sharing surprises!

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Hello! I know it’s been quiet around here, but surprise! I’m back. Hoping to get back in the saddle, updating this blog regularly. For one thing, the second book in the Five Queendoms series is now available for preorder, and it has a GORGEOUS cover, and I’ll be talking plenty about that in the months to come!

But for now, just a quick update! My latest Writer Unboxed post is about the power of surprise (hence the title of this post) — surprise for your characters, surprise for your readers, and surprise for the writer, too.

Read about the power of surprise.

(And stay tuned for more soon!)

Fictional matriarchies, LitHub, and yours truly!

“Why don’t we see more science fiction and fantasy novels set in worlds run by women?” It’s a question I’ve been asking myself ever since I got the idea for my epic fantasy series The Five Queendoms, and today, it’s a question I’m asking on LitHub.

In the process of talking about some potential theories behind the scarcity of matriarchy in speculative fiction, I get to call out some of my favorite recent novels that do incorporate matriarchal societies, like Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun and Samantha Shannon’s Priory of the Orange Tree. Plus I get to cover the whole sub-sub-genre trend where women can only be in charge if most or all of the men get killed off — what’s up with that?

And here’s the kicker:

Some reasons for avoiding matriarchal settings are solid; some are sketchy. But here’s what I hope: I hope no writer out there is avoiding setting their story in a matriarchal society because they think it’s already been done.

Read more here!

The Big Idea behind SCORPICA!

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Ever wondered what inspired me to take a break from historical fiction to kick off the massive endeavor of writing an epic fantasy series set in a matriarchal world called The Five Queendoms? I wrote it all up for you! And you can read it on John Scalzi’s fabulous Whatever blog.

Because a female-default culture wouldn’t be just the opposite of male-default culture, just as matriarchy isn’t just a flipped version of patriarchy. I wanted to read about a society where women’s concerns were primary, leading to not just different models of female power but different family structures, different models of child-rearing, different prejudices and judgments. What would marriage in a culture like that look like? Who might rule them? What gods would form their pantheon?

And as with so many authors, because I couldn’t find the exact book I wanted to read, I ended up writing it.

Read the whole story here.

GIRL IN DISGUISE makes an appearance at CrimeReads!

Just a little palate-cleanser here in case you’re tired of hearing about SCORPICA! This is the great thing about having multiple books out in the world — you never know which one’s going to pop up when or where.

Deanna Raybourn, who writes the fabulous Veronica Speedwell mystery series, recently put together a great list of her “favorite books featuring a question of identity,” and was kind enough to include GIRL IN DISGUISE. I’ve already told her I want the first part of this sentence on my tombstone.

Greer Macallister is always a great bet, but in Girl in Disguise she outdoes herself, fictionalizing the career of Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton detective.

Read: Who Do You Think You Are? A List of Identity-Switching Mysteries over at CrimeReads.

Take Five at Writer Unboxed: all about SCORPICA!

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You’ll see a lot of interviews popping up about SCORPICA as it hits shelves this week (!!!), and here’s one of my favorites: Take Five at Writer Unboxed. I’m a longtime contributor at the site, writing monthly about everything from gifts for the writer in your life to the responsibility of world-building to tips for a great cover reveal. But every once in a while, instead of writing a post, I get to be the interview subject! So I answered five questions about SCORPICA.

Click here for the interview.

new review at CHIRB: The City We Became

I’ve been lucky enough to read some great fiction for my gig at the Chicago Review of Books lately, including N.K. Jemisin’s THE CITY WE BECAME, a fascinating blend of mind-bending fantasy and harsh American reality. My verdict? “Jemisin has been quoted as calling this story ‘my chance to have a little monstrous fun after the weight of the Broken Earth saga,’ and it does read far lighter than that series. But it’s still laced with Jemisin’s trademark rigor, a sharp eye on systems and values that doesn’t let anyone or anything off the hook. It isn’t a book to fall asleep to, but a book to wake up with, when your mind is fresh and ready and open.”

Read the full review here.