Unamed by Jessie Arms Botke

Unnamed, by Jessie Arm Botke

Awards:

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) awarded its Specialty Press Award to Short, Scary Tales Publications. 

Books:

BBC Culture asked well-regarded writers to give their recommendations for overlooked novels. Here are the results. I was surprised at how many I had read. (Thanks to File 770.)

Nerds of a Feather discusses six books with K.B. Wagers.

Reed Exhibitions plans to go forward with Book Con and Book Expo, both scheduled for May 27-31st in New York City.

The Millions interviewed Viet Trahn Nguyen about the two-generation collaboration on an illustrated children’s book written and illustrated by children and their parents, and a writing retreat offered to writers of Vietnamese diaspora.

Locus provides more information on the publishers’ battle with Audible over captioning, and its final settlement. Audible must pay for the rights to copyrighted text if they are going to provide it.

On The Whatever, Premee Mohammad writes thoughtfully and lyrically about her new horror novel Beneath the Rising.

I attended FOGCon 2020 last weekend, and one of my favorite panels was on “The Value of Hopepunk.” Here is a link to the 2018 Vox article on the rubric and its origins.

PSA:

This was on Twitter. I don’t have a link for it. Tito’s vodka has stated that they are not the vodka to use to make your own hand sanitizer. Tito’s is 80 proof or 40% alcohol. You need at least 60% alcohol for the antiseptic properties. Tito’s made this statement because many of teh DIY sites used an image with their vodka in it.

Movies and TV:

The CW provides a thrilling trailer for the Season Three finale of Black Lightning.

Radio Times reviewed the entire 12th season of Doctor Who and pronounced it a “step up.” Note that not everyone agrees, especially with the season finale. (Warning, spoilers.) The ratings are either taking a nosedive or sliding slightly depending on which article you read.

Speaking of Doctor Who, the Daily News reported that Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh, who play Ryan and Graham, are leaving the show after the holiday special. Then Bleeding Cool added more information; it’s possible they will become recurring characters.

Games:

Kotaku reviews Ori and the Wills of the Wisps. This game looks pretty! 

Internet:

The Al Badawi olive tree in Palestine, near Bethlehem, is believed to be over 2,000 years old, and Salah Abu Ali guards it each day.

We’re all so polarized! And so provocative! Here is a 3:15 minute video of a goat trying to get a dog’s attention. If you feel like you’re beating your head against the wall these days, you’ll identify with the goat. I, of course, identify with the crow who has a brief cameo.

World:

Atlas Obscura would like to share with you some images from John Margolies’s compendium of roadside attractions. The entire archive is available from the Library of Congress.

Pheasant Grande by Jessie Arms Botke courtesy of Michael Johnson Fine Arts

Pheasant Grande by Jessie Arms Botke courtesy of Michael Johnson Fine Arts

Images:

Jessie Arms Botke was born in 1888. She studied at the Chicago Art Institute in 1897-98 and again in 1902. After a visit to Europe in 1909 she adopted art and interior design as a career. She was a muralist in New York and later San Francisco. She married and she and her husband moved to Carmel, California, where she was very influential in that artists colony. She died in 1971.

Author

  • Marion Deeds

    Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She’s retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town.

    View all posts