Category: Books

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Book Review: Odd Magics: Tales for the Lost

Odd Magics, by Sarah A. Hoyt, is a collection of classic fairy tales reimagined as short stories set in the modern world. They don’t quite follow the original story, but those who know their fairy tales will quickly figure them out. Sarah Hoyt has given us a collection of stories that are quirky and fun and take you out of your head for a short while. The entire book is a quick read that will give you a lift and inspire you to look for the magic in everyday life.

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New Release: Adventure Stories for Young Readers

I am proud to announce that I have a story in this wonderful anthology of eleven thrilling action stories suitable for readers age 10 and up with a high reading level. Eleven tales of derring-do, friendship, and action in science fiction and fantasy settings.

Surviving in space, dealing with lost baby dragons, rescuing a little girl from goblins…what do you do? Who can you rely on for help? These stories show the strength of family and friends as we watch young people grow and learn…even from their own mistakes.

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Book Review: “Taking the Night” by J.F. Posthumus

Taking the Night mixes the mafia and magic and comes up with an adventure in the underworld, both criminal and magical. Selia Lascari is the daughter and employee of a well-heeled mafia boss. And she has a secret. But it’s not the kind of secret you might expect. Selia is highly trained in a number of ancient fighting techniques, and she controls magic. One evening on an errand, which she presumes is for her father and boss, she walks into a trap set by a rejected suitor. Between what she hopes is a subtle use of her magic, and New Campania’s mysterious vigilante crime stopper, the Sandman, Selia escapes the trap, but now faces a more deadly foe from her past as well as family members who will kill her for associating with the Sandman, their sworn enemy.

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Deep Space Noir

Other Rhodes is a far-future, deep space noir detective story and another fun genre mash-up from Sarah A. Hoyt. Our heroine, Lily, finds a cyborg in her airlock when she expected her husband. Now she has no option except to team up with the completely illegal creation to locate her missing husband. Additionally, with no other allies, she has to trust that her husband’s long-time friend is also her friend and will give her the help she needs. The book combines elements of classic noir detective stories (Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe) within a space-faring and high-tech universe.

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Magic Abroad: A Snippet

For Week 14 at More Odds Than Ends, AC Young gave me the perfect prompt to work in a snippet from Magic Abroad, Book 3 of Academic Magic. The prompt is: A hero who doesn’t consider himself/herself a hero; who is brave and courageous, but doesn’t consider himself/herself to be brave and courageous. It’s perfect for Zoe since she is someone who is indeed brave and courageous but does not consider herself so.

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Release day!

Night Mage, Book 2 in the Academic Magic series is now live on Amazon! This one took longer than I expected. I realized a couple of weeks ago that I was procrastinating deliberately. When I finally sat down and forced myself to look at my reasons, I discovered they were a lot like the reasons Marty McFlys’ father gave for not sending his book to a publisher…what if nobody likes it? But, my beta readers liked it, and I trust them. And, I went back to my first book and realized that most people, including perfect strangers, liked it. So, people liked the first one, people I trust liked the second one…publish the damn thing!

I’m working on paperback versions of both books. I just have to get the manuscript formatted correctly and figure out the templates that Kindle publishing offers. Those templates for the covers and the manuscript are extremely helpful, btw.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Sarah A. Hoyt and Cedar Sanderson, along with everybody in More Odds Than Ends, and the patrons of the Diner for pushing me to finally finish.

Next up in my plans are a short story for an upcoming anthology along with the Cursebreaker novel. This writer thing is fun!

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Publishing House Baen Books Attacked by Cancel Culture

EDIT: I’ve added the responses from Toni Weisskopf and David Weber at the end. Baen Books is a sci-fi/fantasy publishing house that has been around since the early 1980s. They’ve published thousands of titles from hundreds of authors. Baen is notable in our current time period because it is one of the only traditional publishers … Continue reading Publishing House Baen Books Attacked by Cancel Culture →

Source: Publishing House Baen Books Attacked by Cancel Culture

 

Cancel culture is real.

This is total bullshit. I’ve been on Baen’s Bar only once or twice, but it’s a multi-forum site for fans of Baen writers. Some guy (who likely got a manuscript rejected by Baen) has decided to try to cancel the publisher and force them off the web. Baen publishes science-fiction/fantasy and does so without regard to the writer’s personal political views. Baen also hosts the Baen Bar a site where fans can go to find free books (yes, the publisher gives away some books), talk with other fans, and sometimes talk with authors. There is no hotbed of political violence as this douche-canoe alleges. Yes, there are some strong opinions, but if that causes butt-hurt, you should just go back to your mama’s basement and cry.

We all must fight against cancel culture wherever we find it and no matter how small or large the incident.

And now, I’m on my way back to Baen’s Bar to show my support.