83 Comments on “Whatever Holiday Gift Guide 2017, Day One: Traditionally Published Books”

1. Reminder:

   Traditionally published books today only, please (i.e., it can be bought/ordered in a bookstore on a returnable basis). If you’re not sure (or don’t know what “returnable” means in this instance), please wait until tomorrow.

   Also, no comments/questions in this thread that are not the author or editor of a book talking about their own book. All other posts will be deleted.

   Thank you!

2. Want to see how Hollywood has portrayed poor and homeless people and how that has changed — and not changed — over the course of American cinema? Of course you do! Check out *Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down & Out on the Silver Screen,* with over 200 images and entertaining discussion of some 300 movies! https://www.amazon.com/Ghettos-Tramps-Welfare-Queens-Silver/dp/0190660724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512398630&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+pimpare

3. Idyll Fears is my second in the Thomas Lynch mystery series. Like small town difficult cases helmed by a gay police chief in 1997? Like blizzards and missing kids and rare genetic disorders? Then I wrote the book for you! Idyll Fears in published by Seventh Street Books.

4. Like spies? Spaceships? Sp…eculation? Other things that begin with “sp”? My debut novel, The Caledonian Gambit, came out earlier this year from Talos Press and was featured on this here very site. It’s got intrigue and action, humor and family drama, all set against the backdrop of a galactic cold war. (It doesn’t have any fluffy adorable animals, though—maybe next time.) You can pick up the print book, ebook, or audio version over at Amazon as well as at other fine bookstores. Happy holidays!

5. This is Marshall Ryan Maresca, author of the Maradaine novels, which consist of three companion series set in city of Maradaine. Each series can be read independently, and for avid readers, characters and plot events cross over further into each storyline.

   Maradaine– The spellbinding port city filled with tales of murder and magic, secrets and lies, policemen and vigilantes, misfits and criminals, scholars and sidekicks, conspiracies and deadly danger. Three parallel series set amid the bustling streets and crime-ridden districts of the exotic city called Maradaine.

   The Maradiane Novels crosses fantasy with superheroics, as Veranix Calbert, a magic-student-by-day and vigilante-by-night, wages a personal war against a drug lord in The Thorn of Dentonhill, The Alchemy of Chaos and The Imposters of Aventil.

   The Maradaine Constabulary shows Maradaine through the eyes of the hardworking men and women striving to maintain law and order in the city. It follows Satrine Rainey and Minox Welling, two outcast constabulary inspectors as they partner together to solve challenging murders that threaten to sow city-wide chaos, in A Murder of Mages and An Import of Intrigue .

   Finally, The Streets of Maradaine goes to the poorest parts of the city, following the Rynax Brothers, Asti & Verci– a former spy and thief, forced by tragedy into lives of crime and danger in The Holver Alley Crew and the forthcoming Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe.

   For more information, check out my website

6. Guess who’s on the Entangled Bestseller list this week?

   This guy! Come on over and meet Finn Storm.

   When Skye Harris shows up on the Devil’s Playground’s doorstep asking the Brotherhood for help with a gang taking over her hometown, it’s time for Finn Storm to step up. The bikers might be tough but he’s tougher – and armed with Brotherhood tech and a warrior’s heart he’s going to get the job done, no matter what or who stands in his way.

   The one weak spot in his plan is in his heart––Skye gets under his skin like no other woman has and she’s not going to let him take all the danger on his shoulders alone. But when she’s caught in the crossfire Finn has to decide whether to follow his heart or his carefully crafted plan to not only clean up the town but heal his soul.

   Books in the Delta Force series:
   Hard Play
   Hard Run

   He’ll face down a biker gang and start a war to save her. To start with.

   HARD RUN: https://entangledpublishing.com/hard-run.html

   #romance #military #suspense

7. The Totally Ninja Raccoons children’s series…about three raccoon brothers who decide to become ninjas, because they already have the masks.

8. Some information about the Totally Ninja Raccoons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iRn8Sut46o&t=147s

9. Thanks for this opportunity, John!

   WOODWALKER
   Harper Voyager Impulse, 2016
   Emily B. Martin

   An exiled ranger is recruited by a queen-in-hiding to guide her through the mountains to reclaim her throne. A “nature nerd” fantasy adventure with deep roots in our own world, great for young adults and older. Links, blurbs, artwork, and more at emilybmartin.me.

