To be fair, I haven't read any of the original Wolverine graphic novels, so I didn't really know what I was getting into with a female version of the iconic Marvel character. As played by Hugh Jackman, Wolverine has consistently been my favorite part of the X-Men on screen. So I had high hopes for … Continue reading Review: ALL-NEW WOLVERINE VOL. 1: THE FOUR SISTERS by Tom Taylor
New post at Speculative Chic
I've been remiss in shouting it from the rooftops much over here on my personal corner of the internet, but I'm still having a ton of fun being a regular contributor to the blog Speculative Chic. Mostly I participate in group posts, such as a monthly column about my favorite new thing. I can also always … Continue reading New post at Speculative Chic
Review: “No One On Earth” by Jennifer Loring
Disclaimer: This review is of a novella that is part of the Starstruck Holidays anthology; due to time constraints, I am only able to review one installment of the anthology at this time. The author and I attended the same graduate program and have assisted each other with promotional work in the past. She provided me … Continue reading Review: “No One On Earth” by Jennifer Loring
Review: CLOAK OF WAR (Empress Game #2) by Rhonda Mason
Disclaimer: I attended the same graduate school program as the author and consider her a friend; however, I purchased my hardcopy version of this novel for full price. Often, middle books in a trilogy act as placeholders. Things happen, but mostly just to get the characters from point A (the exciting first installment) to point … Continue reading Review: CLOAK OF WAR (Empress Game #2) by Rhonda Mason
November Wrap-Up & December Goals
Even though I didn't complete the full NaNoWriMo madness this month, I still got a lot done! November Wrap-up: I successfully wrote 30k words in 30 days for my mini-NaNo attempt! I'm now at 70k total words on book 4. Book reviews completed: Snowed by Maria Alexander (5 stars) Articles of the Federation by Keith R.A. DeCandido … Continue reading November Wrap-Up & December Goals
Steel Magic Featured at Library Journal
I had a bit of a SNAFU earlier this year with professional review sites, so I hadn't been paying that much attention to them since the release of the second book in the Steel Empires series, Steel Magic. Therefore, I'm about half a year late in telling you all the fantastic news! Steel Magic received … Continue reading Steel Magic Featured at Library Journal
My ChessieCon 2016 Schedule
Here's my schedule of events for ChessieCon this upcoming weekend at the Radisson North Baltimore Hotel! Friday, November 25 5:30-6 PM: Reading: Scenes from Steel Magic 6:45-7:45 PM: Panel: Care and Feeding of Critique Groups Saturday, November 26 5:30-6:30 PM: Panel: Evolution of Women Fantasy 6:45-7:45 PM: Group Book Signing 9:15-10:15 PM: Game show: What's … Continue reading My ChessieCon 2016 Schedule
Author Interview with Sheri Queen
Today I'm taking a break from NaNoWriMo panic productivity to feature a new release from fellow urban fantasy author Sheri Queen! I haven't read this novella yet, but so much about it intrigues me. It's both an installment in a multi-author project and acts as an introduction to Queen's own universe, the Sleepy Hollow Hunter series. … Continue reading Author Interview with Sheri Queen
Review: FROM A HIGH TOWER by Mercedes Lackey
I was thrilled that Lackey once again broke the mold with this installment of the Elemental Masters series. Some things were the familiar, such as a modern (well, Victorian-era) retelling of a traditional fairy tale featuring a strong heroine with elemental magic powers. However, like in Blood Red before it, this novel also transported us outside … Continue reading Review: FROM A HIGH TOWER by Mercedes Lackey
Review: NO TIME LIKE THE PAST (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #5) by Jodi Taylor
After devouring five books in this series, two things are fairly obvious to me at this point: Jodi Taylor is a hell of a researcher/historian. She has also embraced a major facet of writing time travel and run with it rather than fight against it -- Once again, this novel had two major climaxes. One … Continue reading Review: NO TIME LIKE THE PAST (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #5) by Jodi Taylor
Review: CAPTAIN MARVEL Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More by Kelly Sue Deconnick
This was another book picked up by my husband in his quest for graphic novels about women heroes by women authors. I'm a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but I didn't grow up on comic books, so I've been going into all the movies blind. I figured this would be a great … Continue reading Review: CAPTAIN MARVEL Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More by Kelly Sue Deconnick
Review: ARTICLES OF THE FEDERATION by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Reasons why you should read this book: You are a fan of political dramas that involve multiple main characters dealing with crises and scandals. The television show The West Wing is your favorite of all of those. You are curious about the inner workings of the Federation, a major government in the Star Trek universe, … Continue reading Review: ARTICLES OF THE FEDERATION by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Review: SNOWED by Maria Alexander
Disclaimer: The author and I share a publisher, and I helped proofread this novel before publication. If I had not been reading this novel on an expensive electronic device, I’d have thrown it across the room when I got to the ending. But not because it was a bad book. On the contrary, this book … Continue reading Review: SNOWED by Maria Alexander
NaNoWriMo 2016 (sort of)
It's that time of year again, kids! When the writers in your life disappear for hours upon end, consume copious quantities of caffeine (and sometimes alcohol), and come out the other end of 30 days with some semblance of a book completed. Though I'm not officially signed up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2016 (sort of)
October Wrap-Up & November Goals
This month I traveled to Delaware, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. I also attended three weddings in three weekends. Frankly, the fact that I managed to do anything during my "free time" besides curl up in a little ball and watch Netflix is pretty impressive. October Wrap-up: I wrote 15k words instead of 20k words, but … Continue reading October Wrap-Up & November Goals
Review: A TRAIL THROUGH TIME (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #4) by Jodi Taylor
It's hard to be a fan of time travel stories without also acquiring some familiarity of the alternate universe trope along the way. Jodi Taylor switches up her world a bit as Max receives the full effect of her second chance. But there are still enough similarities to our original St. Mary's Institute of Historical … Continue reading Review: A TRAIL THROUGH TIME (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #4) by Jodi Taylor
Review: ESSENTIAL MAGIC (Fay of Skye #1) by Cara McKinnon
Disclaimer: The author and I attended the same graduate school program and participate in group promotional tours for our books. However, I purchased my hardcopy version of this novel for full price. For a person who doesn't claim to be a "romance book" reader, I seem to keep lucking out with some amazing speculative fiction … Continue reading Review: ESSENTIAL MAGIC (Fay of Skye #1) by Cara McKinnon
Review: A SECOND CHANCE (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #3) by Jodi Taylor
You could read this as another installment of a series that only brings you time travel adventure (and misadventure). And if you read the book that way, or if that was all you were looking for, you'd still be in for a great ride. On the surface, this book doesn't bring anything to the fuller … Continue reading Review: A SECOND CHANCE (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #3) by Jodi Taylor
Review: A SYMPHONY OF ECHOES (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #2) by Jodi Taylor
There’s always a vague worry when picking up the second book in a series that it won’t quite measure up. That the first amazing novel was a flash-in-the-pan fluke, sucking up all of the author’s creativity and leaving only the dregs of inspiration for future installments. Luckily, I loved A Symphony of Echoes at least … Continue reading Review: A SYMPHONY OF ECHOES (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #2) by Jodi Taylor
September Wrap-Up & October Goals
I know the month isn't quite over, but I'm off to Broadkill Resort for DogCon V tomorrow, so let's do this thing! September Wrap-up: Words were written in book 4! Specifically, 15k of them, so the goal was officially met. I'm in the swing of things now, and doing that thing where I look at the … Continue reading September Wrap-Up & October Goals