The ethersphere is full of fantastic goodness—and by that I mean there are a lot of cool fantasy-type things and fantasy-seeming things out there for us to discover! Sometimes it’s hard limiting myself to just five pieces of awesomeness, but if I didn’t we’d all be down an endless rabbit hole.
Away from the ethersphere, I’ve been rubbing my hands together as I plot new tales — and toil away at the rewrites for book two of The Mage’s Gift. Watch this space for more news on those!
In the meantime, here are some recent good reads from the Ethersphere:
Fantasy epics: “Boy Books?”
http://www.elainecunningham.com/writing-about-writing/fantasy-epics-boy-books
I find the notion of “boy books” — or “girl books”— completely ridiculous. I started my rebellious reading and writing in early elementary school with such shocking titles as Billy and Blaze (about a boy and his horse), The Black Stallion, The Hardy Boy mysteries, and The Wilderness Mystery series. I was aided and abetted in my reading habits by several wonderful lady librarians, who never ONCE suggested I should be reading Nancy Drew. (Which I did, because I ran out of Hardy Boys books and my mother suggested they were similar…)
I have an on-going reader survey that tells me 74% of the fantasy readers who have responded are female. Clearly, nobody has stopped them from reading “boy books”! What do you say we just celebrate the fact that PEOPLE are reading (and writing) and give a huge shout-out for literacy?
All of Your Favorite SFF TV and Movie Adaptations in the Works
https://www.tor.com/2017/07/31/upcoming-sff-sci-fi-fantasy-adaptations-movies-tv
There are a TON of sci-fi and fantasy books coming to a screen near you…! Which are you most looking forward to? I have given up equating the movies/television shows with the books; they’re two different things! (Less cringing that way. Haha!)
The Kingdoms of Kesh
https://maximeplasse.deviantart.com/art/Kingdoms-of-Kesh-429008080
Anyone following my blog for any amount of time probably knows by now that I love fantasy maps. (Check here and maybe here, or even here!) Artist Maxime Plasse has done it again (and by that I mean he made me go “Ooooh,” and “Aaaah…”) with this one. I love the style, I love the story.
“My goal for this map was to depict a fictional fantasy territory over three ages and show some political changes through the evolution of heraldry, borders and stuff over the years, related to some main historic events of the region. So I chose a triptych construction flanked by two main chronological cartouches, one for heraldry, the other for a timeline. The idea was to make a map which of course delivers classical information, but also tells a story that the reader can discover throughout its observation of the map.”
World’s Largest Vacuum Cleaner Turns Smog into Jewellery
http://brightvibes.com/562/en/worlds-largest-vacuum-cleaner-turns-smog-into-jewellery
Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde has created a giant vacuum cleaner that tackles air pollution and turns the waste from the smog into jewelry. Is that amazing or what? I wonder how they’re coming with that bike… or some other jewelry? Say, a necklace? I could wear a smog necklace. Muahaha!
Win A Brand-New Kindle Voyage
https://www.perrinbriar.com/giveaways/win-brand-new-kindle-voyage
To celebrate the release of his upcoming book series Flowers Vs. Zombies, author Perrin Briar is offering a FREE brand-new Kindle Voyage to one lucky winner.
In addition, he will also be picking 10 lucky winners for an exclusive collection of works by talented authors. (Like… me!)
Better get your hustle on, though, this contest ends in six days.
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Which of these five things do you think is most awesome? What fantastic things have you seen in the ethersphere lately?
Share in the comments!