A while ago, John Scalzi had a post on his blog about what he terms “the flying snowman.” The post and comments there are worth reading, but basically, it’s the question of when an element in a work of speculative fiction suddenly makes the reader snap out of it and say, “That’s ridiculous! That couldn’t happen!” In other words, where the ( Read more... )

2012 may be the year the world ends, but we've still got eleven months of shameless news, and we're starting off the year with a bang!

Anne Nesbet's THE CABINET OF EARTHS hit shelves this week, to some massive fanfare among critics:
“a-shimmer with magic” (Horn Book ( Read more... )

As promised, here is another collection of books eligible for the Andre Norton Award, as recommended in the comments to the previous post!

Plus, a discussion in the comments led to the realization that mid-grade books are also eligible for the Andre Norton. So, the mid-grade books featured in the Inkpot this year are also included below.

Remember, ( Read more... )

It's voting time! For those of you who are members of SFWA, Nov. 15-Feb. 15 is the voting period for the Nebula Awards -- and for the Andre Norton Award, which covers young adult speculative fiction published in 2011. (more info here, or here if you are a SFWA member)

Needless to say, a lot of the books featured on the Inkpot this year qualify for ( Read more... )

I beg forgiveness. Second Shameless post in a row that I've not posted until Sunday? How, exactly, is it supposed to be "Shameless Saturday" on Sunday? Fail, fail, fail.

But I was running around to a bunch of author events yesterday so I'm going to forgive myself. :)

Just a few pieces this week, but they definitely deserve the spotlight!

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Today we welcome (back) to the Inkpot Jaclyn Dolamore. Last time she was here, it was to talk about her debut, Magic Under Glass; today she discusses her second book, Between the Sea and Sky, one of the 2011 mermaid books we talked about in Monday's post.


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For many people, the quintessential mermaid is Ariel of The Little Mermaid. For me, it’s the siren in The Mermaid Summer by Mollie Hunter - a wild, beautiful, and selfish creature to whom humans are mere playthings.


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I’m thrilled to welcome debut author Rae Carson to the Inkpot today! Rae’s The Girl of Fire and Thorns, which went on sale yesterday, is the first in a new high fantasy trilogy featuring intrigue, religion, ancient mysteries, desert battles, and a princess named Elisa who is not yet aware of her strengths.

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We have a couple of Inkies with debuts coming out in the next two weeks... But more on that later.

First up, speaking of new books, Kate Milford's second book, THE BROKEN LANDS, a prequel to THE BONESHAKER, set in Brooklyn, just showed up as available for preorder on Amazon! It hits shelves in May 2012.

Ellen Booraem's SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS ( Read more... )

I am delighted to welcome to the Inkpot Kim Harrinton, the author of CLARITY, a fast-paced paranormal murder mystery.


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