Speculative Feministas

In recent years I've been loving the feminist turn to YA and adult paranormal series. Especially books that turn the doomed heroine Twilightesque theme its head.

Note: The photo above is the opposite of what I'm talking about. I recently saw this cover in a used DVD store near me. Some merchandising exec decided it would be a good idea to take Katherine Bigelow's masterful and bloody vampire slasher, and market it as a Twilight watch-alike. Anyone who has ever seen Near Dark knows two things about it. 1) It contains one of B-Pax's finest performances as the sadistic Severin. 2) It is most decidedly not a Twilight watch-alike.

But I digress.

In the past few years, The Hunger Games, Divergent, and the whole dystopian genre have had their up and down swing. Now, we are seeing more kick-ass female heroes and feminist male protagonists throughout speculative fiction. Here are a few that I recently discovered or am currently reading.

The Awesome by Eva Darrows. Maggie Cunningham is a 17 year old apprentice monster hunter. Think Dean Winchester, if he were a teenage girl. All she wants is to get her Journeyman's license so she can go on more lucrative jobs with her endearingly foul-mouthed mother. The catch is that she needs to lose her virginity to do so. That whole vampire's frenzying for virgin blood thing. This is written from Maggie's first person POV and I heart her so much!

The Awesome reads like the plot of an 80s coming-of-age sex comedy, with Supernatural and True Blood thrown in for good measure. It was marketed as YA, but any paranormal fan with the slightest love of horror pop-culture will probably enjoy this.

Half-Resurrection Blues (A Bone Street Rumba Novel Book 1) by Daniel José Older. I've written about my love for this author before. But I just recently got to finish my audiobook of this novel, which I've been listening to in fits and spurts for the last year. It is fantastic! Read by the author, the narrative is intricate and heartfelt. Humorous in places and heartbreaking in others. And oh, the swagger!

Older writes protagonist Carlos Delacruz as a much put upon half-dead ghost hunter at the mercy of the bureaucratic Council of the Dead. The action is on point, but the most compelling part of the story is when Carlos falls for the mysterious Sasha. A swashbuckling female "halfie" that kicks as much if not more ass, than Carlos himself. It is a complicated and painful relationship that is at times cringe-worthy or heartwarming, but never boring. I cannot wait to continue the series!

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee. For all you mythology remix fans out there, I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

While there is a distinct presense of mythology based fiction out there right now between authors like Rick Riordan, Patricia Briggs, and Neil Gaiman, you don't often see Chinese mythology in the mix. This book is the perfect mix of a Buffy style superpowered high school student with traditional Chinese characters like The Monkey King, the Goddess of Mercy, and the Jade emperor.

Eugenia Lo is mostly concerned with getting into an Ivy League school until demons start showing up to tear apart her school. With the help of the arrogantly enticing new student Quentin, Genie must discover powers that she forgot she had. Then the battle for the fate of the world really begins!

The Zanna Function by Daniel Wheatley. I had the privilege of reading and reviewing this in advance of publication and it was another one that I started and finished in a day.

Zanna Mayfield is accepted to the prestigious St. Pommeroy's School for Gifted Children to become a Scientist. A human who can manipulate matter and space by altering the mathematical equations of everyday objects. On her first day, Zanna narrowly escapes a kidnapping attempt by a shady woman known as the Variable. Zanna must solve the hardest equation she knows in order to stay safe, her own.

This book is very much in the vein of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, in the idea that a tween character discovers amazing here-to-for hidden powers. It incorporates science as a form of magic, which works surprisingly well. My favorite part though, is that while her relationships with others are important to the plot, it is Zanna's relationship to herself that is paramount.

Friday by Robert Heinlein. While this is by no means new (it was initially published in 1982), Friday is easily my favorite of the author's novels that I have read.

Friday Jones is a pansexual covert courier operating in a futuristic multi-global economy. She is plain speaking, open minded, brash, and deadly when needed. She is also an "artificial person". This book examines prejudice and the nature of humanity from so many perspectives. All while being poignant, sexy, and extremely funny.

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha) by Tomi Adeyemi. I'm currently reading this, so the verdict is out at the moment. But the concept is right up my alley. Magic, old gods, rebellion. 

I enjoy Adeyemi's voice so far. And this book is blowing up the boards on social media. So I have high hopes. Updates to come. 

More of life being Weird

So again, I haven't blogged in forever. My reasons are legit. I had another unexpected death of a family member. A death of a dear friend. And then I was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition. You know, fun stuff.

In my defense, I have been reading. And I have been writing (fiction). More on those topics later. But first, you guys, I got a dog!

Here is my newest fur baby. Meet D

She is an American Bulldog mix. Very sweet and jowley and slobbery.

I got her to motivate me to get my fat butt off the couch, so I can keep my ticker a'tickin. Also because J has all his life wanted a bulldog. Our local pound was overcrowded and having $1 adoptions, and D was the pooch we fell in love with.

The cats were not amused. Z fled to the basement and S full on trolls the dog when she is in her crate.

I've never owned a dog before, though J has. So I've been reading and listening to a lot of dog care and dog training books. Full disclosure, I'm a little iffy about Cesar Milan guys. His techniques sound good in theory, but they have no effect on D's leash pulling and fervor for small animals.

This book has been a balm to my new dog mommy nerves though.

All Dogs go to Kevin by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang. This is funny and heartwarming and soothes the occassional impulse to murder my new canine companion when she tries to murder my feline companions.



Also due to the heart condition and nasty things that showed up during one very fun ER heart cath test, my doctor has recommended I go on the Mediterranean Diet. And while I do enjoy olive oil, hummus, and the occasional glass of red wine, this is a diet in the traditional sense of the word. Not a fad, a lifestyle.

Naturally I went into Research Girl mode. Here are some of the books that have been helping me.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mediterranean Diet by Kimberley Tessmer R.D L.D.  Such a good primer! Because, let's be honest, I can be as much of an idiot as the next girl.

The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Amy Riolo. This has been a wonderful starter cookbook for me, especially in learning to use fresh ingredients in new ways.

Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews by Poopa Dweck. This is now strictly a Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, but it does expand on the flavors. I've just had to be careful about portion size and to steer clear of the "things stuffed with meat" category. Still, very tasty stuff!

To take my mind and heart off of all the badness going on lately, I've been doing a lot of writing. Here are a few books that have aided me on my journey.

500 Ways To Tell A Better Story by Chuck Wendig. This dude is seriously funny. I sometimes delve a little too far into the dark recesses of my brain while writing, and Chuck's humor is my antidote.

The Transitive Vampire by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. I didn't know that grammar books could be anything but dry before I read this. Goth for writers, man! Totally ghoul.

On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner. I'll just say it, because there is no way around it. And I may have made this point before. John Garner was a genre snob pure and simple. But he also knew his stuff. The combination of those two traits in this book are hilarious. Because I think, had I met him when he was alive, I may have seriously disliked the man. But his thoughts and advice on developing as a writer are beautiful.



That's all I've got for now. Next time, an update on my Writer's of Color reading list and some gems that I've read and reviewed. Hopefully it will not be years before I post again....