And thus short February draws to a close, ending here in Missouri under a blanket of snow. We received a foot or more a week ago today followed up by almost that much again this past Tuesday. It has been a weird week with my company closing not an unprecedented once, but twice and a total of three days of missed work on top of days missed earlier in the month due to illness.
With every cloud comes a silver lining–I spent a lot of time reading.
Weren’t we all just sitting around yesterday talking about our favorites of 2012 and resolving to better our lives in 2013? It had to be yesterday…or maybe a couple of days ago at most. A week maybe?
The first month of 2013 has come to a close.
Really?!?! I’m certain I am being gaslighted by someone, or multiple someones.
At any rate, I’m not going to fight the Power. I’m going to go ahead and tie a bow on this sucker and call it done.
While Andrea is out at ConFusion hanging with cool authors like Mary Robinette Kowal and Charles Stross she has handed me the keys to Little Red Reviewer.
*insert maniacal laugh here*
And what am I going to do with full reign of her website? Talk about books and art, what else?!?!
Please come over there and discuss your opinions on whether or not you think the ebook market will result in more covers like the awful one pictured above for the intriguing audio book anthology Rip-Off or whether artists like Stephan Martiniere, Dan Dos Santos, Michael Whelan, Jon Foster, Donato Giancola, et al will continue to be tapped to provide high quality art for science fiction and fantasy novels. Not only am I interested in your thoughts, but I am interested in whether or not you even care.
Come along to read my ramblings and to join in the discussion:
(And in case anyone wants to point it out, I’ll tell you that I understand The Shoemaker’s Wife isn’t SFF, just wanted to include another really beautiful non-genre cover example in my picture as this is an issue not restricted to the genres of science fiction and fantasy)
As each old year gives way to the new I like to reflect back on the various book cover illustrations that have graced Science Fiction and Fantasy books released over the past twelve months. I like science fiction and fantasy art. Since it is unlikely that the image above will ever be the view outside my front porch, SFF art is my window to the universe, both the real and the imagined. My house is full of books purchased because I wanted that art in my home. I am careful now to point out that these are my favorites of the year, not necessary the best. I don’t have an art degree nor any formal training, I am merely a fan. Who am I to say what is best? The beauty of coming from the position of fan rather than expert is that I can share with you what I like, why it works for me, and what influences I see. The beauty of art in all its forms is the engagement that we can have with it on a personal level.
These are the images that caught my eye, online or in the bookstore, and made me want to learn more about both the artist and the book. Several of these images caused that interesting phenomenon whereby money leaps out of the wallet into the hands of a bookseller happy to provide it a new home.
Special thanks to SF Signal for their monthly hits of book crack…er, posts showcasing the science fiction and fantasy releases each month. If SF Signal is not one of your regular blog stops, it should be.
Continue reading Favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy Covers of 2012
New for the 2013 Sci-Fi Experience will be a series of SF Spotlight posts featuring Q&A with bloggers in the science fiction community. My greatest pleasure in hosting blog events comes from members of the community getting to know one another and forging ongoing relationships. So come along with me as I host this little mixer, I promise you will meet some really interesting people along the way and will hopefully discover kindred spirits.
To inaugurate this new feature I want to introduce you to Worlds Without End, a really first-rate site celebrating science fiction, fantasy and horror. WWE is hosting a reading challenge this year that I am very excited about, the Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge.
Dave Post graciously allowed me to conduct a last minute grilling session to kick things off.
