Have you ever been to a book release party? I have, and it’s been a lot of fun. And book launches combined with Philcon, the “longest-running conference on science fiction, fantasy, and horror,” sound excellent!
My writer friend Bernie Mojzes has not one, but two book launches coming up as part of Philcon. His book, Mistress of Bees (featured in my previous blog), will be launched at Philcon on Saturday Nov 22nd at 6 p.m.. Bernie says, “It’ll be in a section of the hotel that is not restricted to Philcon guests, so you don’t need to buy a badge for the day or weekend to attend.” Bernie also has a cat story in A Future for Ferals, an anthology of speculative fiction stories and real-life accounts to benefit stray and feral cats.
Benefitting Cats in Need
Bernie tells me that anthology will be part of another launch party at Philcon at 8pm the same day.
Philcon sounds pretty awesome to me. According to its website, it will have an “Art Show and Auction; a Vendors Room full of unique merchandise; a full-featured Tabletop Gaming room; our Writer’s Workshop (featuring professional authors and editors); Concerts; Dances, our Masquerade/Costume Competition, and more!”
But you don’t have to wait until Philcon to get your hands on these two books. Mistress of Bees is available now through Barnes and Noble and Amazon. And A Future for Ferals has a planned release today, October 16th, for National Feral Cat Day. To give the greatest benefit to the cats, you can get it from its dedicated webpage. It will also be available at Barnes and Noble.
Though I have not had the opportunity to read the anthology as a whole, I have read a draft of Bernie’s story in A Future for Ferals, and I am reading Mistress of Bees now. Both would make excellent October reading for those who like haunting, chilling stories in anticipation of Halloween! One caveat: both are for mature readers, and they veer as close to horror as I care to read. Caveat lector for tender-hearted readers. But for those who seek out chills, I recommend them.
This isn’t all strictly new, as some of these things happened a bit ago, but it’s good news nonetheless and I’m quite happy to share it. In the approximate order I learned about these, here goes.
First, the adventures of “Winnie and the Wizard” continue! My friend and critique partner Aud Supplee has gotten the green light for the third book in the series, with the working title “Aylen Isle.” I read a recent draft of the book last summer, and it’s such a fun adventure. I’m eager to see how it’s evolved since then. You can read more about this announcement on Aud’s blog.
Stan Gale, another writing friend and critique partner, has recently published “A Living Faith.” I’ve had the pleasure to read much of Stan’s writing over the years; it is always thoughtful, thought-provoking, and warmed with his personal voice. I recommend his works for anyone looking for inspiring devotional reading.
And she has a story in an upcoming anthology called Red Eyes & Tired Lungs, collected to bring some good things out of a summer of wildfires. I’m looking forward to Kilmeny’s new writing.
Jason Zeitler, my Running Wild Press colleague, released his novel Half-Caste in December, published by Polyphony Press. I enjoyed Jason’s short story, “Inglorious Carnage,” in the third volume of Running Wild Anthology of Stories. His new novel, described as a “thrilling tale of political intrigue, love and loss, and the soul-stirring value of friendship,” sounds fascinating. You can find out more about Jason and his work here.
And last (though not chronologically), in 2023 I finished the medieval-esque fantasy novel I’ve been working on for lo, several years now. It is the story of a girl who swears she will not be helpless in the face of prophecy, but will face her fate and protect her people. This is still a draft, but not a first draft, as I’ve been editing it as I go with the help of my excellent critique partners. Partway through, I realized this story will take two books to tell, so I have launched myself into Book Two now. I’m enjoying adventuring with my heroine!
Congratulations to Aud, Stan, Kilmeny, and Jason. Much success to you and your new works!
Many of these are outside my usual genres of fantasy and historical fiction, but I’m so glad I gave them a try, and hope you will take a look, too. (They’re listed in the order I read them.)
As soon as I read the blurb on For All Time by Shanna Miles, I was sure I would like it: a “romance that follows two lovers fated to repeat their story across hundreds of lifetimes, who hope to break the cycle once and for all.” I was still wowed by just how riveted I was. I cared about Tamar and Fayard from the very first page. Which is all the more remarkable since modern urban fantasy isn’t my usual inclination.
Then Shanna Miles braids in more of their stories, from the wealthy West African empire of Mali in the 1300s, to 1920s Philadelphia. Tamar and Fayard have their own souls in each time, but their lives vary drastically from period to period, which makes each of them very different people depending on when we find them. I quickly came to care about their fates in each era. Every time they are drawn together by love, and every time they are torn apart.
