May 20, 2020
Hey there, dear Chicers! I hope you’re staying healthy, safe, and sane out there. My sister and brother-in-law are both nurses, so thank you to everyone who’s following the CDC guidelines to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Also, if you or one of your family members is an essential worker, thank you and them, too, for keeping the world…
April 19, 2020
What day is it? What month is it? Good afternoon! Our dear Kristina is unavailable this week. I volunteered to take her place…then promptly forgot what day it was. I spent all of yesterday thinking that it was Friday. So, here you are, my best beloveds, one day late, but nothing whatsoever short. Let’s go!
April 15, 2020
Hi, dear Chicers! I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy. We are truly blessed/cursed to live in interesting times, aren’t we? Thanks to social distancing, the Internet has become a more important place than ever, especially since it allows us to get up close and personal without ever leaving home. Speaking of which, I had the amazing opportunity to…
March 19, 2020
Howdy, dear Chicers! I hope you’re staying healthy and safe out there. My Resolution Project for this year was to reread the Expanse series in its entirety in preparation/anticipation for the final book, for which the release date should be announced sooner than later. So, whether you’re looking for a refresher, are as big of a fangirl/boy as I am,…
March 13, 2020
This month’s Roundtable — the most tragic moments in sci fi, fantasy, and horror — was pitched by Kelly McCarty, and it’s so good because there’s a lot to choose from. One of the key components of a traditional epic is tragedy; and in all good storytelling, there must be stakes and the threat of danger to motivate characters and…
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 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…
January 17, 2020
It’s a new year and a new decade, and for our January Roundtable, we’re talking new worlds in a post that celebrates the brilliance and care that goes into worldbuilding, often considered a genre qualifier when it comes to science fiction and fantasy. So we asked our contributors, “What fictional world do you want to live in?”and to give examples…
January 15, 2020
Happy New Year, dear Chicers! I hope your 2020 is off to a good (or at least okay) start. As promised in my resolution post, I plan to reread and discuss the whole of The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey (aka Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) in the next twelve months. I’m also planning to write a book…
December 31, 2019
We march into 2020 totally brave and bold with some of our most ambitious Resolution Projects yet! Whether it’s knocking through a catalog of 15 to 20 books, blazing through seasons upon seasons of series both old and newly beloved, or cracking open the cookbooks and assembling a smorgasbord of speculative treats, we’ve got something for everyone to look forward…