Anna Frost's Blog, page 3
April 29, 2014
A Wild Cover Appears!
Wee! Here's the cover for the third volume of my trilogy. It will be out June 20. There'll be a blog tour happening that week as well. I'm looking forward to having a finished series out. :)
Yay, a complete series!
What's next for me? A different series, of course! The Kitsune Trilogy is high fantasy with a mostly-male cast and a central gay couple, so I'm doing the opposite next: urban fantasy with a mostly-female cast and a central lesbian couple. Stay tuned for news!
Yay, a complete series!
What's next for me? A different series, of course! The Kitsune Trilogy is high fantasy with a mostly-male cast and a central gay couple, so I'm doing the opposite next: urban fantasy with a mostly-female cast and a central lesbian couple. Stay tuned for news!
April 10, 2014
LGBT YA Book Series in SFF
I'm very much a SFF girl and I favor series. So here's a round-up of the series I know about so far. I have NOT read all of these but they all seem interesting.
Big Pubs
Witch Eyes series by Scott Tracey
Adaptation series by Malinda Lo
Pantomime series by Laura Lam
Coda series by Emma Trevayne
Proxy series by Alex London
Small Pubs
Masks series by Hayden Thorne
Lords of Arcadia series by John Goode
Dreams of Fire and Gods trilogy by James Erich
The Divide series by Kim Flowers
It would feel tacky to list my own work with the others, so I'll just oh-so-casually mention I write queer YA fantasy series too. :)
Big Pubs
Witch Eyes series by Scott Tracey
Adaptation series by Malinda Lo
Pantomime series by Laura Lam
Coda series by Emma Trevayne
Proxy series by Alex London
Small Pubs
Masks series by Hayden Thorne
Lords of Arcadia series by John Goode
Dreams of Fire and Gods trilogy by James Erich
The Divide series by Kim Flowers
It would feel tacky to list my own work with the others, so I'll just oh-so-casually mention I write queer YA fantasy series too. :)
April 4, 2014
Guest Post Notice
Today I'm visiting Laura Plus Books and expressing myself coherently like a real grown-up! My guest post is basically a demand for more queer SFF. What a surprise, huh?
This grown-up now has to go clean the bathroom before visiting sister arrives. The two of us will be prowling a local anime con over the week-end. There might even be pictures.
This grown-up now has to go clean the bathroom before visiting sister arrives. The two of us will be prowling a local anime con over the week-end. There might even be pictures.
April 1, 2014
LGBT Month Intro Post
It's weird to realize it's April already because the snow hasn't even begun melting over here, arg. But hey, here's a bit of happy news: I'm participating in Cayce's and Laura's LGBT Month event. My short guest post will be going up on Laura Plus Books on the 4th and The Fox's Mask is part of the prize list winners can chose from.
I expect to be rather busy this month, but I put together a short reading list in honour of the event:
1. Seidman
2. Distant Rumblings
3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
I also hope to put up a rec post focused on speculative LGBT YA later in the month. :)
I expect to be rather busy this month, but I put together a short reading list in honour of the event:
1. Seidman
2. Distant Rumblings
3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
I also hope to put up a rec post focused on speculative LGBT YA later in the month. :)
March 16, 2014
Tiger and Bunny Movie
I just found out there's a new Tiger and Bunny movie (despite what the name might imply, it's not a romance or kid show; it's a superhero anime) coming out. I'm excited because I hear there's a subplot focused on Nathan (aka Fire Emblem).
When I watched the show I thought that Nathan was portrayed flamboyantly and was called "one of the girls" because anime writers (like a lot of other mainstream media writers) don't seem to understand there's any other kind of gay guy. I later found out that Nathan is meant to be genderqueer, which would make me happier if this were actually made clear on screen. A positive portrayal of a genderqueer person does no good if the entire audience thinks it's "just another gay guy." I'm also unhappy with the idea that to portray a gay guy or genderqueer male-bodied person you have to cover them in pink.
Despite all that, I <3 Fire Emblem. I want to see the moviiiie.
When I watched the show I thought that Nathan was portrayed flamboyantly and was called "one of the girls" because anime writers (like a lot of other mainstream media writers) don't seem to understand there's any other kind of gay guy. I later found out that Nathan is meant to be genderqueer, which would make me happier if this were actually made clear on screen. A positive portrayal of a genderqueer person does no good if the entire audience thinks it's "just another gay guy." I'm also unhappy with the idea that to portray a gay guy or genderqueer male-bodied person you have to cover them in pink.
Despite all that, I <3 Fire Emblem. I want to see the moviiiie.
March 5, 2014
The Guy Who Always Lost
I wouldn't really recommend the anime I'm watching right now (sexism and such), but there's something really interesting about it; when the hero gets into a fight, he tends to lose. The fights usually end when a friend of his (always a girl) saves him or stops the fight or something along those lines. He doesn't pick fights for fun either; he's generally fighting to try to help someone.
You'd think this would be boring, or anticlimactic, but you'd be wrong. There's something really inspiring in watching a guy pick fights he can't win because he needs to try or because he thinks his death will actually fix the situation. It makes me more invested in what's going to happen, who's going to intervene and why.
