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Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Order [book in series=yearoffirstbook.book# (eg 2014.01), stand-alone or one-author collection=3333.pubyear, multi-author anthology=5555.pubyear, SFM/MM=5000, interview=1111]: 5556

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What makes a great female protagonist?

Today I will be handing over the Thoughtful Thursday reins to Nancy Holzner, author of the DEADTOWN series. Nancy is one of my favorite authors, and her razor sharp writing raises the bar in urban fantasy. It’s a an honor and a pleasure to have her guest post for today’s column.

I write urban fantasy, a genre known for its kick-ass heroines. Over the years, I’ve been involved in numerous conversations about “strong female protagonists” and what that means. To be honest, the phrase “strong female protagonist” irks me.


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August 23rd, 2012. | | Thoughtful Thursday | 23 comments |

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Chapter 6 of Hang Fire by Devon Monk

Today we’re featuring Chapter 6 of Devon Monk’s story Hang Fire, which is an internet-only steampunk short story set in late 1800’s America. It takes place between Devon Monk’s AGE OF STEAM books Dead Iron and Tin Swift (which will be released on July 3). Hang Fire is broken into 20 “chapters” and posted, one chapter at a time, on 20 blogs. Start at chapter 1 at Candace’s Book Blog and follow the “read the next chapter”


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June 26th, 2012. | | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 72 comments |

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Thoughtful Thursday: Thank you, Ray Bradbury

I did not know Ray Bradbury. But he knew me. He knew me in the quickened response to that first crisp fall day, the smell of October. He knew me in the loving slap of sneakers against pavement and the softer thwap against dirt and the way that noise never stopped. He knew me in the push me-pull me fascination I had with the dark, with the unknown, the grotesque.

He knew exactly how badly I wanted to go to Mars. See a dinosaur. Live forever. Fly.

He knew my love of dim libraries. Of movie theaters gone dark.


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June 7th, 2012. | | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 9 comments |

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International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Part Three

Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Lunch on Friday included a presentation by the scholar guest of honor, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen. His talk was entitled “Undead,” and was a meditation on the meaning of that word — or, in other words, on zombies. Undead does not, Cohen noted, mean that the undead thing is alive; it is a restless state from which monsters arise. What is behind the shift in our literature from ghosts to zombies? Zombies pose no challenge to our minds, as ghosts do, but just want to eat our brains,


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April 5th, 2012. | , , , , , | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

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International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts 2012, Part Two

Read Part 1 here.

Thursday evening, Geoffrey Landis gave a presentation on “Spaceflight and Science Fiction.” Landis is a full-time scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as well as a noted hard science fiction writer, so he was the best possible person to speak on this topic. Landis noted that Poe (who was everywhere, it seemed, but perhaps I only noticed this because my paper was on Poe), before he invented science fiction and the mystery, wrote “The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaall” (1835), in which a man flies a balloon to the moon.


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April 4th, 2012. | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

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International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts 2012, Part One

The International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts is an unusual conference. It is largely academic in nature, with scholarly papers offered on the literature, language, and theories of the fantastic (science fiction, fantasy, horror) in all media (television, movies, books, poetry, paintings, games, and just about anything else you can thing of). The papers have titles like “Dialectical Progression in Roman Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy” and “The Inflicted ‘Self’ in Robin McKinley’s Deerskin: Implanted Memories, Fragmented Bodies, and Re-envisioned Identities,” which might make you think that you wandered into a meeting of the Modern Language Association.


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April 3rd, 2012. | | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

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World Fantasy Convention 2011: Day Three

I spent most of the morning today in the dealers’ room, which was a disaster for my wallet but a boon for my library. As has become my habit of late, I spent more time picking up titles from small presses, like Prime, Night Shade and EDGE, than from the big boys. Some of that was simply because the big boys weren’t there in force; even Tor, which hosted a party last night, didn’t have a table full of books. But mostly it was because I’m of the firm belief that the small presses are where it’s happening these days,


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October 30th, 2011. | , , | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

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World Fantasy Convention 2011: Day Two

I’m reporting about Day 2 today. Read about Day One here.

There were lots of interesting panels today, and it was frustrating to try to boil them down into the ones I wanted to see.

My first choice was “Retelling Old Stories: The New Fairy Tales.” I’ve got all the modern fairy tale collections edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow and many other rewritings, so I was eager to hear this discussion, and it didn’t disappoint. The first question addressed by the panel was the obvious one: why rewrite fairy tales?


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October 29th, 2011. | , , , , , , , , , , | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

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World Fantasy Convention 2011: Day One

“Sailing the Seas of Imagination” is the theme of World Fantasy Convention 2011 here in sunny, temperate San Diego, so you don’t go too long without someone issuing an “Arrrh!” or a panel about what happens under the sea. It’s a great group of people: fans, writers, critics, all people who read with passion and heart. And I’m here and get to blog about it!

Once registered for the convention, I trudged directly over to pick up my goodie bag. World Fantasy is famous for these bags: sturdy canvas totes jammed with enough reading material to last at least a month.


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October 29th, 2011. | , , , , | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

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Great Bookstores: Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park

We’ve been getting a lot of great bookstore recommendations — thanks for sending those in! Today we’re featuring Kepler’s Books and Magazines in the San Francisco area. You can find Kepler’s at 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (phone 650-324-4321).

Blake Charlton wrote in to tell us why he loves Kepler’s:

“Kepler’s Books and Magazines is a wonderful indie with a unique history, great staff, large SFF section, and a lively community. Kepler’s is a wide,


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October 18th, 2011. | | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

We have reviewed 8493 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

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