Sable Aradia's Blog, page 70
June 8, 2017
Author Spotlight at Renee Scattergood’s Website
Thanks so much to Renee Scattergood for featuring me in her Author Spotlight! You can find an interview with Graeme Walsh here, and it reveals some new information about the Wyrd West. Showdown is FREE next week!
June 7, 2017
Showdown is FREE Next Week!
Support my Headtalker campaign to let people know that Showdown is going to be free next week from June 12 to June 16! Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the app for your phone and read it that way! Check it out!
June 6, 2017
Wonder Woman: A Holy Communion
Why all the hullabaloo about Wonder Woman? Why is this movie such a big deal? Why has it become, as a writer who’s opinion I respect has put it, “a feminist hill to die on?” And why did it matter so much to me?
Source: Wonder Woman: A Holy Communion
A Few Good Elves on FanFiction.net (As Promised)
Here’s my profile on FanFiction.net. The prologue and the first chapter of A Few Good Elves have been edited and posted and more will follow at a rate of one chapter about every two days or so. Enjoy!
If you want to see the Toy Soldier Saga completed in its original Spelljammer format, consider supporting my Patreon! Thank you!
June 5, 2017
Alternative Physics for the Toy Soldier Saga
Adapting the alternative physics of Spelljammer to something new was the sticking point for me in turning the Toy Soldier Saga into something publishable. I have worked on this concept for a long time, and I think I’ve finally come up with something that works but is its own thing. Right now it’s a very loose idea and I will be working out the bugs as I write, but here it is, in a nutshell.
Crystal Spheres
Spelljammer’s “bubbles in space with crystal shells” idea is unique. However, it’s based in Ptolemic physics. How that worked was that the Earth was the center of the universe (and then the sun later on,) and everything we see in the sky is on the inside of a “crystal sphere,” interlocking within one another like Russian dolls. Later theories of universe construction discussed the idea of the “crystal” actually being something a bit…
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June 4, 2017
4 Epic Fantasy Novels Written Before The Lord of the Rings
By Matt Staggs
J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (first volume, 1954) may have codified many of the tropes of fantasy literature — noble elves, doughty dwarves, magic swords, and long-bearded wizards — but the genre’s roots stretch many years back.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth century in particular saw a boom in fantastical fiction. In between the gothic literature of writers like Bram Stoker and the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, came a wave of strange literature inspired by fairy tales, dreams, and fantastic imaginations.
This list looks at some of these lesser known works of the early modern fantasy canon. Note: many of these can be found as public domain ebooks, but if you’re a stickler for print — I prefer it for classic works, myself — then you can click the titles for that option.
Read the full article at UnboundWorlds.com.
June 3, 2017
Book Review: Food on Their Table by Diane Morrison
Food on Their Table by Diane Morrison
I can’t rate this one because I wrote it, and naturally I think it’s awesome, but I have a conflict of interest here.
This dystopian novelette was written for the Kindle Storyteller competition. It’s based somewhat on a dream I had as a pre-teen. I wrote a version of the story then that was precisely true to the dream I had, and a school guidance counselor wanted to know if everything was all right at home! (I was a weird kid, very mature for my age, and read a lot of adult-level books, such as Stephen King.) The second version is a bit more complex and realistic. Which makes sense, because about thirty years separate them.
It’s a very grim future world that is quite possibly beyond hope. It is a worst-case scenario. It’s intense and I hope creepy. I listened to creepy post-apocalyptic music soundtracks while I was writing it and I don’t really care to stick my head back in this world any time soon because it was downright depressing and more than a little scary. I hope that comes across in the writing as clearly as I saw and felt it in my head.
Suggested readership: New Adult or older. I would definitely not recommend this for children or even for teenagers.
View all my reviews
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June 2, 2017
It’s All in the Rigging: 9 of the Best Boats in Fantasy
By Fran Wilde
Once upon a time (cough, August 6, 2013, actually), Tor.com published “I Hate Boats,” by Carl Engle-Laird. Carl’s gone on to brilliant things, but I still want to argue with him about the post, and especially this sentence in particular: “Whenever my beloved protagonists get on a boat, I groan, put the book on the table, and pace around the room muttering angrily to myself, alarming friends and loved ones.”
Carl, now that you’re a big-deal editor at Tor.com, I’m finally ready to tell you that I feel exactly the opposite way. I love boats, and when I see one in a book, I feel a lot of hope. I grew up sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, reading nautical histories, and what I want in my fiction is a boat that feels real and suits the plot. When a book takes me over water, I’m eagerly looking for the most seaworthy craft.
Read the full article at Tor.com.
June 1, 2017
Book Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Giver by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Read for the Women of Genre Fiction Challenge and the Need to Re-Read Challenge.
I think I read this years ago, but I didn’t remember the details so I wanted to read it again. It’s an interesting and fast-paced dystopian story that examines whether it’s worth it to trade all risk for all choice. Jonas, the protagonist, clearly named after the guy who was in the belly of the whale, is suddenly confronted with real feelings when he becomes the new “Receiver of Memory” from the previous one, now called the Giver. It was quite readable and I enjoyed it. As other reviewers have pointed out there are elements in the story that don’t really make sense, but it’s certainly no more senseless in those kinds of aspects than Percy Jackson. Worth reading, and kind of touching.
View all my reviews
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May 31, 2017
Chasing Fireflies Available NOW for Pre-Order!
[image error]Featuring “The Eye of the Storm,” a story about Shaundar and Y’Anid from the Toy Soldier Saga!
Chasing Fireflies is a collection of 9 summer romance stories from all genres including contemporary, sci-fi, fantasy, and speculative fiction.
From Janae Keyes: It was supposed to be an escape, falling in love was never part of the plan.
From Rebekah Dodson: A respectable woman left behind in war finds fulfillment in a forbidden man.
From Sarah Buhrman: Magic, mystery, and deceit surround a medieval woman’s search for her lost love.
From Diane Morrison: A deep cover Elven soldier discovers that when you learn to think like your enemy, you might also learn to love them.
From Deliaria Davis: In real life, love is complicated and messy, but sometimes you just know it’s meant to be, and this Alaskan teenager intends to prove it, despite the odds.
From A.C Jade: Two strangers discover that a one-night summer affair isn’t all they have in common.
From Jay Michael Wright II: Can a cursed doctor find love with a gorgeous Demon before those hunting her find them out?
From Kayla Kirby: Home before he deploys, David runs into an old friend from high school. David quickly learns that Riley is harboring a dark secret and, in order to attempt to help her, he presents to her a challenge.
From C.L. Cannon: It’s the eleventh hour, and he has to decide. Remain her friend, or take the chance at something more?
Get it here! Releasing July 1, with print release to follow soon!
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