Tag: News/Misc Page 3 of 26

Hi authors—I’m working on a thing about writers and interviews to present to a local author group, and I’d appreciate some help with it. I’m supposed to talk about making interviews interesting/useful—now I have plenty of ideas from the Q-side of the Q&A, but I could use some insight from those on the A-side. I’m particularly thinking about the horror stories—or those that could have qualified as such but turned out okay. The more specific you can get, the better. (obviously, I’m not asking you to name names–and if you do, I won’t use them)

If your horror stories, or at least your “well that was blah” stories happen to involve me. That’s fine. I’ll learn something.

I’m thinking particularly of written interviews—via email, etc. But if you have something to say to podcasters, Vloggers/BookTubers, or what have you—chip in.

I’ll be happy to mention your participation in this when I post what I get from this–but I’ll keep particular responses anonymous. I’m asking for an email and name just so I can get clarification if I need some. (also, so I can share the results of this just in case you’re curious)

Answer one question, answer them all, or something in between. I really don’t care. Thanks for your help—and feel free to spread this to authors you know who might want to opine. I could use all the input I can get!

(Some of these are phrased awkwardly, but I was fighting with the form and decided that getting it to work was better than sounding clever)

I'm Curious

The Friday 56 for 9/8/23: Eclipse by Herman Steuernagel

By HCNewton

On September 8, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from 56% of:
Eclipse

Eclipse by Herman Steuernagel

Mikka traced the outlines of the cell’s flooring tiles with her index finger. The guards had placed her in a chamber set apart from the other cells, down a long hallway and a further flight of stairs. Mikka suspected this cell was reserved for the most heinous of offenders, or those who had pissed the Front off the most.

Though it was dark and isolated, she knew it couldn’t possibly be their worst cell—she still had all her fingers. She could still breathe, and she had been there for hours, so oxygen levels must have been at least somewhat close to normal.

At least they had the decency to take the handcuffs off.

There was no chair or bench to sit on, so Mikka had resigned herself to the floor. Even the Front’s prison cells were more polished and in better condition than anything in the Tubes.

My thanks to Escapist Book Tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided. The opinions expressed by me are honest and my own.

The Friday 56 for 9/1/23: A Sh*tload of Crazy Powers by Jackson Ford

By HCNewton

On September 1, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56% of:
A Sh*tload of Crazy Powers

A Sh*tload of Crazy Powers by Jackson Ford

I’ve never been shot before.

I’ve been shot at, more than once. There are quite a few people who want me dead for one reason or another. And yet I have never taken a bullet. Until today.

Can confirm: getting shot sucks.

There’s no pain until I actually see the wound– the horrible, gaping hole in my flesh. Then there’s a whole lot of it. As if my brain goes oh, hey, that looks nasty. Here, have some agony to enhance the experience.

It’s like someone poured kerosene on my bicep and set it on fire. It’s the kind of pain that doesn’t actually let you scream, because it locks your throat up tight. All I can do is make this weird little hissing sound, forcing its way between my clenched teeth. And holy crap, that’s a lot of blood. Are there arteries in the bicep? How long do I have before… before I…

RinthCon 2323: Your Science Fiction Con of the Future

By HCNewton

On August 21, 2023

In News/Misc.

I got an email about RinthCon last week and was intrigued enough that I had to share this information with you all. I have plenty of questions about it, still. But I think that’s part of the point right now. Check this out!

RinthCon Banner

RinthCon 2323

Your Science Fiction Con of the Future

August 13, 2023 (HOUSTON, TX) – We all wonder about the future, but what about the science fiction of the future? You can get a glimpse of this and more by following RinthCon from August 24-28, 2023.

Set in the year 2323, RinthCon takes place in an asteroid beyond the orbit of Saturn. A freak accident with a piece of mysterious technology in the stall of a book vendor pulls people from the alternate universes of books to RinthCon. What will happen to the con when these books come to life?

Guest Authors
Jim Butcher, Fantasy
Fern Brady, Science Fiction
Steven Brust, Fantasy/Science Fiction
Cassandra Rose Clarke, Science Fiction
Rose Garcia, Fantasy
Davy Jones, Cartoons
KimoKawaii (Anime Convention), Anime/Manga
Mack Little, Historical Romance
Scott Oden, Historical Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery
Corrie Peters, Historical Mystery
John L. Simons Jr., Science Fiction

You can’t go to RinthCon in person, but you can follow the news, happenings and adventures of RinthCon at the addresses below and on the websites and social media feeds of participating creators.
Discord: https://discord.gg/Nyfr9x6Utu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quarantinedcon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rinth_press/
X (Twitter): @RinthPress
Threads: @rinth_press
Website: www.RinthPress.net

About John Simons – John is a science fiction author and publisher whose novel Explorers of Rinth will debut at RinthCon alongside Corrie Peter’s historical mystery novel Outfauxed. John is also the founder of Comicpalooza, Houston’s pop-culture and comic convention.

Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon

The Friday 56 for 8/18/23: Light Bringer by Pierce Brown

By HCNewton

On August 18, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Light Bringer

Light Bringer by Pierce Brown

The courtyard smells of hay, manure, leather, and horses. The smells wake memories of Virginia au Augustus. Of all the Golds who came and went through my grandmother’s palace, Virginia was my favorite.

