Category Archives: Books

Celebrating the holidays with a new release: The Spiked Death

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Cora

I spent most of today wrapping presents and most of tonight decorating the Christmas tree at my parents’ house. There were some unexpected interruptions. For example, somebody replaced a burned out lightbulb on the miniature light string with the flasher … Continue reading →

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School is out linkdump – and a riff on endings

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Cora

Today was the last day of school before the winter holiday and therefore the last day of school for this year. I watched The Sarah Jane Adventures with my fifth graders, who thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Lots of discussion both about … Continue reading →

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Science Fiction, Politics and an Apology to Václav Havel

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Cora

Yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died aged 69, mourned by collective mass crying in his own country and largely unlamented elsewhere. We can only hope that this will improve the situation of the people of North Korea. There’s been … Continue reading →

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Stormy December Linkdump

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Cora

At SF Signal, Daniel Abraham has written a letter from genre to mainstream. Quite amusing, even if it does read like a letter from a stalkerish ex-boyfriend. On a related note, at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books there is an interesting … Continue reading →

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Relationships and gender roles in Twilight, The Hunger Games, Buffy… and Scooby-Doo?

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Cora

I’ve got lots of delicious links today, focusing on gender roles, relationships and the portrayal of young women in various pop culture franchises:

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More school drama, disliking a writer for the wrong reason and Pegasus Pulp e-books conquer Italy and Spain

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Cora

Another major drama erupted in my afternoon class today, ultimately spawned – as far as I could tell – by one girl telling another that she looked like a slut. This is really the most drama laden group I ever … Continue reading →

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A local author done good, a plagiarist speaks out, Scalzi on literary snobs and the problems with classic and modern SF

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Cora

The local newspaper Weser Kurier profiles Bremen writer Corinna Gerhards whose children’s book Mondläufer debuts today. I met Corinna in the creative writing workshop at Bremen university. I couldn’t find an Amazon link for Mondläufer, so here is the publisher’s … Continue reading →

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Linkdump for my Grandpa’s Birthday

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Cora

Today is my grandpa’s birthday. He would have been 102. I still remember his birthday almost thirty years after he died, because when we went to visit my grandpa for his birthday, my cousins and I always got a chocolate … Continue reading →

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New science fiction short story available: Whaler

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Cora

Even though the last week has been rather chaotic, I have a new short story available. It’s the first science fiction story published under the Pegasus Pulp imprint and represents my take on a genre trope I really can’t stand, … Continue reading →

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How SFnal is Spy Fiction?

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Cora

The King of Elfland’s Second Cousin has a very insightful post about the connection between science fiction (and urban fantasy for that matter) and classic spy fiction, which draws on Darko Suvin‘s theory of cognitive estrangement, as outlined in Metamorphoses … Continue reading →

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