My guest blog post for Antonia Aquilante is live! In it, I burble joyfully about space opera and Beneath the Skin.
http://www.antoniaaquilante.com/blog/guest-post-beneath-the-skin-by-carolyn-hill
Antonia is the author of The Prince’s Consort, a MM paranormal romance from Dreamspinner Press.
Posted in Writing
Tagged Antonia Aquilante, beneath the skin, romantic science fiction, science fiction, SFR, space opera, writing
I’ve long been a fan of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Liaden novels, and their latest, The Gathering Edge, doesn’t disappoint.
It’s a pleasure to watch Theo grow into her role as captain, fully bonded to her AI ship, Bechimo. I’ve no doubt she’ll continue to grow in interesting ways as the edge continues to gather. Certainly she has the makings of a delm. And Hevelin–that noble norbear makes me smile and cheer … and be a bit afraid. And Joyita, it’s so very cool to see that AI develop as an individual so distinct from Bechimo.
One of the many things I enjoy about this novel is that, while tying together threads in many of the more recent books, it focuses almost entirely on Theo and her immediate company. That singular focus supports strong character development and underscores the ways in which Theo’s crew (really, they are more like a family — or clan) come together and interlock, supporting one another.
If none of the above makes sense to you, then this book isn’t the place to start exploring the Liaden Universe. But explore that universe, yes, indeed, you should.
Posted in Reading, Reviews, Uncategorized
Tagged book review, Gathering Edge, Liaden, review, science fiction, Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
The light-hearted tone and good-hearted characters in Thianna D.’s A Shifter, a Vampire, and a Fae Walk into a Bar make this romantic fantasy novel a delightful read, especially if you’re in a bad mood and just want to get away from it all. The heroine is a human, the hero is a shapeshifter who can take wolf form (“not a werewolf”, he insists), and the secondary characters include vampires, fae, demons, warlocks, and other supernatural beings, which makes an entertaining mix. This is the first book in a series, and much of the plot centers on the main characters coming together and becoming closer, creating their own little family of friends and eventually a home for themselves beyond space and time. Because the characters are so likable, it’s easy to root for them to succeed, and it’s easy to see why they are drawn to one another.
This isn’t a novel full of frustrating drama or deep angst or deadly danger, and the romance isn’t stuffed with endless longing or heated sex scenes. Instead, the book is soothingly humorous, and the sex is mostly off-screen and sweet. This is one of those novels that makes the world a little brighter.
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized
Tagged book review, fae, fantasy, review, romance, shapeshifter, Thianna D, vampire
A librarian asked me to recommend a few science fiction novels for women who haven’t read any science fiction. I replied:
First and foremost, if possible, you want the main protagonist to be female. And unless the reader happens to love science, you don’t want hard science fiction, you want soft: anthropology, sociology, psychology, ecology, and so on.
The first choice, that fits all the criteria above:
Sheri S. Tepper’s Grass.
If the woman reader has interests in certain areas, you might want to build on those interests.
For a woman who is interested in history, or who cares about slavery in general or U.S. African American slave history in particular:
Octavia Butler’s Kindred.
For a woman who enjoys a romance intertwined with politics:
Catharine Asaro’s Primary Inversion.
I’d recommend one of those three, with Tepper being my main choice.
If you want a few more suggestions, I’ll break the female-main-protagonist rule.
If the woman is strongly interested in psychology, particularly in autism:
Elizabeth Moon’s The Speed of Dark.
If the woman loves a challenge and has strong literary leanings (loves prose that sings and layers of allusion), can tolerate ambiguity and initial reader confusion, has a taste for the strange, and is interested in gender issues:
Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.
(But be careful if you recommend Le Guin! Novice science fiction readers have to work before they feel comfortable with the book.)
Returning to the female-main-protagonist rule, if the woman is interested in gender issues but doesn’t love a challenge as much as I’ve described above, then intead of Le Guin:
Joan Slonczewski’s A Door into Ocean.
Other possibilities:
Kage Baker. Sky Coyote.
Lois McMaster Bujold. The Warrior’s Apprentice.
Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon. (the 1966 full novel, not the 1959 short novelette)
Tagged asaro, bujold, butler, le guin, moon, Reading, recommendations, science fiction, slonczewski, tepper, women
A found poem from snippets of Joss Whedon dialogue
the raggedy edge
all orderly like
I do not hold to that
we aim to misbehave
caught a wave;
gonna bounce it down to you
it don’t mean nuthin’
out here in the black
Does this look sinister to you? A green glowing insectile menace? Or … ?
Anne Barwell interviewed me about Beneath the Skin, my writing, and other pressing topics: https://annebarwell.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/welcome-carolyn-hill-beneath-the-skin/
Posted in Media, Reading, Writing
Tagged aliens, Anne Barwell, beneath the skin, empath, interview, romance, science fiction, shapeshifter
Sign: 2 feet, no diving. So, if I had only one foot, could I dive?
The tree grew round.
Felled
Cut by straight-edged tools
Shaped by soft hands
Becomes the wooden plate.
The tree grows round again.
