Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
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I've been meaning to try one of her books for ages, but what really decided me (and this is a commentary on the positives of attendi..."
Maybe, but only in the context that I was expecting a romp by a skilled writer, in the same way I find your genre crossing works to be engaging and accomplished. It’s been awhile, but I remember being disappointed, which surprised me because of everything else I’d read by her.
Josh wrote: "This is going to be the case more and more. Amazon is going to curate books for readers. Personally, I don't think that's going to be of long term benefit to authors, readers or literature...."Well I was killing time while my phone was fixed so I want to Barnes and Noble and scanned the paperbacks. Now I'm reading The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton.
B&N actually has the cozy mysteries separated from the classic and thriller mysteries. It's that strong of a market, I guess.
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Awww. Thank you, Jordan!
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It'a very funny because ten years ago the industry was starting to call time on the cozy, but then came the boom in ebooks and cozy surged with it.
I'm reading a cozy set in Scotland right now. It's so so. The descriptions aren't that great, and all of the Scots have odd highlander thick accents. The Edinburgh accents were mostly rather soft and sibilant. These characters all sound like they stepped out of the bracken with heather in their hair. A bit over done.So not a resounding success. And now Amazon is suggesting all the Scots mysteries. So mysteries set in Scotland is a subset of a genre in itself, hehe.
The word cozy for murder mysteries is kind of weird. I know and understand what it is about, and enjoy a well written cozy as much as everyone, but still, it is murder and mayhem:)
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There is a weird charm to all the delights of a cozy environment interrupted by murder. I'm not sure what it is, but I've always loved that contrast. And clearly I'm not alone. :-D
Josh wrote: "There is a weird charm to all the delights of a cozy environment interrupted by murder. I'm not sure what it is, but I've always loved that contrast. And clearly I'm not alone. :-D T..."I just need to find some better written. Hurry up and write, Josh. ;)
I really enjoyed Mell Eight's Ground of Insurrection. It's a fascinating queer fantasy novella, first in a new series. It's short, but exciting and really interesting. I'm keen to see where the story goes. There is a sentient prairie that eats people. :)
Alison wrote: "I really enjoyed Mell Eight's Ground of Insurrection. It's a fascinating queer fantasy novella, first in a new series. It's short, but exciting and really interesting. I'm keen to s..."Thank you! Not that I need more recs, but this looks good.
In exchange: I've just read The Glamour Thieves and I liked it. Slightly too much sex, but that's quite common nowadays ;-).
Controversal opinions among friends though, for ex. Ije didn't like it.
Antonella wrote: "Alison wrote: "I really enjoyed Mell Eight's Ground of Insurrection. It's a fascinating queer fantasy novella, first in a new series. It's short, but exciting and really interesting..."Looking forward to The Glamour Thieves. I'll get to it someday. :)
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:-D :-D :-D
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I'm on book three in the series, due to a reading binge over Thanksgiving week. I'm finding these stories to be compelling, but also conflicting. I'm entertained, and at times grossed out. There are definitely some "squicky" moments (like tentacle sex in detail). So not for everyone... but I think Don Allmon is an amazing fantasy writer. His conjuring of a post-apocalyptic tech and magic world with orcs, elves, zombies, androids, wizards, and more, is more detailed and complex than a lot of urban fantasies I've read.
I'd place the sex in these closer to the James Lear side of the spectrum, in the sense of being an unabashed "guy's-guy" perspective. I admit enjoying that on occasion, recognizing my enjoyment as something of a guilty pleasure. :)
The Glamour Thieves
Apocalypse Alley
The Burning Magus
Karen wrote: "I'd place the sex in these closer to the James Lear side of the spectrum, in the sense of being an unabashed "guy's-guy" perspective. I admit enjoying that on occasion, recognizing my enjoyment as something of a guilty pleasure. :)"I have to intervene to ''save'' Don Allmon from this comparison ;-).
I can speak only about his first book of the series, but in fact I have read also only one book by James Lear: I had The Back Passage on paper and I gave it away at one UK Meet.
I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because it was well written, but it was just too much sex. But lot of friends appreciate this author, and this book, very much.
What I mean is that it is not automatically true that if you don't like James Lear you won't like Don Allmon.