Their story has some excellent twists – some quite shocking. The best is at the end. I deeply dislike spoilers, so I will try to give nothing away. I’ll only say I’m very glad to have read For All Time, and I recommend it to readers who love well-written love stories that span time and space. You can get the hardback and audio book right now through all the regular channels, and pre-order the paperback for September 6th. When I checked today, I was very pleased to see that it was among Bookshop.org’s Romance Picks by POC Authors, and it’s also Amazon’s Editors’ Pick for Best Young Adult.
Thank you, Shanna Miles! I’m so grateful to have gotten your book via your raffle, though I would have been very glad to have bought it!
Last week the sad news came that Rachel Caine had died after her long, hard battle against cancer. Rachel Caine was a wonderful writer, and a wonderful woman, and she is sorely missed.
I first got to know Rachel Caine through her Morganville Vampire novels – fast-paced page-turners about what it’s like to go to college in a Texas town run by vampires. I worked at a bookstore then, and we had the great good fortune to have her come to a signing at our store.
Book-Signing Gifts
In fact, I took one of the early calls setting it up. A woman on the phone asked to speak to my manager; well-trained, I asked who was calling. It was Rachel herself. “Rachel Caine! Rachel Caine! Rachel Caine!” I exclaimed, jumping up and down. Yes — I literally jumped in the air, and literally yelled in my excitement, right into the phone. Three times. Rachel just laughed her warm laugh.
Ghostly Bookmark
She was just as warm and friendly in person – so down to earth, so fun to be around. We had the pleasure of hosting her twice. The second time was for Prince of Shadows, the story of Romeo and Juliet but also the story of Benvolio, Romeo’s friend and cousin, a master thief who becomes close with Rosaline, Romeo’s unrequited love. I loved Rachel’s Morganville stories, but this book is just a marvel. Told through Benvolio’s eyes, it immersed me in a Renaissance Verona that’s lush and gritty. The stories unfold from unexpected corners, and with surprising twists and turns and depths. It’s a gorgeous book.
Rachel’s writing, which I loved from the start, just kept getting better and better. I was hooked and grabbed by The Great Library series. She wove an entire world for this series, full of rich characters fueled their love of books, invention, and knowledge. The main character, Jess, is a book-smuggler in a society where it’s a mortal crime to own your own book. Because this world is run by a tyrannical Library which has absolute power over all books and all knowledge, and they enforce their law with terrifying automata – pitiless lions, sphinxes, and gods. The story moves from England to Egypt to the wild, rebellious America. I am not half doing these books justice. If you enjoy fantasy, especially with a steam-punkish edge, go, take a look yourself.
Rachel was a prolific writer, who wrote so much more than I have had a chance to read. There’s her Weather Warden series, adult urban fantasy about Wardens, “gifted with a supernatural ability to control the weather … sometimes. On a good day…But the Wardens—Earth, Weather, and Fire—work as much against each other as with, and their captive Djinn are on the constant verge of rebellion. Add to that a sleeping, but intelligent, Mother Earth, and this could get very messy.”* Outcast Season is a companion urban fantasy series about an outcast Djinn. These sound like books I have to explore.
And there are more. Stillhouse Lakeis the first in a series of adult thrillers. My husband and I started the audio book – it was gripping and intense. Too intense for us, honestly; it may be the audio format was just too vivid, or that we’re just not thriller people. The writing was excellent. If you like enthralling, chilling thrillers, go and check this series out.
There are even more fantasy, paranormal, and sci-fi novels and series to explore on her website. For anyone who loves great writing in these genres – go, have a look.
I got to know Rachel more through her Twitter. Even as she fought an aggressive cancer, she was warm, kind, passionate, and honest – an ally and advocate for writers and people in need in general. I learned still more about her through a tribute written by people who knew and loved her.
Rachel’s legacy lives on in the books she’s written and the lives she’s touched. It was my honor and pleasure to meet her, and to grow to know her in her writing. Readers and lovers of good writing, you can help keep her legacy alive. Find her books, and dive deep into new worlds.
You can find her books in bookstores, at Barnes and Noble, and at Amazon. Many of her ebooks are on sale now for a very good price. And you can watch her Morganville Vampire series on Amazon Prime.
Gemma L. Brook 