Category: Blog Series Page 1 of 232

Book Blogger Hop: What’s Your Biggest Fear?

On October 2, 2026

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

As a book lover, what’s your biggest fear??

Biggest fear? Um…heights, large crowds, apostatizing, a diet that consists solely of mushrooms and Brussels sprouts? A life without my anti-anxiety meds?

Oh, wait. The prompt said, “as a book lover.” I mean, everything I do is as a book lover, so the above is right, but… As the prompt specified “as a book lover” and this is for the Book Blogger Hop, I should probably come up with something more related to books.

bullet Well, one big fright is encapsulated in this email I got yesterday:

I’m so worried about the impact of “AI” replacing human creatives—and even human responses. How many bloggers/reviewers are doing something like “write me a positive review of TITLE by AUTHOR in the style of…”? (also, what’s the point of that?) I can easily see a point where someone is having ChatGPT construct a review of a book based on a Claude summary of that book.

bullet I’m afraid of fire and/or flood attacking my books. (and the rest of the house—including the people and dogs that reside in it). I’m afraid that my wife will read this post and have opinions about where I placed people and dogs on that list.

bullet I’m afraid of the monster at the end of the book.*

bullet I’m afraid that we as a society are steamrolling to a post-literate state. Not just because that will lead to a loss of literature and imagination, likely to a reduction in empathy and intelligence, too. But because of what will replace it and what kind of people that will come from it. (I do hold out hope for groups like those depicted in Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization)

bullet I am—this is fairly serious—about my eyesight and my ability to keep reading. My left eye has been practically useless for years on this front, and while Ol’ Righty is hanging in strong. Yes, audiobooks are a great way to experience books. But not being able to use my eyes on a book would be a big hit.

bullet I’m afraid that the “big 5” will stop taking chances when it comes to new voices and new ideas and churn out cookie cutter things that will be a step above AI. There’s a good argument to be made that they’ve already started. Also, that the 5 will further conglomerate to the point that they’re just 1 or 2.

bullet And I’m so worried about the baggage retrieval
System they’ve got at Heathrow

* Not really, but it felt amusing.

Opening Lines: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

By HCNewton

On October 2, 2026

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s true for wearing dark shirts, and it’s especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it’s just knowing the author—but nothing beats a great opening for getting a reader to commit.

The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason. It was waxing, only one day short of full. The time was 05:03:12 UTC. Later it would be designated A+0.0.0, or simply Zero.

An amateur astronomer in Utah was the first person on Earth to realize that something unusual was happening. Moments earlier, he had noticed a blur flourishing in the vicinity of the Reiner Gamma formation, near the moon’s equator. He assumed it was a dust cloud thrown up by a meteor strike. He pulled out his phone and blogged the event, moving his stiff thumbs (for he was high on a mountain and the air was as cold as it was clear) as fast as he could to secure the claim to himself. Other astronomers would soon be pointing their telescopes at the same dust cloud—might be doing it already! But—supposing he could move his thumbs fast enough—he would be the first to point it out. The fame would be his; if the meteorite left behind a visible crater, perhaps it would even bear his name.

His name was forgotten. By the time he had gotten his phone out of his pocket, his crater no longer existed. Nor did the moon.

When he pocketed his phone and put his eye back to the eyepiece of his telescope, he let out a curse, since all he saw was a tawny blur. He must have knocked the telescope out of focus. He began to twiddle the focus knob. This didn’t help.

Finally he pulled back from the telescope and looked with his naked eyes at the place where the moon was supposed to be. In that moment he ceased to be a scientist, with privileged information, and became no different from millions of other people around the Americas, gaping in awe and astonishment at the most extraordinary thing that humans had ever seen in the sky.

from Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

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WWW Wednesday—September 30, 2026

By HCNewton

On September 30, 2026

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

Okay, it’s the end of September and I’m still working on some of my “Summer 2026” reads. Uh-oh.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?


Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg	The Confederacy Myth: How an Insurrection of Slaveholders Tried to Destroy the United States by Connor Williams	The Jungle of Carabanana by Kate McKinnon, read by Kate McKinnon & Emily Lynne

Fallen Star isn’t the best Eve Ronin novel, but it’s plenty of fun with some good twists.

So, I get done despairing for our future with Empire of AI, only to turn to despairing for our past with The Confederacy Myth. I’ve got to find a different kind of non-fiction to work through.

