Nerine Dorman's Blog, page 72
November 11, 2013
King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence #review
Title:
King of Thorns (The Broken Empire #2)
Author: Mark Lawrence
Publisher: Ace Books, 2012
There's a lot going on with King of Thorns that begs me to go back and read it again soon. Firstly, hats off to Mark Lawrence for juggling a non-linear story structure. We follow Jorg on his wedding day when he goes toe to toe with the golden boy, the prince of Arrow, who's set to become the emperor. Or at least that's what everyone keeps saying. We simultaneously also follow the events that happened to Jorg four years ago, as he settles in his position of king of Renar.
The Jorg we follow in book #2 is still impulsive, but his nasty side has been tempered somewhat. He's haunted by ghosts, and is vastly troubled by his connection to Katherine. But this is no Romeo and Juliet situation. Not by a long shot.
Though we can level accusations at Jorg that he's a killer and capable of all manner of truly terrible things, it's also evident that he's matured. He has begun to realise his own strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps what makes him more dangerous is that he has a better understanding of when to give in to his impulses and when to plan ahead.
Jorg wrestles with the growing realisation that he's merely a pawn on a gaming board, and he absolutely refuses to bow down to others expectations of him. His anger at being played fuels his desire to rip free of this figurative briar patch in which he finds himself.
Lawrence builds tension *very* well. In fact, so well that at times when I was tempted to say, "Oi!, dude! You're withholding key information here!" the next chapter comes along and furnishes us with sufficient backstory. This back-and-forth jumping between past and present will probably annoy some readers, but I'm not one of those. All I can do is stand back in slack-jawed wonder at how Lawrence managed to hold onto all those threads.
It's not so much the world-building that's fantastic. I mean, it's pretty standard – post-tech, post-apocalyptic Medieval setting where reality is a little more malleable than your average SF nut would want to allow. Jorg finds himself in a battleground, yet Jorg himself exists as a nexus point and a battle ground in his own right – between the forces of Death and Fire.
All I can say about my expectations of book #3 is that this story cannot end well, but I'm sure as hell going to enjoy the ride. Jorg is a dark star that burns brightly, a comet that will destroy the world even as he remakes it according to his own vision.
I don't know when last a fantasy series has excited my imagination quite so much. What makes it for me as well is Jorg's observations on the nature of people and the world around him. I don't normally highlight while I read on my kindle but this novel calls for me to make exceptions. Jorg has a particular presence, for lack of better description. He is broken, but instead of moping, he is fuelled by his bad experiences and won't lie down and die, no matter how bad things get. And for that, I admire him.
Author: Mark Lawrence
Publisher: Ace Books, 2012
There's a lot going on with King of Thorns that begs me to go back and read it again soon. Firstly, hats off to Mark Lawrence for juggling a non-linear story structure. We follow Jorg on his wedding day when he goes toe to toe with the golden boy, the prince of Arrow, who's set to become the emperor. Or at least that's what everyone keeps saying. We simultaneously also follow the events that happened to Jorg four years ago, as he settles in his position of king of Renar.The Jorg we follow in book #2 is still impulsive, but his nasty side has been tempered somewhat. He's haunted by ghosts, and is vastly troubled by his connection to Katherine. But this is no Romeo and Juliet situation. Not by a long shot.
Though we can level accusations at Jorg that he's a killer and capable of all manner of truly terrible things, it's also evident that he's matured. He has begun to realise his own strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps what makes him more dangerous is that he has a better understanding of when to give in to his impulses and when to plan ahead.
Jorg wrestles with the growing realisation that he's merely a pawn on a gaming board, and he absolutely refuses to bow down to others expectations of him. His anger at being played fuels his desire to rip free of this figurative briar patch in which he finds himself.
Lawrence builds tension *very* well. In fact, so well that at times when I was tempted to say, "Oi!, dude! You're withholding key information here!" the next chapter comes along and furnishes us with sufficient backstory. This back-and-forth jumping between past and present will probably annoy some readers, but I'm not one of those. All I can do is stand back in slack-jawed wonder at how Lawrence managed to hold onto all those threads.
It's not so much the world-building that's fantastic. I mean, it's pretty standard – post-tech, post-apocalyptic Medieval setting where reality is a little more malleable than your average SF nut would want to allow. Jorg finds himself in a battleground, yet Jorg himself exists as a nexus point and a battle ground in his own right – between the forces of Death and Fire.
All I can say about my expectations of book #3 is that this story cannot end well, but I'm sure as hell going to enjoy the ride. Jorg is a dark star that burns brightly, a comet that will destroy the world even as he remakes it according to his own vision.
I don't know when last a fantasy series has excited my imagination quite so much. What makes it for me as well is Jorg's observations on the nature of people and the world around him. I don't normally highlight while I read on my kindle but this novel calls for me to make exceptions. Jorg has a particular presence, for lack of better description. He is broken, but instead of moping, he is fuelled by his bad experiences and won't lie down and die, no matter how bad things get. And for that, I admire him.
November 7, 2013
Fear the Reaper (with Joe Mynhardt)
Joe Mynhardt is a fellow South African who's steadily creating quite a buzz in the horror genre. He's definitely one to look out for and I hope to bring him down to Cape Town for one of our SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment events (that's a hint, Joe, BTW).
Anyhoo, Joe's been at the helm of a new horror anthology entitled Fear the Reaper, which is available in paperback and Kindle. It was published on October 25 through his company, Crystal Lake Publishing.
Over to you, Joe!
* * * *
It was some time in the middle of last year that I couldn’t get the thought of death out of my mind. Like always, I was looking for topics or themes for the next Crystal Lake Publishing book, and for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about death. Not so much death as the process or act of dying.
I couldn’t even play with my two dogs without thinking about their eventual demise. Holding them in my arms and watching the life fade from their eyes as they stare up at me. I once had the horrible experience of holding my dog in my arms as she bled out. Luckily we made it to the vet on time to save her. But… that feeling of her body growing weaker, and her cries fading away, has haunted me ever since.
Noticed how I referred to the dog as her, instead of it. What if it’s a person? Someone I love? I know they’re all going to die one day, perhaps I’ll go first. It’s not knowing when or how that can drive you crazy, but knowing might be even worse.
These very personal thoughts haunted all the authors in Fear the Reaper as they created and wrote their stories. Feel free to check out this blog post by Rena Mason as she talks about her sister. We even lost one of the authors along the way. Rick Hautala, you are missed, indeed. I wish we could’ve chatted more.
One shouldn’t dwell on these thoughts of death, but let them motivate you to enjoy life more, even if those bad thoughts scratch at the back of your mind. No wonder most Reaper tattoos are on people’s backs or shoulder.
