Cameron King is a former professional Mixed Martial Artist whose career ended on the same night her brother disappeared. Rehabbing from an injury, working as a Skip Tracer and processing the anger at everything that’s happened to her, Cameron isn’t quite aware of just how good at her job she is. Until she gets a …
Fran Wilde’s The Jewel and Her Lapidary is one of a string of fantasy novels and novellas that’s finally opened the door to a genre I’ve always struggled to connect with. It’s combination of character and unique world building makes it a formidable entry in Tor’s novella series and another in a long string of …
Yesterday I reviewed the excellent Patchwerk by David Tallerman. I’ve known David a faintly ridiculous amount of time and caught up with him a while back to discuss the book and what else is on the slate for him right now. Tell us a little about Patchwerk Patchwerk is my debut novella, released in …
Last week, I interviewed Malin Rydén and Emma Vieceli, the creators of one of my favorite comics, Breaks. It’s a fantastically untidy, sweet, realistic take on the unparalleled horrors of adolescent love and if you’ve not read it yet you should because it’s great. And free. And here. This week I’m doing something a little different; …
Breaks is one of the best comics being published in English right now. A web serial, it follows the complex, funny, occasionally violent knots that a group of teenagers tie themselves into. At the center of each of those knots is Cortland and Ian. Not quite friends, not quite enemies but connected in ways at …
Jen Williams’ first two books, The Copper Promise and The Iron Ghost are two of my favorite novels. Fast, massively creative, very funny and wonderfully nasty they follow an unlikely trio of occasional thieves and part time heroes as they inadvertently change their world, screw up a lot, save people and get drunk.They’re amazing and …
Interview: Jen Williams, the only person the Copper Cat listens to
Ed Cox’s Relic Guild series has a scope matched only by the vast enthusiasm of it’s author. Ed’s invention and energy are impossible to ignore and, earlier this year, I chatted to him about the series so far. There’ll be a follow up once book 3 is out but, for now, here’s me talking to …
Binti was one of the best entries in Tor’s first wave of novellas last year. It’s a remarkable book that takes a lot of the usual conceits around first contact stories and stands them on their head. I talked to Nnedi Okorafor about Binti, her process, the themes of the novella and how her academic …
By the time you read this, I’ll be on a train. My destination is here and how I get on will be the subject of the next Al Dente field report. The only thing better than the food will be the company. Liz and Mark De Jager are two of the nicest, and most pathologically …
A couple of days ago I ran a review of the excellent The Last Witness by KJ Parker. I also interviewed Parker about the novel, art fraud and how that connects to good fantasy worldbuilding. How did you find writing to novella length? Did it change your style or process at all? I would …