Guest Post: I Don't Call It Rural Fantasy by Deborah Coates

I'd like to welcome Deborah Coates, author of Wide Open a new paranormal/fantasy novel released this month. Later today you'll get my review of Wide Open, so stay tuned!

I Don't Call It Rural Fantasy
by Deborah Coates

Which is...odd?  I guess?

In the best of all possible worlds, rural fantasy would be the underpopulated equivalent of urban fantasy.   But one of the things I write about are the parts of rural life that don't get touched on much.  Not transplanted New Yorkers or cottages by rivers or mountain folk who live up the hollow.  Those are all fine things to write about, but there's a lot more going on in the rural parts of this country (and I'm pretty certain in the rural parts of lots of other countries) and rural fantasy as a phrase doesn't feel to me as if it describes those other aspects of rural life.

I write about ranchers and farmers, about people who can't get jobs because there aren't any jobs to get, about tractors and ATVs and pickup trucks, about shotguns and hay balers and bison and cattle.  I write about flyover country, about the parts of the USA that people think they know but generally don't.

Did you know that 40% or more of all farmers in the USA are over 55?  That the average age of a farmer in Iowa is 58?  That the price of an acre of land in Iowa in 2011 was $6,708?  The average size of an Iowa farm is 330 acres which means that it would cost approximately (obviously, some acres are worth more than others) 2.2 million dollars just to buy the land for that average farm.

None of that is what many people think of when they think of rural or rural fantasy.  They think of 'Bubba,' of guys with missing teeth, of a woman in a flannel nightgown with a shotgun.  I know that's so because I see those images on the covers of books and I read about them in stories in magazines.  Do I think those people don't exist? Nope.  I know they do.  And frankly if you live in the country, you probably want a shotgun (rabid animals, predators).  But they're a small slice of the diverse people who live and work outside the urban and suburban US.

Are there serious problems in the rural US?  Yes, there are.  But they aren't the whole story and, in addition, many people don't understand what those problems actually are.

So, if I don't call it rural fantasy, what do I call it?  Well, I call it fantasy first.  Wide Open has ghosts.  It has several kinds of magic.  And I call it contemporary.  It is set today.  In our world.  For me, Wide Open is contemporary fantasy set in western South Dakota.

You can call it rural fantasy.  I don't.  Though maybe I should.

In Wide Open, Hallie Michaels comes back to western South Dakota after being gone for four years in the army:

Big Dog’s Auto sat on the western edge of Prairie City, a cornfield directly behind and prairie stretching to the west. The near bay held a red pickup on a lift; the far bay, two motorcycles, a car engine on blocks, multicolored fenders, and the hood from a vintage Thunderbird stacked against the wall. Cars were parked three deep along the side of the shop, two with the hoods raised and one jacked up and the right rear tire removed.

Brett came out of the office to the left of the garage bays while Hallie was rummaging in her duffel, digging out a jacket. The temperature had dropped another five degrees during the twenty-minute drive into Prairie City. The deputy—what had Lorie called him— Davies, was sitting in his car out on the road, like he didn’t have anything else to do, which he probably didn’t, because nothing ever happened in Taylor County. Other than Dell hitting a tree—and where was he then?

“It’s going to be at least two hours,” Brett said. “He’s got to run over to Templeton for a tire.”

“Jesus.” Hallie rubbed her hand across her eye.

“Sorry,” Brett said. She tilted her hat up and stepped back on the heel of her boot. Hallie remembered that Brett liked things to work and to keep on working. Sometimes she convinced herself to ignore things that didn’t fit with what she wanted, like that her car was old and parts wore out. “Lorie’s getting a ride with Jake when he gets off work,” Brett continued, “but that’ll be, like, an hour. Maybe your dad can—”

“I can give you a ride.”

Hallie turned and looked at the deputy, who had approached as she and Brett were talking.

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You can follow Deborah Coates on Twitter or Goodreads.