In this collection you’ll find people fighting death, trying to cheat death, becoming death, even catching death. Each with their own personal issues and motivations, of course. I’ve never seen such a collection of well-established 3-dimensional characters in an anthology.
So be sure to check out Fear the Reaper, you never know when it might be too late.
TOC: Taylor Grant, Joe McKinney, Rick Hautala, Gary Fry, Ross Warren, Marty Young, Stephen Bacon, Dean M Drinkel, Richard Thomas, Sam Stone, Eric S Brown, Mark Sheldon, Steve Lockley, Robert S. Wilson, Jeremy C Shipp, Jeff Strand, Lawrence Santoro, E.C. McMullen Jr., Rena Mason, John Kenny and Gary A. Braunbeck. Includes a poem by Adam Lowe. Edited by Joe Mynhardt.
LINKAGE
Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and check out our YouTube reading of Adam Lowe’s Hecate poem.
All the best,Joe MynhardtCrystal Lake Publishing
Anyhoo, Joe's been at the helm of a new horror anthology entitled Fear the Reaper, which is available in paperback and Kindle. It was published on October 25 through his company, Crystal Lake Publishing.
Over to you, Joe!
* * * *
It was some time in the middle of last year that I couldn’t get the thought of death out of my mind. Like always, I was looking for topics or themes for the next Crystal Lake Publishing book, and for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about death. Not so much death as the process or act of dying.I couldn’t even play with my two dogs without thinking about their eventual demise. Holding them in my arms and watching the life fade from their eyes as they stare up at me. I once had the horrible experience of holding my dog in my arms as she bled out. Luckily we made it to the vet on time to save her. But… that feeling of her body growing weaker, and her cries fading away, has haunted me ever since.
Noticed how I referred to the dog as her, instead of it. What if it’s a person? Someone I love? I know they’re all going to die one day, perhaps I’ll go first. It’s not knowing when or how that can drive you crazy, but knowing might be even worse.
These very personal thoughts haunted all the authors in Fear the Reaper as they created and wrote their stories. Feel free to check out this blog post by Rena Mason as she talks about her sister. We even lost one of the authors along the way. Rick Hautala, you are missed, indeed. I wish we could’ve chatted more.
One shouldn’t dwell on these thoughts of death, but let them motivate you to enjoy life more, even if those bad thoughts scratch at the back of your mind. No wonder most Reaper tattoos are on people’s backs or shoulder.
In this collection you’ll find people fighting death, trying to cheat death, becoming death, even catching death. Each with their own personal issues and motivations, of course. I’ve never seen such a collection of well-established 3-dimensional characters in an anthology.
So be sure to check out Fear the Reaper, you never know when it might be too late.
TOC: Taylor Grant, Joe McKinney, Rick Hautala, Gary Fry, Ross Warren, Marty Young, Stephen Bacon, Dean M Drinkel, Richard Thomas, Sam Stone, Eric S Brown, Mark Sheldon, Steve Lockley, Robert S. Wilson, Jeremy C Shipp, Jeff Strand, Lawrence Santoro, E.C. McMullen Jr., Rena Mason, John Kenny and Gary A. Braunbeck. Includes a poem by Adam Lowe. Edited by Joe Mynhardt.
LINKAGE
Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and check out our YouTube reading of Adam Lowe’s Hecate poem.
All the best,Joe MynhardtCrystal Lake Publishing
November 6, 2013
Six of the Best with DC Petterson
I'm like a little kid about DC Petterson's writing. He ticks all the boxes for me: magic, mystery, creatures of the night, love... And wolves. Dave *gets* wolves. His novel, Lupa Bella, released on October 31 (very aptly, thank you very much) and today I've got him over for a little fireside chat, so to speak.
Author Rosemary Edghill has this to say about Lupa Bella, “Lupa Bella is a compelling secret history of a world that might be our own. DC Petterson blends pagan mysteries and very human evil to create a haunting tale of love, lore, and renunciation that will keep you turning pages in your race to the end. Petterson gets better with each book. Keep an eye on this guy: he’s good, and he’ll surprise you.”
I agree with her, and I totally couldn't say it better. So, without further ado, over to Dave.
What makes your werewolves stand apart in your mind?
There are a few things that, I think, differentiate the wolves in my stories from wolves in other urban fantasies. One is the Benandanti ("Good Walkers"), a magical fraternity that we know existed in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. They claimed to be able to transform into wolves, and in that shape they helped protect their villages. They were tried as witches by the Inquisition. My wolves are remnants of the Benandanti. They have this connection to magic, as well as a long history of partnership with people.
Expanding on this idea, bear in mind that wolves were the first animals to form a tie of friendship to people, the first creatures humans domesticated and started intentionally to breed. In my stories, the wolves have been partners with humans for forty thousand years. I've combined this idea of wolves having been bred and genetically manipulated by humans with what we know about the Bendandanti to create the Good Walkers of my stories. I've brought in many other bits and pieces of historic werewolf lore as well—always tweaked for the universe I’m building.
My werewolves are not people who sometimes take the form of a wolf. They are wolves who can appear to be people.
Why Sicily? Can you tell us a little more about the choice in setting?
I have an ancestral tie to Sicily. My great-grandparents on my mother's side were born in the tiny village I've fictionalized in Lupa Bella. Sicily also has a long reputation for being independent of the mainland. It has a rich folklore of magic, even surviving to the present day. This allowed me to imagine a story about a place where some of the old ways have not decayed, a place that has stood apart from the tides of time and change.
Sicily is also a place of ancient vendettas and family feuds that last centuries. The possibilities for tales of intrigue and of loyalty and betrayal are endless.
Tell us more about the bond between Celeste and Dario.
Dario's family has lived on the slopes of Santo Stefano for many years, but they came originally from Tuscany, a region in the north of Italy, known for remembering wisps of gods so old they predate the Romans, and even the Greeks before them. Celeste is a wolf, who was fostered to Dario's mother when Celeste and Dario were both infants. They were raised as sister and brother, and all the villagers view them--and they see themselves--as fraternal twins.
In another novel, A Melancholy Humour , I used the word "legere" to describe the bond between a human and a wolf. That's an old Latin term for a tie or a knot, and it was used in medieval witchcraft to signify a love spell. I use that word to describe the bond between a human and a wolf, and I depict it as a link closer than the blood-ties within a family, stronger than romantic love, not quite a telepathic link but a touch of awareness that cannot be severed.
It it a link, however, that was purposely bred into wolves by their human masters. Some of them resent it.
Dario and Celeste are inseparable. It isn't sexual, and it isn't romantic. It is a love and respect deeper than any of that. This story has provided an opportunity to test the strength of their bond, and I intend in the future to push it still more, perhaps to its limits.
All stories have a spark. What was Lupa Bella's story seed?
