This excerpt is part of The Doors of Midnight virtual book tour.
The Doors of Midnight by R.R. Virdi releases on Aug. 13, 2024 and is available to pre-order now.
Tor Books
SFF Addicts Ep. 110: Making Old Monsters New Again with Christopher Buehlman (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Making Old Monsters New Again with author Christopher Buehlman. During the episode, Christopher uncovers the mysteries of old monsters, exploring examples of classic monsters, human psychology and allegory, advantages of using classic monsters, monster films and why some monsters feel dated, approaches for different genres/monsters, researching monsters, atmosphere, setting and emotion, gore vs. psychological horror, new takes on old monsters and more.
Review: Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adrian Tchaikovsky can do no wrong. Service Model is an utter triumph of fun sci-fi with an added edge of things being a liiiiittle too close to home. Told entirely from the perspective of Charles, a personal valet robot who embarks on quite the journey.
Charles at the start of the book is a very unintentionally humorous robot, and his observations of the world around him are so very naive. I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book where he’s interacting with other robots who are following their routines, and the lack of human interaction is messing with their systems. A particular favourite was the detective and doctor robots, it was for me the first realisation of just how funny this book can be.
SFF Addicts Ep. 109: Christopher Buehlman talks The Daughter’s War, Atmosphere, Voice & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they chat with author Christopher Buehlman about his new novel The Daughter’s War, The Blacktongue Thief, renaissance fairs, “Christoph the Insulter,” comedy and empathy, creating an engrossing atmosphere, writing a range of voices and tones, invention vs. research, trusting your characters and much more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 104: Outlining Your Story with Veronica Roth (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Outlining Your Story with bestselling author Veronica Roth. During the episode, Veronica lays out some foundations for flexible outlines, including how she became an outliner, starting a new outline, characters/world/plot as a “soup,” outlining (and re-outlining) complex plots, how to pace using an outline, planning plot twists and foreshadowing, getting feedback during outlining, themes, flexibility and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 103: Veronica Roth talks When Among Crows, Slavic Folkore, Dystopias & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they chat with bestselling author Veronica Roth about her new novella When Among Crows, Divergent and managing success, dystopias and surveillance, writing adult SFF vs. YA, The Witcher and Polish folklore, writing novellas and multiple POVs, shifts in the publishing industry, worldbuilding approaches and much more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 102: Thieves & Rogues in SFF with James Logan (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Thieves & Rogues in SFF with author James Logan. During the episode, James dons his hood to discuss thieves, rogues and ne’er do wells, including why they’re fascinating to read and write, thieves and rogues in relation to setting, the relationship between world, characters and power dynamics, the act of negotiation, moral grayness, city settings, mood, humor and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 101: James Logan talks The Silverblood Promise, Editing, Debuts & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they chat with author/editor James Logan about his debut novel The Silverblood Promise, editing and working in publishing, Indiana Jones, Locke Lamora and inspirations, creating compelling main characters, the path to publication, launching a debut novel and much more.
Review: Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu
FROM THE ASHES OF AN EMPIRE, A HERO WILL RISE… ‘A dazzlingly epic and richly complex world of dragons, magic, and rebellion’ Amélie Wen Zhao, New York Times bestselling author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night ‘A classic fantasy adventure that reminds me of the novels I loved growing up, but with a flair of cultivation from the novels […]
Review: Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree
Oh I’m so happy to have another book featuring Viv, and one that is as incredible as its predecessor (although this one is the prequel). Travis has crafted such a wonderful cosy read with slightly higher stakes than Legends & Lattes. It fits perfectly because at this point Viv is still a merc who is forced to stay in Murk for a while due to an injury. So it makes sense that trouble would find its way to her and she wouldn’t be able to resist getting involved.
SFF Addicts Ep. 78: Supernatural Magic with Ed McDonald (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Supernatural Magic with author Ed McDonald. During the episode, Ed explores the strange nature of the occult, including supernatural beliefs, history, folklore and mythology, hard and soft magic systems, magic as a part of worldbuilding/plot/character, research and lived experience, strange supernatural creatures, the ritual of storytelling and magic and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 77: Ed McDonald talks Traitor of Redwinter, Swords, Tattoos & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they chat with author Ed McDonald about his new novel Traitor of Redwinter, the Raven’s Mark series, practicing sword fighting and HEMA, studying history, advice about publishing and the writing community, writing a female protagonist, believing in yourself, tattoos, mice and much more.