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Guest Post: Michael Scott and Colette Freedman - 13 Most Favorite Thrilling Books (or Authors)

Hi everyone! I'm pleased to introduce Michael Scott and Colette Freedman, authors of the recently released The Thirteen Hallows (review). Since their new book is deliciously thrilling, I thought it would be nice to have them share their 13 favourite thrilling books or authors. Take it away!

My 13 most favorite thrilling books (or authors)
1. Lois Duncan "Down a Dark Hall"
2. Robert O' Brien "The Silver Crown"
3. Stephen King "Misery"
4. Robin Cook "Coma"
5. Michael Crichton's "The Andromeda Strain" (the new one, Micro is fabulous too).
6. Robert McCammon “They Thirst.”
7. Thomas Harris “The Silence of the Lambs.”
8. Shirley Jackson “The Haunting of Hill House.”
9. H.P Lovecraft – read them when you’re young and they will haunt you forever!
10. Joe R Lansdale – everything! He is THE master storyteller.
11. Matthew Reilly – the Scarecrow novels.
12. Lee Child – everything/anything. He gets better with each book.
13. Robert E Howard “Conan.” (Guess which one of us added that title!)

Michael Scott

Irish-born Michael Scott began writing over twenty-five years ago, and is one of Ireland's most successful and prolific authors, with over one hundred titles to his credit, spanning a 
variety of genres, including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Folklore. 

He writes for both adults and young adults and is published in thirty-seven countries, in over twenty languages. 

Praised for his “unparalleled contribution to children’s literature,” by the Guide to Children’s 
Books, Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin’s tenure as European City of Culture in 1991, and was featured in the 2006 edition of Who’s Who in Ireland as one of the 1000 most “significant Irish.” 

Collette Freedman

COLETTE FREEDMAN is an internationally produced playwright, screenwriter, and novelist who was recently named one of the Dramatist Guild’s “50 to Watch”. Her play Sister Cities (NYTE, 2009) was the hit of the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe and earned five star reviews: It has been produced around the country and internationally, including Paris (Une Ville, Une Soeur) and Rome (Le Quattro Sorelle). She has authored fifteen produced plays including Serial Killer Barbie (Brooklyn Publishers, 2004), First to the Egg (Grand prize shorts urban shorts festival), Bridesmaid # 3 (Louisville finalist 2008), and Ellipses… (Dezart Festival winner 2010), as well as a modern adaptation of Iphigenia in Aulis written in iambic pentameter. She was commissioned to write a modern adaptation of Uncle Vanya which is in preproduction and has co-written, with International bestselling novelist Jackie Collins, the play Jackie Collins Hollywood Lies, which is gearing up for National Tour. In collaboration with The New York Times best selling author Michael Scott, she has just sold the thriller The Thirteen Hallows, to Tor/Macmillan, which comes out Dec 6, 2011. She has just sold the novel The Affair to Kensington and is getting ready to shop her YA series The A+ Girls. 

The Thirteen Hallows

Tor Books
December 6th, 2011

The Hallows. Ancient artifacts imbued with a primal and deadly power. But are they protectors of this world, or the keys to its destruction? 
A gruesome murder in London reveals a sinister plot to uncover a two-thousand-year-old secret.

For decades, the Keepers guarded these Hallows, keeping them safe and hidden and apart from each other. But now the Keepers are being brutally murdered, their prizes stolen, the ancient objects bathed in their blood. Now, only a few remain.

With her dying breath, one of the Keepers convinces Sarah Miller, a practical stranger, to deliver her Hallow—a broken sword with devastating powers—to her American nephew, Owen.  The duo quickly become suspects in a series of murders as they are chased by both the police and the sadistic Dark Man and his nubile mistress.  

As Sarah and Owen search for the surviving Keepers, they unravel the deadly secret the Keepers were charged to protect. The mystery leads Sarah and Owen on a cat-and-mouse chase through England and Wales, and history itself, as they discover that the sword may be the only thing standing between the world… and a horror beyond imagining.  

