Blog Tour Spotlight | “The Silent Woman” (Book One: Cat Carlisle) by Terry Lynn Thomas

Posted Monday, 13 May, 2019 by jorielov Anna Blanc series, Bess Crawford mysteries, Cat Carlisle series, HarperCollins Publishers, Hiro Hattori Novels, HQ Digital, Lady Darby Mysteries, Lillian Frost & Edith Head Novels, Maisie Dobbs series, Margaret Harkness and Arthur Conan Doyle series, Terry Lynn Thomas, The Silent Woman, Willa Cather & Edith Lewis Mysteries 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! HFVBTs is one of the very first touring companies I started working with as a 1st Year Book Blogger – uniting my love and passion with Historical Fiction and the lovely sub-genres inside which I love devouring. It has been a wicked fantastical journey into the heart of the historic past, wherein I’ve been blessed truly by discovering new timescapes, new living realities of the persons who once lived (ie. Biographical Historical Fiction) inasmuch as itched my healthy appetite for Cosy Historical Mysteries! If there is a #HistRom out there it is generally a beloved favourite and I love soaking into a wicked wonderful work of Historical Fiction where you feel the beauty of the historic world, the depth of the characters and the joyfulness in which the historical novelists brought everything to light in such a lovingly diverse palette of portraiture of the eras we become time travellers through their stories.

As this story (“The Silent Woman”) was only available for review consideration in ebook format, I decided to listen to the audiobook version of it via my Scribd subscription. Thereby, I elected to join the blog tour and share my ruminative thoughts whilst assembling an interview to discuss the book and the series with the author as I personally have a penchant for Historical Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers. As I was not obligated to post a review based on an audiobook I listen to via my subscription to Scribd, I did this for my own edification and to continue to share my reading life with my readers. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

On why this story appealled to me:

One of my favourite sub-genres of Historical Fiction are the Historical Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers. More oft than not, I am travelling down a corridor of the historic past whilst I am following the footsteps of such likeable Historical sleuths, detectives and specialists such as Anna Blanc, Arthur Conan Doyle, Hiro Hattori, Bess Crawford, Willa Cather & Edith Lewis, Maisie Dobbs, Lady Darby, Edith Head & Lillian Frost and the Discreet Detective Agency to name a few. Each time I tuck inside one of these lovelies, I am benefiting from the Historical overlay of the past intermixing with the beauty of the sleuthing unfolding as I walk through the investigation alongside the lead character(s).

In the past, I hungrily devoured the Miss Marple series as I was smitten by Agatha Christie’s infamous St. Mary’s Mead and their lovable and inquisitive pensioner who liked to get a nose in on crime. In recent years, I’ve taken a liking to Poirot which half-surprised me as previously I found him to be a bit off-putting but now I find him stoic and uniquely intriguing as much as I find Monk or Columbo.

Each window into the past is a beautiful discovery but to travel through the threshold of history whilst seeing the differences in crime and detection is another layer of hidden histories and insightful revelations from a keenly sociological perspective. Each author I read has their own variant doorway they like to take us through – creating their own individual portal into the past and finding ourselves anchoured to a bevy of interesting characters who not just have their story to share with us but perhaps, a story out of History which has equal merit and relevancy to know today?

This is why I can never tire of seeking out these kinds of stories and the authors who are bringing them to life. It is also a benefit for stories which are Digital First releases are able to be cross-released into a format I can enjoy – either print or audiobook. The joy for this blog tour was finding out this series is available via Scribd as most UK publishers are not present on the website and I look forward to more of their book catalogues being added at some point as most of those are mainly housed on Audible.

The Silent Woman (Spotlight)
by Terry Lynn Thomas
Source: Scribd | Subscription
Narrator: Jan Cramer

Would you sell your secrets?

Catherine Carlisle is trapped in a loveless marriage and the threat of World War Two is looming. She sees no way out… that is until a trusted friend asks her to switch her husband’s papers in a desperate bid to confuse the Germans.

Soon Catherine finds herself caught up in a deadly mixture of espionage and murder. Someone is selling secrets to the other side, and the evidence seems to point right at her.

Can she clear her name before it’s too late?

