Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Last week I held a giveaway for a copy of The Young Elites by Marie Lu. It's a fantastic book and I'm so excited to share the love for this very emotional dark fantasy. The winner of the giveaway is Emma McAndrew ! Congratulations Emma, and I hope everyone else who entered the giveaway still finds a way to read this book because it is epic!

I have a confession to make. Ever since I started following Tor.com on Facebook, I've been obsessed with beautiful sci-fi and fantasy art. Tor publishes so many amazing stories, and somehow they manage to rope in amazing artists to go with them . Every time they post a new book cover, I'm starry eyed and filled with a need to get my hands on a copy of that book just so I can stare at the beautiful covers. I did some googling, and I found out that there's a whole world of SF/F artists that not only make covers for existing stories but also create beautiful pieces from their own imagination ! So here's a sampling of some of my favorites. (PS you can find more on my gorgeous book covers Pinterest board!) Victo Ngai     This is a cover for a short story on Tor.com. It's beautifully written, and based on Japanese folklore. Raw art and the book cover for Vicious by VE Schwab. The symbolism and the amount of work that goes into these covers...mindblowi...

It's Sci fi month hosted by  Oh, the Books!  and  Rinn Reads ! I was on the sci fi month blogger panel last Friday, and it inspired me to come up with this flowchart. For those of you who are new to science fiction, or for those of you who are looking for new subgenres to try out, check out this flowchart! If it's too small to read (which it probably is...hehe), go crazy with your browser's zoom or click here for the   full size version.  You'll have to drag the button at the top of the page to zoom. So which genre(s) did you end up at? Did you find anything new and exciting you want to try out?

Asti over at Oh the Books! is hosting a bingo challenge , and I thought it looked like a lot of fun. The cool thing is that you don't just have to read books to complete it: anything goes ! This means I can fit in my Doctor Who episodes and any sci-fi movies I watch along with books and short stories and graphic novels! Here's the Bingo Card: And some ideas about how I'm going to fill in the card: Superheroes - rewatch The Avengers Floating city - I'm sure there's a DW episode that has a floating city in it. I'll find it! lost civilizations - something to do with Atlantis ? Drugs and medications - I read a short story in the Rogues anthology that had to do with drugs that turned people into zombies . creeepyyyy Shapeshifters - I'll probably read something with shapeshifters in it. I'm not sure what it will be yet. and maybe I'll end up filling other squares too! We'll see :)

Title:  The Young Elites Author:  Marie Lu Genre: Fantasy, young adult My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites. Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He bel...

Title: Timebound Author: Rysa Walker Genre: YA, science fiction Rating: 3/5 stars Goodreads Summary: When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence. Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate’s genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him. Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows. Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world? ...

Sci-fi month continues! Today I have an interview with Guy Hasson, who has been involved in so many different science fiction and fantasy projects. He's a science fiction author, a playwright and a filmmaker. His newest projects include Tickling Butterflies , a serialized fairy tale; and a new digital comics company called New Worlds Comics . Check out his blog  http://guyhasson.wordpress.com/. 1. What draws you to science fiction (and fantasy)? Isn’t the real question this: “Why do ‘regular’ people not like SF and fantasy?’  When we’re kids, almost all the stories are either fantasy or SF: Fairy tales? Animals talking? Wizards? Witches? Magical beings? Dwarves? Giants? Trolls? Smurfs? What happens to people when they grow up that they suddenly block all that stuff from their minds and can’t stand or understand it? Writing SF and fantasy just means you have a wider palette to draw from and a greater canvas to draw on. 2. What recommendations do you have for...