Author: Tanya

  • Beauty Sleep Release Date

    The book is almost done! I’ve decided to release the ebook first so you can get the next installment of the story sooner, and the paperback a little later. Beauty Sleep will be coming out June 19, 2019!

    After all this time, the end was finally in sight.

    Alice long ago learned that life wasn’t fair. She had tried everything to defeat the Bandersnatch, but he remained deep in the forest of Lucena Academy. With only one semester left, she thought she could just enjoy herself as much as possible and wait until he finally took her away forever.

    But when Adrianna suddenly falls into a coma, Alice knows there’s something strange happening. At the direction of the monster about to claim her, she must go back into Wonderland and through the depths of Neverland to find a way to wake her up. Alice knows time is running out for her, but she will stop at nothing to make sure Adrianna is okay.

  • I’ll be Gone in the Dark Review

    I didn’t know what I was getting into with I’ll be Gone in the Dark. My impression was that it was a documentary book about a serial killer, the Golden State Killer, and how he eluded the investigators time and time again until present where his case still has not been resolved. I was very surprised and happy to find that was not what I was getting into at all.

    I love the true crime stuff, but I’ve become a little jaded in that I almost expect the killers to be held up on this pedestal, to be made figures of wonder and awe to idolize for their cunning and their ruthlessness. This book does not do that. Instead, the focus is largely on the victims and the events that happened told through a stunning narrative lens that brings you much more into the scene of the attack and focuses squarely on the victims rather than the killer.

    McNamara does a fantastic job of painting the picture of these victims and their encounters with the killer, and of how their lives are rocked by the attacks. The people who find the bodies, the people who are in the house at the time of the attacks, everything is entered largely on the people whose stories we know. It’s respectful and keeps your attention where we know the story as opposed to speculating too much on what we don’t.

    Even when she follows the investigation, it largely focuses on what the impact of the investigation was on the people instead of idolizing the killer. ((This is a problem with true crime and I don’t know if I’m making myself clear here)) He’s treated as a puzzle that people are coming together to solve, as more of a hypothetical and she draws a line between what we know and what is only speculation. There’s no real dancing up to a line to make him seem like more than he really is, he is just a thing that exists, a puzzle to solve and no one has yet. Nothing more, nothing less.

    McNamara died before the end of this book and you can definitely tell where her writing stops and other people have stepped in. There’s something more human and lively about how she talks about the murders and attacks that is lost when she is. But it’s still a fantastic read throughout, and if this is the start of thing you like then I would definitely recommend checking it out.

    Get it on Amazon!

  • The books have new covers!

    Yes, I know it’s like I just redid the covers for The Looking Glass Saga, but I did them again! I was getting a little unhappy with the way they looked next to one another on the shelf with the colours, so it’s mostly just a pallet swap for all of them. Have a look and let me know what you think!

  • White Rabbit Review

    So I don’t normally pick up books when I can tell there’s going to be a romance subplot dominating parts of the book from just the back cover. I do really try to only read stuff I think I’m going to like, honestly. But I find for the most part, queer characters know how to focus on the task at hand and I liked the sound of the rest of the story, so I gave white Rabbit a shot.

    It was definitely worth it, with a few bumps in the road. The story follows Rufus as he tries to solve the mystery of what happened at a party he wasn’t at between people he doesn’t like, all while his ex tags along and tries desperately to have a conversation about how sorry he is until they get back together. ((That is not a spoiler, you knew that was going to happen from the back cover.)) It’s fast paced, fairly well structured, and pretty entertaining. The mystery is well set up and finding the answer didn’t feel too convoluted. I thought the initial victim turned out to be a little comically evil, but besides that I generally liked the story.

    But, like I said, there were bumps. There’s a reason I generally tend to give queer romances more of a pass and that’s because generally queer characters can focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately, right in the opening with a dead body right over there we have a chunk about Rufus hoping that his ex boyfriend realizes how hot he’s gotten. I put the book down for a bit, then skimmed back to where the story picked back up because it felt too early to give up, but the break in action was so frustrating. There is a dead guy in eyeshot, your sister’s been drugged, you have someone else’s blood on you, and insist on focusing on your ex right now?

