My Favorite Bit

I absolutely loved The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke. It’s a science fiction novel that is about a young girl who is raised with an android for a tutor. What I find remarkable about the book is that the story stays intimate and never veers into The Fate of the World. In many ways, it feels more like […]

Hey. Want to see a video? David D. Levine has brought us something that I think you’ll like.  Now, I have a soft spot for David, so I’m not at all impartial. He and I were in a writing group back in Portland and I think he’s a darn fine short story writer. He’s also

This week we move out of my usual SF and Fantasy fare into a novel that explores conflict in Afghanistan with Susan Froetschel’s Fear of Beauty.  Her essay on the novel is really interesting and she is also sharing an excerpt with you. Now, let me get out of the way so you can read about

When I was living in New York, I lived around the corner from Felix Gilman. Really. Just around the corner. We met at one of the KGB readings and had that funny thing where you slowly realize that you are neighbors. I picked up a copy of his first book, Thunderer, and was blown away by it.

For the first My Favorite Bit of 2013, we have Jaine Fenn who brings us Queen of Nowhere. Here’s what the publisher says about it. When paranoia is a way of life, trust doesn’t come easily. The Sidhe look like us. They live amongst us. What they lack in numbers they make up with their

Anne Lyle also writes historical fantasy, which is one of my happy places for fiction. Her first book was set in Elizabethan England, but the new one takes us to Venice. What’s her Favorite Bit? ANNE LYLE When I started planning the sequel to my Elizabethan fantasy novel “The Alchemist of Souls” way back in

When I was first introduced to Howard A. Jones he mentioned this book he was working on, which he said was sort of like a cross between Arabian Nights and Sherlock Holmes. The first book, The Desert of Souls, totally lived up to that elevator pitch.  Rollicking! He’s back with the sequel, The Bones of the Old

Allow me to introduce you to Jeremy Zimmerman, who I first met when I was one of the pros at a writing workshop. At these things, you see a lot of stories that are… challenged.  But sometimes you get lucky and you get a writer like Jeremy, where you look at the story and think

One of the things that I enjoy about Cassie Alexander is that she’s an actual nurse, so the medical stuff in her books is right. Her newest novel, Moonshifted, continues to follow Nurse Edie Spence as she tends to super-natural creatures. This time, her patient is the victim of a hit-and-run — oh, and he’s a

Nancy Kress is one of those writers that I have to work hard not to squee all over. I have loved everything that she has written. She has a new book out, Flashpoint, which I am very excited about. Nancy has also, consistently, given me some of the best writing advice both in terms of

Today’s piece is a little unusual, and fantastic. Blake Charlton talks about his favorite bit of fiction in general, the opening line, and in the process gives some darn fine advice. As you can probably guess, I’m sensitive to the subject of opening lines so this one really resonated for me. I think you’ll like

I have been seriously looking forward to Brenda Cooper’s newest book, The Creative Fire, for a while now. Why? Well, Brenda is smart and she’s a darn fine writer. I’ve enjoyed everything of hers that I’ve read. Take a look at the catalog copy for her new book. Nothing can match the power of a single

When I’m not reading SF or Fantasy, I tend toward mysteries so I’m very happy to introduce you to a new mystery series. What’s it about? They rely on animal instincts… Meet “Gin” and “Tonic.” She’s a dog person. He’s a cat person. But when these two friendly rivals team up to solve a mystery,

 It’s no secret that I think John Picacio is an amazing artist. I’m very pleased to have him on to talk about his newest project, which has an associated Kickstarter with it. If his art turns you on, which it will, make sure you swing by the Kickstarter to see the very cool backer rewards he’s

I’m going to let Lev AC Rosen talk about his book All Men of Genius, which is wonderful. But I want to tell you a little story about how he sent this post to me. I ask my guests to get the posts to me a week in advance. Lev wrote this on his iPad