Kirstyn McDermott’s collection Caution: Contains Small Parts is about to become the new volume in the critically acclaimed Twelve Planets series – it will be launching at Continuum in a couple of weeks!
Meanwhile the very talented and hard-working Amanda Rainey, who is responsible for the gorgeous Twelve Planets covers, talks with David McDonald about how writers can get the best out of working with a cover designer.
Everyone’s talking about Kindle Worlds this week, the plan to monetise (some) fanfic for registered media properties. My thoughts: so… you’re going to offer fanfic authors the chance to make money off their product, but tell them what is and isn’t appropriate content, and control their intellectual property? Wow, that’s going to spark off some Internet smackdowns that will make the Harry/Hermione-Harry/Ginny wars look like gentle conversations. Fanfic is a heavily self-regulated community, and they have SYSTEMS, people. This is… well. It’s gonna be interesting.
The posts I’ve most enjoyed on this topic for their critical thoughts are those by Diana Peterfreund and the Angriest.
Kameron Hurley has written a spectacular essay about the portrayal of women in fiction as well as history, and how damaging and problematic narratives are sometimes the easiest to write even when you know better: We Have Always Fought: Challenging the Women, Cattle and Slaves Narrative.
Meanwhile Peter M Ball talks about King’s On Writing, and how the advice in the book can be damaging to writers. No such thing as universally good writing advice, people!
A cute & in-jokey comic about female comics creators as a superteam by the spectacular Amy Mebberson.
Worried about the Blake’s 7 Reboot? Check out this audio version, featuring Colin Salmon (a wonderful Avon!), a Scottish Servalan and Benedict Cumberbatch. I got quite addicted to these a few years ago, and glad they are getting a re-release thanks to teaming up with Big Finish. I wasn’t convinced by their casting of a new Vila or Jenna but they did make up for it by dragging back Michael Keating for the very cute ‘When Vila met Gan.’
I think the most comprehensive post on the Big Questions that arose from the final episode of the latest series of Doctor Who can be found here on Den of Geek – plus some very entertaining macros of John Hurt.