    There’s other bits that felt a little strange. There’s an injury that Rufus gets later in the book that stops being an issue after a chapter, and the narrative is basically broken into the plausible wrong answer, followed by the actual correct answer. I’m not mad about it, since I’ve used it myself before and quite enjoy it, but I would have liked a little more foreshadowing about that twist earlier so the two halves of the book didn’t feel so separated.

    Overall, though, I really did enjoy the story. The romance was better woven into the rest of it and, while it did overpower the narrative at parts, I did appreciate that it was used mostly to enhance the tension in the later parts of the book over just being there as a distraction. If it sounds like your thing, definitely check it out!

  • The CreativeInk Festival was great!

    Right at the end of March I went to the first writing conference type thing that I’ve been to since I was at the Surrey International Writers Conference back in… I don’t even remember how long ago that was. So it’s been a while, but I got a pass ((Thank you Grace Fong!)) and made it!

    I heard about it initially about this back in November with VCon, and it was pitched as a writers conference by writers for writers and that’s exactly what I got. It’s out by BCIT and I took the one day off so that I could make it for the whole thing and it was fantastic.

    In contrast to SIWC, there was a lot of focus on the business aspects of writing. There were some sessions about the craft, don’t get me wrong. I attended some great sessions about short stories and how to write for specific audiences. But there was also a good deal about the business of writing, like how to do in person signings, specifics about self publishing and marketing strategies that are and are not currently working.

    At this stage in my writing, the conference was fantastic. It’s a lot more affordable than SIWC, and it is much more focused on the business and craft of writing than the introductory classes. There’s also not of a focus on a chance to pitch to agents, though there was a decent about on information about getting into traditional publishing. I’ll definitely going again next year and dragging a few more people with me!

  • Strange Practice Review

    So this one was pitched to me as a romance-less story about a doctor who deals with vampires, mummies, and the supernatural. I was intrigued and I needed to know more based on the premise. Also, I was promised murder and it delivered!

    The story follows Greta and her three adoptive demon dads (a vampire, a vampyre ((Difference minor)), and a literal hell demon) As they try to figure out what is trying to murder various people in the supernatural community. Greta words as a doctor for this community and gets caught up in the murders largely because her new vampyre dad, Varney, is attacked and they soon come after her.

    And I really enjoyed it! The pacing was great and I really appreciated Greta as a character. She is not an action oriented character, much more of a doctor ((As she should be)) in the way she approaches issues, and the compassion she shows throughout the book really helps to add to the humanization of a lot of these elements. It’s also a lot of fun to see these characters see one another and helps to make them a lot more rounded when you can see how other people see characters and how they see themselves.

    And, of course, Samael is just a lot of fun. When you get there.

    My one criticism, and it’s a small one, is that I had no idea what year it was. Not like if it was specifically 2010. Like I thought it was in Fantastic Beasts times. There are cars, but “Volvo” for some reason doesn’t register to me as a newer car. The names of the modern characters are Greta and August. They do not text. Somehow all of this together made it very jarring when they started referring to things that happened in 2005.

    Overall, though, it was a lot of fun. The universe is well thought out, the supernatural beings are well explored and thought about, and the way the different elements of mythology play with one another are really interestings. I’d definitely say check it out!

    Get Strange Practice on Amazon!

  • I have a comp title for Looking Glass Saga!

    I’ve always been really bad at figuring out what other books my books are like. I tend to want things to match too closely in order to keep people from being disappointed that the story isn’t enough like the one that they originally read. But I finally have a comp title!

    You can see my actual thoughts on Every Heart a Doorway here, but the thing that are alike here:

    • Young adult book
    • Asexual female protagonist
    • Children who are not over the other worlds that they went to
    • Parents who are not happy that their children are not over the other worlds they went to and want them to go back to normal dammit
    • A character with personal space and boundaries issues that talks in riddles
    • Oh hey look, there’s horror in this!