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I'm saving this for Holidays as a beach read. And it turns out I'm saving also Seance on a Summer's Night for the Holidays—I've been too busy to start reading it and I don't want to be busy, exhausted and easily distracted when I read Josh Lanyon. I want to be able to enjoy it fully. :-)
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Fascinating thoughts on this Antonella and Karen. I purchased the first book of the series based on what you two said.
ETA: It cost only $1.23.
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Thanks for clarifying, Antonella. Meaning isn’t always clear without voice, which is one of the reasons good writers have my respect. Allmon and Lear are very different writers, both in content and style, but there was something about Allmon’s unabashed delight and lack of inhibition that reminded me of Lear. Allmon’s lovers are more romantic, although they like to deny it.
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I'm saving this for Holidays as a beach ..."
I’ll be re-reading it then. I read it serialized, but am looking forward to reading it in a sweep, and also seeing if I can spot any edits. :)
Karen wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Alison wrote: "I really enjoyed Mell Eight's Ground of Insurrection. It's a fascinating queer fantasy novella, first in a new series. It's short, but exciting and ..."These got rave reviews at Smart Bitches website and podcast. I have the first one, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm ok with tentacle porn. :)
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It's in book 3, so let us know if you're in for the long read... :)
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On to Eli Easton's Christmas Angel and Joanna Chamber's Mr. Winterbourne's Christmas with high hopes.
I re-read Hope Is the Thing with Feathers to start off my Christmas reading. It was part of Dreamspinner's advent thing last year. I really enjoy it. Something about crotchety old men that puts me in the Christmas mood. :)
Hey! I've got a great rec for everybody. That includes you, Josh. I had it in my reader for some time--why, I couldn't tell you, except the title was so odd and the story sounded of possible interest. An historical m/m called:BOX 1663 BY ALEX SOREL.
Takes place during WWII, and American Army photographer is sent to New Mexico, assigned to look after a very insular, and for some reason our friendly yank doesn't get, icily cool Brit scientist for the trip (espionage worries). All this in aid of some mysterious project.
Man! was it good. I enjoyed every word. It came across to me as well-researched. Please give it a go. I read it on Kindle (maybe unlimited, don't remember for sure). DON'T MISS IT! Curl up and enjoy!
I forgot to say: Josh, just listened to In Other Words...Murder. I had read it on kindle and liked it, but sometimes I seem to give a book a more thorough focus when I listen to it. I can't skim. Anyway, I loved it, loved it. The humor really sings.
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You hooked me at New Mexico. :) I’ll read it over Winter Break or sooner.
For a wonderful coming of age story set in this same time and place I highly recommend The Green Glass Sea. It’s one I’ve read aloud to my class of nine to eleven year olds in the past.
Candice wrote: "Hey! I've got a great rec for everybody. That includes you, Josh. I had it in my reader for some time--why, I couldn't tell you, except the title was so odd and the story sounded of possible intere..."Thank you for the rec.
Box 1663 looks good indeed.
You can buy it here for some 5 dollars:
https://www.amazon.com/Box-1663-Alex-...
The blurb reminds me of one of my favourite books, Faster Than the Speed of Light. Warning: no steamy scenes.
In fact I recommend everything by Lucius Parhelion, but it is probably impossible to get his books now, they were was published by Torquere Press.
You can find some of his stuff for free here:
http://www.e-fic.com/sundog/original....
and here
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Parh...
Karen wrote: "Candice wrote: "Hey! I've got a great rec for everybody. That includes you, Josh. I had it in my reader for some time--why, I couldn't tell you, except the title was so odd and the story sounded of..."Hooked me too! Thanks for the rec, Candace, and for the link, Antonella.
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In short, I highly recommend it, if you haven’t read it yet!
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The beauty of audio is that the lines are delivered correctly--right timing, right emphasis--and that's so crucial for humor.
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Sold. I just bought it on Amazon--and happened to notice there were a couple of other books with Box 1663 reference, so clearly that is a BIG clue. ;-D
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Oh wow!!! That sounds wonderful.
