November 21, 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. I have a lot of feelings, and not all of them are pleasant ones. I can’t remember a time in my life before Star Trek. My parents watched the original series and I remember watching a…
November 20, 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 horror aficionado and writer R.J. Joseph. What does she love when…
November 18, 2017
Can you believe that we’re halfway through November? I can’t. Time is flying by at such a clip that it’s hard for me to keep up. Take some time to relax this weekend. Maybe take in some of the excellent posts that our contributors posted this week. If you missed something, that’s OK. I am your helpful guide to all…
November 17, 2017
Tortall: A Spy’s Guide (2017) Written By: Tamora Pierce Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Pages: 320 pages (Hardcover) Series: Tortall Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Why I Chose It: Anything by Tamora Pierce is an instabuy for me. I even dragged my husband and child to the bookstore at dinner time because two-day shipping wasn’t quick enough. The Premise:…
November 17, 2017
Water is my element. Ironically, I’m a terrible swimmer. But I love water. I need water. In particular, the ocean. Sitting on the shore ocean, listening to the crashing waves, breathing in the sea-salt air, feeds my soul like nothing else can. My well for life, and especially creativity, is refilled. Unfortunately for me, I live in the centre of…
November 16, 2017
In Other Lands (2017) Written by: Sarah Rees Brennan Genre: YA Fantasy Pages: 441 (Hardcover) Publisher: Small Beer Press Why I Chose It: It’s Sarah Rees Brennan and I’m a fan of her writing, though not of all of her books. My understanding from her blog is that this was a book she wrote and posted on the internet as…
November 16, 2017
Kudos to you if you understood the blog title. It means you were raised in the ’80s like me. Stranger Things 2 takes place in 1984, a year after the events of the first series and the same year Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo came out. Season two dropped on Oct. 27th, just in time for fans to binge-watch it over…
November 15, 2017
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (2017) Written by: Curtis Craddock Genre: Fantasy/Steampunk Pages: 409 (Kindle) Series: Book One of The Risen Kingdoms Publisher: Tor Books Why I Chose It: Not being an avid follower of steampunk, this is a little bit out of my normal wheelhouse, but I couldn’t ignore when one of my favorite authors (Carol Berg) recommended…
November 15, 2017
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’ve compiled a list of the speculative fiction actresses for whom I’m most grateful, which means I’m pulling from some of my favorite speculative fiction movies, tv shows, and video games for the most talented actresses. So I guess you could say this is also a list of my favorite things, making it double the fun. Really,…
November 14, 2017
What do you do when the world you love is tainted by the unforgivable sins of the creator? How do I talk about Darkover and its place on the speculative fiction map? Do I relegate Darkover, a world I loved (with some of the strongest females and female societies created) to the nether ends of the universe? Do I hope…