Okay, the third volume of The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science series is just as loony as its predecessors. The trilogy might end up in my all-time Children’s Fiction list (too soon to tell, I need to experience it another time or two)

What did you recently finish reading?


Waiting for LeClerc by Vern Smith	Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed by S.B. West, read by Fred Berman

Smith’s latest was great (as I said last week).

West’s novel was entertaining enough–a very cozy vibe, but with enough violence and nation-conquering to keep it out of that category. But Berman’s narration sealed it for me. Just knocked it out of the park.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Bark Humbug by David Rosenfelt	The Legend of Uh by Aaron N. Hall

It’s too early in the year for a Christmas-themed book for my taste. But Rosenfelt will help me get over that.

I’ve been wanting to try The Legend of Uh for quite a while–nice of my library to grab the audiobook so I can.

How’re you wrapping up the month?

Fantasy with Friends: Can Fantasy Help Us See Reality More Clearly?

By HCNewton

On September 28, 2026

In Books, Fantasy with Friends, News/Misc.

Fantasy with Friends is a weekly meme hosted by the good people over at Pages Unbound. Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.

This week’s prompt is:

Sometimes people talk about fantasy as allowing readers to see or realize things about our real world that they would not otherwise have seen (that is, they argue that fantasy can more effectively help us see reality than realistic fiction or even nonfiction can). Has this happened to you? Is there something you think about differently now because you were initially inspired to by a fantasy story?

When I read this prompt, I thought something like, “Well, obviously. That’s one of the side benefits of reading anything–especially SF/F because they take us out of our world. This’ll be a piece of cake.” And then I sat down a couple of times to jot down some initial thoughts, and now it’s time for me to write the post–and…I haven’t been able to come up with a single example. Nothing concrete, anyway.

I think at the end of the day, I’m going to have to say it’s people. I think about people, relationships between people, obligations that exist inherently between them–and those we take on ourselves. Fantasy has–and likely will continue to do so–help me think about other perspectives, seeing inherent worth in the individual (which is always easy in the abstract to say one holds to, but is sometimes more difficult in practice). Parenthood, neighborliness, hospitality, relationship of child to parent, love, commitment, care for animals, care for those less fortunate or Other (thankfully, I don’t have to deal with literal trolls or goblins–but the principles apply in not seeing them as necessarily bloodthirsty hoards), seeing nobility where one doesn’t expect it, in seeing the absence thereof where you would be inclined to expect it. Seeing heroes in the little things as well in the big moments.

There’s something about people that you can and ought to see differently in the most paint-by-number Tolkien rip-off, the laziest “this one D&D campaign that I loved” novelization, the “I want to be Travis Baldree” cozy, to the mind-blowing epic of epic that leaves you panting for the next doorstop in the series. Any fantasy novel is going to make you look at people, creatures, magic/tech, and life differently.

(and yes, this should be applied to any other genre in multiple senses, as well–just one of many reasons I wish I’d been able to come up with something more Fantasy-specific)

Go read some of the other responses to this prompt, they’re likely better thought-out and consider different works/angles.

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Saturday Miscellany—9/26/26

By HCNewton

On September 26, 2026

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

It’s still Saturday in the Mountain Daylight Saving Zone…

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Which Big Fall Book Should You Read?—a handy, dandy flowchart
bullet One Staff Member, One Budget, One Community: How Rural Libraries Really Build Diverse Collections—by The Association for Rural & Small Libraries Staff and Members
bullet The 6 Best Crime Books Released Since 2010, Ranked
bullet There’s too much violence in fantasy.—something to chew on
bullet Grand Theft Automaton: Ur A Slave 4 Me—Cat Valente has a nice rant on AI
bullet On the Difficulties of Bookish Influencers Becoming Authors
bullet Michael Vadney has a list of D&D books “for the next time your adventuring party gets wiped out by the most powerful boss in all of TTRPGs: Scheduling.”
bullet Behind the Book: When One Story Becomes Four with Patricia Furstenberg—the latest in Gina Rae Mitchell’s series
bullet Details to Add Realism in Fantasy—I didn’t have time (or ideas) enough for this week’s Fantasy with Friends, but this post and the other participants’, are worth your time.
bullet Florence: Captivating Characters of September 2026—another good one from Reading Ladies Book Club

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Fiction Fans Fool by K.R. Lockhaven—Fiction Fans follow up their chat last week with Lockhaven by discussing the book in question. Some really good stuff here (especially in teh spoiler section)