The Thirteen Hallows is the beginning of a spellbinding new saga, a thrilling tale of ancient magic and modern times by a New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning playwright.

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Guest Post: Adam Christopher on "The Masked Men of Empire State"

I'm pleased to introduce Adam Christopher, author of the newly released Empire State, published by Angry Robot. You know I love me some superhero fiction and Adam is here to talk about the superheroes in Empire State.

Adam Christopher was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and grew up watching Pertwee-era Doctor Who and listening to The Beatles, which isn't a bad start for a child of the 80s. In 2006, Adam moved to the sunny North West of England, where he now lives in domestic bliss with his wife and cat in a house next to a canal, although he has yet to take up any fishing-related activities. Adam's short fiction has appeared in Pantechnicon, Hub, and Dark Fiction Magazine, and has been nominated for the British Science Fiction Association, British Fantasy Society, and Parsec awards. In 2010, as an editor, Adam won a Sir Julius Vogel award, New Zealand's highest science fiction honour. When not writing Adam can be found drinking tea and obsessing over DC Comics, Stephen King, and The Cure. He is also a strong advocate for social media, especially Twitter, which he spends far too much time on avoiding work.

You can visit Adam on the web by clicking here.

The Masked Men of Empire State
When the cover for my novel Empire State was revealed (created by the magnificent Will Staehle), a few people wondered – apparently genuinely – whether the book was going to star Wesley Dodds, aka the Golden Age version of the DC Comics superhero, The Sandman. Of course the answer was no, but I did wonder how they might have reacted had seen an early version of the cover which featured (purely to test figure positioning) the profile of Batman rather than the Skyguard…

Empire State is a science fiction noir with added superheroes – “Raymond Chandler meets The Rocketeer in Gotham City”, and given the strong comic book/graphic novel influence, I had a lot of visuals I wanted to work into the novel. One thing I’ve always loved about pulp fiction and comic books of the 1930s is their compelling, dramatic imagery: lots of scowling men in fedoras, guns at the ready, while bizarrely costumed superheroes flew through the air – and more often than not both types of character would even appear on the same cover.

There were some Golden Age superheroes who were slightly more subdued than, for example, the Golden Age Green Lantern. The Spirit wore a hat and trench coat with just a domino mask for disguise, as did the Crimson Avenger, albeit in bright red. Wesley Dodds – the Sandman – went a little further, adding a flowing cape over his double-breasted suit (later switched for a regular trench coat in the mid-90s Vertigo revival, Sandman Mystery Theatre) to go with the gas mask under his hat. But at least with Dodds, the gas mask had a purpose – he was armed, after all, with a gun full of sleeping gas.

In Empire State, Mr Grieves and Mr Jones wear gas masks, trench coats and fedoras, and one of them even wields a strange, fat-barrelled revolver not entirely dissimilar to the Sandman’s gas gun. But while the gun was an affectionate – and deliberate – nod to Mr Dodds, the mask, hat and trench coat actually came from somewhere else entirely.

Years ago I had a book, the title of which escapes me, about life on the home front in Britain during World War II. I found it fascinating, particularly the photographs which showed people going about their lives in as normal a way as possible. One such image leapt out at me, showing a man casually walking down the street, trench coat flapping and fedora at a jaunty angle… and gas mask firmly in place. It’s tempting to say this image, or one very like it, inspired writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman to create Wesley Dodds in the first place, but as The Sandman first appeared in 1939 it’s hard to say for sure.

That wartime snapshot – which I discovered years before I started reading comics and knew anything at all about The Sandman – was so striking I knew I’d have to use it one day. And when Empire State came along, it fitted perfectly; I had two characters that needed some very special equipment, but being a period piece and the noir nature of the story, their gear couldn’t be too outlandish or it would be laughable. The remarkable juxtaposition of fedora and gas mask came to mind immediately, an image so powerful that it even made it to the book’s cover.

Wesley Dodds, eat your heart out.