Genres: Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Feminist Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B07KCKN37Z

Also by this author: The Silent Woman (Interview)

on 18th November, 2018

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 7 hours and 36 minutes (unabridged)

Published By: HQ Digital UK (@HQDigitalUK)
an imprint of HarperCollinsUK (@HarperCollinsUK)

The Cat Carlisle series:

The Silent Woman (book one)

The Family Secret (book two)

Converse via: #CatCarlisle + #HistFic or #HistNov
as well as #HistoricalMystery and #HistoricalFiction

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

About Terry Lynn Thomas

TERRY LYNN THOMAS grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, which explains her love of foggy beaches and Gothic mysteries. When her husband promised to buy Terry a horse and the time to write if she moved to Mississippi with him, she jumped at the chance. Although she had written several novels and screenplays prior to 2006, after she relocated to the South she set out to write in earnest and has never looked back.

Terry Lynn writes the Sarah Bennett Mysteries, set on the California coast during the 1940s, which feature a misunderstood medium in love with a spy. The Drowned Woman is a recipient of the IndieBRAG Medallion. She also writes the Cat Carlisle Mysteries, set in Britain during World War II.

The first book in this series, The Silent Woman, came out in April 2018 and has since become a USA TODAY bestseller. The Family Secret released in March 2019. When she’s not writing, you can find Terry Lynn riding her horse, walking in the woods with her dogs, or visiting old cemeteries in search of story ideas.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | LibraryThing | FantasticFiction

Posted Monday, 13 May, 2019 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

#WeekendReads | during #WyrdAndWonder | celebrating my #25PagePreview of 3x #newtomeauthors of #Fantasy including a random selection I had amnesia over selecting at my library!

Posted Saturday, 11 May, 2019 by jorielov #WeekendReads, #WyrdAndWonder, Adrift, Empire of Sand, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Story, The Priory of the Orange Tree 4 Comments

Wyrd And Wonder banner created by Imyril. Image Credit: Dragon – by kasana86 from 123RF.com.

follow the convo: #wyrdandwonder

[via Instagram & Twitter]

Ever since I lost my footing last weekend with my #currentreads for #WyrdAndWonder, I’ve been striving to resume where I left off with my initial readings. The one difference from this 2nd Year of the event compared to the 1st Year is I entered Wyrd And Wonder *migraine-free!* however, due to allergy medicine for my extreme Spring allergies, I encountered a *severe!* supernova migraine our first weekend of the event. A nasty side effect I was not expecting and which took me completely off-guard! It lasted a few days and relapsed shortly thereafter – rendering me offline, unable to read and curiously more exhausted than I bargined for as I had to be mindful of how much rest I needed in order to recover after this particur wreck of a migraine. Being a #migraineur, I am not a stranger to migraines but since I found better medicine in late February / early March (of 2019) I was celebrating my 2nd full month of being free of them — only to be slammed by a doosy of one within the opening days of Wyrd And Wonder. *le sigh*

Not only was I attempting to make amends for the posts I had scheduled to share (which I am still in the process of amending) but I also *forgot!* a blog tour meant to go live yesterday (Friday) (for one of my favourite romance imprints: Harlequin Heartwarming) and had to postpone another Historical blog tour at the same time. Both will be appearing this forthcoming week – but it just proved to myself how hard a toll this migraine had wrecked a bit of chaos on me and how devastating it is when you lose your short-term memory as a result of a bad migraine flaring into your life. Blessedly I only forgot the one tour (ie. Heartwarming) and was able to reschedule the Historical one – but all way round, I was enjoying not having to reschedule any tours for those two months I wasn’t plagued by them frequenting my life.

Thus, I was easing into the weekend, cognisant of not rushing back into reading as that could have an equally adverse effect on me and decided to take it easy whilst re-attempting to start reading again. I thought it might be fun to work on a mini-#25PagePreview where I would select 3x of the stories I was most keenly curious about reading for Wyrd And Wonder and offer this as a bit of a preview of coming revelations. One of these I had already planned to read and review for the event whilst the other two are new books being discovered during the event without any plans to feature them unless I find myself motivated too.

on what drew me into these stories for #wyrdandwonder:

Whilst trying to self-motivate myself to seek out more #FantasyReads during the calendar year, I’ve noticed my process to return into fantastical realms is in effect a bit hit/miss as previous years will foreshadow as being my track record. There was such a time in my life where I had a better balance of reading #SpecFic spilt between Science Fiction & Fantasy – but in the six years I’ve been a book blogger, I’d say I’ve been hugged inside Urban Fantasy the most and Hard Science Fiction on the opposite end of the spectrum whilst barely moving in/out of either concentrations except for a few here or there which drew my eye towards their narratives. There have been a few eclectically motivating plots within Soft Science Fiction, Paranormal worlds and Genre-bent stories which are more Speculative in nature than they are definitively set within one concentration or the other; with the odd-#CosyHorror thrown in for good measure.

