reader, writer, & occasional thinker
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar My rating: 5 of 5 stars Beautifully written: go read this. Eloquent, subtle, atmospheric; fast paced but still carrying depth. So much wordplay; if you delight in reading such things, as I do, then you will find the writing itself to be so much... Continue Reading →
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn My rating: 3 of 5 stars Ehhhhh. In a nutshell: strong characterisation and good craft/writing, with a very atmospheric setting. But the novel was structurally messy, the main character has motivation and/or passivity issues, and the final reveal is incredibly convoluted. Without wanting to give any spoilers, I feel like... Continue Reading →
Let's talk about Hairy Baguette.
The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson My rating: 2 of 5 stars I adored The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Masquerade #1) and loved the *start* of book #2 in this series, but despite some excellent writing and characterisation at the start, the novel disintegrated for me at around the 30% mark. Structural problems were my... Continue Reading →
Telepathist by John Brunner My rating: 4 of 5 stars #shortreview for Instagram: I finished reading the Telepathist this morning. It was a sad and rather brutal novel, about a man whose physical deformities enable him to develop powerful mental capabilities (telepathy, in this case). There's some dystopian-esque spy stuff going on in the background... Continue Reading →
So much of an aspiring author's time (at least, for those aspiring towards trade publication) is taken up with querying. I can understand this, having been in the querying trenches last year (and the year before that). Doors open with agents, you might say, meaning it's natural to focus on such a big goal. Querying... Continue Reading →
This is the only other story I'll "reprint" on here at present, as it's the only other story which was been locked into a print-only magazine. A Possible Serenity https://nycteris.com/publications/short-fiction/a-possible-serenity/
Feel silly listing this as a Publications but here we are anyway 🙂 I've put up an older short story whose publication rights have expired elsewhere. You can read it here, where it will remain permafree. As more of my shorts become available, I'll probably put them up here as reprints with links to the... Continue Reading →
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins My rating: 5 of 5 stars Intriguing and nuanced I stayed up late to finish this, which is always a good sign! Extremely well done, and much better than Gone Girl (imo). I am reluctant to give spoilers so won't; the twists were less plotty than i... Continue Reading →
Grats to the lovely winners of the dialogue competition! Another great event with friendly writers and thoughtful judging. via Competitions
A brief deconstruction of how I wrote the query/pitch letter for my current WIP. May be of use, or may not! Up to you 🙂
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn My rating: 4 of 5 stars It was perhaps a mistake to embark on a novel which is, one way or another, centered on a tumultuous marriage, particularly when your own marriage is somewhat tumultuous. Still, I suppose it speaks to the relatability of the novel that, despite its bizarre... Continue Reading →
Touch by Claire North My rating: 3 of 5 stars I have enormous respect for Claire North's writing. She has fascinating ideas, beautiful prose, poignant characterisations, a lively yet literary style, and keen observations on society/humanity. However, I didn't love this novel as I hoped I would. I started off thinking it would be a... Continue Reading →
The Best of Gene Wolfe by Gene Wolfe My rating: 5 of 5 stars Awesome Obviously, I loved it. My favorite was The Eyeflash Miracles. Absolutely stunning story on every level. Here were my other standout stories: “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories,” copyright © 1970 by Gene Wolfe; first appeared in Orbit... Continue Reading →
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel My rating: 5 of 5 stars A cautious but thorough endorsement I had to consider for quite awhile what rating i wanted to give this novel. The fact I had to think about it is, of course, its own sort of endorsement. Let's start with some context. I... Continue Reading →
Success comes in many shapes and sizes and we like to celebrate everything achieved by members here, whatever form that takes – a hint that we can’t publish those achievements unless you tell us about them. Don’t be shy. We’ve already celebrated some big successes this year and we now have a few others. Sarah […]... Continue Reading →
The True History of the Elephant Man by Michael Howell My rating: 5 of 5 stars Well-written and well structured as a book. Far kinder than the only other book I've read on Joseph Merrick (which, I think, was from the point of view of the doctor, and rather distasteful if memory serves.) I am,... Continue Reading →
I very much agree with the points made in this article. I tick quite a few #ownvoices boxes and feel that pressure, both spoken and unspoken, to flog them like job credentials. But I’d rather my writing spoke for itself, to be honest.
Update 5/3/19. The author and I are both surprised by how much this has taken off! She (and I) are grateful for the real, thoughtful discussions you’ve been having around this. I do want to note, though, because I’ve had lots of comments (which I have chosen not to approve) from white folks using this as an opportunity to say they should get to write other folks’ stories. A lot have been specifically talking about how they, as white authors, want to write POC struggle stories. That’s not the conversation we’re having, and that wasn’t the point the author intended to make, so please don’t take it that way. We believe in #ownvoices stories. We don’t believe in white folks taking over the space that POC authors inhabit. The author’s story was one of a person in a position of power (an agent or editor) policing her marginalized identity. It…
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The Garments of Caean by Barrington J. Bayley My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of those odd little gems that has stood out in my memory as a really sublime sf novel. On the outset, it's a book about a psychic suit that bonds with, controls, and manipulates its wearer for amazing... Continue Reading →
Thanks to Essa for the recommendation!
"--Good." has been selected for the BBSF 2018 Anthology this year. It's a small thing in the scheme of things--just one story in a reprint market--but I'm still quietly happy and very honored to sneak on the list 🙂 Flash is sometimes a hard sell for big anthologies, and many flat-out don't accept fiction of... Continue Reading →
I received an ARC of this Angry Robot book via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. My opinions are my own 🙂
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks My rating: 2 of 5 stars From 5 stars, to 2 stars: a great concept, enjoyably written, that nonetheless lacked payoff (either emotional or plot-based). The ending hinged on a very unbelievable revelation that I couldn't buy into and which didn't wrap up all of the interesting elements that... Continue Reading →
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read GoT about fifteen years ago, and my feelings on it have evolved over the years. For me, Game of Thrones is like a bad-boy romance you had in your teens: exciting, thrilling, and edgy at the time, but a... Continue Reading →
A Sinful Query Dear Agent Fullname, Light Yagami wants nothing more than to get through each day of his senior school year without dying of boredom. When a mysterious notebook finds its way into his hands, Light is intrigued by its magical properties. The notebook—called the Deathnote—has the power to kill anyone whose name is... Continue Reading →
Planetfall by Emma Newman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Planetfall came to me well-recommended from a number of sources (two CPs, and my agent) so I was keen to give it a try. Overall a very enjoyable book, and one I read at a fast pace. The mix of nuanced interiority, bizarre setting, and... Continue Reading →
The Outcast Hours by Mahvesh Murad My rating: 4 of 5 stars Nota bene: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, via Netgalley. All my opinions are my own 🙂 How does one review a short story collection? Specifically, a large anthology with a wide selection of authors... Continue Reading →
via Examples of Successful Query Letters Original article by Ellen Brock, featuring an (older) version of my ANCHOR query, and the successful version of Essa Hansen's NOPHEK query.
via How to Write a Query (with examples of real successful query letters) Original article and video by Ellen Brock, professional independent editor, but her video also features the query for Anchor (my second MS), and for Nophek (a ms by my critique partner, Essa Hansen.)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North My rating: 5 of 5 stars I am so fucking angry over how good this book is. I might have to go void-scream into an abyss because of its incredible scope and ambition, of the depth and the beauty of its writing, of the sheer... Continue Reading →