   Get it for:
   -Your teen who claims adventure stories are for “little kids” but secretly loves rangers, dangers, and wildland treks
   -Your power princess looking for a cast of new heroines to journey with
   -Your college student who ignored Dad’s advice and chose forestry or environmental sciences
   -Your neighbor who volunteers with their local botanical garden or state park
   -Your roommate who hates fantasy because they think it’s all like The Silmarillion
   -Your aunt who always reposts weird animal videos
   -Or any book nerd looking for a fun, foresty, girl-powered read

10. Thanks for doing this, John! And happy holidays, everyone!

    My newest book is THE RELUCTANT QUEEN, Book Two of The Queens of Renthia, an epic fantasy series from Harper Voyager. It’s set in a world filled with nature spirits… but these aren’t sweet, frolicking pastoral sprites. These spirits want to kill all humans, and only certain women — queens — have the power to control them.

    If you’re looking for a book for kids, my latest middle-grade book is JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS. It’s about two sisters, one winged lion, and a whole lot of monsters.

    And for the preschoolers and kindergartners on your list, my very first picture book, ROAR AND SPARKLES GO TO SCHOOL, came out this year. It’s about the first day of school… with dragons!

    If you’re interested, there’s more info on all of these, including excerpts, on my website:

    http://www.sarahbethdurst.com

    Thanks so much!

11. I’m very proud of “The New Annotated Frankenstein,” a fresh look at a two-hundred-year-old classic that is too infrequently read. Really beautiful!. Links to buy at http://www.lesliesklinger.com/books/the-new-annotated-Frankenstein/synopsis/

12. The Adventurer’s Guide series is a middle grade fantasy and science fiction blend that can be summed up in five words: dragons, robots, magick, riddles, platypus. Adventure is only a fireball away!

    The Adventurer’s Guide to Successful Escapes: https://www.amazon.com/Adventurers-Guide-Successful-Escapes/dp/031630526X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

    The Adventurer’s Guide to Dragons (and Why They Keep Biting Me): https://www.amazon.com/Adventurers-Guide-Dragons-They-Biting/dp/0316305316/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

13. For my day job, I’m a professional archaeologist, and my series of urban fantasy novels gives werewolves an anthropological twist: they are born, not cursed, so they have their own culture, history, and religion. The first book, SILVER, brings the character of Silver together with the Roanoke pack enforcer, Andrew Dare, in their efforts to find and stop the one who injected her with silver nitrate, leaving her unable to shift and seeing visions of the Were Death.

    More information about the whole series can be found here.

14. The Punch Escrow is a book about a very bad case of identity theft. What happens when the person who steals your identity is … you? Joel Byram, an everyday guy in 2147 New York, haphazardly discovers that he’s been duplicated while teleporting. Also, everyone he meets now wants him dead. Using only his wits, Joel must race to save his life and in his wife in a world that now has two of him.

15. Nothing says “holidays” like Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom!

    It’s an illustrated visit to the streamlined World of Tomorrow complete with robots, rockets, monorails, and a curiously Scandinavian temple on the Moon. Now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever books are booked.

    Booklist calls Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom “…a wild ride filled with clever invention and nuanced winks.”.

16. Are you looking for that perfect gift for a dog lover on your holiday list? Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners. Available everywhere.

    “An in-depth and beautifully illustrated breed guide to a hardworking class of dogs, Farm Dogs is hard to resist even if you live in a city apartment. . .”
    The Bark magazine

    “This book is a work of art in its own right, lovingly illustrated and detailed and well-written. Anyone who cherishes the loyalty, dedication and value of working dogs will find it readable and invaluable.”
    Jon Katz, author
    The Dogs of Bedlam Farm

17. Hi, Whatever! I’m Liz Bonesteel, and my latest is a space opera called BREACH OF CONTAINMENT.

    It’s set about 1,000 years in the future in the human-colonized galaxy. There’s a domed city on a frozen moon, a mysterious – but ever-cheerful – starship captain, an officer with little left but cynicism for the job, and a mechanic who can’t resist leaping into the fray at the first sign of trouble. There are Evil Corporations, seditious governments, ambiguous loyalties, talking boxes, heroic accountants, sleazy guys in suits, and cats.

    Also, stuff blows up. That always seems worth highlighting. (I like blowing stuff up. It’s cathartic.)

    Yes, it’s a series book (#3), but I try to make all of them readable as stand-alones, so if this one speaks to you feel free to start here. (It is also, like all books, conveniently and attractively gift-sized.)

