December 4, 2019
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…
December 4, 2019
Catfishing on CatNet (2019) Written by: Naomi Kritzer Genre: YA Science Fiction Pages: 294 (Hardcover) Publisher: Tor Teen Why I Chose It: I read and really enjoyed Kritzer’s award-winning short story “More Cat Pictures, Please” and heard she was expanding that world of a kind, cat-loving, self-improvement-urging AI into a novel. My first thought was, “Huh, how’s that going to…
December 3, 2019
Magic Triumphs (2018) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #10 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 439 Publisher: Ace Books Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. This is my first time reading this title. The Premise: Kate has…
December 2, 2019
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 Darin Kennedy, who is the author of the Fugue &…
November 30, 2019
Welcome back to another week at Speculative Chic! The holidays are officially in gear, with a freshly wrapped Thanksgiving, Black Friday’s recent end, a forthcoming Cyber Monday, and all the major December holidays coming in one right after the other. This time of year can go by so fast, so don’t forget to take some time for yourself and relax.…
November 29, 2019
To Kill a Kingdom (2018) Written by: Alexandra Christo Genre: Fantasy Pages: 352 (Paperback) Publisher: Square Fish Why I Chose It: At this point almost everything I find to read I discover at work (the bookstore) first. Same goes for this one. Unfortunately at the time this one was due to be sent back to the publisher, but the tentacles…
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 27, 2019
The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic (2017) Written By: F.T. Lukens Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy Pages: 304 pages (Kindle ARC) Series: Book One of The Rules Publisher: Interlude Press Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Why I Chose It: The description made me laugh. And when I…
November 26, 2019
Are you dreading going to Thanksgiving Dinner and having your cousins make fun of your Star Wars shirt? Or visiting a new-to-you comic shop on Black Friday and getting asked for your comic credentials? Over the holidays, there’s an excellent chance most of us will run into friction at dinners, parties, sales, and so forth. If you identify as a…
November 25, 2019
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 Tim Major, whose had not just one, but TWO books…