For Wyrd And Wonder : Year 2 : I wanted to continue to expand my horizons and seek out the authors who could potentially become my new beloved authors of whom I’d follow throughout their writerly careers – as technically, that is my goal with every book I pick up to read – to gather new authors to read, follow and blissfully find ruminations over to share with other bookish minded spirits who engage in socially bookish avenues of discussion.

When I first learnt of PRIORY, I knew it would be the “it novel” of the year – it just had that kind of admiration attached to it. Rather than feel the hype was short of the love, I felt this novel might have the kind of staying power all beloved SpecFic titles are given by the legions of readers who have entered the story-line and have felt something special on their visitation within the world itself. At least, this is what I observed as an outsider. I mostly heard of this title through my UK and Euro book blogging friends – as I follow a heap of bookish blogs (via WP and Twitter, directly) and this is the one title I heard the most being discussed for the discerning Fantasy reader. As soon as I heard that, I knew it was a title I needed to gather at my library for #WyrdAndWonder! Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#WyrdAndWonder

Posted Saturday, 11 May, 2019 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event

#EnterTheFantastic with #WyrdAndWonder | Book Review of the Magical Midway Series [book two] “Life on the Lion” by Leanne Leeds

Posted Friday, 10 May, 2019 by jorielov #WyrdAndWonder, Badchen Publishing, Leanne Leeds, Life on the Lion, Magical Midway series 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: Earlier this Spring, I participated in an event uniting book bloggers and Indie Authors called #ReviewPit. One of the authors I discovered during this event was Leanne Leeds – of whom has penned a rather interesting Cosy Mystery series – wherein her lead character is a witch and the whole series is rooted out of her love of carnivals and her past experience of them. What intrigued me the most is how this is a Paranormal Fantasy Cosy series and I was thinking it would make a perfect series to curl up inside during #WyrdAndWonder!!

I was seeking stories during #ReviewPit which caught my eye for their uniqueness but also what was quite lovely is how most of the stories which intrigued me to read were actually within the realms of Fantasy! I found this wicked interesting and it is why I was thankful during #WyrdAndWonder Year 2 I could continue to celebrate my love of Indie Authors & Indie Publishers and Press!

I received a complimentary copy of “Life on the Lion” direct from the author Leanne Leeds in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

NOTE: I didn’t realise until I was working on releasing the rest of my Magical Midway reviews (belatedly due to my four migraines this month and the aftermath that wrecked on me) that I somehow missed the fact the author’s name was not spelt correctly in the title of my first review nor in the url; having promoted the link on Twitter several times, I decided to let it stand in the url but I’ve corrected the title error. I didn’t realise this as like I said, I had four migraines this May and my recovery from them has been rather difficult. I simply didn’t catch it. My apologies to the author and my readers for that error as I always strive to catch my copy editing mistakes before I promote my posts. Sadly this one snuck past me.

Why I am *loving!* my discovery
of the Magical Midway serires:

I love how Leeds inserts her humour straight-off the bat – from how she first describes Charlotte arriving at the Midway and then, how she counters her reflective mirror on Charlotte a full week into the carnival life – wherein, you note how the lifestyle can take a toll on the person living it. It is raw honesty about the long hours and the taxing way the life can make a person feel exhausted in their bones and spirit but also, the humour can be added to cut the seriousness of it as well.

Knowing there is a story involving a lion in the series, I was curious if Uncle Phil mentioning Charlotte should tame them might be a foreshadow of events yet to come. If so, I love how the continuity of the series is immediately visual on the page – especially considering I hadn’t even finished reading the first chapter! Series which own their own world-building and have a proper development ahead of being written speak well of themselves. They make you feel as if the world your first stepping into is not just fully realised but it has already owned its own identity by which you simply have to make the transition as you move inside it. This spoke well of Leeds being able to pull us through her vision and to adjust our impression of how she wanted us to interact with her characters.’

There is a heap of plausible theoretic insight into how Leeds is shaping her world within the Magical Midway – from how there is a division between the humans and the paranormals (as she prefers to call the magical folk and creatures who inhabit her world) to how lifestyles which were once cherished and treasured are now amongst the least understood. It is a fitting augmentation of our own world – where those who lived a more unconventional and transient life in the world of carnivals and circuses suddenly found their centuries old profession to be viewed under a microscope of criticism.