Read Kim Fielding's Summerfield's Angel, which was quite good. Next up will be Eli Easton's and Jordan L. Hawk's stories in the same verse, though they're all standalones.And read Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald, which was so so. Lately I've been trying to find good graphic novels (mystery or fantasy). Still searching... The problem is that the illustrator is as important as the storyteller... In this particular one, the illustrations were good, but the story was not as strong as what I'd expect from Neil Gaiman. Anyway, I haven't yet tried other graphic novels of his, so there's hope!
And since Sherlock seems to be a theme atm, I also started A Study in Brimstone, which is surprisingly good so far. (Surprising because the humorous take on the original could go either way, but looks like it's going the right way.)
KC wrote: "And read Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald, which was so so. Lately I've been trying to find good graphic novels (mystery or fantasy). Still searching... The problem is that the illustrator is as important as the storyteller... In this particular one, the illustrations were good, but the story was not as strong as what I'd expect from Neil Gaiman."If someone just wants to read the Gaiman's story without the graphic novel, it is here, legally and for free:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/...
And thank you for your review, KC. Especially because I tend to buy almost everything when Neil Gaiman is concerned ;-).
New Ginn Hale today! Her story is in the cool-sounding pirate anthology Scourge of the Seas of Time. It's a newer small publisher and they seem to have some cool things, and now they have a Ginn Hale story, so they are even cooler.
https://queenofswordspress.com/produc...
Alison wrote: "New Ginn Hale today! Her story is in the cool-sounding pirate anthology Scourge of the Seas of Time."I didn't know at all! Thank you!
Antonella wrote: "Alison wrote: "New Ginn Hale today! Her story is in the cool-sounding pirate anthology Scourge of the Seas of Time."I didn't know at all! Thank you!"
Surprise! :)
Should be fun.
Alison wrote: "New Ginn Hale today! Her story is in the cool-sounding pirate anthology Scourge of the Seas of Time. It's a newer small publisher and they seem to have some cool things, and now t..."
Cool! :-)
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I’ve read and enjoyed five of the six The Christmas Angel books.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/2429...
I read the Jordan L. Hawk book first and the rest in more or less chronological order, but skipped over N.R. Walker’s A Soldier's Wish which starts in 1969 and goes from Woodstock to Vietnam to San Francisco. I’m slowly reading it now. It’s been surprisingly difficult to read about those times which were my own times in high school and college.
These are the best holiday novellas I’be read so far this season. The construct reminds me a bit of Jordan Castillo Price’s Petit Morts project (Josh participated in that), and (oddly) of the historical American Girl stories I read to my daughters back in the 90s. ;)
Jordan wrote: "So I had my outreach today for work where I deliver library books to an LGBTQ organization, mostly for people of color, and age range 14-24. I usually see the 20+ folks though. Anyway, last month I..."That is wonderful, Jordan!
Karen wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Kim Fielding's Summerfield's Angel, which was quite good. Next up will be Eli Easton's and Jordan L. Hawk's stories in the same verse, though they're all standalones..."I have been looking at those but not bought any, but now I will. Thank you for the recommendation. I love Christmas stories!
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It's a newer small publisher and they seem to have some cool things, and now t..."
YAY!!!
Jordan wrote: "If you like Ginn Hale, give this a try: The Last Sun. I'm currently reading it and seriously enjoying it. I love all aspects of it, from the characters, to the action, to the magic...."For a moment I thought that there was a second work by Ginn Hale I had never heard of...
Thank you for the rec, it looks interesting.
Antonella wrote: "Jordan wrote: "If you like Ginn Hale, give this a try: The Last Sun. I'm currently reading it and seriously enjoying it. I love all aspects of it, from the characters, to the action..."I absolutely loved this. One of my top favourite books of this year. I'll second the excellent characters and excellent world-building and excellent plot. Magic queers FTW. I am waiting patiently for the sequel, which I pre-ordered long ago. :)
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I know, this is sooo good!!! I think the second one is coming out very soon, like January or February, if I remember correctly.
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You're welcome!
Jordan wrote: "Alison wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Jordan wrote: "If you like Ginn Hale, give this a try: The Last Sun. I'm currently reading it and seriously enjoying it. I love all aspects of it, f..."Initially it was coming out in January, but it's been pushed back a few months to I don't remember when.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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T.J. Klune has two three-book contracts..."
That's so good to hear!