    I’m just happy that I finally have at least one answer to that question. If you liked these elements of Every Heart a Doorway, check out Return to Wonderland! I suppose I should probably also mention Alice in Wonderland as another title that goes well too, but somehow that

    Honestly, though, this whole post is an excuse to show that picture of my cat.

  • Every Heart a Doorway Review

    Check it out, it’s the first traditionally published fiction book of the year and one with some asexual representation! Not only that, but it’s about a school full of kids who went to another world and had to come back to their own world and didn’t adjust well to it, which I may have some thoughts on. So going into it, I was pretty excited.

    The story follows Nancy as she’s brought to a boarding school where she and several other girls who have traveled to other worlds are given a place to remember where they were and acknowledge that it did happen while their parents get to think that they’re getting counselling to understand that it was all an elaborate delusion.

    As a premise, I love it. A lot of the characters were interesting and I found myself interested in the worlds that they came from and how they were coping with the fact that they probably couldn’t go back. Going into the world and understanding where the characters were coming from was interesting. I did enjoy the dynamic between most of the cast and how their experiences interacted with one another.

    The ending, though. That ending. It’s one of those things where it just kind of happens more than it’s built up towards. None of the characters really change or grow as a result of it and everything is wrapped up a little too neatly.

    Spoiler

    Jack was just always able to go back? Really? And who didn’t see that someone was building a perfect key as soon as Sumi’s hands disappeared? You only needed hands, eyes, a brain, and a pretty person to build the perfect key? Plus, Nancy learns something by way of reading a note that Sumi left for her? That whole ending is just so unsatisfying.

    [collapse]

    Now. The ace rep. It’s interesting to see how other people do it. This makes this book the second one I’ve seen and this one treats it very differently than the last one I read. Nancy knows going in and the first conversation where it’s brought up feels very unnatural. It’s smoother in the rest of the book, but that first conversation with Sumi feels really awkward, kind of like it was put in there purely so that they could get the word in there, and some of the other mentions feel a bit off. For a book with almost no mentions of people being in relationships, Nancy brings up sex in her internal monologue more often than feels natural in order to reinforce that she’s ace. ((But not aromantic. The book makes it very clear that she’s fallen in love.))

    I feel like the trans rep might have been done better with Kade, but I can’t really say definitively on that front.

    Overall, though, I did enjoy it. Apparently it’s a series, but the first book stands well enough alone that I probably won’t go back to it this year.

    Get Every Heart a Doorway

  • A couple White Noise quotes

    I’ve been having far too much fun making some quote graphics. They get posted to the social media accounts, but for anyone who is only following the blog, here’s the ones from White Noise!

  • Laurence & Chico Cafe

    Keeping on brand, I went to a high tea place that is very inspired by Alice in Wonderland with just that bit of Lovecraft. This place is actually right by the day job and I’ve been staring at it for ages, but I finally managed to get a bunch of other people to come with me to go check it out.

    This is an experience. I feel like that’s something to know going in. You’re going in so that you can have something cool to take photos and post to various social media afterwards. There’s an aesthetic to the place and the food that means you’re in part paying for the ability to take photos of cool looking stuff.

    But the food isn’t bad! At least, I didn’t find it that bad. It’s a strange mix of flavours and a lot of them are a lot stronger than I was expecting. I remember mostly the egg cracker, which was a black rice cracker, quail egg, caviar, and roe, mostly because roe has an aftertaste that I’m not a fan of. The other strange one of note was the chocolate tart with a smokey cream on top that tastes almost like bacon, which was very strange and a little unsettling for the vegetarian in the group.

    They can, on that note, change things to be vegetarian if you give them a little warning in advance! We did not, but they did try to accomodate us anyway as best they could.

    Overall, I really did enjoy the experience. ((I also ate everyone else’s food.)) It was fun to go to and there was a lot of really cool things to check out. Even the bathrooms are decorated in the aesthetic and it was a lot of fun.