This show really made me think about Western storytelling's obsession about winning-at-all-costs. Sometimes, losing is even more interesting. I need to remember that.
You'd think this would be boring, or anticlimactic, but you'd be wrong. There's something really inspiring in watching a guy pick fights he can't win because he needs to try or because he thinks his death will actually fix the situation. It makes me more invested in what's going to happen, who's going to intervene and why.
This show really made me think about Western storytelling's obsession about winning-at-all-costs. Sometimes, losing is even more interesting. I need to remember that.
February 21, 2014
The Fox’s God – Official Release Date
Ohhh, my publisher added a release date for the third and final volume of The Kitsune Trilogy.Barring unforeseen catastrophes, The Fox’s God will be out on June 20.
Behold! A Goodreads link!
Perhaps a blog tour is in order? With giveaways? *plots*
The Fox's God - Official Release Date
Ohhh, my publisher added a release date for the third and final volume of The Kitsune Trilogy.Barring unforeseen catastrophes, The Fox's God will be out on June 20.
Behold! A Goodreads link!
Perhaps a blog tour is in order? With giveaways? *plots*
Behold! A Goodreads link!
Perhaps a blog tour is in order? With giveaways? *plots*
February 18, 2014
Things I want to see (or see more of) in YA LGBT fiction
This is February's topic for Cayce's LGBT reading challenge. Since I'm a writer myself, it's part-wishlist, part-worklist. :)
1. I want to see more YA LGBT fiction that doesn't revolve around sexual orientation. Queerness is not a personality trait and has to stop being treated as such. It's also a problem when the entire plot of a book can be described as "this character is queer." Surprise, LGBT teens DO have lives that extend beyond the angst of being not-straight! Seriously, let's move on.
2. In connection to number one, I want to see more YA LGBT stories outside the contemporary and romance genres. Queer people are allowed to exist in mystery books, fantasy books, sci-fi books, horror books, etc. It is not necessary to "justify" their existence in other genres by giving them a plot arc focused on their non-straightness. A queer person in a zombie book would be way too busy trying to stay alive to wax poetry about how hard it is to be queer.
3. I want to see more YA LGBT books address intersectionality. Queer people are not all white and able-bodied. There are people who are POC, disabled, and queer ALL AT ONCE. The breadth of human experience is almost endless, so why is it that most fiction doesn't reflect this? We've got work to do, yo.
1. I want to see more YA LGBT fiction that doesn't revolve around sexual orientation. Queerness is not a personality trait and has to stop being treated as such. It's also a problem when the entire plot of a book can be described as "this character is queer." Surprise, LGBT teens DO have lives that extend beyond the angst of being not-straight! Seriously, let's move on.
2. In connection to number one, I want to see more YA LGBT stories outside the contemporary and romance genres. Queer people are allowed to exist in mystery books, fantasy books, sci-fi books, horror books, etc. It is not necessary to "justify" their existence in other genres by giving them a plot arc focused on their non-straightness. A queer person in a zombie book would be way too busy trying to stay alive to wax poetry about how hard it is to be queer.
3. I want to see more YA LGBT books address intersectionality. Queer people are not all white and able-bodied. There are people who are POC, disabled, and queer ALL AT ONCE. The breadth of human experience is almost endless, so why is it that most fiction doesn't reflect this? We've got work to do, yo.
February 7, 2014
Women in SFF: My Recs
After reading E. Catherine Tobler's post about a certain blogger who went TWO YEARS without reading a single book written by a woman, I felt compelled to count the authors I read in 2013. I may have missed some, but I arrived at a total of ten different male authors, eighteen different female authors, and one queer-gendered author. I'm happy with these stats.
To go further, I'm going to list my top three favourite women authors by genre. This is good stuff, I promise!
Science fiction
-Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga)
-CJ Cherryh (everything is good)
-Ann Leckie (only one book so far but so very good)
Fantasy
-Robin Hobb (everything with her name on it)
-Martha Wells (everything with her name on it)
-Naomi Novik (Temeraire series)
Urban fantasy
-Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels series)
-Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series)
-Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville series)
YA
-Malinda Lo (Adaptation series)
-Amy Tintera (Reboot series)
-??*
Manga
-Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist)
-Yuki Urushibara (Mushishi)
-Bisco Hatori (Ouran High School Host Club)
*I'm picky about YA. I don't have a third favourite yet.
To go further, I'm going to list my top three favourite women authors by genre. This is good stuff, I promise!
Science fiction
-Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga)
-CJ Cherryh (everything is good)
-Ann Leckie (only one book so far but so very good)
Fantasy
-Robin Hobb (everything with her name on it)
-Martha Wells (everything with her name on it)
-Naomi Novik (Temeraire series)
Urban fantasy
-Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels series)
-Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series)
-Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville series)
YA
-Malinda Lo (Adaptation series)
-Amy Tintera (Reboot series)
-??*
Manga
-Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist)
-Yuki Urushibara (Mushishi)
-Bisco Hatori (Ouran High School Host Club)
*I'm picky about YA. I don't have a third favourite yet.