Celeste is the grandmother of the wolf character in A Melancholy Humour. I want to tell the story of that family. As I sat down to write it Celeste’s tale, I realized her brother Dario had an expensive Italian motorcycle. Another character asked him where he'd gotten it, and he answered, "I did a service for someone. He said I could keep the Ducati." This forced me to look back toward their home town in Sicily, and to learn more about how Dario came to own the bike. It all turned out to be far more complex than he'd let on.
What was possibly the most difficult part of writing Lupa Bella? And why?
I tend to fall in love with my characters, even the slimy ones I really hate. I want all of them to feel real, and to be complex and layered. To present them as something other than cutouts, I try to spend a lot of time in their heads, getting to know them. This means I have a deep emotional investment in each and every one, even the minor characters who appear only once. (I really like Clio and Eliana, for instance, and I wish I'd had the space to do more with them.)
Lupa Bella includes some deaths. I tend to agonize over those scenes, writing and rewriting them with enough care to get the emotional nuances proper to the character. They are pretty real deaths to me, the end of the lives of people I've come to know. I keenly feel the loss, and I want to let the reader feel that, too.
I struggled with the death scenes in Lupa Bella. One in particular really broke my heart, but it was necessary for the story. I still tear up whenever I re-read it.
Does this world of yours stretch to other cosmologies? I can almost imagine this encompassing North American myths and legends too. In any case, what lies ahead for your wolves?
Humans have domesticated wolves everywhere on the planet--every single place where there are both wolves and humans--not just all over Europe, but also in the Americas, in Asia, in Africa, and in Australia. Everywhere there are domesticated wolves (we tend today to call them "dogs") there also are stories both of the ties between people and canines, and of creatures who freely and frequently step over the line between the two. There is a world full of magical wolf-lore from which to draw. There are differences, yes, and story possibilities can be found there as well, but the underlying ideas, worldwide, are startlingly similar.
Following Lupa Bella, these particular characters are likely to confront the onrush of history about to flood America. I chose the year 1962 for this story with some care. Magic has been fading, but it is not dead, and it is destined to return. I want to tell those stories in the context of a rapidly-changing society, embracing both the horrors and the promise of the new world.
LINKAGE
Now go forth and make me the most amazingly happy author ever by buying this book at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Nook or Kobo, or just go add the damn thing on Goodreads and stalk Dave on Twitter @dcpetterson
Author Rosemary Edghill has this to say about Lupa Bella, “Lupa Bella is a compelling secret history of a world that might be our own. DC Petterson blends pagan mysteries and very human evil to create a haunting tale of love, lore, and renunciation that will keep you turning pages in your race to the end. Petterson gets better with each book. Keep an eye on this guy: he’s good, and he’ll surprise you.”
I agree with her, and I totally couldn't say it better. So, without further ado, over to Dave.
What makes your werewolves stand apart in your mind?
There are a few things that, I think, differentiate the wolves in my stories from wolves in other urban fantasies. One is the Benandanti ("Good Walkers"), a magical fraternity that we know existed in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. They claimed to be able to transform into wolves, and in that shape they helped protect their villages. They were tried as witches by the Inquisition. My wolves are remnants of the Benandanti. They have this connection to magic, as well as a long history of partnership with people.
Expanding on this idea, bear in mind that wolves were the first animals to form a tie of friendship to people, the first creatures humans domesticated and started intentionally to breed. In my stories, the wolves have been partners with humans for forty thousand years. I've combined this idea of wolves having been bred and genetically manipulated by humans with what we know about the Bendandanti to create the Good Walkers of my stories. I've brought in many other bits and pieces of historic werewolf lore as well—always tweaked for the universe I’m building.My werewolves are not people who sometimes take the form of a wolf. They are wolves who can appear to be people.
Why Sicily? Can you tell us a little more about the choice in setting?
I have an ancestral tie to Sicily. My great-grandparents on my mother's side were born in the tiny village I've fictionalized in Lupa Bella. Sicily also has a long reputation for being independent of the mainland. It has a rich folklore of magic, even surviving to the present day. This allowed me to imagine a story about a place where some of the old ways have not decayed, a place that has stood apart from the tides of time and change.
Sicily is also a place of ancient vendettas and family feuds that last centuries. The possibilities for tales of intrigue and of loyalty and betrayal are endless.
Tell us more about the bond between Celeste and Dario.
Dario's family has lived on the slopes of Santo Stefano for many years, but they came originally from Tuscany, a region in the north of Italy, known for remembering wisps of gods so old they predate the Romans, and even the Greeks before them. Celeste is a wolf, who was fostered to Dario's mother when Celeste and Dario were both infants. They were raised as sister and brother, and all the villagers view them--and they see themselves--as fraternal twins.
In another novel, A Melancholy Humour , I used the word "legere" to describe the bond between a human and a wolf. That's an old Latin term for a tie or a knot, and it was used in medieval witchcraft to signify a love spell. I use that word to describe the bond between a human and a wolf, and I depict it as a link closer than the blood-ties within a family, stronger than romantic love, not quite a telepathic link but a touch of awareness that cannot be severed.
It it a link, however, that was purposely bred into wolves by their human masters. Some of them resent it.
Dario and Celeste are inseparable. It isn't sexual, and it isn't romantic. It is a love and respect deeper than any of that. This story has provided an opportunity to test the strength of their bond, and I intend in the future to push it still more, perhaps to its limits.
All stories have a spark. What was Lupa Bella's story seed?
Celeste is the grandmother of the wolf character in A Melancholy Humour. I want to tell the story of that family. As I sat down to write it Celeste’s tale, I realized her brother Dario had an expensive Italian motorcycle. Another character asked him where he'd gotten it, and he answered, "I did a service for someone. He said I could keep the Ducati." This forced me to look back toward their home town in Sicily, and to learn more about how Dario came to own the bike. It all turned out to be far more complex than he'd let on.
What was possibly the most difficult part of writing Lupa Bella? And why?
I tend to fall in love with my characters, even the slimy ones I really hate. I want all of them to feel real, and to be complex and layered. To present them as something other than cutouts, I try to spend a lot of time in their heads, getting to know them. This means I have a deep emotional investment in each and every one, even the minor characters who appear only once. (I really like Clio and Eliana, for instance, and I wish I'd had the space to do more with them.)
Lupa Bella includes some deaths. I tend to agonize over those scenes, writing and rewriting them with enough care to get the emotional nuances proper to the character. They are pretty real deaths to me, the end of the lives of people I've come to know. I keenly feel the loss, and I want to let the reader feel that, too.
I struggled with the death scenes in Lupa Bella. One in particular really broke my heart, but it was necessary for the story. I still tear up whenever I re-read it.
Does this world of yours stretch to other cosmologies? I can almost imagine this encompassing North American myths and legends too. In any case, what lies ahead for your wolves?
