Corporate review!

Check out my review of The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross!

Hooray for sales!

Just learned that my piece of horror entitled "The Feet Eaters" sold to Aberrant Dreams for publication sometime in 2007. I'm very happy about this one as I've always enjoyed AD's stories, and this tale of creepy turtles and things under lakes is a personal favorite of mine.

Blog banner

I've updated the above banner. I originally stole--I mean, borrowed--it from the Slush God, but most of the ones on it were either dead (SCIFICTION and Fortean Bureau) or zines I've actually never read (Asimov's [don't be too shocked] and Weird Tales).

It now has covers and links to magazines that I either 1) am in/forthcoming in or 2) really enjoy. Yes, I'm not in Black Gate, but that magazine's too awesome not to put up there.

So see? I'm sharing the love with lots of linkage. Hopefully I'll make a trillion more sales and can just have an entire blog's worth of magazine covers...

The Fortress of Glass

Check out my review of David Drake's The Fortress of Glass, his latest offering in the Lord of the Isles series!

Books not for review

Not every book I read gets reviewed. Sometimes it's nice to just read something, put it back on the shelf, and move on to another item. Here are some of those books:

• Map of Bones by James Rollins
• The Light Ages by Ian R. MacLeod
• Mélusine by Sarah Monette
• Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

In actual reviewing news, I hope to have some things written up for the latest books by David Drake, Charles Stross, and David Eddings. I finished my review of Jigsaw Nation (very good!) the other day and submitted it to SFReader. It's a bit long, but hopefully they'll take it...

Lord of the Reviews

Check out my review for The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke! It's a fun YA novel set in Venice and contains some of the most distinct characters I've experienced so far. Inkheart is another great book by Funke, and pretty soon I'll be starting its sequel, Inkspell.

Night Fairies

My piece of flash fiction entitled "Night Fairies" is now up at AlienSkin Magazine for their August/September 2006 issue. I enjoy the accompanying piece of artwork, if only for how much it doesn't match up with the story. So check it out!

Heliotrope debut!

My good friends at FantasyBookSpot, Damon, Dacco, and Jay, have just revealed the title and first issue of their e-zine. It's called Heliotrope, and boy does it pack a punch.

Articles by Jeff VanderMeer and R. Scott Bakker, short fiction, amazing artwork, and several reviews. Surely, this is just the start of a great e-zine. So read up (it's free), tell them your thoughts on it--and if you're feeling generous--give them a donation. This is a work of labor and love. Great job, guys!

Book meme

Here's a book meme I wasn't tagged to do but am going to fill out regardless:

1. One book that changed your life?
I'm going to have to go with Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I read this shortly after the movie came out (somewhere back in 1995) and was blown away by how much better the book was than the movie. I was young then, and really had no idea how to discern if something was good or bad or just plain mediocre. I did know, however, was that Jurassic Park was fun to read. It got my imagination all spinning like a top. That's a book that really fueled me forward to devour book after book after book...

2. One book you have read more than once?
This is an easy one to answer: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. To date, I'm sure I've read it at least five times. It's a standalone novel from the Discworld series, and features two of my favorite characters ever. There's Om, the short-tempered god stuck in the body of a one-eyed turtle, and Brutha, dumb but oh so likeable.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?
I guesss I'd want something deeply involving. Maybe Perdido Street Station by China Mieville.

4. One book that made you laugh?
I'm going to have to go with Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Possibly one of the funniest collabs to date, the apocalypse has never been more of a joy to read.

5. One book that made you cry?
A Separate Peace by John Knowles, and that's all I'm saying about the matter.

6. One book you wish had been written?
Hmmmm...tough one. How about Paul and the Great Sushi Avalanche?

7. One book you wish had never been written?
The entire Wheel of Time series. There, I said it.

8. One book you are currently reading?
Currently, I'm working on The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross. Quite good so far.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?
When I find the time (and actually buy the book) I'd like to read Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton. Dragons, dragons, dragons.

10. Now tag five people.
You, him, you, you, and her.

DKA review!

My review of Issue 33 of Dragons, Knights, & Angels is now up on Tangent Online. Feel free to check it out!