Raven Oak's Blog, page 5

RAINN

I am trying to be better about blogging here more, so I woke up this morning with a plan for this post. I was going to talk a bit about some good books I’ve read lately and some excellent TV I’ve been spending time with, but then a friend sent me a link and it undid my morning. This is not to blame the friend–this was information I needed to know–especially considering that I just wrote RAINN into my will. Yeah…

For those not familiar, RAINN is the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network. I...

Book 101 Review Pt 2

Amaskan’s Blood is the most personal book I’ve ever written, outside of my memoir. That’s saying something for a fictional work.”

For the month of February, I’m the Author of the Month on the Book 101 Review, a podcast with over 700 episodes and run by Daniel Lucas. I was interviewed in four parts, which will come out across the month of February. Here’s part two of the interview!

You can listen to it over on Spotify or Apple, or you can watch the YouTube video:

The post Book 101 R...

Book 101 Review Pt 1

Writing is something I have to do. I don’t really have an option here.”

For the month of February, I’m the Author of the Month on the Book 101 Review, a podcast with over 700 episodes and run by Daniel Lucas. I was interviewed in four parts, which will come out across the month of February. To kick things off, here’s part one of the interview with me.

You can listen to it over on Spotify or Apple, or you can watch the YouTube video:

The post Book 101 Review Pt 1 appeared first on R...

Cover Art

I *finally* get to share this so here goes!

I was recently hired to paint new cover art for  The Oracle Chronicles series by T. J. DesChamps, which features a middle-aged, badass woman named Lydia, who is a Greek Oracle in modern day. The series takes place in the Pacific Northwest, so I got to stretch my tree and mountain painting chops.I love this series and was so happy to do the covers. The story is interesting and unique with some serious queer representation. From start to finish...

Eligibility Post

I posted this before but forgot a story. Oops! Also, since nominations just opened up for the Hugo Awards, it’s a great time to make this post again.

My eligible short stories include “The Curse” and “The Bell Ringer,” which are from my collection The Bell Ringer & Other Holiday Tales, and “Eye of the Beholder,” which I co-wrote with Jennifer Brozek and was published in the anthology Interdimensions. 

My collection The Bell Ringer & Other Holiday Tales qualifies for any award for best collection...

The Half-Time Show

I’m feeling the need to talk a bit about Kendrick Lamar’s Super bowl Half-Time Show, mostly because I feel that people seriously didn’t grok (understand) the powerful message behind it. Whether that’s because America’s average intelligence level and IQ is in the toilet these days or because too much of America is drowning in racism…honestly, probably both.

A bit of fact: Football players are predominately black. Football is a brutal, gladiator-like sport where the players often end up permanentl...

2024 Year in Review

2024… What can I say to you? What can I say about you? You looked at 2023 and said hold my beer. For my household, 2024 was challenging on all fronts. So what happened?

My 2024 Year in ReviewThe following publications of mine came out:the trade paperback and eBook of The Bell Ringer & Other Holiday Tales came out in February, which included two new stories of mine, “The Curse” and “The Bell Ringer,” plus a ton of new art by meMy short story, “Not Today,” was published in the anthology  99 Fl...

Fresh Pick!

Just got an email that The Bell Ringer & Other Holiday Tales , my short story & art collection, is a “Fresh Pick” over at Fresh Fiction , a sizable book box subscription group. It’s also in the running for their 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards.  From them: “The Fresh Pick is chosen by our reviewers and readers… We’ve chosen your book because it appeals to us and we like to share our diverse tastes in reading and hope otherreaders will give The Bell Ringer & Other Holiday Tales a try.” ...

Nikki

Because I got sick this week, I missed that four days ago, the great poet Nikki Giovanni died. She is probably my favorite poet of all time and I’ve certainly shared her poetry on this site before because of that. Her words held such power and will continue on long after her, but I am still sad that she’s gone from this world. So I leave you with one of my favs, which is about so much more than spiders…

Allowables
By Nikki Giovanni

I killed a spider
Not a murderous brown recluse
Nor even a black...

Holiday Extravaganza!

Strong Women, Strange Worlds is having a holiday extravaganza on Dec. 14th from 10 AM – 4 PM EST. The event will have many authors and fun events like Mad Libs, improv storytelling, Speed Date a Book, Round Robin stories, digital freebies, and more!

I’ll be there from 1 – 2 PM EST as part of the Speed Date a Book, so come check it out. Pre-register for the all day Zoom party now at: https://strongwomenstrangeworlds.weebly.com/

The post Holiday Extravaganza! appeared first on RAVEN OAK.