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More on Adam's book, Empire State:

The Empire State is the other New York. A parallel-universe, Prohibition-era world of mooks and shamuses that is the twisted magic mirror to our bustling Big Apple, a place where sinister characters lurk around every corner while the great superheroes that once kept the streets safe have fallen into dysfunctional rivalries and feuds. Not that its colourful residents know anything about the real New York… until detective Rad Bradley makes a discovery that will change the lives of all its inhabitants.

“Adam Christopher’s debut novel is a noir, Philip K Dick-ish science fiction superhero story… As captivating as a kaleidoscope… just feel it in all its weird glory.” – Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother

“Stylish, sinister, and wickedly fun, Empire State is not your average sexy retro parallel universe superhero noir.” – Lauren Beukes, award-winning author of Zoo City

A big thank you to Adam for stopping by!

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In Which I Guest Post at Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf!

Hey everyone! I wanted to let you know to check out my Halloween-themed guest post over at Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf! Lucy is a fellow Montreal book blogger and I am so happy I got to participate in her Halloween event. Please check it out!

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Guest Post: Want Some Romance in Your Fantasy and Science Fiction? A List by Janicu

With Valentine's Day coming up I started thinking about what options I had to do a special post about romance in relation to fantasy and science fiction. Immediately I knew I was not the one for the job, even though I do read some romantic speculative fiction, I am no expert. So I asked Janicu of Janicu's Book Blog to do a guest post about the subject. She deals with romantic speculative fiction and I find her blog a great source on the genre. She also writes great reviews. I hope you enjoy her post as much as I do!

Want Some Romance in Your Fantasy and Science Fiction? A List 
by Janicu

In sixth grade, I discovered Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman's books, starting with the Dragonlance Chronicles. Three boys and I passed the books back and forth between ourselves at recess. We were just rabid for them. After Chronicles we read Legends, then we branched over to the Darksword series, The Rose of the Prophet, and The Star of the Guardians. I think the fantasy genre was my first love amongst genre fiction, but as I read more of it I realized that I was happiest when there were also romantic elements. It really doesn't need to be much. I'm most drawn to those stories where a couple takes their time to fall in love. It's not love-at-first-sight and serious chemical reactions that get me (although those are good too, if done right), and in speculative fiction, that's often the type of love story you get. A couple may meet and there may be something there, but they have other things to do (see Sagan and Maigrey from The Star of the Guardians). They fall in love slowly, sometimes over several books, and in the meantime there's a lot of wonderful world building to go along with it. So I get two things I love this way: world building plus romance. To this day I still gravitate towards these kinds of books, and that's why I've subtitled my book blog as "reviews by a speculative fiction romantic".

Over the years I've been reading this stuff there are some books that I think are excellent (if not essential) introductory reads in speculative fiction with romantic elements. It may be years since I read some of these, but they made a big impact when I first read each and I've reread most of these at least twice.

Archangel by Sharon Shinn (Gabriel and Rachel). This is the first in the Samaria series, but it can be treated as a standalone (as all books in the series). People were transplanted to Samaria hundreds of years ago by their god, Jovah. It's a world led by angels, but the latest angelic leaders have taken to vice and corruption. Its next archangel, Gabriel is a different man from the current despots, but he's dragging his feet on one of his duties: getting married. Unfortunately for him, he has no choice. He and his wife have to lead the Gloria in praise of their god, Jovah. If they don't do it, Jovah will destroy the world. So six months before Gloria, Gabriel goes to find out who his wife is -- a woman who has been chosen by Jovah and discovers it's a slave named Rachel. A woman whose people have been ill-treated by majority, she wants no part of angels or Jovah.

