Happy April! In New England, we’ve gotten a lot of rain and some snow. Great. It’s also my birthday month. What will I be doing to ring in twenty-nine, you ask? Well, right now the only thing on my calendar for my actual birthday is a 3pm therapy session.
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Sarah wrote up a great summary and response to RWA’s statement on diversity. If you’re looking to read more books by authors of color this year, the twitter account Diverse Aesthetics is a good resource. It hasn’t been updated in a while, but there are still plenty of tweets to go through. Additionally, I cannot recommend WOCinRomance enough.
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A note from Sarah: Each week I email out tips and suggestions on how to declutter your schedule and organize you time using Google Calendar and all its many powers. I’m also answering your questions about how to organize a tricky task or repeating appointment – and I’ve helped a number of people so far.
If you’d like to join the list, please sign up!
My goal is to help you gain more control of your time and your schedule so you have less of that can’t-catch-up, overwhelmed feeling we all dislike so much, and instead have more time to read. (That should be the slogan on a Facebook ad or something, shouldn’t it? “More time to read? I’ll tell you how!”)
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Stacey Abrams, a Black romance author running for office in Georgia, keeps kicking ass:
Marie Claire: Do you feel like an outsider?
Stacey Abrams: Always. Look at the power structure I’m facing right now running for governor in a country where there is not a single African-American governor. But I want people to understand that while being an outsider is something you must acknowledge, it is not a permanent impediment to success.
MC: How do you stay positive?
SA: I was at an event recently with mayors from across Georgia. A gentleman whom I had previously met and who recently won an election for a city council position came up to me and said, “I won my election; I told you I would,” and I said, “I know.” And he said, “You just have to speak it into existence”; I said, “That’s what I’m doing.” He smiled and said, “You know, I don’t know if we’re ready for you yet, but I’m glad you’re trying.” So even in his moment of joy about his success, he told me,“But you’re not going to win because you’re black.” When this first started happening—especially when coming from people I’ve known for years, whom I admired and who I thought shared my vision for my path forward—it was very nullifying. But I remind myself that though this might be the biggest stage on which I’ve stood, it’s not the first time I’ve faced these questions. And I’m not doing this alone. I may be the only one with my specific profile, but there are women, people from the LGBTQ community, Muslims who are seeking to reassert their patriotism after being denounced by many, and all of us have naysayers and doubters. We must remind ourselves that our success is inevitable.
Don’t forget to vote this year!
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Are you a queer individual who loves trivia? Autostraddle needs you!
Autostraddle is putting together queer trivia nights around the US in April. This is the one in DC but there are many others being planned that I know of. This page will have the list – and if you’re interested in putting together a trivia night, get in touch with them!
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Want more woman-driven fantasy? Check out this awesome flowchart! Which others would you recommend and how many of these have you read?
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Don’t forget to share what super cool things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
It’s funny that I don’t consider myself much of a “fantasy reader” but I’ve either read or have in my TBR or wish list almost every author on that flow chart. Maybe I’m just not much of a “fantasy-written-by-dudes reader.”
Right now I’m reading the second novel in Skyla Dawn Cameron’s Livi Talbot series (first Solomon’s Seal, second Odin’s Spear) and loooooooving it. Heroine is a magical artifact hunter, disgraced celebutante, single mother, and subject of interest to a hot Korean tiger shifter. Multiple layers of conflict, interpersonal and action-adventure, and everything goes together beautifully, like she’s a woman living with all her responsibilities at once and can’t shut off her various roles according to what time it is (weird, right?). And the tomb raider parts are just crazy fun.
Did you see how Amazon started deranking erotic romances about a week ago? Apparently they kinda, sorta, possibly, maybe reversed course on it, but who knows?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/adamrowe1/2018/03/31/amazon-deranked-romance-titles-week-restoring/amp/
I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to recommend this – it’s not romance, but a fantasy/alternate history with several strong women and friendships between them. It’s called The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss. It’s set in an alternate Victorian London where characters we know from fiction are real. The main characters are the daughters (biological or “adopted”)of several fictional mad scientists – Dr. Jekyll, his alter ego Mr. Hyde, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Frankenstein, and Dr. Rappacini (who I had to look up – from a Nathaniel Hawthorne story). It’s really well written and entertaining. It’s also apparently the beginning of a series, but doesn’t suffer from info dumps – some of the characters tell parts of their backstories, but in a way that fits into the narrative.
Thanks for linking to the fantasy flowchart – I look forward to checking out some of the titles that I haven’t read yet.
A book that didn’t make the chart but which people might like is Rosemary Kirstein’s Steerswoman series. From the description:
It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I remember my brain feeling very happy as story elements began to click into place.
I second Katy’s recommendation for Strange Case. It’s a lot of fun.
Can I share a thing I made? I’ve had so many people ask me for romance recommendations that I made a website/flowchart to help people find good books!
http://www.jenreadsromance.com
I always recommend Katherine Addison’s THE GOBLIN EMPEROR and I’m glad to see my beloved, Robin Hobb and the first of her Farseer Books, ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE. I highly recommend that series. Thanks for the flow chart 🙂
Regarding the flowchart, I missed some of my favorites – Octavia Butler, Sharon Shinn, Melissa McShane, Meredith Katz, Megan Derr, Genevieve Cogman, Sasha L. Miller, and Maria Turtschaninoff, and YA authors Marissa Meyer, Jessica Day George, Tamora Pierce, Rysa Walker, Patricia Wrede.
