My Mother, the Book Enabler

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there!

Right now, I’m on vacation, getting to spend Mother’s Day with my mom for the first time in many years. So in her honour, we’re talking about mothers and reading.

Both my parents valued reading — it was my father who told us bedtime stories about Middle Earth. But it was my mother who took us to the library and let us lug home literally as many books as we could carry (and a determined preteen bookworm can heft a lot of books, even if she doesn’t look that strong!). And it was she who hunted down her childhood favourites to share with me and my siblings.

7 Writing Lessons from George R. R. Martin

Like many people, I’ve gotten hooked on George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire (adapted for television as Game of Thrones ). I’m reading it not only as a fan of epic fantasy, but also as a fantasy writer. Whether you like the books or not, there’s a lot to learn from them.

For example…

(NOTE: This post contains spoilers through A Storm of Swords, which is the third book of the five that are currently out. If you’re watching the TV series and haven’t read the books, you probably won’t want to read further — the current season will end halfway through the events of A Storm of Swords. I haven’t read the last two books yet, so if you have, please don’t post spoilers for the last two books.)

1. Some readers will follow you anywhere…if they trust you. Martin is infamous for killing off characters you thought were safe by the rules (or tropes) of fantasy writing. Granted, he’s lost readers because of it — dark, gritty fantasy isn’t for everyone. But he still has huge numbers of readers clamoring for more. Why? Because they’ve grown to trust his storytelling skills. He’s shown that he’s in control, that his plotting is well thought out, that he doesn’t kill characters without a good reason. More than that, he tells a story that people want to hear, despite the risks.

Books for Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

I’m a quiet but staunch environmentalist, and I suspect that books had a lot to do with this side of my personality (and most of the rest, for that matter). Here, then, are some books to celebrate on Earth Day…

Cautionary Tales

For those of us growing up in the ’80s and early ’90s, science fiction for teens (the term “YA” hadn’t been invented yet) tended to follow a few familiar tropes. Dystopian tales were popular, as were stories about aliens and spaceships. And it was almost taken for granted that our planet was going to come close to destruction, usually for environmental reasons.

Turtleduck Press New Release — Captain’s Boy by KD Sarge

First of all, my heart goes out to the marathon runners in Boston and all those affected by the events there. It’s horrible to contemplate — so many personal triumphs turned to tragedy in an instant. I’m sending healing thoughts southward as I type.

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Having said that, I would be remiss in my duties as editor at Turtleduck Press if I delayed this announcement any longer. This month we have a new SF novel out: Captain’s Boy by KD Sarge.

YA Books for St. Patrick’s Day

I’m not Irish, but I’ve long had a fascination with Ireland and with the incredible richness of Celtic mythology. I was lucky enough to spend several months there one autumn, but I’ll have to tell you about that another time. In honour of St. Patrick, here are some of my favourite Celtic-inspired fantasy novels for younger readers (or those young at heart)…

Lloyd Alexander – The Prydain Chronicles. ‘Nuff said.

Alison Baird – The Hidden World. A girl visiting her ancestral home in Newfoundland discovers her grandmother’s diary, which draws her into the fantastic world of Annwn. Bonus: also draws on Arthurian mythology.

Turtleduck Press Updatery

I’m neck deep in final edits for the next Turtleduck Press novel, so I thought it was high time to announce it here. Our next book is Captain’s Boy by KD Sarge. Her hero, Donte, is a quiet engineering student on a far-future planet. When his young mentee is taken off-planet by slavers, Donte enlists his friend, the fiery Selene, to help rescue the boy. Their search across space leads Donte into his deepest fears, and a past he hoped to keep hidden.

Captain’s Boy is set in the same universe as KD Sarge’s previous books, two years before Knight Errant. It will be out in April (ebook and print formats).

To get a sneak peek, you can read a short story starring Donte and Selene at Turtleduck Press.

Oh, and yes, I’m still travelling! I’m in India right now, and can’t wait to tell you all about it. In the meantime, though, watch for a post on Wednesday (with pictures!) about my adventures in the Malaysian jungle…

 

New Book: The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe

This week will see the release of a new YA book that I was lucky enough to read in advance. The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe is a sequel to The Way We Fall, and in my opinion it’s an even better book than the first.

The Way We Fall is about a girl living in a small island community (in Canada — yay) that’s hit by a pandemic. First, people start displaying strange symptoms. Then they start dying. And when things get really bad, the mainland cuts them off, leaving them to pull together…or tear each other apart in the struggle to survive.

