 BLURB: In this engaging and accessible guide, Eugen Bacon explores writing speculative fiction as a creative practice, drawing from her own work, and the work of other writers and theorists, to interrogate its various subgenres. Through analysis of writers such as Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling, this book scrutinises the characteristics of speculative fiction, considers the potential of writing cross genre and covers the challenges of targeting young adults. It connects critical and cultural theories to the practice of creative writing, examining how they might apply to the process of writing speculative fiction. Both practical and critical in its evaluative gaze, it also looks at e-publishing as a promising publishing medium for speculative fiction.
This is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Creative Writing, looking to develop a critical awareness of, and practical skills for, the writing of speculative fiction. It is also a valuable resource for creators, commentators and consumers of contemporary speculative fiction. It's not often that one can read an instructional non-fiction text from cover to cover and remain engaged. But that's exactly what happened when I sat down with Bacon's new guide to writing speculative fiction. Eugen Bacon weaves together extracts from a variety of creative texts, commentary about storytelling, and anecdotes from her experiences as a teacher of creative writing to build a palatable, engaging, and endlessly useful guidebook. From an analysis of the nature of speculative fiction itself, through to consideration of th ekey elements of storytelling, and activities writers can undertake to activate their creative mind, variety is at the heart of this book. I came away with a renewed desire to write the sci-fi space story that's been (dare I say) floating in my mind for over a year. Only now, I intend to add some cross-genre elements, including a touch of horror to my futuristic world. If you are a writer and you don't finish Bacon's book with a sudden urge to write, and to write better, then I'd be at a loss to try and understand how such a thing is possible. You'll be inspired. You'll be challenged. You'll be reminded why you love speculative genres. And you'll be compelled to write.
0 Comments
  RATING: Four Stars
Ambitious Daily Sentinel journalist Lauren King is chafing on LA’s vapid social circuit, reporting on glamorous A-list parties while sparring with her rival—the formidable, icy Catherine Ayers. Ayers is an ex-Washington political correspondent who suffered a humiliating fall from grace, and her acerbic, vicious tongue keeps everyone at bay. Everyone, that is, except knockabout Iowa girl King, who is undaunted, unimpressed and gives as good as she gets. One night a curious story unfolds before their eyes: One business launch, 34 prostitutes and a pallet of missing pink champagne. Can the warring pair work together to unravel an incredible story? This is a lesbian fiction with more than a few mysterious twists. You can buy an e-copy here. REVIEWED BY REBECCA Lee Winter is an Australian writer and one of my goals has been to read, review, and promote more Australian women, as they often find it more difficult to get their work out there into the world than other writers. I'm glad I picked this book up -- for the most part, I quite enjoyed it. I struggled with the opening chapters of the book and, at first, wondered if I was going to be able to finish it. Lauren didn't endear herself to me as a character, and I found the early anecdotes of her time at A-list LA parties unexciting because I personally don't take to those sorts of characters or situations. The early mystery involving a large group of prostitutes at a corporate event also seemed like a bland mystery to be investigating. However, as I said, I ended up fairly engrossed as the story progressed. The 'Ice Queen' trope was well executed in the form of Catherine Ayers, the acerbic senior journalist mentoring Lauren with an awful lot of tough love. Ayers is intelligent, forthright, and apparently rather sexy. She challenges Lauren in a number of ways that are pivotal to the character development as well as the progression of the plot. The romantic subplot suited me just fine. There was enough between Lauren and Catherine to keep me cheering for them along the way, but as someone who isn't a huge fan of straight out romance novels (and I generally don't need/want explicit scenes in the books I read), it was just the right amount of flirting and connection. There are hints of the "men are bad rapists" cliche that I've established previously as something I quite dislike in lesbian books (not because these things don't happen in the real world, but because it felt, for a while there, that every lesfic I read relied on women being sexually assaulted to propel the drama). I could handle the cliche more in this book than in others I've read though, because the threat didn't become a reality for