January 1, 2020
Ninth House (2019) Written by: Leigh Bardugo Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror Pages: 480 (Hardcover) Publisher: Flatiron Books Why I Chose It: Because it’s been on my radar for some months now, after reading a sample somewhere on the web. Because I love secret magical societies in university settings. Because the premise was compelling. Because the cover was slinky and pretty. The…
December 30, 2019
Every year, we invite our contributors to challenge themselves with the Resolution Project — a special event where our writers sift through all things speculative and settle on something worthy of personal conquest. The sky’s the limit when it comes to choices, whether it’s knocking through a back catalog, revisiting a popular franchise, or embarking on something totally new; whether…
December 17, 2019
When I originally watched IT: Chapter One in theaters, I had some mixed reactions. Yet, in the intervening years, IT became something resembling a favorite. So I was a little wary when friends of mine saw IT: Chapter Two on opening weekend and gave it a shrug as a review, with the added explanation of, “It was long.” Given their…
December 12, 2019
Zombies, Anyone? I’m not really a zombie girl. They freak me right the heck out. I can read about them — no problem. But visual media? Television? Movies? Yeah, I’m sure there’s a pressing root canal I need. A friend of mine was on the Walking Dead’s first couple seasons, so when it started, I thought I’d watch it and…
November 28, 2019
‘Tis the season where holiday music invades your ear like a Ceti eel, heralding the annual shopping season for holiday gift-giving! While this time of year very much promotes giving for the sake of giving, we can’t overlook the fact that requesting is very much a part of it, too. For well over a hundred years, we’ve been encouraged to…
November 14, 2019
On the weekend of October 18-20, 2019, a brand new event was birthed! Multiverse Con, almost two years in the making, finally happened! Multiverse was created with the idea that each of us is our own universe, bringing uniqueness to our fandom, that there is room in the multiverse for all of us. We wanted to make sure the convention…
November 6, 2019
The Twisted Ones (2019) Written by: T. Kingfisher Genre: Horror Pages: 381 (Paperback) Publisher: Saga Press Why I Chose It: The Twisted Ones first caught my attention because it is set in Appalachia. Although I live in Virginia and the book takes place in North Carolina, I have gone hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I know those woods can be…
October 17, 2019
The Hunger (2018) Written by: Alma Katsu Genre: Fiction Pages: 373 (Hardback) Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Why I Chose It: Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Adding a supernatural element to the story of the doomed, cannibalistic Donner Party struck me as an excellent idea. The premise: A tense and gripping reimagining of one of America’s most fascinating…
October 10, 2019
I write a lot about conventions — preparing, attending, volunteering. For this month’s column, I thought folks might find it interesting to peek into the backstage of how a con gets made. Multiverse Con is coming up next week, so the timing is really perfect. I run the WRITE Track for that convention and in this video, I talk about…
October 2, 2019
Growing Things and Other Stories (2019) Written by: Paul Tremblay Genre: Horror Pages: 352 (Hardcover) Publisher: William Morrow Why I Chose It: I really enjoyed both Disappearance at Devil’s Rock and A Head Full of Ghosts. I thought this short story collection was bound to be interesting/creepy/provocative. And my library had it. Love my public library!!! The premise: A masterful…