Dear Sherry, I hear people talk about writing exercises all the time. They say it’s a good way to warm up the brain and help focus on the writing tasks, especially for those of us who tend to get distracted by the internet. What do you think? Worth it or not? I’m afraid it might […]

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 Maria V. Snyder, author of […]

Ever since Game of Thrones debuted on HBO in 2011, awards have been heaped upon it — and with good reason. Adapted from George R.R. Martin’s sweeping epic fantasy novels (the series is officially named A Song of Ice and Fire), it features an excellent cast, top quality effects and costuming, the exceptional soundtrack skills […]

August 18, 2017 Having a community of writers around you is great for giving and receiving critiques, but it can be so much more. I couldn’t persist in this crazy business of writing if it weren’t for my writing friends, so I’d like to share with you some of the ways in which they have helped […]

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome to 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 Carrie Vaughn, author of Bannerless, a […]

July 31, 2017 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 author and […]

Clariel (2014) Written By: Garth Nix Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Pages: 419 (Trade Paperback) Series: Old Kingdom (Book 4) Publisher: HaperCollins Why I Chose It: I read Sabriel, the first in the Old Kingdom series, back when I was a teenager, and it quickly became one of my favorites, full of unique magic, truly scary […]

Maybe you’ve heard the term “Cosplay is not Consent.” It’s a movement within the fan convention community to educate people on how to act — or rather, how not to act. And it all revolves around Consent. Why talk about consent? Conventions can be a lot like parties, and at parties people want to have fun. […]

There exists the old adage: Don’t judge a book by its cover. This is quite true, as the inside of a book can be excellent but the cover doesn’t do the story justice. Yet at the same time, having a good book cover is very important. It doesn’t matter if you’re with a big publishing […]

Welcome back to Sound Off!, a semi-regular column where members of Speculative Chic gather together to chat about the latest BIG THING in entertainment. This time, aim with your eye and discuss The Dark Tower, which premiered in the United States on Friday, August 4, 2017. Sound Off! is meant to be a reaction, but not necessarily a […]

Maybe you’ve heard the term “Cosplay is not Consent.” It’s a movement within the fan convention community to educate people on how to act — or rather, how not to act. And it all revolves around Consent. Why talk about consent? Conventions can be a lot like parties, and at parties people want to have fun. […]

This month on Changing the Map So if the turn of the twentieth century produced the First Wave of speculative feminist fiction (Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Rokeya Hossain), and the late 1960’s ushered in the great Second Wave (Ursula K. LeGuin, Octavia E. Butler, Margaret Atwood), what was happening in the middle of the century? Who […]

Savvy readers will recall that one of my favorite things from last year was Ruthanna Emrys’ “The Litany of Earth” (which you can read for free at the link). I found out about Emrys’ fiction when a favorite writer of mine was singing the praises of her then forthcoming novel, Winter Tide. Shortly after that […]

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, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we’re all about a surprisingly excellent spin-off to a beloved TV show, a platformer perfect […]