie Craig: Older and Far Away
Teresa Jusino: Why Joss Is More Important Than His ‘Verse
Catherynne M. Valente: Let’s Go to Work
Jenn Reese: Something to Sing About (<-- Hey, that's me!) Emma Bull: Malcolm Reynolds, the Myth of the West, and Me