Humans have domesticated wolves everywhere on the planet--every single place where there are both wolves and humans--not just all over Europe, but also in the Americas, in Asia, in Africa, and in Australia. Everywhere there are domesticated wolves (we tend today to call them "dogs") there also are stories both of the ties between people and canines, and of creatures who freely and frequently step over the line between the two. There is a world full of magical wolf-lore from which to draw. There are differences, yes, and story possibilities can be found there as well, but the underlying ideas, worldwide, are startlingly similar.
Following Lupa Bella, these particular characters are likely to confront the onrush of history about to flood America. I chose the year 1962 for this story with some care. Magic has been fading, but it is not dead, and it is destined to return. I want to tell those stories in the context of a rapidly-changing society, embracing both the horrors and the promise of the new world.
LINKAGE
Now go forth and make me the most amazingly happy author ever by buying this book at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Nook or Kobo, or just go add the damn thing on Goodreads and stalk Dave on Twitter @dcpetterson
November 5, 2013
The Crimson Outlaw by Alex Beecroft #review
Title:
The Crimson Outlaw
Author: Alex Beecroft
Publisher: Riptide, 2013
It’s 1720 in Harghita County, Transylvania. and no, don’t expect vampires. Vali is the son of a nobleman, the cruel boyar Wadim Florescu. Amazingly, the lad has grown up untainted by his father’s generally nasty attitude – and his abuse. Vali is sweet-natured, an incurable romantic and tends to act before thinking things through.
Which is why he tries to derail his sister’s wedding to another lord old enough to be their father – a move which backfires horribly, and proves to be the final straw which drives Vali out into the world.
Well meaning but completely unprepared for the world beyond the castle’s walls, Vali quickly runs into trouble when a bandit in the forest tries to take him hostage. This bandit is none other than Mihai, who has a bit of an axe to grind with Wadim, and he reckons Vali’s going to make the perfect hostage.
The last thing Vali and Mihai expect is that they’d end up in a state of mutual fascination that runs deeper than mere lust. Of course there’s still the problem of a tyrannical lord to overthrow and a village to save, which adds an extra dimension to this blooming romance.
The Crimson Outlaw has it all: authentic world-building (you really do feel like you’re in Transylvania); plenty of well-realised action sequences, swords and all; and of course the sparks that fly between Vali and Mihai. If I can level any criticism against the story it’s that it’s over so quickly, which is a measure of how well Alex Beecroft drew me in that I regretted reaching the ending so soon. I wanted a lot more.
Vali really is adorable. You want to groan quietly at his naïveté but there’s something quite refreshing about encountering a character who has such a big heart and cheery outlook. GrimDark this is not, but The Crimson Outlaw is a highly entertaining read nonetheless that will leave you smiling. Beecroft has a light, lyrical touch with her words and her story is an absolute pleasure if you’re looking for a feel-good, historical diversion from your daily grind.
Author: Alex Beecroft
Publisher: Riptide, 2013
It’s 1720 in Harghita County, Transylvania. and no, don’t expect vampires. Vali is the son of a nobleman, the cruel boyar Wadim Florescu. Amazingly, the lad has grown up untainted by his father’s generally nasty attitude – and his abuse. Vali is sweet-natured, an incurable romantic and tends to act before thinking things through.Which is why he tries to derail his sister’s wedding to another lord old enough to be their father – a move which backfires horribly, and proves to be the final straw which drives Vali out into the world.
Well meaning but completely unprepared for the world beyond the castle’s walls, Vali quickly runs into trouble when a bandit in the forest tries to take him hostage. This bandit is none other than Mihai, who has a bit of an axe to grind with Wadim, and he reckons Vali’s going to make the perfect hostage.
The last thing Vali and Mihai expect is that they’d end up in a state of mutual fascination that runs deeper than mere lust. Of course there’s still the problem of a tyrannical lord to overthrow and a village to save, which adds an extra dimension to this blooming romance.
The Crimson Outlaw has it all: authentic world-building (you really do feel like you’re in Transylvania); plenty of well-realised action sequences, swords and all; and of course the sparks that fly between Vali and Mihai. If I can level any criticism against the story it’s that it’s over so quickly, which is a measure of how well Alex Beecroft drew me in that I regretted reaching the ending so soon. I wanted a lot more.
Vali really is adorable. You want to groan quietly at his naïveté but there’s something quite refreshing about encountering a character who has such a big heart and cheery outlook. GrimDark this is not, but The Crimson Outlaw is a highly entertaining read nonetheless that will leave you smiling. Beecroft has a light, lyrical touch with her words and her story is an absolute pleasure if you’re looking for a feel-good, historical diversion from your daily grind.
November 4, 2013
Six of the best with Heidi Belleau
Today I welcome Heidi Belleau to my world. She's the author of numerous and rather engaging titles. Go check out her author page at Goodreads.
You’ve got no more than 16 words to tell someone who’s never heard of Wallflower what it’s all about. Go!
Heidi: Shy geek with female online persona discovers being part-time girl interferes with his budding gay relationship.
(Phew! That was hard!)
Wallflower delves into the theme of gender identity. Tell us a little bit more about Robert/Bobby.
Basically, Rob is this shy, awkward guy who’s always been a loner, but online, where he presents as a girl, he’s funny, popular, and outgoing.
Getting a job at a porn store pushes his shyness to the limit, so he decides to try passing as a girl in real life too. Just for his job, at first, but then he discovers that he loves his female persona, loves the freedom and confidence it gives him... but doesn’t love the fact that it complicates his new relationship with an out gay man. Basically from a gender standpoint, it’s all about a genderqueer person figuring out who he is, how he wants to present, how to navigate his sexlife and relationships, and how he can move forward.
Also, you write non-Caucasian characters, do tell us a little more how you give them the ring of authenticity.
I write lots of characters of colour, yes. Especially for Rear Entrance Video, the series of which Wallflower is a part. It’s set in Vancouver and I wanted the cast to represent the diversity of the city. If I’d have had a bunch of white heroes, it just wouldn’t have been right. As to giving them a ring of authenticity, it’s a little bit of everything. I observe the people around me and my friends, I read forums or articles online, I watch videos if need be. And then when I write; I make sure to try and find beta readers with firsthand knowledge who can keep an eye out for glaring mistakes.
Really, the main thing to remember is you’re not writing a race, you’re writing a person... whose race is a part of who they are. So you can’t write “colour-blind”, but you most certainly should make characters of colour just as well-rounded as white characters. And a part of that is giving due care and attention to their identity and ethnicity and how that affects their personality, their self-image, and how they interact with others. That doesn't mean the book has to be about race – so for Rob, being Chinese Canadian is largely in the background to his gender issues, but for Dylan, it’s a much bigger part of who he is and how he relates with people. Basically? Research research research, empathy empathy empathy, complexity complexity complexity.
