Guide

I’m generally not one to read poetry, so I wanted to reach beyond my comfort zone and dive into a collection for the first time. The major conceit of Burials, as listed in its premise — “the narrative of those whose voices have been taken away” — also greatly intrigued me. I’m happy to read […]

I fell down a rabbit hole of reading lists about diverse books when the colorful color of The House in the Cerulean Sea caught my eye.  I noticed that the book is set in a home for magical children, which reminded me of one of my favorite series, Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar […]

At Speculative Chic, we feature a lot of authors who share everything from their favorite things to the inspiration for their work. But why not also share their fiction? Welcome to Fiction Friday, where you’ll be able to sample the fiction of a variety of authors, including those who write at Speculative Chic! Today, we’re […]

Detroit: Become Human (2018) Developer: Quantic Dream Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Written and directed by: David Cage (with additional writing by Adam Williams) Platform: PlayStation 4 Genre: Adventure/Role-Playing Game Mode: Single-player Why I Chose It: I have always been intrigued by what I think of as “the Android Question”: What would I/humanity do if we […]

September 25, 2020 At Speculative Chic, we feature a lot of authors who share everything from their favorite things to the inspiration for their work. But why not also share their fiction? Welcome to Fiction Friday, where you’ll be able to sample the fiction of a variety of authors, including those who write at Speculative […]

September 30, 2020 There are two ways to consider Chris Carter’s Millennium, according to most people. One is to see it as an unofficial spin-off from The X-Files that ended up cancelled after it was never quite able either to find or to maintain its stylistic “feet” through its increasingly unpopular three seasons; the other […]

October 1, 2020 While I’d intended to brace everyone sooner, it’s probably just as well to rip the bandage off. Starting today, October 1st, 2020, Speculative Chic is going on an indefinite hiatus. Why? You may have noticed some of your favorite writers fading to the background and not posting any new content. And the […]

September 29, 2020 I first learned about Final Fantasy in Nintendo Power magazine around 1990. In a multi-page spread, Nintendo announced the Summer of Final Fantasy with great excitement. The fan mag promised us dozens of hours of story and exploration with a customizable party in a massive new world. When the game released, I […]

While I’d intended to brace everyone sooner, it’s probably just as well to rip the bandage off. Starting today, October 1st, 2020, Speculative Chic is going on an indefinite hiatus. Why? You may have noticed some of your favorite writers fading to the background and not posting any new content. And the truth is, 2020 […]

R.J. Joseph is a Texas-based writer and professor who must exorcise the demons of her imagination so they don’t haunt her being. A lifelong horror fan and writer of many things, she has recently discovered the joys of writing in the academic arena about two important aspects of her life: horror and Black femininity. When […]

Ninth House (2019) Written by: Leigh Bardugo Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror Pages: 480 (Hardcover) Publisher: Flatiron Books Why I Chose It: Because it’s been on my radar for some months now, after reading a sample somewhere on the web. Because I love secret magical societies in university settings. Because the premise was compelling. Because the cover […]

Because I can’t leave well enough alone and an obsession begun is an obsession finished.  Once upon a time, in the beginning, the people who wanted to turn Resident Evil — the game — into a movie asked George Romero (yes, that Romero) to write them a spec script. Once I heard that, I had […]

Strap yourselves in, kiddos — we’re going to talk about one of the recent travesties to come out of the coronavirus pandemic; one that hurts the literary community in a substantial way. Now I’m not a lawyer, but I’m a creator, and the onus is on creators to familiarize themselves with the laws that are […]

I’m cosplaying as the Count of Monte Cristo from the anime Gankutsuou. Back in the US, I was a frequent convention-goer and panelist, trying to get fellow geeks excited about writing! Since moving to Japan in 2016, I’ve gone through con withdrawals. And it’s not that Japan doesn’t have its fair share of conventions – […]