I'm looking forward to returning to Cleveland ConCoction for my second year (March 10-12)! It's a great mix of literary, media, gaming, and costuming focus, with something for everyone. It's also my favorite con in terms of they way they are set up to promote authors, with an Author's Alley where the con sets up … Continue reading Schedule for Cleveland ConCoction 2017
Review: “When A Child is Born” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #2.5) by Jodi Taylor
This short story set in the Chronicles of St. Mary's universe is a great way for a new reader to dip their toe into the series without committing to a full novel. It highlights my favorite trio of time travelers (Max, Peterson, and Markham -- with bonus Maj. Guthrie) on a relatively simple mission that … Continue reading Review: “When A Child is Born” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #2.5) by Jodi Taylor
Review: LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND HISTORY (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #7) by Jodi Taylor
This novel was another strong installment in the Chronicles of St. Mary's time travel series, full of both laugh-out-loud and gasp-out-loud moments. I continue to love Max, Leon, Peterson, and the rest of the gang, and Taylor's glimpses into the past are realistic and tantalizing. I think we've established by this point that I adore … Continue reading Review: LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND HISTORY (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #7) by Jodi Taylor
Review: UNDER THE EMPYREAN SKY (Heartland Trilogy #1) by Chuck Wendig
I picked up this book on Kindle purely because of a blog post by the author completely owning the fact that he had written about a character who was gay without homosexuality being used as a plot device or some sort of moral lesson. As someone who strives for the same diversity in her own … Continue reading Review: UNDER THE EMPYREAN SKY (Heartland Trilogy #1) by Chuck Wendig
Review: WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #6) by Jodi Taylor
I find the title to this latest installment of my favorite time travel hijinks series highly amusing because I thought I already knew all the ways in which things would go wrong in this world. It turns out that I was tragically wrong, and I'm so thrilled that this author can keep surprising me. It seems … Continue reading Review: WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #6) by Jodi Taylor
Review: HOME BIRTH (Kaiju Revisited #2) by Jessica McHugh
Disclaimer: The author and I share a publisher and I consider her a friend. I received an ebook version of this novella in exchange for an honest review. Despite this being the second in a shared-world series by many authors, this story works well as a stand-alone tale. It included just enough science-fiction world-building to … Continue reading Review: HOME BIRTH (Kaiju Revisited #2) by Jessica McHugh
Review: FAIREST, WINTER, and STARS ABOVE by Marissa Meyer
This post includes reviews of the final three installments of the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. Fairest Reading this novella before the exciting conclusion to this series was perfectly timed. Since Cinder, Queen Levana has been a distant, evil character meant to represent the evil queen of the Snow White fairy tale. In this story, … Continue reading Review: FAIREST, WINTER, and STARS ABOVE by Marissa Meyer
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
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: 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: 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: 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
Review: A WIZARD’S FORGE (Woern Saga #1) by A.M. Justice
Disclaimer: I received a free ebook of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. It’s no surprise that I was drawn to this book immediately, considering it’s fusion of fantasy and science-fiction elements, it’s excellent world-building, and its awesome protagonist named Vic (short for Victoria). But I’ve been burned by free … Continue reading Review: A WIZARD’S FORGE (Woern Saga #1) by A.M. Justice
Review: JUST ONE DAMNED THING AFTER ANOTHER (The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #1) by Jodi Taylor
I stumbled across this book and picked it up on a whim, and I’m ever so glad that I did. While the concept of “secret organization that uses time travel for historical research purposes” isn’t new, Taylor manages to make this version her own with a number of subtle changes to the trope. One of … Continue reading Review: JUST ONE DAMNED THING AFTER ANOTHER (The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #1) by Jodi Taylor
Con Report: Confluence 2016
This weekend I attended my third Confluence convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a participant on programming. This is one of my favorite conventions, and I was delighted to be asked back for another year. I'm already looking forward to doing it all over again next July! FRIDAY Since I'm low on vacation days at my … Continue reading Con Report: Confluence 2016
Speculative Chic is LIVE
I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new blog focused on all aspects of speculative fiction: books, film, television, games, and more! Speculative Chic Please join us for our soft launch today, and consider subscribing to continue receiving great content from a bunch of awesome people (like yours truly). We'll have everything from in-depth reviews to … Continue reading Speculative Chic is LIVE
Review: “The Visitor” by J.L. Pattison
Some short stories take a lot of information and parse it down into a quick, streamlined adventure. Some take a lot of information and pack it in to the point of leaving the reader to wonder why the author didn't just go ahead and write a novel. Unfortunately, J.L. Pattison's "The Visitor" was the latter … Continue reading Review: “The Visitor” by J.L. Pattison
Dog Star Books Author Spotlight: K.W. Taylor
This Saturday in Xenia, Ohio, Bluejacket Books is hosting three Dog Star Books authors for readings, signings, and a bit of Q&A! Today the spotlight is switching over to the newest Dog Star Books author, K.W. Taylor. (Note the way the air seems to shimmer and glow about her. But don't let the halo fool … Continue reading Dog Star Books Author Spotlight: K.W. Taylor