Don't let the talk of angels and a god named Jovah scare you off. Religion is just a part of the world building and there are elements of both fantasy and science fiction as well as the obvious romance in this one. Gabriel and Rachel are an atypical couple. Rachel has some serious backbone, and Gabriel is a straightlaced guy. They're both obstinate and unhappy about marrying the other, but ultimately they find ways to meet each other halfway without losing themselves. There's something I seriously loved about these two, and it's my favorite book in the series.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (Meliara and a secret admirer). I'm cheating a little here because Crown Duel is actually an omnibus of two young adult books - Crown Duel and Court Duel. Meliara is a countess but lives in a run-down home with her brother and father and don't have much to do with the royal court until Meliaria swears on her father's deathbed to do something about the corruption of the current king. Intent on doing the right thing, but really not knowing a thing about current politics, Meliara spends much of the first book putting her foot in it. There are wince-inducing parts but Meliara always prevails and still manages to stay honest and likable.  She gets a secret admirer in book 2 and this is when things get good (I prefer the second book to the first, but you need to read the first book to get the background story). Through a series of letters she's wooed and eventually realizes she's fallen in love. As a reader, there's an obvious guess as to who her admirer is, but it's a lot of fun watching Meliara being clueless and then finding out. When she does -- it's just precious. This book has given me a soft spot for secret admirer romances, but I haven't run into enough of them (suggestions welcome).

The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee (Jane and Silver). I'm always worried that this one doesn't get enough press because of the title (Amazon has 88 5-star reviews though, which makes me feel better). Seriously though, you have to read it. First of all, Tanith Lee is an amazing writer and her world building in this one is stellar. Jane is a milquetoast heroine, fading into the background around her rich, spoiled, friends and her controlling mother. She's one of the pampered elite in a futuristic city, but she has no purpose. Then one day she sees Silver, a robot so lifelike he seems human, and she becomes obsessed with him. Eventually she runs away with him into the inner city, and in the process she grows up.  I cry every time I read this one, but I still read it when I'm particularly down. Somehow it gives me hope despite it's bittersweet ending. I find it a beautiful story. There's also a sequel, years later with different protagonists, called Metallic Love.

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Harry and Corlath). Sigh. Do I even need to explain this fantasy story? There are so many parts of this book that have been emblazoned in my memory. Harry cringing before the force of kelar in Corlath's eyes when they first meet, and his realization that she needs to come into the desert with them. So this Outlander girl is snatched up by the Hillfolk while she slept and taken into the desert because Corlath's magic urges him to, and she has to adjust to life that is very different from hers. There's a lot of action and hard work on Harry's part but she steps up to every challenge. I love how Aerin of The Hero and the Crown is an inspiration to Harry. And the public declaration of love in this one is swoon-worthy. This one holds up to multiple rereads.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Howl and Sophie) - This book was my favorite book for a long time. I must have checked it out of the library compulsively when I was a teen. I think part of the reason I love this book is that I'm the oldest of three kids, and I've always hated how the eldest in fairy tales was the first to fail and the youngest was the hero/heroine who triumphs at the end. Sophie is the eldest of three daughters and has similar opinions to my own about this load of malarkey perpetuated by the fairytale industry. She deals with her lot in a pragmatic way that ends up being very funny, and I love how being cursed into looking like an old woman gave her an excuse to be as nosy and forthright as she really wanted to be. She and Howl had an amusing banter, and even though Howl is one of the more vain and mercurial heroes out there, his charm won me over. It pains me when people don't realize that the Hayao Miyazaki film is (loosely) based on a book.

The Changeover by Margaret Mahy (Laura and Sorry) - This is another favorite book of my teen years. Hmm, there's actually a lot of YA in my list isn't there? This one is about Laura, who has a younger brother who gets preyed upon by a sort of paranormal creature who needs his life force. Laura has some sensitivity to the paranormal so she knows that her brother's illness is magical, in the same way she knows that Sorenson Carlisle, an odd boy in her school, is a witch. Laura has a good relationship with her family, especially with her mom, a single parent who has recently started dating again. What I most loved however was that it confirmed through Sorry Carlisle my long held suspicion: boys are weird. His character was a quirky one -- from his reading of romance novels to his being a male witch, but he he's also such a guy in a way that makes me grin.

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