What was your favourite scene from Wallflower?
There’s a scene early on in the book where Rob rents a straight Asian fetish video and watches it. It was a really challenging but rewarding scene for me to write, because while it’s ostensibly a sex scene, it’s so much more. It’s a big knotty tangle of race and gender and fetish and how we perform race and gender and how watching that kind of media changes our perception and how porn is both harmful and also freeing. For how heavy it is on issues, it’s also just really sexy. In a complicated kind of way.
Was there any that you found particularly tricky?
Yes! The reconciliation between Rob and Dylan at the end of the book was very hard to get the wording right. I actually edited the dialogue somewhat after reading a review, because the reviewer had issues with the same lines I did, so I reworked them. I set up a pretty tricky conflict in Wallflower by having a gay man fall for a genderqueer person who therefore isn’t completely male, and it took a little bit of wrangling to have them talk it out and resolve that conflict in a satisfying way that didn’t compromise either of their identities.
Lastly, what do you love best about your chosen genre(s)?
I love writing about queer people like me. I love telling stories that wouldn’t necessarily be told otherwise. Not only do I enjoy writing what I write, not only do I get a little hot writing what I write, but I feel good about it, too, which is a great feeling.
Bio
Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat, whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.
She has a degree in history from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in British and Irish studies; much of her work centred on popular culture, oral folklore, and sexuality, but she was known to perplex her professors with unironic papers on the historical roots of modern romance novel tropes. (Ask her about Highlanders!)
See http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/wallflower-rear-entrance-video-2
Connect with Heidi Twitter @HeidiBelleau.
You’ve got no more than 16 words to tell someone who’s never heard of Wallflower what it’s all about. Go!
Heidi: Shy geek with female online persona discovers being part-time girl interferes with his budding gay relationship.
(Phew! That was hard!)
Wallflower delves into the theme of gender identity. Tell us a little bit more about Robert/Bobby.
Basically, Rob is this shy, awkward guy who’s always been a loner, but online, where he presents as a girl, he’s funny, popular, and outgoing.
Getting a job at a porn store pushes his shyness to the limit, so he decides to try passing as a girl in real life too. Just for his job, at first, but then he discovers that he loves his female persona, loves the freedom and confidence it gives him... but doesn’t love the fact that it complicates his new relationship with an out gay man. Basically from a gender standpoint, it’s all about a genderqueer person figuring out who he is, how he wants to present, how to navigate his sexlife and relationships, and how he can move forward.Also, you write non-Caucasian characters, do tell us a little more how you give them the ring of authenticity.
I write lots of characters of colour, yes. Especially for Rear Entrance Video, the series of which Wallflower is a part. It’s set in Vancouver and I wanted the cast to represent the diversity of the city. If I’d have had a bunch of white heroes, it just wouldn’t have been right. As to giving them a ring of authenticity, it’s a little bit of everything. I observe the people around me and my friends, I read forums or articles online, I watch videos if need be. And then when I write; I make sure to try and find beta readers with firsthand knowledge who can keep an eye out for glaring mistakes.
Really, the main thing to remember is you’re not writing a race, you’re writing a person... whose race is a part of who they are. So you can’t write “colour-blind”, but you most certainly should make characters of colour just as well-rounded as white characters. And a part of that is giving due care and attention to their identity and ethnicity and how that affects their personality, their self-image, and how they interact with others. That doesn't mean the book has to be about race – so for Rob, being Chinese Canadian is largely in the background to his gender issues, but for Dylan, it’s a much bigger part of who he is and how he relates with people. Basically? Research research research, empathy empathy empathy, complexity complexity complexity.
What was your favourite scene from Wallflower?
There’s a scene early on in the book where Rob rents a straight Asian fetish video and watches it. It was a really challenging but rewarding scene for me to write, because while it’s ostensibly a sex scene, it’s so much more. It’s a big knotty tangle of race and gender and fetish and how we perform race and gender and how watching that kind of media changes our perception and how porn is both harmful and also freeing. For how heavy it is on issues, it’s also just really sexy. In a complicated kind of way.
Was there any that you found particularly tricky?
Yes! The reconciliation between Rob and Dylan at the end of the book was very hard to get the wording right. I actually edited the dialogue somewhat after reading a review, because the reviewer had issues with the same lines I did, so I reworked them. I set up a pretty tricky conflict in Wallflower by having a gay man fall for a genderqueer person who therefore isn’t completely male, and it took a little bit of wrangling to have them talk it out and resolve that conflict in a satisfying way that didn’t compromise either of their identities.
Lastly, what do you love best about your chosen genre(s)?
I love writing about queer people like me. I love telling stories that wouldn’t necessarily be told otherwise. Not only do I enjoy writing what I write, not only do I get a little hot writing what I write, but I feel good about it, too, which is a great feeling.
Bio
Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat, whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.
She has a degree in history from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in British and Irish studies; much of her work centred on popular culture, oral folklore, and sexuality, but she was known to perplex her professors with unironic papers on the historical roots of modern romance novel tropes. (Ask her about Highlanders!)
See http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/wallflower-rear-entrance-video-2
Connect with Heidi Twitter @HeidiBelleau.
October 29, 2013
The making of a trilogy and writing of gritty fiction by Patty Jansen
Today I hand over the reins to SF and fantasy author Patty Jansen, who is a member of SFWA and winner of the second quarter of the Writers of the Future contest. As well as in volume 27 of the contest, she has published fiction in various magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Aurealis, Redstone SF and the Universe Annex of the Grantville Gazette. She has also 'indie' published a number of longer works. Patty lives in Sydney, Australia.
Patty has a PhD in science, and before becoming a writer, Patty worked in agricultural research.
I like my fiction gritty. Whether I write fantasy or science fiction, I like to imagine the smells and sounds and little details that make fiction real. If you're writing about space travel, any fiction that does not cover the visceral reality of living in close quarters with others will be too vanilla and glossed-over. Those details create a sense of authenticity.
When I was little, we once witnessed an accident where a number of trucks crashed into the back of one another at a traffic light. The accident wasn't particularly serious nor was there much to see, but to this day, I remember the screams of pain from one of the drivers. That is the sort of detail I go for: in every situation, but particularly horrid ones, grab one detail and fixate the characters on it as something they will remember for the rest of their lives. Because that is what we do in reality: remember details of smell, of colour, of something unusual or chilling.
Primitive fantasy-style life isn't pretty. People get sick young in life and if they get better, carry the scars. Teeth fall out. Health problems which we consider fixable continue to fester and become visible even in young people. If you root around, you get pregnant. If you have a child, things can get messy.
Some people say "I don't want to read about that stuff". They want no one to get pregnant, no one to die in childbirth, no one to get rickets and have ugly crooked legs for the rest of his life.
