Paper Girls Vol. 1 Brian K. Vaughan (writer); Cliff Chiang (artist); Matt Wilson (colors); Jared K. Fletcher (letters) I’ve had the first two volumes of this series sitting on my shelf for ages, and I promise it is a sheer coincidence that I finally decided to read them now that the first episodes of the … Continue reading Book Review: Paper Girls Volumes 1-2
Review: An Acceptable Time (Time Quintet #5) by Madeleine L’Engle
For the final installment of my 2018 Resolution Project over at Speculative Chic, I reviewed An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Unfortunately, this series did not end with a bang for me. You can read the full review here, and check out an excerpt below: This series, which gave us everything from aliens to angels to … Continue reading Review: An Acceptable Time (Time Quintet #5) by Madeleine L’Engle
Steel Time Deleted Scenes!
Happy New Year's Eve to all of my awesome friends and blog followers, but more importantly -- happy birthday to me! I'm planning a lovely low-key evening with a small group of friends to involve pizza, cake, and games. I hope that whatever you plans have, you remain safe and have a blast. To celebrate … Continue reading Steel Time Deleted Scenes!
Review: A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Time Quintet #3) by Madeleine L’Engle
Continuing this year's journey to rectify a series I definitely should have read while I was growing up, I recently reviewed A Swiftly Tilting Planet for Speculative Chic. You can find my full review here. An excerpt: L’Engle has taken her previous ventures regarding science and brought them to an entirely new level here. Something about … Continue reading Review: A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Time Quintet #3) by Madeleine L’Engle
Steel Time Blog Tour Round-Up
The difficult part of launching a new book while also traveling out of town to an enormous convention is that it's difficult to promote the blog tour posts that I organized at the same time. So, here's a handy round-up and GIANT thank you to everyone who supported Steel Empires Book 4: Steel Time by … Continue reading Steel Time Blog Tour Round-Up
Steel Time Book Launch & Excerpt!
Happy book birthday to me! Today, I'm pleased to announce the launch of the fourth book in my Steel Empires series. Steel Time is extra-special for me because time travel is one of my favorite speculative fiction motifs. Working the concept into my own expansive universe was challenging and a LOT of fun. (Unfortunately, I couldn't … Continue reading Steel Time Book Launch & Excerpt!
Steel Time Cover Reveal!
I'm thrilled to announce two things today! The first, as indicated by the title of this post, is the final cover to book 4 of the Steel Empires series, Steel Time! The second is the official release date of my fourth novel: Thursday, September 6, 2018! Make sure to follow my blog for more information about … Continue reading Steel Time Cover Reveal!
Review: “The Steam Pump Jump” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short) by Jodi Taylor
This short story very much needs the context of pretty much all of the novels in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series so far to understand the detail of what's going on. But otherwise, it's a "typical" St. Mary's lark, full of the usual shenanigans and mayhem (#disastermagnets). And as an added bonus, it's from … Continue reading Review: “The Steam Pump Jump” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short) by Jodi Taylor
Review: “The Battersea Barricades” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short story) by Jodi Taylor
Finally, some "history" of the world of St. Mary's! Taylor's authorial voice makes pages and pages of expository narrative delightful rather than boring. Even more fascinating, this time she's not talking about something "real" -- this time the historical events are all from her imagination. I loved every intricate detail of it. The more specific … Continue reading Review: “The Battersea Barricades” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short story) by Jodi Taylor
Review: An Argumentation of Historians (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #9) by Jodi Taylor
Call me blasphemous, because I am a huge fan of this series...but I'm getting a bit bored with fighting Clive Ronan. I still enjoyed the hell out of this book, despite the slow start. One thing I did appreciate about it is seeing the evolution of St. Mary's relationship with the Time Police. They'll never … Continue reading Review: An Argumentation of Historians (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #9) by Jodi Taylor
Review: “Christmas Past” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short story) by Jodi Taylor
Though this review won't get posted until after the holiday itself, this story was easily one of my favorite Christmas presents this year. Taylor blows me away with her ability to weave humor and heartbreak into the same passages. Though this story didn't have quite as much of the usual St. Mary's shenanigans, it was … Continue reading Review: “Christmas Past” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short story) by Jodi Taylor
Review: AND THE REST IS HISTORY (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #8) by Jodi Taylor
I am finally caught up on everything in this series, and now I have to wait for the next installment! I picked up the first book just under a year ago, and I think that I'm thrilled to be up to book number 8 (plus all the short stories) in such a short period of … Continue reading Review: AND THE REST IS HISTORY (Chronicles of St. Mary’s #8) by Jodi Taylor
Review: “My Name is Markham” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story” by Jodi Taylor
This short story is very different from anything else in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series specifically for what is says on the tin: The narrator of this story is security officer Markham rather than historian Max. Now, this isn't the first time this has happened (see "The Very First Damned Thing", narrated by none … Continue reading Review: “My Name is Markham” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story” by Jodi Taylor
Review: “The Great St. Mary’s Day Out” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
While I have to wonder at the logic of involving time travel in a holiday for this lot of miscreants, considering all the things that go wrong normally, I have to admit that the story wouldn't really work, otherwise. (Though I do have faith that they'd get up to the same sort of trouble during … Continue reading Review: “The Great St. Mary’s Day Out” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
Review: “The Very First Damned Thing” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
It was very, very cool to not only get a glimpse of the origins St. Mary's but also a peek into Dr. Bairstow's head. At this point in the series, seeing his relationships with the people that he intentionally sought to staff St. Mary's was more interesting than the jump to Waterloo (despite the delightful … Continue reading Review: “The Very First Damned Thing” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
Review: “Christmas Present” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
How do you balance the heavy subject matter of lovers lost in time, potential suicide, and imminent attack by Boudicca's army? Add a giant pig, of course. This Chronicles of St. Mary's short story plugs a hole in the narrative that is touched upon in the main books, featuring our heroes (Max, Peterson, and Markham, … Continue reading Review: “Christmas Present” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
Review: “Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
Taylor hooked me immediately with the problem that needed to be solved in this adventure. The rising sense of horror at what happened felt very visceral, and what's even better is that the threads that came about to create this situation were beautifully laid in previous installments of this series. The time travel adventure itself … Continue reading Review: “Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings” (A Chronicles of St. Mary’s Short Story) by Jodi Taylor
Review: “Roman Holiday” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short story) by Jodi Taylor
One of the best things about these extra short stories that fit into the overall Chronicles of St. Mary's world is that you can enjoy them without worrying about where they fit into the larger context of the story. They're a short peek into the many, many other time travel trips that the historians have … Continue reading Review: “Roman Holiday” (Chronicles of St. Mary’s short story) by Jodi Taylor
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