I feel a faint longing for her easy smile and unpredictable conversations. Certainly that smile hid a mouth full of daggers, but Virginia had a way of making you feel privileged to have lost to her in a game of chess or an idle bet on which songbird egg would hatch first in the garden’s aviaries. I wonder if she still has time to visit her stables on Mars, or if like me, this war has swallowed her up. She was always happier after a ride in the Palatine’s park. Come to think of it, so was I.

The Firsts of 2023 Book Tag

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2023

In Book Tag, Books, News/Misc.

The Firsts of 2023 Book Tag

This tag was created by Girlxoxo back in 2021. I saw this at A Literary Escape last week, and my first thought was: I need a fast post to make sure I have something to fill my days afk next week. My second thought was that it looked like a fun tag to do. But let’s be real for a second, the first was more important–I had to do extra posts last week to prep, so fast was good. So…here we go:

First Book Read This Year

Harvested

Harvested by Troy Lambert

This starts with our Seattle PI looking into a dog-napping ring and ends up (as you might expect) putting him in the middle of something much, much, bigger.
(my original post about the book)

First Book Reviewed

I really don’t like calling my posts reviews, but for the sake of this tag, I’ll swallow that. I’m a little fuzzy about what they’re asking for, was that the first review of the year? Or was it the first book from this year that I reviewed? Eh…I’ll do both, just because.

The first book I posted about this year was:

Everything’s Changing by Chelsea Stickle

A strange and compelling collection of flash fiction that gave me something unexpected in each piece, featuring some really impressive and disturbing (and disturbingly impressive and imporessively disturbing) prose.
(my original post about the book)

The first book I posted about that I read this year was:

Triptych by by Karin Slaughter

I’ll talk about this down below.

First Book By A Debut Author

Haven

Haven by Ceril N Domace

Domance wasn’t a debut author by the time I read this, but this was her debut. This is a SF book with a layer of Fantasy on top of it–with a healthy dose of Family Drama added to the mix. It’s definitely worth taking a look at.
(my original post about the book)

First Book By A New-To-Me Author

Harvested

Harvested by Troy Lambert

By the end of the month, I will have read three by books Lambert. By the end of the year, it could be four or more. So it looks like our first meeting went well.
(my original post about the book)

First Book That Slayed Me

The Perception Of Dolls

The Perception of Dolls by Anthony Croix, Edited by Russell Day

Slayed me. Haunted me. Took up residence in a dark corner of my subconscious and tweaked a couple of lurking anxieties.
(my original, and insufficient, post about the book)

First Book That I Wish I Could Get Back The Time I Spent Reading It

Triptych by by Karin Slaughter

This first book featuring Will Trent really didn’t impress me–I almost returned it to the library at least 8 times while listening (it was also my first audiobook of the year). My curiousity about one character was satisfied by the end, I didn’t hate the way things wrapped up, and I’ve considered trying one more book in the series. But it was a bad experience for me.
(my original post about the book)

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but hey, join in the fun!

The Friday 56 for 8/11/23: Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Season One by Kate Baray

By HCNewton

On August 11, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56% of:
>Spirelli Paranormal Investigations Season One” border=”0″ /></p>
<p style=

Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Season One by Kate Baray

“We need a name for this thing,” Jack said. “‘Unnamed nasty thing in the charity shop attic’ just makes him seem creepier. And it’s too long.”

Without hesitation, Marin said, “Joshua.”

“Joshua? Any particular reason?”

Marin glanced at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Does Joshua strike terror in the hearts of his enemies?”

Jack choked back a laugh. “Sold.”

The Friday 56 for 8/4/23: All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

By HCNewton

On August 4, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

Had to take a break last week due to posting toooooo many things. But I’m back to my typical trickle 🙂

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page (55 and) 56 of:
All the Sinners Bleed

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

He’d put the phone back in the evidence bag after fighting the urge to put it under his front tire and roll over it five or six times, then set it on fire. Titus had seen his share of horrific things in his twelve years as an FBI agent. The ability of one human to visit depravity upon another was as boundless as the sea and as varied as there were grains of sand on a beach.

The images on [redacted]’s phone were the worst he’d ever seen.

He kept thinking about purification by immolation. It seemed like that was the only thing that could remove the stain of those images from his mind, his heart, his soul. Burn the phone. Scald his eyes with hot oil. Put [redacted] and [redacted] on a pyre and reduce them both to ashes, then scatter those ashes to the four winds. Erase all proof of their existence and the things they had done. But the children in those pictures deserved to have their story told. They deserved justice. Whatever that was these days.

The Friday 56 for 7/21/23: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

By HCNewton

On July 21, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson<

GUARANTEE ONE
Your dimension will have an island of Great Britain populated by a society of humans who work steel, but have not yet discovered gunpowder. They will have a functional society and culture that roughly equates to the Late Classical, Early Medieval, or Late Medieval (pre-gunpowder) Earth time period.

GUARANTEE TWO
The people of Great Britain will speak a language that is intelligible to modern English speakers. We chose our dimensional band specifically for this reason!

The Friday 56 for 7/14/23: The Eternity Fund by Liz Monument

By HCNewton

On July 14, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Eternity Fund

The Eternity Fund by Liz Monument

They weren’t there. We passed over the Klone Zone, and the rows of windowless warehouses that force-grew veg. They slid away beneath us, grey anonymous blocks identical to every other in the district save for the neon leaves that identified their roof apexes. I’d heard tell the lights inside were so intensive that the vegetables grew six times faster than in real daylight. The catch was their adverse effect on human tissue. The non-robotic staff had bleached hands, white-filmed eyes and untreatable skin rashes. And that was only on the outside.