February 20, 2020
Working at a bookstore has its sad moments. That may sound like a strange thing to say, but it’s true. Going through the shelves and picking out all the books that are due to be returned is one of them. I always get sad when books we only have a few copies of have to get sent back. True, often…
February 20, 2020
Though I’m obviously saying it anyway, it almost goes without saying that much like its source material, any appraisal of Mike Flanagan’s 2019 film adaptation of the Stephen King novel Doctor Sleep can only ever be truly assessed under the looming shadow of Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of its predecessor, King’s The Shining. This is because Kubrick’s version has become…
February 19, 2020
One of the most common questions authors face is a deceptively difficult one to answer: “Where do you get your ideas?” Yet, the answers to that common question can be almost as interesting as the resulting story. Welcome to You’re My Inspiration, a new column dedicated to discovering what inspires a particular author and their work. Whether it be a…
February 19, 2020
Howdy, dear Chicers! Well, it’s February, which means groundhogs, candy hearts, and, if you’re like my friend Tom, one birthday every four years. February is also a wonderful time for a discussion about the perks and perils of writing. Imagine it, if you will: Two people, a man and a woman, sitting across from one another in matching leather armchairs.…
February 18, 2020
Examining the weird/gothic landscape through eyes firmly embedded with set of rainbow lenses, Tanith Lee erected severely Weird Gothic Towers and Spires throughout the map, starting with her debut novel, The Dragon Hoard in 1971. Her edifices are constructed using the building blocks of fairy tales, myths, standard fantasy, vampires, and just plain strangeness, and are adorned in proper Gothic…
February 17, 2020
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 Jessica McHugh, who joined us back in November 2018 and…
February 15, 2020
Hail, and well met, strangers and returning friends! If you’ve journeyed long and far and missed the adventures at Speculative Chic this week, worry not — here’s what we do same time, same place: recap our latest stories and special guests for you this week. Grab your trusted steed and let’s set off!
February 14, 2020
It’s Valentine’s Day! In honor of all the lovey-dovey feelings going around today, we’re going to talk about ships — relationships, that is! Romance crops up in all sorts of stories, and the speculative genre is no exception. We asked our contributors to share with us their favorite romantic couples, and we opened it up to both firmly established pairings…
February 13, 2020
I’m a huge Stephen King nerd. I mean, I don’t have a map of his multiverse on my wall or anything, but I own hardback copies of most of his books, have read almost everything he’s ever published (still missing a bunch of very early short stories though), and have watched just about every King property that’s been produced for…
February 12, 2020
Another Dungeons & Dragons post! What can I say? I’ve got the game on the brain. One of my favorite parts of Dungeons & Dragons is coming up with the backstory of my character. Why would someone choose a life of danger and adventure in the world? There’s a running joke that every character in a tabletop game has a…