    Buy links and excerpts here: http://elizabethbonesteel.com/books#boc

18. Thanks for doing this every year!
    American Faerie Tale Series:
    Faeries with machine guns and sports cars, homeless kids using quantum theory based magic, and no prince charming.
    The Stolen
    The Forgotten
    Three Promises
    The Returned

19. In a world growing in the ruins of an ancient catastrophe, a young thief called Jeniche finds herself the centre of attention. Just why are the invading Occassans so interested in her and just how far is she prepared to go to escape capture? Read the series ‘Shadow in the Storm’ published by HarperVoyager and find out.
    https://www.amazon.com/Stealing-Into-Winter-Shadow-Storm/dp/0008120447/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1512400094&sr=8-2&keywords=shadow+in+the+storm+talboys
    https://www.amazon.com/Exile-Pilgrim-Shadow-Storm-Book/dp/0008153795/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512400225&sr=1-1&keywords=shadow+in+the+storm+talboys
    https://www.amazon.com/Players-Game-Shadow-Storm-Book/dp/0008153809/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512400286&sr=1-3&keywords=shadow+in+the+storm+talboys

20. “Mycroft Holmes and the Adventure of the Desert Wind” is a historical mystery adventure, and obviously a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel, focussing on his older brother Mycroft. If you’ve always wanted to see Mycroft as a secret agent and like Sherlock reimagines, then this is for you!

    Here’s the blurb for your convenience: “Sherlock Holmes is missing. Dr. Watson receives a cursed note, summoning him to the city of Milan. In his plight, he turns to the one person who can help him: Mycroft Holmes, secret agent and eternally concerned elder brother. Mycroft has to team up with Dr. Watson and fellow agent Victoria Trevor to follow Sherlock’s trail and stand against the dark forces that threaten his life. ”

    I’ll leave you with the link to the book’s Goodreads page, from which you can reach Amazon, B&N, etc, for the paperback, ebook or audio book (currently on Audible)… read a few reviews and liste to an audio book sample. :)

    Thank you for reading! -Janina

21. Today’s technology may seem like magic – and it is! Not ‘magic’ as in Dr. Strange and the Eye of Agamotto but ‘magic’ as in a Penn and Teller stage show. In THE PHYSICS OF EVERYDAY THINGS: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day (Crown, 2017) I explain how the magic tricks are done.

    Want to know how a touch screen works (and how you are able to see where to touch through the electronic circuitry), how the scanners at TSA work, your wrist fitness monitor, cloud storage, motion sensors and flat screen OLED TV’s? This book is like Prego spaghetti sauce – it’s in there! (Knowledge of obscure 1970’s TV commercials not required for book, nor a math or physics background).

    Available whereever books are sold, along with my earlier books THE PHYSICS OF SUPERHEROES (SPECTACULAR SECOND EDITION) and THE AMAZING STORY OF QUANTUM MECHANICS.

    Have an Extraordinary Holiday! And major thanks John for hosting this site and the opportunity.

22. Thanks for doing this!

    The Wildlands Series

    Weird west meets alchemy as Petra Dee, a stubbornly non-magical scientist, encounters the magical denizens of Temperance, Wyoming. With her coyote sidekick, Petra faces undead cowboys, a drug-dealing alchemist, basilisks, a serpent-worshipping biker gang, and more horrors from the backcountry of Yellowstone.

    DARK ALCHEMY
    MERCURY RETROGRADE
    NINE OF STARS

23. If you are a fan of Orphan Black, the recently completed BBC America series, then you need to pick up Classified Clone Report from Harper. Ostensibly compiled by Dr. Delphine Cormier (which is why I share a byline with that character played by Evelyne Brochu), it consists of reports, diary entries, text messages, e-mails, photos, newspaper articles, and tons more relating to the grand clone conspiracy that the show chronicled for five years, including detailed looks at all the members of clone club, their monitors’ reports, and tons more. Throughout there are diary entries from both Delphine and Cosima, chronicling their tumultuous lives with the sestras.

    Here’s a link to the book’s Goodreads page, which handily has links to the usual online book dealers, or you can find it in the section of your local bookstore that has big books about TV shows. (Be warned, it’s an expensive picture-filled hardcover, but it’s so totally worth it for the Clone Club member in your life….)

