Columbus Arts Festival Canceled
Hello, all —
It’s not really a surprise, of course, as the United States and the world continue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, but I’m still sad to share that the Greater Columbus Arts Council has had to cancel the 2020 Columbus Arts Festival. Here’s a link to their statement.
This is my favorite festival, and one I’ve been attending since it was a smattering of tents on the Ohio Statehouse lawn many years ago. I had the pleasure of reading at the festival last year at the Word Is Art tent. I’ll look forward to applying next year and hopefully being able to repeat that wonderful experience.
I hope you are staying safe and healthy, and staying home as much as possible during these trying times.
For those who have time to read — some of us I’m sure — my publisher is putting several books on sale for 99 cents. Some of these are the first book in a series or set, and my first novel, Black Tide, is included. Black Tide is Book One of the Color Mage set. Here’s a link to Hydra’s post showing all of the sale books.
Thoughts During the Pandemic
So we had a lot of rain yesterday, and the little creek that’s near our house looked like this.
This is what many of us might be feeling like right now — during this flood of bad news, a sea of worry about the pandemic that’s striking the world.
All I can do is hope that you all stay healthy, and that your friends and family stay well. We will come through this!
Some of us might be overwhelmed right now — with schedules upended, children home, worry about elderly relatives. Some of us might have way too much to do, and no time for entertainment. Others, isolated in apartments alone, might be bored.
For those who find themselves at loose ends, remember your local merchants and indie bookstores, some of whom are delivering right now as their physical shops are closed. Others have curbside pickup. If you need entertainment, remember to check with your local bookstore.
For the others, who are overwhelmed with little time for themselves, here’s wishing you some peace and time for self-care during the crisis.
Stay healthy, all!
Ohioana Book Festival Postponed
Ohio Library Association Facebook Post
The Ohioana Library Association announced today that it will postpone the Ohioana Book Festival, originally scheduled for April 25. This is not unexpected under the circumstances of this COVID-19 pandemic. The new date is still to be decided on. I hope to be able to be there at the rescheduled festival. Also hope you all stay healthy and secure during this time!
Genre Books by Women!
Happy International Women’s Day 2020!
In honor of the day, I’m posting a list of some female authors of outstanding science fiction or fantasy. Warning: this is a very partial list, because as I write I keep thinking of more and more authors. Women are well-represented in this field.
Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash
Anne McCaffrey, of course. The Dragonriders books are classics. And in spite of the dragons, they’re science fiction, not fantasy.
Ursula K. Le Guin. The Earthsea trilogy, and Left Hand of Darkness in particular.
N.K. Jemisin. The Fifth Season, Broken Earth trilogy. Hugo Award winners and outstanding books!
Lois McMaster Bujold. I enjoyed the Vorkosigan Saga in particular. Wonderful space-opera series.
Kate Elliott. The Jaran series was written in the early 1990s. It’s an adventure with great worldbuilding and complex, realistic cultures. One of my favorites.
Melissa Scott has written some good Stargate tie-in books, which I love, but my favorite is her novel Five Twelfths of Heaven and its sequels.
Martha Wells won a Nebula Award for All Systems Red, the first in her Murderbot Diary novellas, and a Hugo for the second.
Robin Hobb has written many fantasy novels. My favorites are her Farseer trilogy and Liveship Traders trilogy.
Doris Egan is a screenwriter and producer, but she also wrote a novel in the mid-1990s called City of Diamond. I love a book with complex characters and motivations, and this is one. Unfortunately the sequels were never written.
Ellen Kushner, author of Swordspoint, an excellent and complex fantasy that has a vibe of Regency England and surprisingly has no magic.
Octavia E. Butler. Parable of the Sower and Kindred, among many other outstanding works.
And … so many more! For International Women’s Day, check out the work of an author you haven’t read before, or re-read an old favorite.
Street Art in LA’s Arts District
I’m back from a trip to Los Angeles, tired but without coronavirus I hope (crosses fingers for luck). While there I was lucky enough to go on a DTLA Walking Tour of some of the murals in the LA Arts District. Here are just a few samples I really enjoyed!
Actually, this one is from Santa Monica! It’s by Ruben Rojas and Cloe Hakakian.
By Ricky Watts, at The Container Yard
By Chris Shim at The Container Yard
By Wrdsmth at The Container Yard
By Solomon Souza at The Container Yard
“When Magic Betrays” Interview
I was happy to do an interview with author Wayne Turmel on his blog. I really enjoyed answering his questions about Taylenor, my main character Jaena, and some of my favorite books. Here’s the link to the interview on his blog.
Wayne is also an author. He writes historical fiction and is now branching out into urban fantasy with his upcoming novel.
Half Price Books Signing
Dayton area book-lovers: I’ll be at the Half Price Books in Beavercreek on Sunday, December 1 from 1-4 pm with my new novel, Taylenor! I’ll also have the Color Mage epic fantasy novels with me, reissued with the new covers. Stop in and say hi! Also: books make great gifts!
Grove City Mistletoe Market
I’ll be one of the vendors at this year’s Grove City Mistletoe Market on December 7. This will be a family-friendly celebration with a lot going on — see the linked post. There’ll be vendors selling unique, creative gifts and art — and I’ll have my fantasy novels available, of course! If you’re in the area, stop in and enjoy the market!
Kirkus Review of Taylenor
“Jaena’s palpable sense of duty toward Wiel is a much more intriguing story thread than the catastrophes that serve as a call to adventure in many fantasy novels.” — Kirkus Reviews
A short review of Taylenor was just published on kirkusreviews.com. Here’s a link to the full review.
Street Art in Portland’s Alberta Arts District
Not very many words in this post — just pictures of awesome street murals in Portland, Oregon’s Alberta Arts District. We visited there last week and were fortunate enough to escape the rain. I’m going to attempt to credit the artists correctly if I can find the info online. There’s a lot more street art in Portland if you ever visit, and even a map online through Portland Street Art Alliance. Enjoy!
Mural by Pablo Gonzalez
“Six Strong”, by Michelle McCausey, Darci Johnson, Una Kim, Corie Hinton, Heidi Elise Wirz, Lucid Rose
Forest for the Trees mural by Mateu Velasco
To Oregon with Love, Blaine Fontana
“Machine”, by Tom Cramer
