Heather Rose Jones's Blog, page 121
May 26, 2017
The Great November Book Release Re-Boot: Archangel’s Heart
One of the things that struck me when I was reading through lists of November 2016 books was the number written by obviously prolific authors (based on series number) that somehow never get mentioned in the SFF blogs, or featured on SFF podcasts, or discussed in the social media spaces where I hang out. It makes me feel...well, not any less hungry for my work to be talked about, but at least a little bit less alone. I'm sure I've heard Nalini Singh's name before, but I was a bit startled to discover how prolific she is: Goodreads lists 164 distinct works! Archangel's Heart is the ninth book in her Guild Hunter series and that is far from the only extensive series she has written in the genres of SFF and paranormal romance.
One of the most vicious archangels in the world has disappeared. No one knows if Lijuan is dead or has chosen to Sleep the long sleep of an immortal. But with her lands falling into chaos under a rising tide of vampiric bloodlust, a mysterious and ancient order of angels known as the Luminata calls the entire Cadre together to discuss the fate of her territory. Accompanying her archangelic lover Raphael to the Luminata compound, guild hunter-turned-angel Elena senses that all is not as it seems. Secrets echo from within the stone walls of the compound, and the deeper Elena goes, the uglier the darkness. But neither Raphael nor Elena is ready for the brutal truths hidden within—truths that will change everything Elena thinks she knows about who she is. Nothing will ever be the same again.
I have no aspirations to write over 100 novels! But I love the sense of an expanding story, like a highway that will take me through mountains and over plains and into unexplored cities. Mother of Souls is another step on that road for my characters, opening them up to the larger world of mysticism and peril that was only hinted at in the earlier books.
The Great November Book Release Re-Boot is a blog series talking about November 2016 releases that may have been overshadowed by unfortunate political events.
Major category: PromotionTags: Book Release Re-Boot
The Great November Book Release Re-Boot: New Worlds, Old Ways
One of the most exciting developments in the speculative fiction field is the growing visibility and recognition of stories rooted deeply in cultures other than the default western European/American ones. I don't say "growing presence" because it is only the wider recognition that is new. Karen Lord has assembled this anthology New Worlds, Old Ways: Speculative Tales from the Caribbean to showcase some of the excellent SFF being produced in her home region.
Do not be misled by the “speculative” in the title. Although there may be robots and fantastical creatures, these common symbols are tools to frame the familiar from fresh perspectives. Here you will find the recent past and ongoing present of government and society with curfews, crime, and corruption; the universal themes of family, growth and death, love and hate; the struggle to thrive when power is capricious and revenge too bittersweet. Here too is the passage of everything—old ways, places, peoples, and ourselves—leaving nothing behind but memories, histories, and stories. This anthology speaks to the fragility of our Caribbean home, but reminds the reader that although home may be vulnerable, it is also beautifully resilient. The voice of our literature declares that in spite of disasters, this people and this place shall not be wholly destroyed. Read for delight, then read for depth, and you will not be disappointed. Includes brand-new stories by Tammi Browne-Bannister, Summer Edward, Portia Subran, Brandon O’Brien, Kevin Jared Hosein, Richard B. Lynch, Elizabeth J. Jones, Damion Wilson, Brian Franklin, Ararimeh Aiyejina, and H.K. Williams.
A solid "sense of place" can be a challenge to develop when creating your own countries or worlds. Even more of a challenge when creating a culture very different from the one I live in. I will make no claims regarding how well I have succeeded. But one of the things that warms my heart in reader comments on the series, is when they say that books like Mother of Souls make them feel like Alpennia is a real location--just one that somehow got left off the maps and out of the history books. If you enjoy that experience, then seek out fiction by writers like Karen Lord that really is about places and cultures that tend to get left off the literary maps and out of the genre history books.
The Great November Book Release Re-Boot is a blog series talking about November 2016 releases that may have been overshadowed by unfortunate political events.
Major category: PromotionTags: Book Release Re-Boot
May 18, 2017
Guest Blog: Fairy Tale Choices - Maya Chhabra
(Today's guest blog is from author Maya Chhabra (who was also one of my beta-readers for Mother of Souls) to celebrate release day for her little mermaid retelling, Walking on Knives.)
As a kid, I never liked the main character in Rumpelstiltskin, the girl who must spin straw into gold or die. The miller’s daughter agrees to hand over her first-born to the mysterious Rumpelstiltskin if he helps her accomplish this impossible task. Then she goes back on the deal.
As an adult, I recognize that the miller’s daughter was in an impossible situation, and Rumpelstiltskin took advantage of it to make an unfair bargain. I also realize that if she willingly handed over her child to the dubiously ethical Rumpelstiltskin, she’d be a terrible parent. But as a kid, the unfairness rankled. She got the benefit of supernatural help without having to follow through on the price.
The little mermaid is an entirely different kind of person. She’s under a lot less pressure than the miller’s daughter. She enters into her terrifying bargain voluntarily, for the promise of something better rather than to avoid a terrible fate. And what she does when things go wrong for her is entirely different as well.
In the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the little mermaid’s sisters try to save her from her impending death when the prince refuses to marry her. They give up their beautiful long hair in exchange for a knife. With this knife, the little mermaid can kill the prince and live out her full life as a mermaid.
But the little mermaid is made of sterner stuff. Though tempted, in the end she refuses to displace the terrible consequences of her bargain onto another person, and throws the knife into the sea.
She may not have her voice, but actions speak louder than words. And that’s why she’s a hero—both in the original tale and in my queer take on it, Walking on Knives. Though I changed much in my reimagining, that moment is central to her character.
Walking on Knives is published by Less Than Three Press.
You can find Maya's book blog "Maya Reads Books" at Wordpress.
She is on Twitter as: @mayachhabra.
Major category: Guest PostsTags: guest-blog