When it came to the Cosy aspects of the story-line, I liked how we took a bit of a naive entrance into the Midway and the Witches Council because it added layers of intrigue into how little Charlotte understood of this world. It was a credit to the foundation of how Charlotte was raised ‘away’ from her heritage and how much she needed to learn on the job if she were going to make any headway at all at understanding what had happened. Traditionally cosy, we hug close to Charlotte as she attempts to unearth the clues she needs to put together a reasonable understanding of the crime which was committed seemingly without anyone observing any wrong doing – this puts us front and centre at the Midway but also lends a new perspective of the Midway to Charlotte.

Although this is a Paranormal Fantasy Cosy Mystery – the world has attributes of recognition from our own modern realm. This includes a lot of hot topics of the hour – from currently used buzz words such as being ‘woke’ about Women’s Rights to the right to proper Equality between genders and a movement towards a future without the adversities of the past. There are keen moments of insight about how the constructs of this world are not a mirror per se of our world but they are influenced by our world or rather, each world in of itself is struggling with the same issues found in each others’ realms. Which means to say, there is still quite a bit to be understood in the Midway world which is countered against Charlotte’s upbringing in ours.

There are certain unique moments within the story where we can see the humour of Leeds shining through – especially considering how often a rainbow of colours is fused to a particular magical moment. The magic in this series is bright, vibrant and colourful – though not always benign, it has a way of presenting itself rather spectacularly! This was a lovely light read within a paranormal world which is letting you see past the veil of how it exists. I liked the cosy atmosphere of how Leeds paced the story-line and even though I had a suspicion of whom was the guilty party, she turnt the tables on me in regards to what the plausible motive would have been! Overall, I learnt I want to re-visit this circus and dig a bit deeper into how the world behind the Magical Midway works – as the truer mystery is how the witches and paranormals co-exist at the circus when no one truly understands the finer points of their own living histories. That, for me, is what caused me to cheer for a sequel – as I had a feeling – the closer Charlotte evolves towards a more confident ringmaster, the closer we’ll become towards understanding the hidden truths of her world.

-quoted from my review of The Witchiest Circus on Earth

Life on the Lion
Subtitle: Magical Midway Cozy Paranormal Mysteries Book Two
Source: #ReviewPit Author, Direct from Author

A missing mentalist.
A magical ultimatum.
To save the family business, one witch must pull something spectacular out of her hat.

For newly-minted witch Charlotte, moving from the human realm to life in the magical circus is still a tightrope walk. But when the crooked Witches’ Council passes a law that gives her a week to hand over two of her friends, she wonders if she’s in for a big fall. To make matters worse, one of the humans in question goes missing before she can even think up a plan.

As she sorts through the clues, she fights off her feelings for the kind and handsome Gunther. With time running out, she can’t ignore the possibility that her crush could somehow be involved in the plot against her family. To protect her business and her life, she’ll have to find the carny, guard her heart, and hold off the Council before it’s far too late.

Genres: Fantasy Fiction, Paranormal Urban Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Cosy Mystery

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781983063817

Published by Badchen Publishing

on 2nd June, 2018

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 232

Published by: Badchen Publishing

Formats Available: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #MagicalMidway + #Paranormal #Fantasy

The Magical Midway series:

The Magical Midway series is a paranormal cozy mystery series with eccentric characters, show-stopping magic, sweet romance subplots, and twisty mysteries. If you like eccentric characters, show-stopping magic, and twisty mysteries, then you’ll love this paranormal cozy mystery.

Be sure to visit the Synopsis for these stories on the author’s site!

Charlotte & Aidan (prequel short) | Synopsis

The Witchest Circus on Earth (book one) | see also review

Life on the Lion (book two) | Synopsis

Unbearable Magic (book three) | Synopsis

Go for the Juggler (book four) | Synopsis

Irrelephant Omens (book five) | Synopsis

→ A Call to Charms (book six) *forthcoming 2019 | Synopsis

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#BeatTheBacklist 2019
#WyrdAndWonder

Posted Friday, 10 May, 2019 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Review (non-blog tour), Cosy Mystery, Familiars, Fantasy Fiction, Indie Author, Shapeshifters, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Urban Fantasy, Witches and Warlocks

#EnterTheFantastic this #WyrdAndWonder as #JorieReads | Book Review for “Heir to the Lamp” (Book One: Genie Chronicles) by Michelle Lowery Combs

Posted Thursday, 9 May, 2019 by jorielov #WyrdAndWonder, Genie Chronicles, Heir to the Lamp, Michelle Lowery Combs, World Weaver Press 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: A few years ago now, I started to review for World Weaver Press – until I reached the day where my focus on the stories I was receiving for review fell by the wayside. A lot of this had to do with my personal health, the recovery of my father’s stroke and other things which bring adversity into your life which can and will affect your readerly life. I cannot remember exactly what first took me away from reading “Heir to the Lamp” or the sequel “Solomon’s Bell” – however, I did attempt to read them at various moments throughout the past few years including shortly after I received “Solomon’s Bell” for which I posted a Cover Reveal and Extract.

