Fantastical histories for modern feminists
Now is your best chance to find my entire ebook collection for a promotional price at @Smashwords as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale! Find my books and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos all month! Sale ends 31 July 2023. #SWSale2023 #Smashwords
What is your favorite season of year? Why?
It’s my FAVORITE season of the year, Autumn, and my favorite indie musician Unwoman has just released a new album, Desire Paths! You can listen to it on Bandcamp now: https://unwoman.bandcamp.com/album/desire-paths
Enjoy this extremely lovely and hot image from the album’s promo materials. Desire Paths indeed!
Lots of authors worry about the number of words they write per day. Some even post the tally on Facebook or Twitter as if they’re in some kind of competition. And if they’re not writing at least 500 or 1200 or 2000 words or whatever quota they’ve set, they feel miserable. Why aren’t they working […]
Is Writing a “Muscle”? Should You Write Every Day?
After hearing SO many people claim that ‘real” writers write every day, it’s refreshing to hear an alternate approach.
True confession: I don’t write every day (gasp!) but even the days when I am not writing, I am thinking, planning, researching, editing, etc., my stories.
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
…there are three hens in my back garden who are silly, silly creatures. They don’t do anything in particular that’s odd for a chicken and yet their antics make me giggle. Just watching them run across the garden to get to their favorite spot to scratch makes me laugh every time. Running chickens are so very silly, all waddly and plump. If I need a mood boost, I go out and watch my chickens.
W.A.Stanley’s lovely review of The Vitruvian Mask was a delight to read.
Written by BJ Sikes
There are two sides to every story. This is a truism of life that people have a tendency of forgetting, and it’s a truism that fiction often ignores. It’s far easier to tell a story where the focus is on one side, fighting for what’s right… or what the author wants the reader to believe is right. It can also result in a satisfying read that doesn’t get bogged down by presenting all sides of the argument in equal measure. The Vitruvian Mask, BJ Sikes’ follow-up to the fantastic The Archimedean Heart (my review for that went live yesterday; click here to check it out), does a wonderful job of telling the other side of the story in the battle between Naturalists and Scientists (both are proper nouns in the book’s world), without becoming the least bit bogged down. Not that The…
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I really appreciated W.A. Stanley’s in-depth, thoughtful reviews of both The Archimedean Heart and The Vitruvian Mask.
Written by BJ Sikes
Riddle me this: When is a steampunk novel not a steampunk novel? That’s a trick question, because the answer is never. Like most genres, authors can bend it to their will, to tell the story they want to tell. Author BJ Sikes is the perfect example of how an author can do exactly that, as exemplified through The Archimedean Heart. While it includes many of the trappings that fans of the genre—myself included—love, the author has written a novel that, in many ways, feels more akin to straight historical fiction than steampunk.
While the above statement may alarm the steampunk faithful, it’s no cause for concern. The Archimedean Heart is a stronger book for feeling more like a classical historical fiction. While set in a steampunk world during the Victorian Era—although in France, an unexpected location that offers a distinct European flavour—Sikes…
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This is a really fun (and droolworthy) post on Jamaican fruit. Fruit seasons!
I’m working on final (?) edits to my next book, The Cultist’s Wife whichgv is set in the Bahamas and fruit is a big deal for the children in the book. They are English and the fruit they encounter on Andros Island is like nothing they’ve ever experienced.
I did a lot of research on native Bahamaian fruit like guavas and sapodillas to make their experience more real. I’ve never had sapodilla so didn’t know what it tasted like. Ripe sapodilla is described as exceptionally sweet and malty, almost like caramel. Yum! I obviously need to visit the Bahamas again, this time to try the native fruit!
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2023/05/adversarial-conflict-who-is-making-trouble-in-your-story/
This is a great article on all the different types of antagonists but there is one missing.
The ex, as in ex-lover, ex-spouse, ex-partner. Just ask Adelaide (from The Vitruvian Mask). Her ex Henri is most definitely an antagonist.
The ex is even more of an antagonist when there are children involved. 😝
This retelling of the fairytale Rumpelstiltskin, A Curse of Gold and Beauty by Mary Mecham, was delightful. I love fairytale retellings but they often lean into the disturbing or gory aspects. Not this one. It’s so sweet. The friends to lovers story line was really well done. The protagonists are dear friends who take care of each other and fall in love because of that connection. Often in fairytales, the woman doesn’t have a lot of agency but Meg is her own person and struggles against what is expected of her. Her efforts to get around her curse were fun to read. Rhys, the Rumpelstiltskin of the story, has his own struggles but is kind, brave, and funny. The truly unique part of this story is the inclusion of a hero who is disabled but this is not the whole of his story.
Five stars, highly recommended for fans of out of the ordinary romantic characters and humor.
Find it here https://a.co/d/iszKwWz
How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?
The Covid-19 pandemic: weird times to be sure. I am still not sure that it’s over for me mentally. I spent so many months glued to the statistics, stuck at home, and only seeing people through a screen. It’s hard to get out of that mindset of fear.
I thought I would have loads of extra time to write, edits, publish stories. After all, I didn’t have to commute to work, there were few opportunities to socialize and I was home ALL THE TIME.
Did I write? Nope. Edit? Nope. I survived. No room in my head or heart for creating. Now that we are in the tail end, I have finally regained my creativity.
I still work from home and our social life is minimal so there is more time to be creative. I published a book, the first in seven years. I am close to final edits on another. That pandemic reset worked well for me.
How about you, dear reader? What has changed for you?
BJ Sikes, author 