    Also available from Joe Books is an omnibus of my Marvel’s Tales of Asgard trilogy — three novels featuring Thor (Dueling with Giants), Sif (Even Dragons Have Their Endings), and the Warriors Three (Godhood’s End). Whether you’re a fan of the comics or the movies, this trilogy will appeal to fans of Marvel’s version of Norse mythology, from Loki conspiring to help the giants make a fool out of Odin and Thor, to Sif battling a dragon that is menacing a small village, to Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the Grim, and Volstagg the Voluminous going on a grand quest to save Asgard. Here’s a link to the Goodreads page of this omnibus. (The three original books are available as well, though Godhood’s End was only released as an eBook, so this omnibus is the only way to get their story in codex form.)

    Thanks, John, and happy holidays everyone!

    —Keith R.A. DeCandido

24. Thank you, John. You’re so sweet!

    I write a cozy mystery series, The Auction Block Mysteries, featuring auctioneer Wren Morgan and Death (pronounced Deeth) Bogart, a disabled Marine combat vet turned private eye. There are three books in print.

    Death and the Redheaded Woman: In which Wren finds a naked dead man and is drawn into a search for missing jewels and a meeting with Death that will change both their lives.

    Death and the Brewmaster’s Widow: Wren travel with Death to St Louis to look into the odd circumstances surrounding his brother’s death.

    Death and the Gravedigger’s Angel: While preparing the historic, haunted Hadleigh House for auction, Wren is drawn into the mystery of a WWI artist and his lost love. Meanwhile, Death tries to clear a troubled Army vet who’s accused of murdering a member of the hate group that disrupted his wife’s funeral.

    My books are published by Midnight Ink and are available at all the usual outlets in paperback, ebook, audio book and large-print hardback versions.

    Thank you again and happy holidays, everyone.

25. I’m Beth Cato, an author with Harper Voyager. My Clockwork Dagger duology (Agatha Christie meets Final Fantasy) is currently on sale in ebook, $2.99 for Clockwork Dagger and $1.99 for Clockwork Crown.

    I also have my Blood of Earth series, alt history/steampunk set in 1906 America with fantastical creatures and geomancy. The first book is Breath of Earth, and the second in the trilogy, Call of Fire, came out in August.

26. Thanks, John!

    My most recent novel is BANNERLESS, a post-apocalyptic murder mystery set in a near-future ravaged by climate change and economic collapse. It has become much more relevant over the last year than when I wrote it. Anyhoo….

    Right now, the e-book of BANNERLESS is on sale for 2.99!

    I’ve also written lots of other books — urban fantasy, superheroes, YA fantasy and science fiction — probably something that will interest most anyone of a reading inclination! Check out my website at http://www.carrievaughn.com for more information!

    Happy Holidays!

    All best,
    Carrie Vaughn

27. Thanks, John!
    Agents, Adepts & Apprentices is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories. Tales of wizards training apprentices and interstellar operatives protecting more primitive worlds. How one university copes with a student from very far away, and where do some wizards get their supplies? A wizard seeking an apprentice won’t take no for an answer, and a would-be apprentice attempts the impossible to find a mentor. A twin discovers her sister’s new job is a lot different than she expects. And what’s the deal with the cat whiskers? The first four stories are available to read free at the publisher’s website, which also has Amazon, Kobo, and Nook links.

28. If someone in your life likes Vikings, Outlander, or Game of Thrones, they may enjoy The Half-Drowned King, a historical novel set in 9th century Norway.

    Centuries ago, in a blood-soaked land ruled by legendary gods and warring men, a prophecy foretold of a high king who would come to reign over all of the north. . . .

    Ragnvald Eysteinsson, the son and grandson of kings, grew up believing that he would one day take his dead father’s place as chief of his family’s lands. But, sailing home from a raiding trip to Ireland, the young warrior is betrayed and left for dead by men in the pay of his greedy stepfather, Olaf. Rescued by a fisherman, Ragnvald is determined to have revenge for his stepfather’s betrayal, claim his birthright and the woman he loves, and rescue his beloved sister Svanhild. Opportunity may lie with Harald of Vestfold, the strong young Norse warrior rumored to be the prophesied king. Ragnvald pledges his sword to King Harald, a choice that will hold enormous consequence in the years to come.

