Speculating on Speculative

I was looking over my bookshelves today, trying to find something to read. It’s kind of like trying to find the right outfit for your brain.
No, not that, I can’t be sad today.
No, not that, I don’t want to pay that much attention.
Maybe that one, it’s funny and makes my butt look smaller.
What?
I stood there [...]

Questions, Questions

As a reader and a writer of speculative fiction, I’ve been mulling over some questions lately and I thought I’d ask you, Awesome Blog Readers, what your thoughts are on these subjects.
1) So many speculative fiction books are part of a series nowadays (SpecFic has always been rife with series, really). Are you more likely [...]

Zombies vs. Vampires vs. Were-things vs. Pixies

I had a great time this past weekend attending the Austin Teen Book Festival here in Austin, Texas. There were some amazing authors in attendance and it was quite impressive to be in the presence of so many famousy famous YA writers (Justine Larbalestier, Heather Brewer, Daniel Waters, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Libba Bray and more [...]

How fancy is too fancy?

When I was a kid, I wanted to read books that made me feel like they were written specifically for me. I still do. So when I read a book, I revel in the details. Not just plot details, or character details, but hidden meanings and little extras. Easter eggs, footnotes, Dickensian naming conventions, real [...]