Tag: Fantasy (nonspecific)

Author Spotlight: Janine Spendlove

Erin Penn

Wattpad Cover

Ever meet a person that inspires – really inspires, Janine K. Spendlove is one of those. She writes. She publishes other people work when she has time. But that isn’t all. I mean, that stuff is cool. But there is more; sky’s the limit for her.

Janine K. Spendlove is a KC-130 pilot in the United States Marines. More than that, she is an officer. She has been a liaison in Washington DC and overseen squadrons. Some of her story is shared on Whattpad in Earning My Wings: A Mormon Woman’s Journey to a Marine Corps Aviator. 

And should you think that the hardening to be Marine Pilot and Officer would stop her from having fun, she also loves knitting, making costumes, and playing guitar.

With most of her time consumed by the Corps and random stationing for her and her husband around the world, her few times at a keyboard are focused on short stories; her published works have appeared in Time Traveled Tales, Athena’s Daughters, and Dogs of War – to name a few. She even managed to kick out a four-book YA fantasy series – War of the Seasons. Many of her stories focus on the military or military thinking (go figure), but they also hold a lot of diverse characters.

Some of my friends shared a Facebook post she made after viewing Captain Marvel. In it, she opened up her heart about being a female military pilot. She shared about her geek love of all things Marvel from the Avengers to the Black Panther. She told us about how some of her experiences paralleled Carol Davners, including being told to leave the Man’s Branch, as well as called out scenes she loved in the movie.

What hit home the hardest for me though is the following:

“But Captain Marvel gave me something no other film has truly managed to before now: I felt represented on screen as the big movie hero.

I look at Carol and take away all her superhero powers and what is she? A woman who volunteered to serve her nation…”

“I sat back afterward and was like ‘is this how every single male peer of mine feels after watching war movies with prominent heroic military characters?’ Because, y’all, it was an amazing feeling.”

Think about picking up some of her works – the shorts stories, novels, or non-fiction. The full list can be found on her website: https://www.ailionora.com/works/ 

Geeking Science: Writing Prompts

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of Somkiat Fakmee at FreeDigitalPhotos.net4

Over at Mythcreants, they put together eight natural phenomena to use in your stories. These are really geeking cool science phenomena on Earth and in Space.

  1. Lake Vostok
  2. Ball Lightning
  3. Solar Flares
  4. Gamma Ray Burst
  5. Natural Nuclear Reactors
  6. The Space Roar
  7. Catatumbo Lightning
  8. The Great Science

Read the details at “Eight Natural Phenomena to Use in Your Stories”. https://mythcreants.com/blog/eight-natural-phenomena-to-use-in-your-stories/

WRITING EXERCISE: Our world is weird. Using one of the eight phenomena, or another weird science fact, write a flash. Science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, or other fantasy option – have the phenomena play a critical role in the turn of the story BUT remember the characters are the star.

Book Review: Greatshadow: Book One of the Dragon Apocalypse

Erin Penn

Book Cover from Amazon

Greatshadow: Book One of the Dragon Apocalypse by James Maxey

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

A classic sword and sorcery dungeon crawl to hunt a dangerous dragon! 

After stealing a priceless relic from the Church of the Book, Infidel is the world’s most infamous mercenary. Now she’s got her eyes on a new prize, the fabled treasure trove of the dragon Greatshadow. Joining forces with a band of dangerous rogues, can she survive her own allies long enough to face the dragon? 

MY REVIEW

The world creation of the primal dragons is great. I love why they became what they are and look forward to future books of the Dragon Apocalypse. The three systems of magic ruling the world (blood, weaving and dreams) plus the multi-religious powers with each being right in their own way add another level of flavor to the story.

And then the uniqueness of the point-of-view character keep pulling me forward. It is not every day the POV dies in the first chapter. Truly an inspired twist that was never a gimmick. 

But the most important thing is the characters and storytelling. The characters are all flawed, likable (but not lovable), and not in any sense of the understanding “good” guys. The story drives relentlessly forward on a trip that leaves you gasping.

I have previously read James Maxey’s superhero stories, which, while inventive, I did not like. I decided to give Mr. Maxey a second try because he writes extremely well with twists never seen before. And I glad I have. He has made a unique fantasy world; not all unicorns and butterflies, but then the series title of The Dragon Apocalypse kind-of lets you know that up front.

Greatshadow is a solid beginning to an interesting series.

Book Review: Athena’s Daughters Vol 2

Erin Penn

Book Cover from Amazon

Athena’s Daughters Vol. 2, an anthology published by Silence in the Library (presently closed).

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

Maze running executioners, menopausal super heroes, psychic scientists, precog nuns, sentient crows . . . These are just a sampling of the diverse ladies that will enthrall, excite, and entertain you in this anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories written by women.

 

MY REVIEW

A well-balanced, diverse anthology.

Second of the Women-centric anthologies from Silence in the Library and a much faster read at *only* 330 pages of manuscript fiction and 21 stories. The volume still suffers from the unevenness of skill is present in all anthologies, especially since the editors make a point of developing new writers as well as using some amazing “anchor”/mature writers. Also, again, amazes at the DIVERSITY of characters – Hispanic, black, Asian, white, old, young, middle-age, straight, gay, and doesn’t impact the story. These are stories about women, all females, the full-spectrum of the bearers of double-X chromosome. And the stories themselves range from science fiction to fantasy, past to future, sad to joyous, one-shots to a side story in an established series. 

Now to the standout stories
“The Killing Garden” by Carrie Ryan – An amazing character/sociological piece the editors put at the very beginning of the book. If you read nothing else in this anthology, read this historical drama.

“Red is the Color of Mother Dirt” by JY Yang – A political sci-fi. A wonderful sociological study (and anyone who has read my reviews knows how much I love great worldbuilding), which is amazing to find in a short story. So little room to create a whole world while also introducing and developing characters and telling a complete story. Ms. Yang did this all with grace.

“The Black Mamba and the Leopard” by Alison J McKenzie – A folk-myth fantasy-thriller. Loved the main character and her problem solving skills. Not quite the must-read of the Killing Garden, but close. A five-star story in my opinion.

“The Miraculous” by Tess Tabak – Written in second person. No, really, second person. I’ve heard about stories like this, but never seen one. And the story is about what happens after the Zombie Apocalypse you just survived. Did you ever think loneliness…monotony… would be the biggest issue? You understand the main character very well by the last sentence.

“Hot Flash” by Antha Ann Adkins – Another excellent superhero origin story (with an amazing illustration). And I thought only teenagers had the hormonal instability to set off a superhero mutation. 

“Crow Bait and Switch” by Tish E. Pahl – A cuddly, creepy sci-fi. ‘Nough said.

Now read the book!

Author Spotlight: Misty Massey

Erin Penn

Amazon Cover

Misty Massey is a slow writer but a fast enabler. What I mean by that is don’t expect her to put out book after book, year after year. She is not in the book-a-month club, good-bad-or-indifferent. Instead, here and there a well-crafted novel will show up, and in between the major publications some clever short stories come out a couple-few times each year.

What she does well, incredibly well, is create communities which create things.

Her other works include – being the one of the founders and the major energy in running the Magical Words site, creating a Podcast with Faith Hunter, directing the author tracks at ConCarolinas, and developing and editing a number of anthologies including the Weird Wild West. If you want something to HAPPEN – something epic and amazing, invite Ms. Massey to the party. She will shimmy her way into some magic somehow.

Her opus and sequel center around Mad Kestrel. If you like fantasy, tall ships, and pirates, send that story and the followup, Kestrel’s Voyages, some loving because this woman is fire in our midst.