Also, Sherwood Smith and Ursula Le Guin deserve mentions, as well as the new author Margaret Rogerson.
Some of these authors were mentioned in the ‘Further Reading’ section, but I missed many of my favorites.
There were great authors on the chart – EVERYONE should read N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy.
@Jen – what a great site! I love that you have some of Jeannie Lin’s books, she is amazing.
I saw a lot of my favorites on there, as well as titles that I have been wanting to read, and new-to-me books.
Thanks for the link.
@Ren Benton, I don’t know if I should thank you or not. I read “Korean tiger shifter” and my brain clicked off to its happy place for about 20 minutes. Had to scramble to remember who I was on hold with and why. And yes, 20 minutes on hold.
@Jen, great chart! Thanks for sharing.
The chart was really good, but I think they could have added a YA portal. There’s some really amazing stuff in YA fantasy, with people like Sabaa Tahir, Justina Ireland, Tomi Adeymi, Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Holly Black, and Sarah J. Maas going hard and producing some really awesome books in the fantasy genre.
A few months ago, I realized that I really hadn’t read many works by WoC, so I decided to change that. I started with NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy. It was the best thing I read in 2017!
That flow chart is pretty disappointing. I see several science fiction novels categorized as fantasy. The Fifth Season is more accurately categorized as science fiction, but I understand why one would assume it was fantasy, especially at first. I LOVE To Say Nothing Of the Dog, but it’s TIME TRAVEL SCIFI, not fantasy! I’ve never seen Handmaid’s Tale described as fantasy (Atwood herself called it “science fiction or, if you prefer, speculative fiction”). Frankenstein is frequently presented as “the first true science fiction story.” And those are just the ones I recognize.
I’m really looking forward to reading Stacey Abrams’s memoir and learning more of her story! It has been so fascinating to watch her run for office. I’ve mentioned her to all of my friends who live in GA!
@Pamala Not sure if you know that Katherine Addison is the pseudonym of Sarah Monette, who under her own name has written some pretty swell fantasy novels.
@hng23 Hi! Yes I do know that Katherine is Sarah’s alter ego but thanks for bringing the other books into the light. The Monette books are great too 🙂 Reading this thread, I see LOTS of other names of authors whose books I enjoy and I’m glad someone else mentioned them. It’s always so hard, trying to make a list comprehensive, right? 🙂
Love the flowchart! I’ve read at least 15 of the ones mentioned, the would number spike if I went by author rather than book title.
Some big names not on the chart are Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Madeline L’Engle, and Lois McMaster Bujold. (People who like this list might want to look at this shirt: https://store.bookriot.com/collections/badass-broads-of-sff)
I would also add Cathrynne Valante, Patricia Wrede, Anna-Marie McLemore, Ursala Vernon, C.S.E. Cooney, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, and Eugie Foster as favorites.
Just wanted to point out that Stacey Abrams – who writes romantic suspense as Selena Montgomery – has already run for and won, and held statewide office in Georgia. Among her many awesome accomplishments, Abrams was until recently the House Minority (Democrat) Leader of the Georgia General Assembly. She stepped down to focus on running for Governor (the Primary is May 22).
Take a look at the MarieClaire article that Amanda links to, above, and if you’re as intrigued and excited about Stacey Abrams as this former Georgian and current SBTBster is, check out her official website ( staceyabrams.com ) and volunteer/send money/buy a baseball cap!
This woman is my newest hero – and my all-time hero, Congressman John Lewis endorses her for Governor.
(Thanks, Amanda, for the link. In all of the daily minutiae, I had forgotten to send Abrams a donation)
Just in general, let me plug r/Fantasy as a subreddit. Reddit has some awful sections but that sub is a bit of a shining light. I’m a semi-regular poster and it’s broadened my reading in a big way, and there are a lot of authors and people in the publishing industry who contribute too.
I will vote for Stacy Abrams in a heartbeat.
@Ren – I think I just broke my one-click finger based on your description of the Skyla Dawn Cameron. Magical artifact hunter plus disgraced celebutante? Plus all the other goodies? It’s a book I didn’t know I needed til now! Thanks!
Have you read the Jenn Stark Immortal Vegas series? Another magical artifact hunter series, with a tarot twist. Getting Wilde, the first book, is currently free.
@Heather Greye: I have not, but for free, I will give it a shot. Thanks!
Before I got distracted by expanding my TBR, I had come here to add a trigger warning for my previous recommendation that I hadn’t yet reached or I would have mentioned it sooner. In chapter 30 of book 2, there’s an attempted rape that is very psychologically realistic from a victim perspective, and I found it many times more chest-punching to read than any of the ubiquitous casually violent male-gaze depictions of brutality toward women because of that realism.
Not rescinding my endorsement, just putting up CAUTION markers for those who know they need them. If you choose to read, when your brain starts shrieking “DANGER BAD BAD THIS IS BAD,” your instincts are correct, and you can go ahead and skip forward to chapter 31, when escape has been made and support is supportive.