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The Spring 2024 Dragon Gems anthology is out as of April 26! This new release from Water Dragon Press includes lots of entertaining stories — including my short “Bradzar and the Dragon”.
Dragon Gems will be available in a Kindle version and also as a paperback. The Kindle edition is currently available for preorder here.
This is becoming a tradition!
September 6 is National Read a Book Day. For the third year, I thought I’d offer some reading suggestions to celebrate the day! This post is highly subjective and focuses (with some exceptions) on science fiction, fantasy and horror. But everything on the list is a good book.
Some Great Space Opera: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. This is apparently her first novel, and it’s outstanding. I flew through this wonderful space opera that starts out as military science fiction on an isolated space station, but ends up encompassing all of space and time, a huge canvas. In addition to a page-turning story there are themes of radicalization and a transforming worldview as Kyr discovers that the world is not as she’s been taught.
Something about Migrants: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. Although not written by a migrant, this is still a good story. Lydia, a Mexican bookseller, is forced to flee from cartel violence with her son, Luca. She sees only one place for them to go to escape with their lives: across the border into the United States. It’s fiction, and certainly not every migrant’s experience, but it’s a good place to start to explore fiction about a crisis we usually see only from our own viewpoint. And a moving story on a human level as well.
Something Intense: The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias. Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award, this horror novel is excellent but warning — it is also brutal in places, and full of rage and desperation. It paints a dark picture of human nature as the main character, Mario, sets out on a dangerous mission to interfere with a cartel’s drug shipment so he can try to pay back medical bills from his daughter’s fatal illness. This is a gripping story, touching on the supernatural as well as the lengths human beings will go to in greed or desperation. Some parts are in Spanish, but not enough to impede reading for non-Spanish speakers.
Something Old-fashioned: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. This novel was published in 2016, but feels like a charming, old-fashioned long read. Set in the Soviet Union during a big chunk of the 20th century, this novel follows Count Alexander Rostov, a member of the Russian nobility who escapes death during the Revolution only to be sentenced to permanent house arrest in the Metropol, an elegant old-world hotel. There we meet a fascinating cast of characters, glimpse the march of history and enjoy the Count’s narrative on everything from food to the barber to the characters he meets.
Something Recommended by my Daughter: This year’s recommendation by my daughter is The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson. Edna Fisher is an elderly lady in a nursing home when she receives an unexpected visit from a wizard, who tells her she is the Chosen One — chosen to “save the Knights from a dragon-riding sorcerer bent on their destruction” (from the Amazon blurb). I love stories about unexpected heroes, and I am just getting started reading this one myself.
Something … by Me! This one’s easy, because it’s a short story and it’s online. My newest short story, “A Deep and Breathing Forest”, was in Issue 9 of Haven Speculative and is available here. It’s a short story, so I won’t summarize it, but I hope you’ll check it out along with the other stories and poetry in Haven Spec.
I’ve been here a few times, so you can tell I enjoy this festival. The Merion Village Festival is a neighborhood event with vendors and community organizations, food trucks and live music. It will be held in the Merion Village neighborhood, which is just south of German Village in Columbus, on Aug 27, 2023.
I’ll be there with my books, including the award-winning sword & sorcery anthology Blood on the Blade, which among other great stories has my story “The Sorceress Maiz”.
If you’re in the area, stop by and say hi!
I was in Yellow Springs again on Saturday for the 41st annual Books on the Lawn, sponsored by Dark Star Books and Comics. Yellow Springs is a great small town with art pretty much everywhere you look. Since I love good street art, I thought I’d post a few examples.
Here is more information about the Tarot of America mural images above from the Yellow Springs News.
A few images from the Gordon Square area of Cleveland, just because.
“Dream Big” is by Lisa Quine.
This mural by Bob Peck is on 78th Street.
Mural by Justin Michael Will.
I’m delighted to announce that my short story, “A Deep and Breathing Forest”, is one of thirteen stories and poems in the newest issue of Haven Speculative magazine, just out today! Check it out at Haven Spec’s website, here.
The cover (by Barbara Candiotti) and Table of Contents is below. Check out Issue Nine for great speculative stories and poetry.
I’ve been away from this blog for a while — hopefully that will be changing! After a demanding year and family health issues, things are trending better and I hope to resume normal life, including a few more writing events this year.
I’ll be starting out by joining several other Ohio authors at the Ohio Authors Book Fair, scheduled for May 27, 2023 at the Destination Outlets in Jeffersonville, Ohio. You can find a variety of books there — thrillers, romance, poetry, mysteries, and my own fantasy novels among them. I’ll also have the award-winning Blood on the Blade sword & sorcery anthology available, containing ten great stories including “The Sorceress Maiz” by yours truly.
Start your Memorial Day weekend off right by joining us at the Book Fair! Here’s a link to the event page on Facebook for more information.
Just a couple of weeks until Christmas in Historic Springboro! I’ve posted a link to info about this festival below — but it’s great opportunity to kick off the Christmas season. In addition to the craft vendors, local shops and parade, there will also be an opportunity to meet some local authors.
Local authors will be set up with their books at the Historical Society during the event — my time slot is on Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30, and as usual I’ll be delighted to talk about my books or writing in general! There will be other authors there Friday evening as well as during the afternoons during the weekend.
Event info is at this link. If you’re local, stop by the Springfield Area Historical Society museum on Main Street during the festival! Dates are from November 18-20, 2022, and more details are at the link above.
This exhibit at the Riffe Gallery in Columbus only goes on another week, so if you’re local it’s worth stopping in. Especially if you want to see some paintings from Ohio artists that are bright, detailed, and in some ways atypical of what I expected from watercolors. Here are a few examples:
Here’s a link to the gallery page, including some additional images and info on the (rather restricted) gallery hours. The exhibit has paintings from members of the Ohio Watercolor Society and is a juried exhibition.
The last time I was at this festival was in 2019. I remember it was a pleasant afternoon of talking to readers (and a few aspiring writers) and enjoying yummy food. I’m hoping for the same this coming Sunday September 11 at Merion Village’s Moeller Park here in Columbus.
Looks like they’re expecting quite a few vendors as well as food trucks and live music. I’ll have my books available including the Blood on the Blade sword & sorcery anthology, winner of the 2022 Imadjinn Award for best anthology, which among other great stories has my story “The Sorceress Maiz”.
If you’re nearby, come and say hi!
Author Anne Marie Lutz 