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“They’d been in there. They were fast, obviously, and the room was in chaos. Papers were strewn across the floor. His desk chair was upended, and it seemed like half of the books on the shelves had been pulled down and now lay like dead birds, their wings open among the other debris on the floor.”— The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glen Dixon

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet Ascent by M. T. Miller
bullet Catch & Neutralize by Chris Grams
bullet The Heart of Henry Quantum by Pepper Harding
bullet Biblical Authority after Babel by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
bullet As Wings Unfurl by Arthur M. Doweyko
bullet Children of the Different by S.C. Flynn
bullet And I mentioned the releases of: Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d by Alan Bradley; The Family Plot by Cherie Priest; and Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by soandso—A tale of assistants, sidekicks, and familiars trying to get a little respect (and preventing the world from ending). This was a lot of fun and just sweet enough, which I tried to convey earlier this week.
bullet Actually, Nevermind by Taylor Tomlinson—”As she approaches thirty-four—the same age her mother, Angela, was at her death—Tomlinson grapples with fear and ambition, identity and doubt, and all the ways her mind has changed since the day her mom died.”
bullet Die Famous by Michael Koryta—”follows a remarkable family as they race toward an impossible reunion–and asks us to consider where our own loyalties lie when ambition, devotion, and truth mean something different to each person telling the story.”

Grandpappy’s Corner: Crown by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James: An Ode to an Experience and a Place

By HCNewton

On September 25, 2026

In Grandpappy's Corner, YA/MG/Children's Books

Crown:
An Ode To The Fresh Cut

by Derrick Barnes, Gordon C. James (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Agate Bolden
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Format: Hardcover
Length: 32 pg.
Read Date: August 29, 2026

What’s Crown About?

I’m just going to quote from author’s website here:

Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut is actually a poem I was inspired to write after seeing an illustration from one of my illustrator buddies (shout out to Don Tate!) of his teen son after a trip to the barber. It took me back to when I was a kid, and how sitting in that barber’s chair and receiving a dope haircut was probably the only place in the Black community where boys are treated like royalty. Still are. It’s a poem about self affirmation and how the world may not see your brilliance, or your beauty, but you do, and everyone around you that loves you can definitely see it, recognize it.

(I’d have quoted heavily from the author’s note at the end, but it’s better for the adult readers to take in after the book)

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

Gordon James blew me away with this art. Each page is painted gorgeously (although some are two-page pieces). I don’t know what else to say—this is beyond my capability to describe, really.

You can see several samples on the artist’s webpage.

How is it to Read Aloud?

I’ve read plenty of Picture Books this year and this is hands-down one of the best.

The poem that Barnes wrote, slips off the tongue. The free verse just carries you along as you read—I think it works better if you read it aloud than silently. That’s the case for a lot of poetry, true, probably more so when it comes to poetry written for the picture book crowd.

So, what did I think about Crown?

I grant you, I don’t have the same relationship with a barber shop that it appears that many in the Black community do. But who hasn’t felt a certain amount of confidence after a new haircut? And how doesn’t like the pampering you get from a barber/stylist? I don’t get the full benefit of a straight-razor shave, but from the little I get, I think I’d be addicted to them if I didn’t have these shaggy whiskers.

Barnes captures that feeling perfectly—and accents it for the target audience just right. I’m not part of that audience in several ways, but I can appreciate it. If I were any part of the target? I’d be nuts about this.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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WWW Wednesday—September 23, 2026

By HCNewton

On September 23, 2026

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?


Dawn by Octavia E. Butler	Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI by Karen Hao	I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends by Jessica Tarlov

Oh, my…Dawn is so good. I’m less than 50 pages from the end, and I have so many conflicting thoughts about the characters and events. These aliens are…freakishly alien. I’m going to be chewing on this for a long time.

Hao’s book is hard to grapple with–the amounts of money, computer power, and corporate moves are hard to take in. And the ethics behind everything? Boy howdy…

Tarlov’s book is okay. It’s what I should’ve expected, but not really what I was hoping it would be. I’ll explain more when I’m finished.

What did you recently finish reading?


A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire	Dragonfired by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

I was hoping to have a post about A Divided Duty up today, but I needed more energy before tackling it. Short version: I loved it.

