Bull Spec

Newsletter 2023.1: Leigh Bardugo, Grady Hendrix, new and returning conventions, new books, and more

Posted on 2023-01-11 by montsamu

Vol 11 No 1. Wednesday, January 11, 2023: OK, so, the past three years have been… something. (Understatement much?) As we navigate how to have in-person events again, there’s a few of note this month, along with a year of conventions ahead, and plenty of books to read and talk about.

UPCOMING EVENTS, JANUARY 2023

11 (Wednesday) 8 pm — A virtual event ahead of MarsCon in Virginia Beach this weekend, Raleigh’s own Madison Metricula Roberts hosts a “tailgate and preview” Facebook live stream which asks: “Excited for MarsCon? Join us Wednesday night to hear previews of the music, events, friends coming, and more!”

13 (Friday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books presents an off-site event at NC State’s McKimmon Center, Leigh Bardugo | Hell Bent (OFF SITE). Alas, the event is sold out, but it’s quite the keystone to kick off the in-person events calendar this year.

18 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Again at Quail Ridge Books, Culley Holderfield in conversation with Heather Bell Adams | Hemlock Hollow (In-store). Holderfield is a Durham author, and this “haunted cabin” novel is his debut.

19 (Thursday) 7 pm — He’s baaaaaaack! Quail Ridge Books hosts Grady Hendrix | How to Sell a Haunted House (in store) as the oft-visiting author returns with his newest novel.

19 (Thursday) 5:30 pm (signing) / 6 pm (talk) — Flyleaf Books hosts Joanna “Jo” Sisk-Purvis presents THE WATCHERS, another debut novel from a local author, this time a YA fantasy adventure.

20 (Friday) 7 pm — Chapel Hill’s Epilogue Books/Chocolate/Brews presents Cool. Awkward. Black. with Karen Strong and Tracy Deonn at the Varsity Theatre. “Blerds and Black creatives are invited to an evening of expression to center and celebrate the many experiences of being cool, awkward and Black. This event coincides with the January 10th release of Cool. Awkward. Black., a YA anthology of short stories. Karen Strong, the anthology’s editor, and Tracy Deonn, a contributor to the anthology, will be joining us as special guests. There will also be light refreshments, spoken word, swag, and more! Friends, family, and all ages are welcome.”

30 (Monday) 6 pm to 8 pm — Books and Beer at Charlotte‘s The Casual Pint (14236 Rivergate Pkwy) with authors John G. Hartness, Rachel A. Brune, Patrick Dugan, and James P. Nettles.

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Review: Queen of None by Natania Barron

Posted on 2020-11-17 by montsamu

In which a publisher sends an advance review copy of Chapel Hill author Natania Barron’s forthcoming novel to me, but my wife claims it as her own:

*Queen of None* by Natania Barron (Vernacular Books, December 2020)

When Anna Pendragon was born, Merlin prophesied: “Through all the ages, and in the hearts of men, you will be forgotten.”

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Newsletter 2020.1: Voices Rising, Kwame Mbalia, Scott Reintgen, Kim Stanley Robinson, Madeline Miller, and more

Posted on 2020-01-21 by montsamu

Vol 10 No 1. Friday, January 10, 2020: Well. It’s been a while, eh? It’s a good thing absolutely nothing happened since May of last year, or else this newsletter would get quite unwieldy! Seriously though, there will needs be omissions from the second half of last year to get this out sometime this (new) decade, but what a year we had and are going to have, with books, readings, conventions, awards, and more.

First, if it feels like we should have been meeting up in person this past weekend, but somehow weren’t, that’s because illogiCon took a year off to reorganize and secure a new hotel for 2021.

Second, do see the last section of the newsletter for the complete upcoming events listing, but before the end of January we’ll see the multi-author “Voices Rising” reading at Flyleaf, Kwame Mbalia at the Chapel Hill Library, a Jeremy Whitley comics workshop at Quail Ridge Books, and the launch party for Scott Reintgen’s newest book, Ashlords. And! Some highlights of the further-ahead events include Kim Stanley Robinson’s February appearances at the NC Book Festival, the Flyleaf Books reading with Dept. Of Speculation author Jenny Offill for Weather, and (again at Flyleaf) Madeline Miller visits for the paperback release of Circe.

HAPPENINGS

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The year in NC science fiction and fantasy, part 3 of 3: Beyond the Triangle

Posted on 2018-01-13 by montsamu

Picking up as promised from part 2, which was a deeper dive covering new books from the greater Raleigh-Durham area, let’s take a look at the incredible variety (and volume!) of speculative fiction published last year from across North Carolina, organized into five geographic areas: Charlotte (and surrounds), The Triad (Greensboro and surrounds), The Mountains (Asheville and Boone and so on), The Coast (Wilmington and New Bern and so on), and, of course, “Other.” Enjoy!

CHARLOTTE and SURROUNDS:

The domain of Gail Z. Martin, A. J. Hartley, Renee Ahdieh, John Hartness, Darin Kennedy, and more, Charlotte’s speculative fiction scene continues to flourish.

Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist, #1) Cathedrals Of Glass A Planet Of Blood And Ice Firebrand (Alternative Detective, #2)

On the heels of her immensely successful The Wrath and the Dawn series, Ahdieh this year launched a new series with Flame in the Mist. Billed as Mulan meets 47 Ronin, the book follows the daughter of a prominent samurai as she infiltrates the group of assassins who waylaid her on her way to an arranged marriage. Continue reading →

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The year in NC science fiction and fantasy, part 2 of 3: The Rest of What’s Best from the Triangle

Posted on 2017-12-31 by montsamu

Wait, what’s this? New non-newsletter content at bullspec.com?! Yes, indeed! But, you say, part 2? Where’s part 1? I’m glad you asked!

I was very pleased indeed that Indy Week editor Brian Howe invited me to contribute another “local books in review” column this year, as he also so graciously did in 2015 and 2016. Entitled “Though the Triangle Produces All Kinds of Books, Its Genre Writers Make the Most Noise. Here Are Some of Our Favorites of 2017.“, this year’s edition covers my “top 10” of local science fiction and fantasy (and a couple more genres, just in case), including science fiction by Durham author Mur Lafferty, Cary author Gray Rinehart, Raleigh author John Kessel, Durham author Michele Berger, and Pittsboro author David Drake, fantasy from Chapel Hill author Natania Barron, Lewis Shiner’s collection Heroes and Villains, John Darnielle’s Universal Harvester, and Eryk Pruitt’s “Southern-fried Fargo noir” What We Reckon, as well as Lafferty’s fantastic writing-workshop-in-a-book I Should Be Writing: A Writer’s Workshop.

Heroes and Villains by [Shiner, Lewis]

I’m not going to repeat what I wrote for Indy Week, so visit them online or (until the current issue disappears on Tuesday) pick up a copy somewhere out and about in the Triangle area. (Or, you know, subscribe to Indy Week, ok? Ok.)

Still, as an article intended for print, there were limits: word count, column inches, photo sizes, etc. Here online, I can go on and on — and you know I will — about everything else book-shaped in terms of science fiction and fantasy from the Triangle this year.

I’m going to start with the year in YOUNG ADULT speculative fiction, because I just couldn’t figure out a way to fit it into my Indy article, and these books really, really should be considered right up there with the best of the year in local books: