Tag Archives: reviews

It’s Comics Day!

Posted by on April 19, 2013 No comments

I really enjoyed drawing this one!

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Review round-up today:

On Spots the Space Marine: Letters (yay, an epilogue review!): “…I have reread Spot’s the Space Marine once a week or more since I read about it.”

On A Bloom in the North (finally, another review on the final book of the trilogy!): “…Despite my skepticism, I was quickly drawn into the story. The characters are full of depth, each with flaws and strengths that made me care about them despite their flaws.”

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Finally an author photo. I am doing these as a gentle exercise in being okay with my appearance. Surprisingly hard, given all the internalization we do about having to be perfect, and measuring ourselves against Photoshopped models.

Car Doodles, Eye, and More Reviews

Posted by on April 12, 2013 No comments

First of all, yesterday’s car doodles! I brought my sketch markers with the brush tips.


Kuli from A Bloom in the North, for Alamaris.


A unicorn for Todd…


The Exception for Miintikwa…


And for me, Lisinthir in one of his coats. In which I discover that he’s a left-handed fencer (what! How did I not know?).

I usually do these around 3:30 PM on weekdays! Check Twitter for my “Argh, what should I draw??” comment around then to toss me your suggestions.

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Lovely new reviews!

On Smashwords, of Bloom:
“…It’s been a long, a very long, time since I read a series of books that made me so happy.”

And on Amazon, of Rosary!
“…this book made me think. About MY faith. Not doubting it by any means. But pondering what makes it tick.”

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And finally, my eye. Because I rarely get to break out the teal eyeshadow. Check me out, I am rockin’ it. >.>

It’s Comics Day! And New Reviews, Fan Art

Posted by on April 10, 2013 No comments

On to the whole “free publicity” issue!

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Some new reviews:

The Worth of a Shell: “…It takes a careful hand to cover such heavy topics with the gravity that honors them and explores them truly, while still having a story that captures the heart and mind. M.C.A. Hogarth deftly navigates the push and pull of the heart, showing the struggles of coming to understand the world in an entirely new way – complete with the uncertainty that entails.”

Pearl in the Void: The totality with which the story gripped me was surprising, not letting go for a moment, not explaining itself, just unfolding.

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And finally, I has Jokka fan art! Squee!

From Alamaris, Hesa as a super-hero (hee):

Super Pefna by ~anchoritestudios on deviantART

From Tod, his OTP: Abadil and Fifty-Coin (you know you’re doing good when readers can make jokes that only make sense if you’ve read the book):

fifty-coin spirits by formidonis on FA

*jaguar dance* So far, everyone who’s read the whole trilogy through has been satisfied by it. Pulling this one off took a lot of thought (and worry), and it looks like all the effort paid off. :)

Jaguar Watching Sherlock

Posted by on April 9, 2013 No comments

The enthusiasm of the Sherlock fandom having made me curious, I decided to watch the series (something that’s taken me most of six months, since I rarely have time for movie-length things). I finally got to the last episode of Season 2, and oddly, I find myself reminded of Ayn Rand. The whole “little, mediocre people will always be eager to believe anything bad about great, smart, powerful people, particularly if it gives them the opportunity to tear those great people down to their level” thing… very Atlas Shrugged.

Strangely, though, Sherlock strikes me as less sympathetic than John Galt and Howard Roark. I never got the feeling Galt and Roark were unaware of other people’s mere existence… Sherlock, though, gives a great impression of not even realizing other people are real until they make hurt faces at him. And even then, half the time John has to jab him with an elbow.

Anyway, very clever writing, spectacular acting, and avoids much truck with women (something I’ve never had much luck with in Moffat’s work; I don’t know that he knows what to do with women). So an enjoyable use of my down-time. Plus, I am still working through some thoughts it inspired on media, so bonus for the Artist-brain. :)

Are any of you watching it? Do you like it? Are you ready to throw a Nerf bat at me for comparing it to Atlas Shrugged? *grin*

Relief

Posted by on April 6, 2013 No comments

I didn’t realize I was on tenterhooks about the trilogy I just released until the first review of Book 3 finally popped up yesterday. And I breathed out, and realized I was wiping my eyes, because I really wanted to do right by my readers, and it looks like that I might have:

“…because this is how science fiction and fantasy should be written. We need less prophesied travel narratives, les uncompromising and sadistic villains, less cookie-cutter wars with B-movie aliens. We need books like A Bloom in the North: challenging, philosophical, innovative, rule-breaking, vastly intelligent things which deal with the biggest questions we can come up with. What does it mean to be conscious? What is the value of a mind? Are we more than our biology? Are we trapped by our gender? Can a single person’s vision save the world?”

Someone else told me they were up until 6 AM finishing Book 3.

This is the same day I got a new review of Spots the Space Marine:

“I found the tension to build and build until reaching a very rewarding climax. Really enjoyed this book and I thank Games Workshop and their silly policy for bringing it to my attention!”

I am just… so, so relieved. People who’ve been waiting for the finish of the Stone Moon trilogy (for ten years!)… people who bought my book as a statement… I want them all to read the books and be glad they spent the time doing it. And it looks like I’m doing okay on that front. More than okay in some cases.

Next week I am giving myself permission to take a break. I’m going to draw (and paint!) for fun. If I write, it will also be for fun: no editing next week! I often forget how to be playful because I take my responsibilities as an artist Super Seriously. That’s a good thing for the most part. But now and then, I need to be reminded that it’s okay to relax. And if I can’t relax the week after I’ve released two books at once, I’ll never have license!

Thank you all, for reading the books. And for the reviews particularly, long or short, eloquent or brusque, rambling or to the point. They’re all great. You have no idea how important it is to know that you’re doing good by your readers. *bows*

You’re Doing it Right (and an Offer)

Posted by on April 2, 2013 No comments

Reader buys book, reads book overnight, leaves 5-star review within 24 hours… Whoot! I am particularly pleased to have pleased one of the fans who’s been waiting for this book since Shell came out. Thanks, Alamaris! Have a read, folks:

“…Pearl in the Void is a spectacular glimpse into a beautiful, dangerous, and truly alien world.”

And now the offer! Several of you have expressed a wish to read the book, but are short on funds. Put it on your wishlists and leave a link here, and if someone buys it for you I will credit the serial for the price of the book! So if someone buys one person the book as a gift, we’ll be $6 toward our next bonus episode of Earthrise.

I don’t know if we’ll get any takers, but you folks are generous, and everyone wins: someone who can’t afford the book right now can read it, and everyone else can read Earthrise faster. :)

Jaguar Book Reviews: Recent Reads

Posted by on March 30, 2013 No comments

I have been reading a lot of fiction lately! Here are the last few books I enjoyed:

INDIE
MILITARY SF: Terms of Enlistment: Crunchy milsf (you know it’s crunchy when they spend twice as much time describing the gear as they do the protagonist’s feelings) from a dystopian future Earth. We go from battle to battle, and from set scene to set scene, starting with training, moving to fighting on Earth, off to the Navy for some starship action, and then to a colony world for an ending that promises this is probably only book one. The author keeps the action moving without getting bogged down in it or overly dramatizing it, which is nice. I remain amused that the protagonist’s feelings toward the necessary love interest are probably as mysterious to her as they are to us, since he’s not big into talking about feelings (or even considering them: an introspective sort, but not a very emotive one). Nevertheless the soldiers in the book are well-drawn and feel reassuringly like real people.

SF: Trang. Going in the opposite direction, here’s science fiction about a diplomat and a detachment of soldiers sent on a first contact mission to a space station full of several alien races… where the soldiers feel like caricatures. I appreciate the author’s attempt to make them less stereotypical, but it didn’t work for me. I did like the aliens, though, and the plot was intriguing. I wanted to see the diplomat succeed, it’s just that my opinion of him was probably more in line with the soldiers’: “Stuffed shirt, but means well. With some work he might be a keeper.” The aliens, though. Very cool. So many of them, all intriguing. The translation issues, also cool. I may not be the ideal audience for this one, but it’ll be up some people’s alleys.

QUASI-INDIE
SF THAT FEELS LIKE FANTASY: Demon of Undoing. A book I read in the 80′s when it came out, and promptly went out of print and the author seems to have disappeared. Has typos and grammar issues in the beginning, but they smooth out. Story’s worth it: a fun romp from the point of view of a felid alien race, tribal and warlike (sort of like cat Klingons in some ways). They run into a human, with all those contaminating human ideas, and hijinks ensue. Notable for a fine depiction of a cross-cultural friendship. Only $2 as of this writing, and very enjoyable.

FANTASY: Indigo Rain. Currently only available in print? Watts? When’s the e-book coming out? Anyway. Set in the fantasy world of Ranea where humans and anthropomorphic animal races mix, this is a nice political drama about how a dancer gets caught up in tensions between humans and the furred races over a referendum to kick the furries out. There’s a touch of romance to go with the intrigue (it’s F/F for those who want more stories like that). Enjoyable novella, just the right length, and as usual with Watts, not an unnecessary word. Real craftsmanship there.

NOT INDIE
MEDICAL DRAMA: Monday Mornings. Written by the CNN medical correspondent, I picked this one up cheap as a Daily Deal. It’s “slice of life in a neurosurgery unit” fiction. Surprisingly engaging—I didn’t really like any of the characters, but their lives were fascinating and I wanted to see what happened to them. The medical details were engrossing. Not recommended for hypochondriacs.

That’s all I got for now. Feel free to recommend any good finds to me!

Fun Reads Lately

Posted by on March 3, 2013 No comments

I’ve been reading a bit to relax (in addition to re-”reading” Black Blossom, the audiobook version, as a sort of bedtime story). Here are some of the finds I’ve had lately that I’ve enjoyed:

The Course of Empire and The Crucible of Empire. Books 1 and 2 of a series by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth. In these books, aliens have conquered Earth, but for some reason Earth continues to seethe with rebellion and resentment (we wonder why!). But interestingly, humans do not overthrow the aliens in this series, and the aliens have interesting reasons for what they’re doing. These books are full of extraterrestial perspectives (there are large sections told entirely from inside the heads of pleasingly alien characters), diplomacy, explosions, compromises and terrible menaces. They were fun reads. My only regret is I’m not sure if there will be more books set in this universe, as the co-author Wentworth died last year. These two are still worth reading, even if no more are forthcoming.

Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (The Cecelia and Kate Novels). An epistolary novel about two young Regency girls dealing with magical doings in London while also navigating the treacherous and (often amusing) world of high society during their Seasons. Includes some satisfying romance, lovely dialogue, and rather funny events along with the magical ones. It took me a few chapters to get into the “letters exchanged back and forth” style of storytelling, but once I had it was charming. Nicely done.

And in nonfiction:
Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance. Not recommended for hypochondriacs, but nevertheless a fascinating look at the mechanics of healthcare. Things like polio eradication, how C-sections became prevalent, the ethical considerations of assisting at executions, malpractice from the doctor’s perspective and medical costs… all fascinating stuff. Recommended for people who like the unexamined ramifications of complex systems.

I’m still on the look-out for indie finds! If you have any, pass them along. :)

Transition Complete

Posted by on February 25, 2013 No comments

Over the weekend I was reading the excellent What Every BODY is Saying, a book on body language written by a former FBI agent and backed up by scientific studies. Interestingly, as useful as this material is for practical application to daily relationships, what I found myself returning to was how I could apply its principles—and have, subconsciously—to my web comic! How many times have I drawn a panel only to ask myself, “Hmm, what do I do when I’m responding to a situation like this?” Questions like that are what inspire things like these hand gestures.

But anyway, I digress. I bought this book as a paper copy because I wanted to pass it on to other people without wrangling the whole kindle-lending feature. Now, I am crazy, and if I am engrossed in a book but have to go do something, I will walk around the house… reading… without looking up, until I get to the task. And then I’ll execute the task with only brief glances while resuming my reading between therbligs. My newest generation kindle has a built-in light: not an LCD, which is backlit, but side lights built into the edges of the screen that shine across the e-paper surface. It is spectacular and I never expected it to make a difference.

I realized over the weekend that I now rely on this feature because I will blithely walk through the house whether the halls are lit or not, still reading. I tried this with the paper book and the moment I entered an unlit hall my reaction was not, “Hmm, I need to turn on the light,” but a moment of stunned shock: “Wait, what happened to the words???! Darkness doesn’t make words vanish???”

I would love to understate just how taken aback I was, but in truth I actually stopped short and looked for the words on the page before remembering that normal books don’t come with lights. :,

When I add this to the times I’ve tried to press on a word in a paper book, expecting to be suddenly enlightened as to its definition (or if it’s foreign, its translation), I can now surmise that I have become acclimated to the advantages of e-readers. It is not only transparent to my reading experience, I expect and rely on those abilities.

It’s been interesting for me to watch this transition. I am very much a tactile person when it comes to art. I love to feel things and touch them and hold them. But one by one the advantages of using an e-reader have been wearing down my love of a good paper book, until now they’ve become a poor second choice in everything but books with magnificent color illustrations or photos… and even now I can see encroachment. Full-color tablets can be gorgeous.

I love nice paper books, but I now think of them as works of original art. Not usual day-to-day items, but special occasion sorts of things, to be carefully chosen and maintained as heirlooms.

And you know, I kind of like that idea.

Anyway. Check out the book! It was a great read.

MPD Author

Posted by on February 15, 2013 No comments

In at least three reviews of the Jokka material, people compare me to Ursula Le Guin.

In the latest review of Spots, I am said to write like a cross between Hemingway and Tim O’Brien.

Maybe I’m understating the number of personalities in my head. And genders. o_o

(Now I’m just waiting for evidence that I write like some other species…)

Seriously, that was a stunning review. I am tickled. :)