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!

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.

The Nerd Daily lists SCORPICA as a Book to Devour!

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It has been A Week around here and I have honestly lost track of what I’ve posted about and what I haven’t. Thank goodness I can look back at the blog itself and see.

So it looks like I haven’t shared this particular bit of good news yet: SCORPICA made The Nerd Daily’s list of Fantasy and Sci-Fi Book Releases to Devour in 2022!

The books are listed by month of release so you can set up your schedule for what to devour when, and I love seeing SCORPICA’s gorgeous cover (with art by Victo Nghi) pop out of a row like this:

Want to see all the other good stuff coming in the first half of the year for SFF fans? Take a look here.

Scorpica on BookBub's list of Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2022!

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I often get a heads-up on reviews, honors and other book-related news items, but not always. And sometimes the unexpected discoveries are extra-fun.

Like today, when I got a BookBub email with a link to “Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2022,” and of course I opened it and skimmed it, looking at the familiar names, and then — BOOM! Scorpica was right there with the likes of upcoming books from John Scalzi, Melissa Albert, Mike Chen, Tamsyn Muir, and other SFF luminaries.

Check out the list of 23 awesome reads here!