Stephanie A. Cain

Snarky, independent women, queer characters, and found families on irreverent but hopeful journeys through vividly-drawn magical worlds
 
Stephanie A. Cain

Hope in Fantasy

I am of the fervent belief that speculative fiction is the literature of hope. Successful grimdark authors like G.R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie and popular dystopian sagas like The Hunger Games notwithstanding, I believe that the main function of speculative fiction is to imagine a better world that could exist, …

New Short Fiction: The Midwinter Royal

The Midwinter Royal: A Romance of Tamnen I’m very excited to announce that I have a holiday surprise for all my readers! No, it’s not The Weather War–that’s still having the plot smoothed out and such. But it is a new story set in the same world as the Storms …

Book Rec: SCARECROW edited by Rhonda Parrish

Scarecrow is Rhonda Parrish’s third Magical Menagerie anthology, released as a sort of partner and complement to Corvidae. The works are largely unrelated to those of Corvidae (reviewed here), but they carry similar themes, since crows and scarecrows go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or maybe I should say …

Honorary Bookseller on Small Business Saturday

I’m going to be at Main Street Books in Lafayette this coming Saturday. It’s Small Business Saturday, and you know what that means–support your local indie bookstore! Main Street Books is planning poetry readings, special deals, and door prizes, which pretty much guarantees a good time! I’m going to be acting …

BOOK REC: Corvidae, edited by Rhonda Parrish

You might remember how much I enjoyed Rhonda Parrish’s first anthology Fae (reviewed here), and earlier this year I was fortunate enough to score an e-ARC of her second Magical Menagerie anthology, Corvidae. I’ve finally (finally!) gotten around to writing up and posting my review, and I want to share it …