That's fine, but romanticised fiction is not for me. I love Joe Abercrombie and with his type of fiction in mind, I wrote the Icefire Trilogy. The concept behind it is fantastical and absurd. Not everything is meant to pass a laws-of-physics inspection. Think The Ten Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin.
In a post-apocalyptic world, the major construction that remains from an ancient civilisation is a machine that people call the Heart which gives off a radiation, called icefire, that has had a profound effect on creatures around it. Knights ride on eagles big enough to carry the weight of a grown man, and people and animals can live without their hearts, as servitors.
People have learned to use to power. All people who live in the southern land are immune to the radiation, others can wield it like magic, but people who are not local die from its effects. A sorcerer with dubious motives revives the Heart from the slumber state in which it has lain for fifty years. He only needs an army of heart-less servitors to control the power.
Of course, all sorts of things go wrong, and the power spreads outward, to countries across the border whose population has steam technology, but cannot withstand icefire.
Gritty scenes, there are plenty, although not that much violence happens "live".
But there is one scene that still gives me nightmares. I call it "the train". I have no idea how my mind came up with that twisted piece of fiction.
Book 1 of the trilogy is currently free on major ebook retailers.
Links: Amazon, Kobo , Smashwords , B&N , and Apple.
About Patty Jansen:
Patty Jansen lives in Sydney, Australia, where she spends most of her time writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. She has sold fiction to genre magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Redstone SF and Aurealis. Her novels (available at ebook venues) include Shifting Reality (hard SF), The Far Horizon (middle grade SF), Charlotte’s Army (militarFire & Ice, Dust & Rain and Blood & Tears (Icefire Trilogy) (dark fantasy).
y SF) and
Patty is on Twitter (@pattyjansen), Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing, google+ and blogs at http://pattyjansen.com/
Patty has a PhD in science, and before becoming a writer, Patty worked in agricultural research.
I like my fiction gritty. Whether I write fantasy or science fiction, I like to imagine the smells and sounds and little details that make fiction real. If you're writing about space travel, any fiction that does not cover the visceral reality of living in close quarters with others will be too vanilla and glossed-over. Those details create a sense of authenticity.When I was little, we once witnessed an accident where a number of trucks crashed into the back of one another at a traffic light. The accident wasn't particularly serious nor was there much to see, but to this day, I remember the screams of pain from one of the drivers. That is the sort of detail I go for: in every situation, but particularly horrid ones, grab one detail and fixate the characters on it as something they will remember for the rest of their lives. Because that is what we do in reality: remember details of smell, of colour, of something unusual or chilling.
Primitive fantasy-style life isn't pretty. People get sick young in life and if they get better, carry the scars. Teeth fall out. Health problems which we consider fixable continue to fester and become visible even in young people. If you root around, you get pregnant. If you have a child, things can get messy.
Some people say "I don't want to read about that stuff". They want no one to get pregnant, no one to die in childbirth, no one to get rickets and have ugly crooked legs for the rest of his life.
That's fine, but romanticised fiction is not for me. I love Joe Abercrombie and with his type of fiction in mind, I wrote the Icefire Trilogy. The concept behind it is fantastical and absurd. Not everything is meant to pass a laws-of-physics inspection. Think The Ten Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin.
In a post-apocalyptic world, the major construction that remains from an ancient civilisation is a machine that people call the Heart which gives off a radiation, called icefire, that has had a profound effect on creatures around it. Knights ride on eagles big enough to carry the weight of a grown man, and people and animals can live without their hearts, as servitors.
People have learned to use to power. All people who live in the southern land are immune to the radiation, others can wield it like magic, but people who are not local die from its effects. A sorcerer with dubious motives revives the Heart from the slumber state in which it has lain for fifty years. He only needs an army of heart-less servitors to control the power.
Of course, all sorts of things go wrong, and the power spreads outward, to countries across the border whose population has steam technology, but cannot withstand icefire.
Gritty scenes, there are plenty, although not that much violence happens "live".
But there is one scene that still gives me nightmares. I call it "the train". I have no idea how my mind came up with that twisted piece of fiction.
Book 1 of the trilogy is currently free on major ebook retailers.
Links: Amazon, Kobo , Smashwords , B&N , and Apple.
About Patty Jansen:
Patty Jansen lives in Sydney, Australia, where she spends most of her time writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. She has sold fiction to genre magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Redstone SF and Aurealis. Her novels (available at ebook venues) include Shifting Reality (hard SF), The Far Horizon (middle grade SF), Charlotte’s Army (militarFire & Ice, Dust & Rain and Blood & Tears (Icefire Trilogy) (dark fantasy).
y SF) and
Patty is on Twitter (@pattyjansen), Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing, google+ and blogs at http://pattyjansen.com/
October 28, 2013
Cat Hellisen's House of Sand and Secrets
As far as bookish folk go, I'm really blessed to know Cat Hellisen and get to work with her professionally. She's been an invaluable member of the Adamastor Writers' Guild here in Cape Town, and from time to time we also have write-ins here in my Treehaus where a few of us get together to throw words around. Her fantasy novel
When the Sea is Rising Red
made me cry, not once, but twice. Her world-building is tangible, and her characters are prickly and authentic.
When she offered me the chance to throw a hairy eyeball at House of Sand and Secrets , the sequel to When the Sea is Rising Red, I just about had a palpitations. Felicita and Jannik's hesitant relationship is one of my favourites. They are delightfully awkward, and there are times when I want to shake sense into them and others where they are just so *right* together.
But I get ahead of myself. Go add the book to your TBR pile... And I have Cat here today for a little Q&A.
For the completely uninitiated, tell us a little about Felicita and her world. What has brought her to this point?
Felicita began as the poor little rich girl in my debut novel When the Sea is Rising Red. I was happy with the growth she'd made but I wanted to push her a little more and see how she developed when she had to actually live the life she ended up in. She arranged her own marriage for political purposes – to salvage what she could of her future – but she's telling herself that's all she did it for. The truth is a lot more complicated. House of Sand and Secrets begins with her trying to ignore her feelings, to sublimate them under her attempts to regain some power within the social hierarchy of her new city.
For all that she's a person who lies to herself, who has been brought up to be intolerant, racist, and classist, there's a part of Felicita I like – her refusal to give in, and her genuine attempts to break herself out of her indoctrination. She makes terrible choices sometimes, but almost always with a good reason driving them.
We've talked about your bats before, but they're central to the plot in this case. Mostly, we're looking at the uneasiness of cross-cultural relationships. Can you elaborate a little?
The vampires in my Oreyn books are not immortal, shape-shifting bloodsuckers, but they are treated like animals – their rights taken from them, forced to live in ghettos or work as little more than slaves. Felicita's marriage to Jannik is a social misstep, one that she has to fight against at every moment. She has to deal with external pressure, but also her own feelings about marrying across castes. Jannik is one of my favourite characters to write. He's intensely conflicted by his marriage – aware that it's supposed to be a marriage of convenience while still being in love with his wife and unable to express it.