Dragonfried was hilarious and moving, when it wasn’t barely interesting. I’ll try to explain more on that soon–but that’s basically how I’ve reacted to all three books in Pike’s series.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick	The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon, read by Jennifer Jill Araya

I’m trying to purge my mind of every memory of Ridley Scott’s film (which is difficult)–or at least to shove them into a corner where I can ignore them, before I jump into this book.

I know I said Dixon’s novel was going to be my next one last week–but I wanted a quick Non-Fiction hit after some longer Fantasy audiobooks. I’ll dive in tomorrow.

What books are on your nightstand/side table/desk now?

Saturday Miscellany—9/19/26

By HCNewton

On September 19, 2026

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Every Novel Is Boring—Until It Isn’t—Really liked this essay
bullet Brandon Sanderson Defends George R.R. Martin, Wouldn’t Finish ASOIAF
bullet Misunderstanding the Genius of Jules Verne — And Why It Matters to Science Fiction
bullet AnnaBookBel comes of age!—Anabel hits a great milestone!
bullet ScifiMonth 2026—is coming in November—check out the announcement posts from There’s Always Room for One More, Dear Geek Place, A Dance with Books, and Bookforager—and be sure to stop by for the fun in a month and a half

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Fiction Fans Bonus Author Interview: Fool by K.R. Lockhaven—a nice chat with Lockhaven about his new book

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“It doesn’t even matter what the General says in his speeches. Those who have abandoned their own truths just stop thinking altogether. They sink into a childlike delusion that some great general oozing with confidence will solve everything for them. There’s nothing more comfortable than dozing off without a care in the world in the back seat of a car being driven by your father. They don’t even consider that there will come a time when they’ll have to take the wheel themselves. Many adults, no matter how old they get, remain children at heart.”—The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Audiobook) by Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle
bullet Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope by Berkeley Breathed
bullet The Corruption of Chastity by Frank Westworth
bullet Shadowed by Karen E. Olson
bullet The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
bullet Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
bullet And I mentioned the releases of: Robert B. Parker’s Debt to Pay by Reed Farrel Coleman; An Obvious Face by Craig Johnson; and The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Fool by K. R. Lockhaven—A group of revolutionaries kidnapps the son of the King’s Fool to force him to uncover the King’s biggest secrets. You don’t want to miss this one–as I said here, and am pretty sure I expressed when I chatted with Lockhaven recently.
bullet We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman—This promises to be fun. “At sunrise, high in the Italian hills, a body is found on the steps of a beautiful private villa. On the body is a threatening note, signed by a mystery man. Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve leap at the chance to take on their first proper case. So what if their new client seems to have his own reasons for avoiding the police? All they need to do is uncover who left the note, and then find them. Simple.”
bullet War by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano—”A powerfully moving graphic novel that explores the affects of war on children.”
bullet Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan—”In this stunning and compulsively readable memoir, the Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan, tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history.”
bullet Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel—”a breathtaking novel of doubles, shadow worlds, and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman—a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State—searches for answers.”
bullet I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends by Jessica Tarlov—”The outspoken liberal voice on the Fox News show The Five shows us how to stay true to our values, find common ground, and communicate with confidence when engaging across political and social divides.”

source: Bookstr on Facebook

WWW Wednesday—September 16, 2026

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2026

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:

What are you currently reading?


A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire	Dragonfired by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale Jr.

I’m less than 10% into the Toby Daye ARC, and am thoroughly enjoying Toby and Tybalt as parents of a screaming baby. I do wonder how they’ll balance that with saving the day.

Pike’s third Dark Profit book is laying the groundwork for something fun, but I haven’t really gotten into this one yet.

What did you recently finish reading?


The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai	Dead Inside by Noelle Holten, read by Rachael Beresford

I was so much more impressed with the writing in The Cat Who Saved the Library than its predecessor, but I enjoyed the whimsy of The Cat Who Saved Books a bit more (there was still plenty in this one). So, so good.

I’d forgotten the details of the murder cases in Holten’s book–but remembered the personal life stuff. So it was fun to revisit this, still, a lot of the “personal life” material was so much worse than the murder cases.

What do you think you’ll read next?


Dawn by Octavia E. Butler	The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon, read by Jennifer Jill Araya

I’m eager to start Dawn, but a little worried that Butler’s going to treat my emotions like a heavy bag in the gym.

I don’t see how I’m not going to enjoy The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances and really hope Dixon doesn’t let me down.