This #WyrdAndWonder, I wanted to redeem myself a bit by getting back into the stories I attempted to read last year but due to the migraines and other issues I was having with my health, I was unable to complete my reading schedule for the event. This is one of the series I was most eager to read and am thankful I can finally focus on during our 2nd Year of Wyrd and Wonder. As I know there are other readers who are following or joining the event directly who appreciate Magical Realism and/or stories of the Jinn as much as I do. Perhaps they will find a new author through my ruminations and as always, I hope whenever I feature a story or anthology by World Weaver Press – word will continue to get out about this lovely Indie Publisher for Speculative Fiction!

I received a complimentary copy of “Heir to the Lamp” direct from the publisher World Weaver Press in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

I admit it, ever since I met a ‘Golem’ & a ‘Jinni’, I’ve been intrigued by Magical Realism stories involving the Jinn!:

I must admit, I had such a wicked sweet time residing inside the world of Helene Wecker’s epic saga involving a Jinn and Golem, I was quite hopeful I might have been able to dig inside a few more since that fateful day I brought home her debut novel from my local library. The irony of course will not be lost on devout readers and bibliophiles alike who are now earnestly blogging their readerly lives (such as I am) when I state it took me until ‘now’ to find the proper time to give to another story of the Jinn – as we eagerly still await the sequel to Wecker’s novel.

When it comes to world-building in a Young Adult novel, I am quite particular about what I’m seeking out (if this YA review can clue you in a bit) as I like to feel as if I’ve properly been transported ‘elsewhere’ to such a degree of certainty – the experience knits itself into your mind’s eye and extends itself into your permanent memories. Because stories which give us that curious stretch of imaginative blissitude allow us the smallest of joys to step into the threshold of someone elses shoes and live their life for a spell!

I find myself drawn more into epic sagas & layered world-buildings in Fantasy; I have recently (since I’ve been a book blogger) found I lean more towards Science Fiction or Sci-Fantasy releases but at the heart of what I love most are Magical Realism stories alongside a fairy-tale re-telling, a legend of lore or an Epic Fantasy that simply carts you off into the depth of a novel that is so wickedly long in length you might need a month or so to fully invest yourself into it’s folds. (herein I am hinting towards my soon-to-be shared readings of “A Turn of Light”; writ by a favourite Sci-Fi author of mine: Ms Czerneda)

My appreciation of genies truly goes back to the infamous television series – where an astronaut and a genie fall in love whilst trying to ‘fit & blend into contemporary life’ – to such great folly you cannot help but laugh along with the characters or feel their misery when things go terribly wrong! Since then, I try to turn my eye towards literature and root out stories of the Jinn (and nowadays golems) which have the depth of journey and an honest world built out of their legends where story-crafters entreat to take us.

Thus, when I heard there was a sequel to “Heir to the Lamp”, I knew it was time to put aside my readings of Ms Parrish’s delish anthologies and hold off on the murderous kitchen novella, to see how Ms Combs has chosen to alight us inside her world!

-previously disclosed on the Cover Reveal w/ Notes for the sequel to Heir to the Lamp

Heir to the Lamp
Subtitle: Genie Chronicles Book One
by Michelle Lowery Combs
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Sarena Ulibarri
Source: Direct from Publisher

A family secret, a mysterious lamp, a dangerous Order with the mad desire to possess both. Ginn thinks she knows all there is to know about how she became adopted by parents whose number one priority is to embarrass her with public displays of affection, but that changes when a single wish starts a never-ending parade of weirdness marching through her door the day she turns thirteen. Gifted with a mysterious lamp and the missing pieces from her adoption story, Ginn tries to discover who…or what…she really is. That should be strange enough, but to top it off Ginn’s being hunted by the Order of the Grimoire, a secret society who’ll stop at nothing to harness the power of a real genie.

