Bubble and Squeek for 3 Nov 2014

Today’s Tell Me comes from the incomparable Marie Bilodeau. She tells me why she thought it was time for a StoryBundle of books with middle-aged protagonists in science-fiction and fantasy, called Never Too Old to Save the World, and how much she loves them. Age Need Not Stop You In my twenties, I desperately wanted more stories of women kicking ass, and not needing a man to do so. I wanted female friendships, and arguments, and insecurities…all in an epic fantasy context. Twenty years ago, there were a lot less books with these core themes applied to women, especially ones that weren’t romance-focused. To scratch my own reading itch, I wrote Heirs of a Broken Land with three central female characters who would fight each other and evil, and would lean into their powers instead of shying away from them, or giving them up for family/romance/etc… When I reached my...

Shannon Page is an author I have worked with off and on for years. She’s a consummate professional and I’m really looking forward to reading this anthology. —On the Crafting of An Anthology Witches, Stitches & Bitches—A Three Little Words anthology, from Evil Girlfriend Media. Three little words…three simple, innocent—well, okay, maybe not so innocent—evocative words. When Evil Girlfriend Media publisher Katie Cord asked me if I wanted to edit one of her “Three Little Words” anthologies, I jumped at the chance. I love editing, and hadn’t had much chance to do it professionally. Better still, she let me choose which of the three I wanted to take on. Now, nothing against zombies or vampires, but I knew at once that the witch book was the one for me. I’ve always identified with witches. I was born on Halloween night, so people delighted in telling me I was a little...