A little bit of a “in case you missed it” type post with full panel recordings. Check the promos above each video to see the topics and panelists. Hope you enjoy!
Blog
TBRcon21 Recap: Wednesday, January 27th
Review: Oathbreaker by A.J. Rettger
Author Chat – Alex White
Join David as he chats with author Alex White about the first time they met, Alien, Star Trek, giant freaking robots, and so much more. Their new novel, Alien: Into Charybdis hits store bookshelves on February 23rd – https://amzn.to/3dKiQZJ For signed copies, make sure to check out Read It Again Bookstore – https://www.read-it-again.com/alex-wh…
Blood of an Exile (Dragons of Terra #1) by Brian Naslund
Review: Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer
Secret Santa was a blast to read, short, but an interesting YA paranormal mystery. This 216 pages novella mixed the spirit of Christmas with the mysteries of a demonized doll and peppered it with a dose of humour. The principal character, Lussi, was well developed — we had a great sense of who she was — her reasoning. This made the ride all the sweeter. I especially loved the publishing world backstory, which represented a proper setup for the narrative.
Bender’s “Feel Good” SFF books
Review + Signed Book Giveaway: Dragon Mage (Rivenworld #1) by ML Spencer
I was first introduced to Dragon Mage by one of my blog cohorts, David S. When I saw the very large, self-published adventure fantasy with the giant dragon on the cover… I was all in. My initial excitement was only exacerbated by some of the great reviews that were floating around about the book. Needless to say, expectations were high; and, spoiler alert: Dragon Mage does not disappoint.
Cover Reveal: Usher House Rising (The Madeline Usher Series #1) by Don Roff
Review: Taken (Alex Verus #3) by Benedict Jacka
Review: Villainous by Stonie Williams
After reading the graphic novel Villainous, I had mixed feelings. The story itself had all the tropes of a new superhero team/character coming together, but it felt rushed. I would’ve loved to get a bit more about Matilda’s relationship with her parents, to set the tone of her obligations to succeed. Also, every character from the Coalition or Villains felt one-sided or lacked depth, superficial. I understand this is hard to accomplish in comics or graphic novels, but a page or two on each character might have just provided motivations, personalities and some foundations for their character arcs. Like Showdown seemed to be a womanizer. It might have been a better read to see it in action (more than a frame or two), so we hate him as much as Matilda does early on. Also, some characters’ powers weren’t clear in the little time we spent with them, therefore when big action occurred, it was hard to understand the stakes in between them.
Review: Writing In The Dark by Tim Waggoner
As a starting writer working on a monster-horror novel, I’m always looking for books teaching how to improve my craft. And Tim Waggoner’s Writing in the dark didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was the first one I read focused on the Horror genre. When I started reading, I had just finished the first draft of my novel “From the mist”. I feel confident the 2nd draft will be that much better from the tips and tricks I learned from Tim.