Genres: Fantasy Fiction, Magical Realism, YA Fantasy, YA Urban Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Book Page on World Weaver Press

ISBN: 9780615813424

Also by this author: Solomon's Bell (Cover Reveal + Extract), Solomon's Bell

Also in this series: Solomon's Bell

Published by World Weaver Press

on 16th July, 2013

Pages: 190

Published By: World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook

The Genie Chronicles series:

Genre(s): Speculative | Young Adult | Fantasy | Lore & Legends

the Jinn (or Jinnis or Genies) | Adoption

Similar Reads: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (see also Review)

About Michelle Lowery Combs

Michelle Lowery Combs is an award-winning writer and book blogger living in rural Alabama with her husband, one cat and too many children to count. She spends her spare time commanding armies of basketball and soccer munchkins for the Parks & Recreation departments of two cities.

When not in the presence of throngs of toddlers, tweens and teens, Michelle can be found neglecting her roots and dreaming up the next best seller. She is a member of the Alabama Writers’ Conclave, Jacksonville State University’s Writers’ Club and her local Aspiring Authors group.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Instagram

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Posted Thursday, 9 May, 2019 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Ancient Civilisation, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Review (non-blog tour), Equality In Literature, Folklore, Folklore and Mythology, Futuristic Fantasy, Indie Author, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, World Weaver Press, Young Adult Fiction

A #WyrdAndWonder Book Review | “Nebula Awards Showcase 2016” (edited by) Mercedes Lackey

Posted Wednesday, 8 May, 2019 by jorielov #WyrdAndWonder, Mercedes Lackey, Nebula Award Showcase 2016, Nebula Award Showcase series 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a reviewer for Prometheus Books and their imprints starting in [2016] as I contacted them through their Edelweiss catalogues and Twitter. I appreciated the diversity of titles across genre and literary explorations – especially focusing on Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Scientific Topics in Non-Fiction.

I received a complimentary copy of “Nebula Awards 2016” direct from the publisher PYR (an imprint of Prometheus Books) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. Note: This review is part of my backlogue of reviews and predates PYR being acquired by Smart Publishing who now owns both Seventh Street Books and Pyr.

Why I love reading the Nebula Awards Showcase:

I loved how Bear championed the integrity of writing what you know to be true even if editors later change that truth for their own needs (i.e. regards to his article being altered for publication) even if it has consequences you cannot foresee. He wrote with a lot of levity and insight – how the Awards come regularly like any natural season and how writers are both on pins to hear whose won but also, elated if their name is called. It’s a quirky balance of anxiety and exultation of joy – the brilliant combination of emotions any writer can claim as their own. Writing is such an intrapersonal experience – we put our imagination and our words on the line, hoping to inspire a reader to feel as connected to our stories as we do ourselves and thus, I could concur with Bear about the curiously curious attachment we have to seeing how our peers interpret our stories and if the stories resonate with our peers inasmuch as the readers.

This particular collection of stories, antidotes and murmurings of Science Fiction had within it’s pages such a cartography of human emotions! You could quite literally feel every ounce of your humanness by reading it’s collection because each of the writers in turn found a way to etch a catalyst of emotional fortitude into their stories. Their characters were facing incredible odds and had to somehow find a way to stomach the vacuumed despair or else, find their lives empty of all hope.

The words these writers have used to paint their portraits of life in futuristic places are humbling and eagerly on-point to curtain off a certain sense about the world today. There are cross-applications to these stories – of origins you can perceive of what inspired them and of why these stories were being penned when they were and how they were being expressed. It’s a collection to take to heart – to ponder and lay thought upon long after you put the stories down the first time you’ve read them. Most are cautionary in nature, others are thought-provoking social conscious works of creative expression. All of them hold a kernel of where Science Fiction and Consciousness co-merge into a working consciousness of forward thought and internal supposition of what a near-off future could hold inside it’s palm. Truly a remarkable reading for today’s inquisitive reader seeking stories which speak towards the edge of where truth and reality blur and find their own voice.

-quoted from my review of the Nebula Awards Showcase 2015

Nebula Awards Showcase: 2016
Subtitle: Stories, Excerpts and Essays
by Mercedes Lackey
Source: Direct from Publisher

The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

The editor of this year’s volume, selected by SFWA’s anthology Committee (chaired by Mike Resnick), is American science fiction and fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey.

This anthology includes the winners Ursula Vernon, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nancy Kress, and Jeff VanderMeer, with Alaya Dawn Johnson winning the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

Genres: Anthology Collection of Short Stories and/or Essays, Fantasy Fiction, Science Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781633881389

Published by Pyr

on 3rd May, 2016

Format: Paperback ARC

Pages: 412

Published By: Pyr (@Pyr_Books)

The Nebula Awards Showcases I’ve read: