Rati Mehrotra's Blog, page 9
November 15, 2017
Join me at SFContario, Toronto
A (hopefully) exciting weekend coming up! I will be SFContario, Toronto’s annual SF/F convention. The full schedule is here. I will be reading from my upcoming book Markswoman on Saturday afternoon, and I will have (yay!) bookmarks to give away. I’ve never traveled for conventions (though that may change next year) so this is my annual opportunity to geek out with like-minded folk about aliens, magic, books, and science-y stuff.
This is my schedule, and it looks like a busy and fun Saturday....
November 3, 2017
November Reads and Reviews
November. That time of year when the days get short, the evenings long and dark. Perfect for cuddling up with a good book! Or several good books. So here is a small selection of my recent reads to tickle your fancy.
For kids, big and small:
[image error]The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
This 2004 Newbery Medal award winner is a story about a mouse, a rat, a maid, and a princess. It is a beautifully told story which brought tea...
October 21, 2017
Stories, Launches, and More
In the Woods, My Voice is my latest publication, a short story which is now live in the October issue of Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show. You can read it or listen to an audio version narrated by the amazing Alethea Kontis (if you are a subscriber). To say I’m pleased is an understatement. This is my first publication in IGMS, and I’m delighted my story is the audio selection of the issue. Alethea’s done a wonderful job of narrating it. I especially love her “Grandma” voice.
October 10, 2017
Thanksgiving Thoughts
I remember, so clearly, the first time I articulated the desire to be a science fiction / fantasy writer. I was in Grade 6, and the question had been put to us by our pretty, young, and sometimes-strict teacher Ms. Naher. I really liked her. I think we all did. I’m quite sure I used to act out for attention in class. I was always trying to impress her, or make her laugh.
When it was my turn to stand and answer, I said, “I want to write sci fi.” Whereupon Ms. Naher asked me, write what?
“Sci...
September 15, 2017
ARCs ARCs beautiful ARCs!
Just to say that the ARCs of Markswoman have arrived, and they’re just beautiful. I can’t stop petting them….that’s totally normal, right? Hah. I’m just enjoying holding my book in my hand before it actually goes out into the world.
ARCs (Advance Review/Reader Copies) are copies of a book that are printed before actual publication – my book is being released only on 23 January 2018. They might be sent to reviewers, bloggers, bookstores or librarians. The purpose is to generate early reviews a...
September 12, 2017
Meet Catherine Schaff-Stump, author of The Vessel of Ra
One of the things I love most about snagging an ARC is being able to read it before most everyone else, and – sometimes – being able to ask the author questions about the book and their characters. I am so happy to welcome Catherine Schaff-Stump whose book The Vessel of Ra (The Klaereon Scroll Book 1) is being released today, 12 September.
The ‘Vessel of Ra’ refers to our heroine Lucy Klaereon, who is destined to fight the demon/god Ra, or lose her soul in the attempt. While traveling in Veni...
August 15, 2017
A Visit from Beth Cato, author of Call of Fire (Blood of Earth #2)
Today I’m delighted to welcome Beth Cato, steampunk fantasy author of The Clockwork Dagger duology and Blood of Earth trilogy, to my blog. 15th August, marks the release of the second book in the Blood of Earth trilogy: Call of Fire. Congratulations Beth! Cannot wait to read your latest book!
Breath of Earth, the first book, opens in an alternate 1906 where the United States and Japan have forged a powerful confederation—the Unified Pacific—in an attempt to dominate the world. Their first tar...
August 7, 2017
Cover Reveal of MARKSWOMAN eek!
I’m delighted to share the gorgeous cover of my upcoming book MARKSWOMAN! With many thanks to my editor Priyanka Krishnan and the amazingly talented art department of Harper Voyager. Can’t wait to hold this book in my hands! Meanwhile I am going to admire this beautiful cover which both captures and enhances the world I have built: Asiana, a post-apocalyptic version of Asia ruled by orders of magical knife-wielding female assassins – Markswomen.
The blade depicted below is a katari, a dagger...
July 19, 2017
Washing dishes and writing words
July is the hottest month, breeding
weeds in my tulip pots, mixing
energy with ennui, stirring
deck chairs with thunderstorms.
You can see I’ll never be T.S. Eliot, and for that, I suppose, we should all be grateful. But seriously, it’s that time of year when I can scarcely make myself venture into the balcony to water my weeds – I mean plants – before sundown. The evening stretches late into the night, and then I lean on the railing and admire the lights of my city, and feel fortunate.
Summe...
June 9, 2017
Middle Grade Fantasy Faves
I love a good middle grade fantasy. In fact, I sometimes prefer reading children’s books. They can be fun and humorous and don’t demand much and – best of all – I can discuss them with the kids. In fact, a couple of years ago, I wrote the first draft of a middle grade fantasy novel with (for me) surprising speed, in response to their demand for a new chapter every night. More on that later.
Anyway, I have been catching up on some delightful middle grade reading. Take this list as a recommenda...
