I never know where this adventure of writing will take me. In between working on new projects, I occasionally write guest posts for other bloggers. Recently I was invited to post on Review Tales, a popular book review site maintained by editor Jeyran Main. You can check out the post here.
What I’m Writing
Want to know what was going on in Tlefas before Flight of the Spark? You won’t have to wonder long. If all goes well, Game of Lies, a prequel novella, will be available this spring.
And not to worry, I’m also hard at work on the sequel to Flight of the Spark.
What I’m Reading
Head On
Months ago, my husband suggested Head On by John Scalzi. I’m just sorry I waited so long to pick it up! It’s a clever sci-fi mystery wrapped up in a sports story.
From the back cover:
In a post-virus world, a daring sport is taking the US by storm. It’s frenetic, violent and involves teams attacking one another with swords and hammers. The aim: to obtain your opponent’s head and carry it through the goalposts. Gruesome? No—because the players have Haden’s syndrome. Unable to move, Haden’s sufferers use robot bodies, which they operate mentally. So in this sport, anything goes, no one gets hurt—and crowds and competitors love it.
Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field.
From the start, I was drawn to the main character, Chris, who is not only an FBI agent, but has Haden’s syndrome. The author does a fabulous job showing us how people with Haden’s would live, from caretakers for their physical bodies to renting robots, and a myriad of details in between. The murder mystery is complex, the dialogue crisp, and the ending satisfying.
Stone of Fire
I’ve followed Joanna Penn’s writing blog for years, but never read one of her books. Silly me.
Mix an action-packed thriller with the supernatural, and you get Stone of Fire, a tremendously entertaining read. An Oxford University psychologist is forced to search for mysterious stones hidden since the day of Pentecost when her sister and niece are held hostage. She’s helped by an agent from a secret agency that studies the supernatural. The pair follow legends of the early church to find the stones before the hostages are killed.
This is one where you’ve just got to go along for the ride, as in a few spots, things are just too easy for our heroes. But in others, circumstances just couldn’t be worse. If you’re looking for a fun action read, this could be for you.
And, by the way, Stone of Fire is free.
Any book suggestions? Tell me about them in the comments!