Timothy C. Ward's Blog, page 61

AudioTim 48: New Authors Fellowship April Writing Update

I’m mixing things up a little from my normal schedule on AudioTim. First, I’ve donated the last three panels from Chicon 7 to Adventures in SciFi Publishing. “Disaster Response in Science Fiction” will post shortly. I’m giving them more shows than those three, so I’m not sure when the next episode will hit this feed. Maybe it will be next month’s NAF writer update, similar to this one. For the last, almost, two years, I’ve been a Feature Author over at New Authors Fellowship, blogging once a...

March Spec-fic-fetti

Were it not for Mur Lafferty‘s debut novel, The Shambling Guide to New York City (The Shambling Guides), redeeming my hope in a speculative fiction story I could really enjoy, I might have kicked this month’s speculative fiction celebration to the curb. This seemed to be a month where none of the books I bought really made me read. This could be in part because I’m finishing draft five of my novel, Kaimerus, a complicated, epic science fiction novel, and am mentally exhausted. I’ve been excit...

Flu, Resident Evil 6 and a Plea for Quality Zombie Fiction

I reviewed Flu by Wayne Simmons this week at SF Signal. As much as I was hoping this book would deliver in a failing market of zombie fiction, the characters and writing fell flat like so many others.

REVIEW SUMMARY: A character-focused zombie story whose characters you’d rather ignore.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A flu outbreak in Northern Ireland overcomes quarantine efforts as the dead rise and survival efforts bring out the worst in most people.

My full review at SF Signal.

I read yesterday that Resident...

Quality Fan Fiction in Hugh Howey’s Wool Universe

Lyndon Perry‘s short story, “The Last Prayer (A Silo Story) (The Last Silo),” is fan fiction set in Hugh Howey’s Wool universe… and it’s really good! I didn’t know what to expect, having loved Wool 1, but Lyndon surprised me with an emotional tale that creates its own set of problems and resolutions. I don’t want to ruin anything, so I’ll just say that I recommend this story to any fan of Wool, and cheers to Lyndon for writing such a powerful tale. Like Wool 1, it sets up its own epic problem...

Crime Stories for a Speculative Fiction Fan

I enjoyed Agatha Christie novels in middle school, but it was more of a “if you’re going to make me read for class, I guess this is pretty good,” than a “move over Horror and Fantasy, there’s a new cat in town.” My wife and I finally sat down and watched the first episode of Sherlock: Season One, and, in spite of her falling asleep during the best five minutes, we both really liked it.

I keep hearing how this show is top of the line, but I’d rather take a chance on a mediocre speculative ficti...

AudioTim 47: Hard-boiled Detective Novel, HOT SINATRA, by Axel Howerton

Welcome to my interview with Axel Howerton and editor, Lane Diamond of Evolved Publishing. Axel’s debut novel, Hot Sinatra, was a captivating detective story that reminded me of my love of the romance and humor in the TV show, Castle. Axel and his team at Evolved Publishing deserve a lot of credit. Axel is giving away a signed copy of HOT SINATRA in return for anyone who promises to name their firstborn, Hot, or Sinatra. Your pick. Or Foxy. Or Kickerd–I’m just kidding, details below (which ar...