Because the vampire culture is bisexual, there is also his inclination to try and find comfort from his apparently loveless marriage with other male vampires. So things can get layered and complicated.
What I particularly love about your writing as well is that your characters show a fluidity of sexuality. How do GLBTI issues reflect in your world-building with regard to culture?
The world of Oreyn has several major cultural norms – some cultures are openly bisexual, others are okay with it "under cover", while the third is more conservative. In general though, the world is much more comfortable with gender-queering and homosexuality than our own world. Depending on what level of society we're dealing with, even within the major cultural groups there are things that are more, or less acceptable. What would be perfectly normal in a large, middle class family might be frowned on in a High House family where the customs are patriarchal, and inheriting and carrying on the family name is key to their survival.
As a writer, I have to think about what would be acceptable in each character's case – and how that would be reflected in their behaviour and thinking, and the attitudes of those around them. It can make for some delightfully cross-purpose conversations.
What to you are some of the most important elements to telling a good story? What do you look for in a good book?
Good writing is number one. I can forgive many things for good writing, but bad writing means I drop the book. I love character more than plot, and I'm sure it shows, but I want anything that happens within the plot to be logical, to be able to see where and why things are happening. But good writing and a character that fascinates – those are my main criteria. I particularly love fantasy that plays, that takes tropes and turns them inside out, that takes risks. I'd rather read a beautiful failure than a safe and easy plod-a-long.
What is the most rewarding thing for you about returning to your "Hobverse"? What do you love the most about this setting?
I have no idea. I love the world, I love the characters I've created. Coming back to them feels like dipping into the folk-lore of another country, with all its myths and strangeness. I've designed all the Hobverse books (more accurately – The Books of Oreyn) to be stand-alone, but part of a greater story – a little like what Terry Pratchett has done with his wonderful Discworld novels.
I am fascinated by the interplay of the magical and mundane, and that's why you have things like the unis, which are giant goats bred to have only one horn so that rich women could have their coaches pulled by "unicorns", and which later became contaminated by magical fall-out and became..well...unicorns. Where the magic of the upper classes can only be accessed if they take a particular drug, and true wild magic is destroyed as soon as it is discovered. Stuff like that amuses me.
Thanks for visiting, Cat! And here's to the success of House of Sand and Secrets!
Buy House of Sand and Secrets on Kindle or DRM-free directly from the publisher. Add it on Goodreads... And remember to leave a review. Oh, and go stalk Cat on Twitter.
When she offered me the chance to throw a hairy eyeball at House of Sand and Secrets , the sequel to When the Sea is Rising Red, I just about had a palpitations. Felicita and Jannik's hesitant relationship is one of my favourites. They are delightfully awkward, and there are times when I want to shake sense into them and others where they are just so *right* together.
But I get ahead of myself. Go add the book to your TBR pile... And I have Cat here today for a little Q&A.
For the completely uninitiated, tell us a little about Felicita and her world. What has brought her to this point?
Felicita began as the poor little rich girl in my debut novel When the Sea is Rising Red. I was happy with the growth she'd made but I wanted to push her a little more and see how she developed when she had to actually live the life she ended up in. She arranged her own marriage for political purposes – to salvage what she could of her future – but she's telling herself that's all she did it for. The truth is a lot more complicated. House of Sand and Secrets begins with her trying to ignore her feelings, to sublimate them under her attempts to regain some power within the social hierarchy of her new city.For all that she's a person who lies to herself, who has been brought up to be intolerant, racist, and classist, there's a part of Felicita I like – her refusal to give in, and her genuine attempts to break herself out of her indoctrination. She makes terrible choices sometimes, but almost always with a good reason driving them.
We've talked about your bats before, but they're central to the plot in this case. Mostly, we're looking at the uneasiness of cross-cultural relationships. Can you elaborate a little?
The vampires in my Oreyn books are not immortal, shape-shifting bloodsuckers, but they are treated like animals – their rights taken from them, forced to live in ghettos or work as little more than slaves. Felicita's marriage to Jannik is a social misstep, one that she has to fight against at every moment. She has to deal with external pressure, but also her own feelings about marrying across castes. Jannik is one of my favourite characters to write. He's intensely conflicted by his marriage – aware that it's supposed to be a marriage of convenience while still being in love with his wife and unable to express it.
Because the vampire culture is bisexual, there is also his inclination to try and find comfort from his apparently loveless marriage with other male vampires. So things can get layered and complicated.
What I particularly love about your writing as well is that your characters show a fluidity of sexuality. How do GLBTI issues reflect in your world-building with regard to culture?
The world of Oreyn has several major cultural norms – some cultures are openly bisexual, others are okay with it "under cover", while the third is more conservative. In general though, the world is much more comfortable with gender-queering and homosexuality than our own world. Depending on what level of society we're dealing with, even within the major cultural groups there are things that are more, or less acceptable. What would be perfectly normal in a large, middle class family might be frowned on in a High House family where the customs are patriarchal, and inheriting and carrying on the family name is key to their survival.
As a writer, I have to think about what would be acceptable in each character's case – and how that would be reflected in their behaviour and thinking, and the attitudes of those around them. It can make for some delightfully cross-purpose conversations.
What to you are some of the most important elements to telling a good story? What do you look for in a good book?
Good writing is number one. I can forgive many things for good writing, but bad writing means I drop the book. I love character more than plot, and I'm sure it shows, but I want anything that happens within the plot to be logical, to be able to see where and why things are happening. But good writing and a character that fascinates – those are my main criteria. I particularly love fantasy that plays, that takes tropes and turns them inside out, that takes risks. I'd rather read a beautiful failure than a safe and easy plod-a-long.
What is the most rewarding thing for you about returning to your "Hobverse"? What do you love the most about this setting?
I have no idea. I love the world, I love the characters I've created. Coming back to them feels like dipping into the folk-lore of another country, with all its myths and strangeness. I've designed all the Hobverse books (more accurately – The Books of Oreyn) to be stand-alone, but part of a greater story – a little like what Terry Pratchett has done with his wonderful Discworld novels.
I am fascinated by the interplay of the magical and mundane, and that's why you have things like the unis, which are giant goats bred to have only one horn so that rich women could have their coaches pulled by "unicorns", and which later became contaminated by magical fall-out and became..well...unicorns. Where the magic of the upper classes can only be accessed if they take a particular drug, and true wild magic is destroyed as soon as it is discovered. Stuff like that amuses me.
Thanks for visiting, Cat! And here's to the success of House of Sand and Secrets!
