January 31, 2020

Welcome (or for some of you, welcome back!) to the Speculative Chic Book Club! Thank you so much for joining us on our relaunch in 2020. To say I’m excited about it is an understatement: I’m tickled that every month, a different blogger gets to select a book and lead us in a discussion, and I knew that to kick…

Read More » January 30, 2020

Our first book club discussion isn’t until tomorrow, but I know some of us like to savor our reads. Maybe you want time to re-read the pick, maybe you need time to get your hands on a copy from the library, or maybe you simply enjoy taking your time. Whatever your situation, I thought now would be a good time…

Read More » January 30, 2020

For my Speculative Chic Resolution Project 2020, I decided to distract myself from work by catching up on random things I’d never seen before on the new streaming service, Disney+. What I should be working on: Rewrites of my first novel for its second edition release later in 2020. What I watched instead: Season 1 of Marvel’s Runaways, which originally aired…

Read More » January 29, 2020

I’m kicking off my 2020 Resolution fresh out the gate, starting with a rewatch and review of the science fantasy series Voltron: Legendary Defender, created by DreamWorks Animation, animated by Studio Mir, and currently available for streaming on Netflix as well as DVD. Voltron: Legendary Defender is a reimagining and update of the 1984 series Voltron, which is in and of…

Read More » January 28, 2020

The library as plot point is one of my favorite things to see or read about. I’m a librarian; I’m biased. I love when characters visit the library or the archives for the sole purpose of doing research: discovering who owned their haunted house, who sealed a supernatural deal, what mystical solar phenomenon is about to happen (again) — or…

Read More » January 27, 2020

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with James Chambers, whose On the Night Border just made the…

Read More » January 25, 2020

Another week has come and gone, and it’s another busy week at Speculative Chic! We’ve got book reviews galore and tackling some of the latest genre treats on television. If you’re looking for fantasy, science fiction, and horror, we’ve got treats in store for you this week. In cased you missed it, here’s the Weekly Roundup!

Read More » January 24, 2020

At Speculative Chic, we feature a lot of authors who share everything from their favorite things to the inspiration for their work. Today, we’re introducing a new column called Fiction Friday, where you’ll be able to sample the fiction of a variety of authors, including those who write at Speculative Chic! For our very first column, we’re featuring Judy Black,…

Read More » January 24, 2020

The trope of the Strong Black Woman in fiction is based on an equally harmful stereotype, in which Black women are expected to perform a role that negates their own emotions, needs (both physical and psychological), in the service of caring for others. Similar to the Magical Negro, the Strong Black Woman protects her family and community, and even saves…

Read More » January 23, 2020

As you may or may not have heard by now, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat recently collaborated on yet another TV miniseries adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula — three episodes, produced through the BBC, available right now on Netflix. And much like Gatiss and Moffat’s version of Sherlock Holmes (BBC Sherlock, admired and hated in roughly equal measure by fans…

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