Books (137)
Blood in the Mirror is an anthology of seven horror stories that center loosely around the theme of mirrors. Each writer’s tale is unique, and the stories range from imaginative retellings of folk tales to exorcisms, exploring pasts and futures through a genre lens that is less restricted than one would think, often contextualizing the term “horror” in their own right.
As I plow through the list of the 2020 Nebula Winners, I was very happy to see that Cat Rambo had won for Carpe Glitter. I hadn’t read it yet, but I had met her at the Nebula Conference last year and had taken a couple of her online courses, which I recommend. Carpe Glitter was the winner of the novelette category, and now that I’ve read it, I understand why.
It is the late 1800s, and Creeper is a thirteen-year-old orphan girl who lives on the streets of New Orleans and gets by stealing in this alternate history of America. Through a hard-fought battle at the end of the American Civil War, New Orleans is the only place where people of color are free, and Confederate and Union soldiers can socialize without coming to blows. Creeper hopes to escape her hand-to-mouth existence with the help of an airship captain, but life becomes more complicated when she overhears that the Rebels plan to kidnap an important Haitian scientist whose knowledge might destroy her beloved city. But Creeper has a secret. Deep inside her lies the old African God, Oya, who can be a bit capricious. Will Oya and the airship captain help her stop the Rebels, or do they have an agenda of their own?
Sequels seldom get the same attention and interest as the first film that launched a popular and enduring franchise. Regardless if it is the first film of a series or the tenth, behind each project there are individuals who are passionate about what they are working on, looking to deliver a final product that fans will enjoy. Finally, that perennial “middle child” - the sequel - is getting its day in the new CLASH Books titled Sequelland: A Story of Dreams and Screams from author Jay Slayton-Joslin.
Madeleine Holly-Rosing’s short story, “Here Abide Monsters,” was originally published in the Steampunk anthology, Some Time Later, which I had the pleasure of reviewing a few years ago. Set in the world of Holly-Rosing’s Boston Metaphysical Society, it tells the story of Duncan, a young Irish lad in pre-Civil War United States, attempting to lead Mae, an escaped slave, to freedom and safety.
I have to admit that I bought the first Murderbot novella because Amazon’s algorithms kept forcing it in my face every time I got on the site. It had a bunch of Hugo Awards attached to it. Plus, it sounded pretty cool, so I bought the audio book for when I was at the gym. (Yes, that was the time when we could all go to the gym.) It was funny, irreverent, and had me hooked. It also helped that the actor doing the narration was awesome, so I bought the rest for when I traveled to comic cons. (Miss those, too.) Soon, my husband couldn’t get enough. It was a no-brainer to pick up the novel when it came out.
A small town that is never open past sundown, a mysterious car crash resulting in the deaths of three locals, more disappearances spilling over into the next town, and a reporter trying to get to the bottom of everything. What could possibly go wrong?
The following is an interview with Leah McNaughton Lederman regarding the recent release of her short story collection, A Novel of Shorts: The Woman No One Sees. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with McNaughton Lederman about the inspiration behind the collection, her creative process in bringing the various stories to life, the impact that A Novel of Shorts may have with readers, and more!
“Over fifteen years, Supernatural has shown it is far more than your average genre show about handsome dudes who fight monsters.”
The following is an interview with Jeff Parsons regarding the horror novel, The Captivating Flames of Madness. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Parsons about the inspiration behind the story, hisreative process in bringing the story to life, the impact that the story may have with readers, and more!