Buy House of Sand and Secrets on Kindle or DRM-free directly from the publisher. Add it on Goodreads... And remember to leave a review. Oh, and go stalk Cat on Twitter.
October 24, 2013
The Emerald Forge by Manda Benson #review
Title:
The Emerald Forge
Author: Manda Benson
Publisher: Tangentrine Ltd, 2012
Once again, Manda Benson has dragged me back into her world. Having read nearly all of her SF titles by now, it's absolutely fantastic to get to see the "prehistory" of her world-building – all the stuff that gets mentioned in Dark Tempest et al.
Dana is a troubled protagonist, who suffers the brunt of bullies' attention and is socially maladjusted. And she lives a double life. On one hand she's just a kid. On another, she's the result of a scientific experiment that didn't quite go according to plan for her creator, one Ivor Pilgrennon.
This is YA with a difference. You're not going to see a love triangle. Instead you're dropped into the heart of turmoil from the perspective of one very brave girl who's caught on the cusp of young adulthood. She's old enough to reach for bigger things, but is still considered a child. A very frustrating place to be indeed.
As always, Benson's cybernetic creations are fascinating. In The Emerald Forge we encounter fantastical beasts brought to life in unexpected ways. Star of the show is the "wyvern" made up of metal and biological matter. Not so groovy is its opposite, the "griffin". The scarred Pendrick sees through the eyes of his martial eagle. Birds implanted with devices form deadly swarms. We see the first of the horses that were the highlight of Benson's novel Moonsteed.
Benson is unafraid of exploring the sociological implications of unfettered science. Though her characters are not easily likable and are often abrasive, they carry with them a kind of rough charm. Once you step into Benson's world, be prepared to be sucked into a reality as tangible and well realised as those created by the likes of Anne McCaffrey or CJ Cherryh.
Author: Manda Benson
Publisher: Tangentrine Ltd, 2012
Once again, Manda Benson has dragged me back into her world. Having read nearly all of her SF titles by now, it's absolutely fantastic to get to see the "prehistory" of her world-building – all the stuff that gets mentioned in Dark Tempest et al.Dana is a troubled protagonist, who suffers the brunt of bullies' attention and is socially maladjusted. And she lives a double life. On one hand she's just a kid. On another, she's the result of a scientific experiment that didn't quite go according to plan for her creator, one Ivor Pilgrennon.
This is YA with a difference. You're not going to see a love triangle. Instead you're dropped into the heart of turmoil from the perspective of one very brave girl who's caught on the cusp of young adulthood. She's old enough to reach for bigger things, but is still considered a child. A very frustrating place to be indeed.
As always, Benson's cybernetic creations are fascinating. In The Emerald Forge we encounter fantastical beasts brought to life in unexpected ways. Star of the show is the "wyvern" made up of metal and biological matter. Not so groovy is its opposite, the "griffin". The scarred Pendrick sees through the eyes of his martial eagle. Birds implanted with devices form deadly swarms. We see the first of the horses that were the highlight of Benson's novel Moonsteed.
Benson is unafraid of exploring the sociological implications of unfettered science. Though her characters are not easily likable and are often abrasive, they carry with them a kind of rough charm. Once you step into Benson's world, be prepared to be sucked into a reality as tangible and well realised as those created by the likes of Anne McCaffrey or CJ Cherryh.
October 23, 2013
Bloody Parchment launch and event October 30
Okay, I'm totally happy. This is what 100 copies of Bloody Parchment looks like...
With many thanks to Fahiema and Fourie over at Random House Struik, as well as the totally fabulous Louis Greenberg. Those of you who're in Cape Town this Halloween and who're horror fans, can dig the awesomeness that is the South African HorroFest (there are tons of awesome films and events related to this happening). GO CHECK IT OUT.
The Bloody Parchment event, of course, is part of this, and it's totally a huge amount of fun. This year we'll be launching our print version on the same night as the event, which is promising to be a blast. Go read more about the event here and RSVP over at Facebook.
But in the meanwhile, allow me to gloat happily over the awesomeness that is our dead-tree version of Bloody Parchment. I never get tired of a finished product.
With many thanks to Fahiema and Fourie over at Random House Struik, as well as the totally fabulous Louis Greenberg. Those of you who're in Cape Town this Halloween and who're horror fans, can dig the awesomeness that is the South African HorroFest (there are tons of awesome films and events related to this happening). GO CHECK IT OUT.
The Bloody Parchment event, of course, is part of this, and it's totally a huge amount of fun. This year we'll be launching our print version on the same night as the event, which is promising to be a blast. Go read more about the event here and RSVP over at Facebook.
But in the meanwhile, allow me to gloat happily over the awesomeness that is our dead-tree version of Bloody Parchment. I never get tired of a finished product.
October 22, 2013
Dark Harvest cover reveal
Oh haaaai, here we go. Cover reveal for Dark Harvest (release date to be announced soon because I like being mysterious, okay). But it's via Dark Continents Publishing, and it was a closed call where I collected fiction by some of my favourite authors.
This is the blurby thing:
A whisper of butterflies’ wings promises a lonely old man his heart’s desire; mages draw upon music to work magic; and a fearful symmetry threatens an alien realm. Be it in our dreams or flights of fancy that take us into uncharted territory, our hopes and desires often birth twisted imaginings. This selection of tales, some devious or whimsical, others downright eerie and unsettling, offers glimpses into other, darker realities.
Allow Amy Lee Burgess, Anna Reith, Autumn Christian, Carrie Clevenger, DC Petterson, Don Webb, Liz Strange, Nerine Dorman, Rab Fulton, Sarah Lotz, SL Schmitz, Sonya Clark and Toby Bennett to remove you from what’s familiar – just for a short while – and bring you back changed.
Cover art is a combination of photography by the super-awesome husband of mine, Dr-Benway and my soul sister, Carmen, who's not only a fecking amazing photographer, but I think she's a fecking hot designer.
This is the blurby thing:
A whisper of butterflies’ wings promises a lonely old man his heart’s desire; mages draw upon music to work magic; and a fearful symmetry threatens an alien realm. Be it in our dreams or flights of fancy that take us into uncharted territory, our hopes and desires often birth twisted imaginings. This selection of tales, some devious or whimsical, others downright eerie and unsettling, offers glimpses into other, darker realities.
Allow Amy Lee Burgess, Anna Reith, Autumn Christian, Carrie Clevenger, DC Petterson, Don Webb, Liz Strange, Nerine Dorman, Rab Fulton, Sarah Lotz, SL Schmitz, Sonya Clark and Toby Bennett to remove you from what’s familiar – just for a short while – and bring you back changed.
Cover art is a combination of photography by the super-awesome husband of mine, Dr-Benway and my soul sister, Carmen, who's not only a fecking amazing photographer, but I think she's a fecking hot designer.