Despite the above summary, it’s not a thriller, but a quiet story about family, community, and making choices to protect loved ones…and finding reasons to keep going and keep hoping, no matter how bleak the world looks.

Travel Memoirs I Have Loved

One of the things that inspired the wanderlust that led to my Grand Adventure was, of course, books. Growing up, I read plenty of fiction set in other parts of the world — maybe I’ll blog about that another time. But I also devoured autobiographies and memoirs by people who had travelled or lived in places far from their homes. Here are a few of them…

• Touch the Dragon by Karen Connelly. As a teenager, Connelly spent a year in Thailand — living with a Thai family and studying the language. This is her story of that time. She’s also a poet, so the memoir is full of evocative details. (She later spent time in Spain, detailed in a second memoir, One Room in a Castle.)
• Call Mama Doctor by Louise Jilek-Aall. Not exactly a travel memoir, but deserving of an honourable mention, this is the story of a young European woman doctor working in remote parts of East Africa, and the people she met along the way.
• All in the Same Boat by Fiona McCall and Paul Howard. This family built a boat in their backyard, then sailed around the world with two small children. They do a great job balancing personal tales with the history of the places they visit, and there are maps and photos as well. (They’ve also written a sequel about the later part of their voyage, Still in the Same Boat.)
• Solo: Writers on Pilgrimage, edited by Katherine Govier. A collection of short pieces by writers talking about solo journeys they have made. Travelling solo (which I’ve done) can be very intense and also very rewarding, and it’s fascinating to hear the differing experiences.

Also worth mentioning are the fabulous collections of women’s travel writing put out by Travelers’ Tales.

You might notice that all my examples are older — I haven’t read much travel writing lately. Here’s where you come in. Do you have a favourite travel writer, or perhaps a  favourite biography of an intrepid wandering soul? Please share!

Author Spotlight: Patricia C. Wrede

(Administrative note: Travel blogging is coming, I promise! Look for the first post – with pictures – in a few days…)

 

The Author Spotlight is a series of posts designed to showcase writers you may not have heard of. In this Author Spotlight, I’m showcasing the works of YA fantasy author Patricia C. Wrede. She was a favourite of mine growing up, for her humour and quirky takes on fantasy tropes. So come on in and let’s talk…

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

I discovered this series at just the right age. It features a spunky princess, Cimorene, who upon learning that she is betrothed to be married decides to run away from home. She ends up cooking for a dragon and living next to a forest full of magic. Its inhabitants include everything from a witch to a prince who, as it happens, is much more sensible than Cimorene’s betrothed, and handsome besides. Adventures ensue…

There are four books in the series – Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, and Talking to Dragons. Three are from Cimorene’s perspective and one from the perspective of her son. Wikipedia tells me that the fourth book was actually written first, and was later rewritten to line up better with its prequels, but I’ve only read the original version.

Magic and Malice

As much as I loved the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, I loved the duology of Mairelon the Magician and Magician’s Ward even more. Set in an alternate Regency England where wizards exist, it follows the adventures of a street urchin, Kim. I mean, Regency and magic? Yes, please!

Kim is tasked with stealing an item from the wagon of a performing magician, someone who does no more than sleight-of-hand. What she doesn’t know is that his magic is real, and he’s a gentleman wizard in disguise, trying to solve a theft for which he was framed. Together, Kim and Mairelon — and Mairelon’s mournful henchman — travel across England, tangling with gentry while trying to clear Mairelon’s name.

More Recently…

Wrede is still writing today. I haven’t had the chance to read her more recent work, but here’s what’s on my list to check out…

• Cecilia and Kate. Co-written with Caroline Stevermer, this is now a trilogy of novels in the form of letters written between two young ladies, also set in a Regency with magic.
• Frontier Magic. The Wild West with magic? ‘Nuff said!

Your turn. Are you a fan of Wrede’s work? Which is your favourite?

Book Review: The Hair Wreath and Other Stories by Halli Villegas

This is a review of The Hair Wreath and Other Stories by Halli Villegas.

There’s a subgenre all about dissatisfied suburban couples, families breaking apart or struggling to hold together, the emptiness in people’s lives. Think Margaret Atwood, or in film, American Beauty.

Now imagine this subgenre with a touch of the fantastical. Sometimes it might feel more like horror, sometimes magic realism, sometimes pure fantasy, once in a while science fiction, other times straight-up realism.

That’s what it’s like reading this collection.