Page 24 of posts by: montsamu

The Hardest Part: L. Jagi Lamplighter on The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin

Posted on 2013-12-04 at 15:29 by montsamu

I've had my eye caught repeatedly by the covers to Virginia author L. Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero's Daughter series, which borrows from Shakespeare's The Tempest and other classical sources to create a robust modern fantasy. But not all sources of inspiration and creativity and setting are so easily borrowed from, as she writes here for "The Hardest Part" guest column series.

The Hardest Part: Filing off the Serial Numbers

When I was twelve, I started my first novel. My father

Posted in The Hardest Part | Tagged L Jagi Lamplighter

Friday Quick Updates: Local Black Friday and Small Business Saturday alternatives; another Carolina Book Beat focus on local sf on Monday; and the latest on the regional author holiday book expo next Saturday!

Posted on 2013-11-29 at 14:10 by montsamu

Friday November 29, 2013: While I'm probably somewhere in between the sentiment offered by Shimmer and the most commercial of line-up offerings at the big box stores, I did want to send out a roundup of what's going on this weekend, along with some other news.

FRIDAY

First, though, that Shimmer offer, a free download (PDF, epub, and/or mobi) of Shimmer Issue 17, with Bull Spec "alums" Katherine Sparrow, Lavie Tidhar, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and local writers Jordan Taylor (I first read about her story

Posted in Friday Quick Updates, Uncategorized

The Hardest Part: Sofia Samatar on A Stranger in Olondria

Posted on 2013-11-27 at 13:40 by montsamu

I was delighted when Bull Spec poetry editor Dan Campbell bought one of Sofia Samatar's poems, and we worked to sneak "The Year of Disasters" into issue #7 last year as her debut novel, A Stranger in Olondria, was due that summer. Buzz was already building and Small Beer Press soon released a multiple chapter PDF preview which I happily devoured, waiting for more. But, as sometimes happens, the book was moved to this year's publishing schedule instead. Released to some fantastic reviews early on (Library

Posted in The Hardest Part

Monday Musings: A local author holiday book expo at Atomic Empire on Saturday December 7; and miscellaneous news

Posted on 2013-11-18 at 16:03 by montsamu

Monday, November 18, 2013: The big news today is that after thinking about it and half-planning to do it for a number of years now, this year we're actually going to have a local author holiday book expo where local authors will be on hand to sign and personalize their books. So far, the lineup includes:

• Natania Barron (Geek Mom and Pilgrim of the Sky)
• Clay and Susan Griffith (Vampire Empire paranormal Steampunk alternate history adventure book trilogy, various graphic novels)
• Matthew Ross (The Secret

Posted in events

Friday Quick Updates: MACE, Chapel Hill Comics hosts Ed Piskor, and 3 days remain to kickstart Purgatory Pub

Posted on 2013-11-15 at 21:22 by montsamu

Friday, November 15, 2013: All recovered from NC Comicon last weekend? While in the Triangle the sole event this weekend is the Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree) Chapel Hill Comics signing on Saturday, for folks further West, Steve Long is among those heading to MACE, "The Carolinas' Best Gaming Con", in Charlotte this weekend, which boasts Paizo Publishing's Jason Bulmahn along with a trio from Pinnacle Entertainment Group as its guests of honor, and also involves Davey Beauchamp, so there is a high

Posted in Friday Quick Updates, Uncategorized

The Hardest Part: Jeremy Zerfoss on Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

Posted on 2013-11-13 at 14:56 by montsamu

Life is sometimes a fortuitous sequence of events and meetings all leading to someplace interesting. For example: artist Jeremy Zerfoss started doing work with Jeff VanderMeer; I was publishing a review of VanderMeer's non-fiction collection Monstrous Creatures and found room for Jeremy's fantastic limited edition dust jacket cover; and then was later able to commission Jeremy to put together his amazing cover for Bull Spec #6 to celebrate all things VanderMeer. Looking back, I barely remember the process

Posted in The Hardest Part | Tagged jeff vandermeer, jeremy zerfoss, wonderbook

Monday miscellany: call for winter short stories for charity; the Odyssey workshop announces winter classes; and the Piedmont Laureate Program seeks candidates for its short fiction award

Posted on 2013-11-11 at 19:15 by montsamu

Monday, November 11, 2013: Here I'm just going to put out three unrelated things that I've been meaning to write about but just haven't found the time or space to do so.

1. TRIANGLE RADIO READING SERVICE ISSUES CALL FOR LOCAL WRITERS WINTER STORIES

First, and this one's a long, long time in coming, with a hat tip to Pete Wood for sending along this call for stories, on behalf of Triangle Radio Reading Service:

Triangle Radio Reading Service is planning a "Local Writers' Christmas/Winter Stories" program

Posted in Uncategorized

November newsletter: Bull Spec turns 4; NC Comicon this weekend; event updates for 2014; Kickstarters; and more

Posted on 2013-11-07 at 19:43 by montsamu

Vol 3. No 11. November 7, 2013:

Well, I had hoped to get the regional holiday book buying guide ready before this newsletter, but I haven't, and I need to get the November newsletter sent out before its Ides come marching along. So! Look for the guide in the coming weeks and in the December newsletter, and in the meantime, I've done a decent (though not complete) job of keeping the 2013 preview updated.

So! Bull Spec launched officially on November 6, 2009, making yesterday the 4-year anniversary. Wow

Posted in newsletter

News: Quail Ridge Books to host author Carrie Vaughn on January 17, 2014

Posted on 2013-11-06 at 20:43 by montsamu

Well, well, well. It's early November and already our fantastic local bookstores are working on 2014 events, the first of which on my calendar -- other than illogiCon of course! -- is now set for Friday, January 17, when Raleigh's Quail Ridge Books will host author Carrie Vaughn at 7:30 pm.

[caption id="attachment_2625" align="alignnone" width="211"] Author photo by Timothy Siobhan[/caption]

Vaughn is the author of the Kitty Norville urban fantasy series (from Kitty and the Midnight Hour in 2005 through K

Posted in events | Tagged carrie vaughn, quail ridge books

The Hardest Part: Mike Allen on The Black Fire Concerto

Posted on 2013-11-06 at 13:00 by montsamu

I know Roanoke, VA author Mike Allen primarily through his fantastic speculative poetry (his poem "Hungry Constellations" is currently featured at Goblin Fruit) and in his role as editor of both his poetry journal Mythic Delirium and his anthology series Clockwork Phoenix. But he's also quite an accomplished short fiction writer, with stories in Solaris Rising 2, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Weird Tales, and his Nebula Award nominated story "The Button Bin" in Helix. (Though, admittedly, I didn't catch it until

Posted in The Hardest Part | Tagged Haunted Stars Publishing, mike allen, the black fire concerto