Even when weather falls into its perfectly predictable patterns, weather has long-since been a topic of polite, casual conversation. The lines are scripted. There’s nothing new to add. If you do it right, you might move on to a more fulfilling topic, or else you might decide there really isn’t anything interesting to say to […]
Author Archive: Christine
Booke Review: Family Skulls
Sixteen-year-old Seth Quitman has a problem: No one will help him. At all. For any reason. You literally wouldn’t give him the time of day, because that would be helping. If he can’t do it alone, he can’t do it at all. Seth’s is only the latest generation to inherit this curse, which has passed […]
Tips for Writers: Making Magic Believable
One of the primary struggles of fantasy and science fiction writers is to convince their audience to suspend disbelief, even though the readers know the events couldn’t really happen. Could they? The good news is that your readers expect magic. (For science fiction writers, let’s call any sufficiently advanced technology magic.) The bad news is […]
Short Story Review and Three-Question Interview: Spidersong by Alex Shvartsman
I must confess that I read very little “flash” fiction (short stories under a thousand words), so I don’t consider myself an expert on the subject. All I know is that I found Spidersong by Alex Shvartsman be satisfyingly creepy. The spiders are coming, but with the adults chattering endlessly, the children cannot hear the […]
Short Story Review and Three-Question Interview: Twelvers by Leah Cypess
If you’ve ever read “The Happiest Baby on the Block,” then you’ve probably heard of the first three months of a baby’s life being referred to as “the missing fourth trimester.” Some theorize that with greater intelligence and greater head size, our babies come out a little too early, compared to other animals whose babies […]
Bringing Worlds to Life in Science Fiction and Fantasy
I will once again be teaching a month-long world building workshop at Savvy AUthors this January. I’ve led this class three times before, and learned something new each time. I love it! I always give personal feedback, and try to tailor my lessons to meet the needs of the group. They’re always a little different, […]
Short Story Review and Three-Question Interview: Movement by Nancy Fulda
If I were given only one word to describe “Movement” by Nancy Fulda, I would choose beautiful. I have more words, and will do my best to use them well, but I wonder if any can do as much justice to the story as the one. Hannah is an unusual character, suffering from what specialists […]
Cassie Scot: Normal Detective
As my publisher likes to say: The ink is not yet dry on the contract, but Twilight Times Books will be publishing the first book in my new urban fantasy series, Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective. Yes, with a strike-through! At least, that’s what I’d like to see on the cover art. For searchability purposes, and […]
Short Story Review and Three-Question Interview: The Sighted Watchmaker by Vylar Kaftan
Science fiction, in its full glory, teases our imagination and asks us to question the very nature of ourselves and our universe. The Sighted Watchmaker, by Vylar Kaftan, is such a story. Umos isn’t a maker. Or at least, he doesn’t think he is. The makers abandoned him, and now he must fulfill their desires […]
Tips for Writers: The Gambler
I hear a lot of writing advice that goes something like this: “Put your butt in a chair and force yourself to keep writing.” In fact, BIC (butt in chair to those of us in the biz) is probably the most popular writing advice out there. I’ve even given it myself, and for those of […]