How have your recent reads been treating you?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors I’ve Met

By HCNewton

On September 15, 2026

In Literary Locals, News/Misc., Top X List

The topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesdays is Top Ten Authors I’ve Met”

I’ve been very fortunate to meet a lot of authors recently thanks to some local author events and being online, doing interviews, etc. It’s one of my favorite things ever.

Top Ten Authors I've Met

I’m limiting myself to one-on-one encounters—if I let myself use a book fest or something, I’d end up leaving off someone and feel bad. So, with that disclaimer, in roughly chronological order:

	V.E. Mitchell Mitchell worked at the University of Idaho,–I don’t remember in what kind of position at the time, who taught the occasional weekend workshop on writing. I attended two of them—they were essentially the same thing each time. One was about Science Fiction writing and the other was about writing a Star Trek novel; there was some generic writing advice that you could get pretty much anywhere—but it was illustrated by some behind-the-scenes stuff with the Star Trek novels and Paramount. That was really interesting, I should point out—but not helpful. Then she’d just tell stories about the novels she’d published with them, those in the works, and (I believe) one that had been cancelled. Again, not helpful, but a lot of fun. I owned one of her books (The Next Generation novel Imbalance) and had read another ST Original novel that my roommate owned, so I was able to talk a little bit about those with her—and she kindly signed my ____.
	Lance Olsen Lance was an instructor at the University of Idaho when I was there and taught a couple of Lit and a couple of Creative Writing courses I took. I’ve also met him at a couple of appearances he did after I graduated when he toured the State as part of his tenure as Idaho Writer in Residence. It’s safe to say that he’s had more influence on my reading than just about any person I mention on the blog.
	John Scalzi I’ve met Scalzi twice now when he’s been hosted by the Boise Public Library for readings/signings—he’s great about taking time for a quick conversation with the people in line. I remember the first time him saying something about owning the same shirt I was wearing—I told him when he posted a picture of himself in it saying it was the ugliest shirt he owned, I was mildly offended. He laughed and gave as sincere an apology as such a comment was worth.
	Shane Kuhn Shane Kuhn did a reading/signing at Rediscovered Bookstore that was so sparsely attended I felt sorry for him (sorrier yet that I could only buy one book at the time; I wanted to buy 20). He didn’t let it visibly get to him and was great with the maybe 5 people (plus bookstore staff) present. We had a brief chat during the signing—probably could’ve gone longer without bothering anyone had I been able to come up with more to say.
	Craig Johnson I’ve met Johnson at three readings/signings and have not acquitted myself well at any of them. Utterly becoming tongue-tied somehow—thankfully I’m usually accompanied by an outgoing friend at these. It’s not being star-struck, I don’t think, and he seems friendly and chatty with other people in line—but something about him turns me into Chris Farley interviewing Paul McCartney, “Remember when you were in The Beatles? Was that cool?”
	Devri Walls Devri’s publicist (or something, my memory is fuzzy on the details) got me to read one of her books and she took part in a Q&A as well. After that, I think I read another book (maybe it was an ARC) before I attended an event she was part of at Rediscovered Bookstore. From there, we ran into each other at a Comic Con, another event of hers, and then just randomly at a bookstore. It’s always fun to run into her.
	Jeremy Billups After some correspondence related to his books, Billups invited me to get coffee with him a few years back—in the end, it came out to be a lot like some of the HC Chat videos I’ve done lately—just without being recorded (rats). It was a lot of fun hearing about trying to make it as an indie picture book author in Idaho. He’s a super nice, guy, too.
	E.N. Crane I saw an advertisement for an in-store signing for E.N. Crane—which was (sadly) the first I’d heard of her. Her work looked interesting, so I popped in. We had a fun chat about her work, some of our favorite mystery series, and a few other things. I’ve stopped by her booth at a few local bookish events since then, it’s always a blast. We rarely talk about her books, for some reason, most of the conversation is about other things—and contains a lot of laughs.
	Felicia Day Given her popularity and the length of the line behind us, my daughter and I didn’t have a lot of time to chat with Day, but I was able to get her to sign my copy of her memoir, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), at a Supernatural con a few years ago. We were able to chat briefly about it and her other book, and how I appreciated having her as a role model to point my daughter to for geeky creativity.
	Becky Lyles After some email correspondence and Becky taking part in a Q&A and other things here, she and her husband graciously invited me to be a guest on their podcast, Let Me Tell You a Story. They had me over to their house for the recording—and were wonderful hosts before sitting us all down behind the microphones and hitting “record.”