the character involved and I could see that the author was establishing the courage and concern of the person who comes to her aid and stands up to the sleazy guys. The story has been cleanly edited, I only spotted one typo/mistake, which is phenomenal in a novel-length work. Those pesky errors are very good at hiding, so the author and her editors did an amazing job producing such a crisp manuscript. The strongest element of this book was definitely the writing. Winter's skill with language kept pulling me onward in those opening chapters I wasn't enjoying, and kept me interested until the final page, long after the plot and characters had convinced me it was an excellent novel. The various elements of the investigation into corruption and politics were effectively planned and executed, gradually unfolding as one would expect from a high quality mystery. A fine book, indeed.  Reviewed by ANON
Genre: fantasy (fairy tale) Pairings: f/f, m/m Queer Representation: cis gay, cis lesbian, aromantic, asexual, trans Warnings: none Rating: 3.5 stars Review Generally, this was a decent anthology. It started slow, and some of the first stories had pacing issues and/or failed to grab me. The real meat of the anthology came at the end, where the stories got longer, better written, and had much better character arcs. It actually took me longer than usual to get through this book, due to the slower stories at the start, but it was well worth continuing. Some specifics on each story follow. Coming Home by Jennifer Cosgrove A M/M (cis) modern Cinderella. I didn’t have any strong feelings one way or the other on this one, likely because the writing was fine but I don’t generally get into m/m stories. I do always enjoy a good Cinderella retelling, though. Snow Fox by Sara Codair Modern Snow White (F/F, trans) with a neat social media bent. Rosa is a poor college student trying to make ends meet through ad revenue via her instagram and YouTube videos. Another social media darling wants her dead so she can be number one. Thank goodness for Cara, the hot EMT who is always around to do some saving. I really enjoyed the very different take on this Snow White story. Unfortunately I don’t think I know enough about social media to really get all the jokes in it, but I was amused, nonetheless. Deathless by Emmalynn Spark M/M (cis) fairy tale of an origin I am unfamiliar with (or possibly a mashup). Vanya, third in line for the throne, is sent to rescue his betrothed princess from an evil wizard. He trades places with the princess (sort of Beauty and the Beast like), and in his confinement, falls for the wizard. This was one of the longer shorts in the book and the romance developed at an even pace. It had a good mixing of stock fairy tale elements and traditional imagery. At Her Service by K. S. Trenten F/F (cis) cinderella retelling, with a fun twist on the saint/slut narrative. Instead of the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, we get a ‘mistress’ Ariella (around the same age as Cinders, and it’s hinted they were raised together), and the Cinderella character. Some good twists in this one, and a number of good trope-turning changes. The romance was also very palpable, although the writing could have been tightened. Shattered Glass by Lina Langley This is one of the better written (and longer) shorts in the anthology, although I am not familiar with the fairy tale it draws from. M/M (cis). It didn’t capture my attention like some of the others, but it was a very smooth read. Finding Aurora by Rebecca Langham F/F, asexual (cis) Sleeping Beauty. Talia, a master spell caster, must accompany Prince Amir on a quest to find and wake Aurora Rose, and her kingdom, else he will be disinherited. Spirits, goblins, dragons, and magic pop up everywhere in this well-paced, well-written short that would have been far better served at the start of the book than at the end. Bonus–no damsels in distress in this short, and Aurora is just as much a hero as is our master caster. Master Thief by Sita Bethel M/M, but a fairy tale I don’t recognize. Tyv is one of three brothers who sets off to find his fortune, He falls in with a group of thieves, who teach him the way of things. Although this story was well written, I failed to connect with Tyv and found him arrogant and unlikable. This is the first short in the series to have erotic content, however, so if you’re reading for a sex scene, this is where you’ll want to start. The True Love Curse by Tray Ellis F/F, M/M,aro/ace (cis) fairy tale mashup (I think). This one is definitely my favorite. Smoothly written, intricate, and all the right fairy tale elements blended together to make a really enjoyable tale. The romance is brief but strong, the characters rounded, and just enough trope boxes checked to make this comfortable, but not silly. |
ABOUT C.B.CURRENTLY ON HIATUS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDY AND WORK. Archives
August 2020
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
