August 15, 2017
When she isn’t answering your Dear Sherry letters, our resident Writing Coach, Sherry Peters, is taking her own advice to Just Write. Today, we’re happy to share the news of her book release! Mabel the Notorious Dwarf is the latest in the Ballad of Mabel Goldenaxe YA fantasy series. The titles of the books may speak for themselves, but the…
August 15, 2017
Welcome back to Sound Off!, a semi-regular column where members of Speculative Chic gather together to chat about the latest BIG THING in entertainment. This time, clutch your favorite childhood doll and discuss Annabelle: Creation, which premiered in the United States on Friday, August 1, 2017. Sound Off! is meant to be a reaction, but not necessarily a review. After all, while we…
August 15, 2017
From the Salt Mines: A new occasional series in which I will talk about the things that stick under my craw for various reasons. Future plans include other TV series, several books, and at least one video game. I have a lot of feelings, and not all of them are pleasant ones. I first heard about A Game of Thrones…
August 14, 2017
They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Maria V. Snyder, author of popular Chronicles of Ixia series…
August 11, 2017
One episode left. There was barely a preview for tomorrow’s episode (don’t worry, no spoilers), and all I have to say is wow. Just wow. There’s been a part of me that thought this penultimate episode would be a kind of final showdown, with the final episode being a kind of slower denouement, but who am I kidding? This is…
August 11, 2017
Too Like the Lightning (2016) Written by: Ada Palmer Genre: Speculative Fiction Pages: 433 (Nook) Series: Book 1 of Terra Ignota Publisher: Tor Why I Chose It: It was nominated for the Hugos. Also, a friend who knows my taste very well sent me the link and explained that I had to read this book, and I was going to…
August 11, 2017
Over the summer, we’ve talked a lot about series: when we’ve had to jump ship or when finales have totally fallen flat. One roundtable has inevitably led to the other, which brings us to one of the most natural topics of all. Cancellations That Killed Us The most obvious culprit, naturally, is television, but book series start and never continue.…
August 10, 2017
The Hugo winner announcements come out August 11 and voting is already over, but we’re still talking about the nominees because it’s more fun than watching our clocks tick by! We’re continuing our look at the Best Dramatic Presentation: Short Form category with a perennial favorite of Hugo voters: Doctor Who. My history with the show doesn’t go back nearly…
August 10, 2017
Maybe you’ve heard the term “Cosplay is not Consent.” It’s a movement within the fan convention community to educate people on how to act — or rather, how not to act. And it all revolves around Consent. Why talk about consent? Conventions can be a lot like parties, and at parties people want to have fun. But generally, folks are thinking…
August 9, 2017
Ok. I know that “Leviathan Wakes,” The Expanse’s representative in the Hugo Award’s Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category comes from the same channel that is responsible for the Sharknado franchise. It’s also up against not just one but two episodes of Game of Thrones. You’re probably thinking, the odds aren’t so great that it’ll pick up the win. But…