Chattering

Book review: a Curse of Gold and Beauty

BJ Sikes, authorLeave a comment

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

Pandemic: are we done yet?

BJ Sikes, authorLeave a comment

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?

Buying books from Bookshop.org

BJ Sikes, authorLeave a comment

I love bookstores. There’s nothing quite so thrilling as entering a new bookstore to see what I can discover, to find the treasures displayed on the shelves, and peruse real paper books. Sadly, my life (and probably yours too) doesn’t always allow me to wander the aisles of my local independent bookstore. It’s so easy to just buy that book you know you want online and have it shipped to you. But that would take away business from those cool little local bookstores. So here’s a solution to that. Bookshop.org is a socially-conscious way to buy books online. They dedicate most of their profits to supporting local, independent bookstores, authors, and publications that cover books.

You’ll see purchase links for my books that direct to Bookshop.org because I really want to support MY local bookstore and hope to encourage you to support YOUR local bookstores.

Thanks, folks.

Quote for the Day 5-20-2023 — A Writer’s Life

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“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”― Dr. Seuss

Quote for the Day 5-20-2023 — A Writer’s Life

I’m going to extrapolate from that quote and say that historical fantasy is looking at history through the wrong end of a telescope. Except the telescope has an iridescent lens so it all looks magical.

Book Review: The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy Shipps

BJ Sikes, authorLeave a comment

I reviewed this book after receiving it as part of an Early Reviewers’ batch at LibraryThing, an alternative to GoodReads. The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy C. Shipp was a great read! I blew through this book in just a couple of hours. It ambled along in a delightfully weird way before blowing up into a heart pounding climax that took me by surprise.

We are introduced to Seraphina, a snarky actress compelled by poverty to play the part of a Princess at children’s parties. Her voice as the narrator, utterly sarcastic and somewhat despairing, is captivating. Despite the dire situation she is in, she is still a blast to read about.

She receives word that her sister is in some sort of lovefest hippie cult and is alarmed. Soon after, she  hears that her sister’s in a coma after falling at the cult’s retreat center. Seraphina is sure that the cultists had something to do with it so decides to investigate the retreat center. However, she is NOT a competent investigator and instead finds herself enjoying her time as a cult member and even falling in love.

The setting, an abandoned amusement park in the woods called Goblintopia, is creepy AND silly. There are many great descriptions of all the weirdness which I loved. It was surreal and atmospheric. Most of the cultists are goofy and aptly named Merry Dredgers. Except for that one. <shudder>

All in all, I really enjoyed this book! Definitely for readers who enjoy silliness with their magic realism.

Remember that Unwoman playlist?

BJ Sikes, authorLeave a comment

So because I wrote The Vitruvian Mask to an Unwoman playlist, I really wanted to use some of her lyrics as the epigram in the book. I asked and she said yes. SQUEE! So of course I had to give her a signed copy of the book when she performed at Clockwork Alchemy. Indie artist cross pollination! Maybe Adelaide will show up in an Unwoman song. In my DREAMS.

Clockwork Alchemy 2023, day 2!

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Part of Authors’ Alley with Dover Whitecliff

Day 1 was a blast, now looking forward to spending time with the rest of the authors and steampunks at day 2 of Clockwork Alchemy.

My schedule today involves taking part in the Fashion Show at 2pm and the Scientists and Spiritualists panel at 4pm. Then Authors’ Salon After Dark for the spicy version of Hot Potato School of Writing.

Clockwork Alchemy day 1!

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Masked person held by tentacles of person in giant orange inflatable squid costume.
Shenanigans from Clockwork Alchemy 2022

I am attending Clockwork Alchemy, a SF Bay Area steampunk conventiom this weekend! The event is at the San Mateo Marriott and promises to be lots of fun. This year’s theme is Villains and Heroes. I’m still deciding which one I am. https://www.clockworkalchemy.com/

I will be presenting two panels today (Friday)

3pm: Mapmaking for Villains and Dungeon Masters. My dear friend Dover is heading up this hands on workshop and I merely her willing minion (she’s def a Villain). I love maps so looking forward to this one.

4pm: Convergence of Steampunk and Solarpunk. I have dabbled in solarpunk and hope to write more. On this panel with a couple of erudite folks.

Please stop by Authors’ Alley and say Hi if you’re at the event!