    While Ragnvald’s duty is to fight—and even die—for his honor, Svanhild must make an advantageous marriage, though her adventurous spirit yearns to see the world. Her stepfather, Olaf, has arranged a husband for her—a hard old man she neither loves nor desires. When the chance to escape Olaf’s cruelty comes at the hands of her brother’s arch rival, the shrewd young woman is forced to make a heartbreaking choice: family or freedom.

    Links to booksellers in the right nav at linneahartsuyker.com.

29. I write books about physics and science in general for an audience of non-scientists:

    1) How to Teach [Quantum] Physics to Your Dog

    2) How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog

    (These two explain modern physics through imaginary conversations with my late German Shepherd, Emmy.)

    3) Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist, about how everyday activities make use of the same mental processes as great scientific discoveries.

    I turned in the manuscript for a fourth book, on quantum physics in everyday life, just last week, but it won’t be out until next year’s gift guide…

30. Tired of not being able to see your floors, but terrified by housekeeping systems that assume you’re already good at cleaning and that you have endless time to do it? Unf*ck Your Habitat gives real life, practical advice for getting your mess under control while examining some of the reasons we have trouble keeping our homes clean and organized.

    In addition to tips, tricks, and habits to build, UfYH also offers solutions for readers with disabilities, mental illness, chronic illness, and other circumstances that most other housekeeping systems ignore. Real, usable advice that doesn’t make assumptions about you or your life, but instead teaches you how to start wherever you are.

    Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!

    Unf*ck Your Habitat: You’re Better Than Your Mess https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250102952/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Q7wjAbF6KMBT8

31. “The Seer has a remarkable intimacy.” — Locus Magazine, Faren Miller

    “Masterful. I was very impressed.”–Dave Freer, author

    “I love this book, and I’m not a fantasy fan at all.” — Lydia Olchoff, reader

    In a world of magic, in an empire built on intrigue, a girl named Amarta can foresee what will come. As she becomes the key to everyone’s ambitions, she must find a way to do more than predict the future. She must create it.

    http://seersaga.com/

    Chapter one, free for the tasting: http://lyris.org/seer/ch1/

    Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/The-Seer-BAEN-Sonia-Lyris/dp/1476781265
    B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-seer-sonia-lyris/1122222661?ean=9781476781266
    Powells” http://www.powells.com/book/seer-9781476781266/62-0

32. Thanks a lot, John! Happy Holidays!

    My latest novel from White Cat Publications — “RecipeArium”

    In an alien world within the huge body of a monstrous beast, the Recipears are the ones ruling the society. Stimulation through the sense of taste has become a powerful art form that rules the lives of the males.

    Carrying the soul of his RecipeArium master, within him, Morminiu comes to the Royal Court. His two objectives–to exact revenge on his master’s enemies, and to win for himself the most desired and treacherous position in the realm: Master Recipear of the Kingdom.
    Yet, his road is deadly—he’ll have to claw his way in, break all the rules and find love in the most forbidden of all places.
    In the belly of the beast, politics, war, and love don’t make a good recipe.

    “Costi Gurgu breaks through with RecipeArium, a brilliant, haunting tale. Move over China Miéville — this is the new new weird, a fabulous book with a distinctive, compelling voice.”
    — Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of FlashForward

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0722KF172
    https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/recipearium-costi-gurgu/1126284152?ean=9780692879450

33. Brigid and the Butter: A Legend about Saint Brigid of Ireland. When hungry, overworked young Brigid helps someone in greater need than herself, she is unexpectedly rewarded with a miracle. A children’s picture book, this is a tale of one of the many wonders told of the life of Saint Brigid of Ireland.

    Thanks for reading!

    https://www.amazon.com/Brigid-Butter-Legend-about-Ireland/dp/0819812331

34. Magic, mystery, and mayhem in medieval Ireland. THE LAST DAYS OF MAGIC by Mark Tompkins.

    PEOPLE MAGAZINE called it one of “The Best New Books.”

    THE WASHINGTON POST concluded the novel is: “Vivid, articulate writing…a beautifully detailed book and an entertaining read.”
    http://bit.ly/PaperbackMagic

35. Thanks, John!
    Spliced is a YA/SF thriller that explores what it means to be human. It takes place in a near future when young people called chimeras modify themselves by splicing animal DNA into their own. The chimeras face growing persecution from a group called Humans for Humanity (led by a tech billionaire who made his fortune in computer implants) who are pushing a law that would define anyone whose DNA is less than 100% human as no longer legally human. Kirkus called it “Timely, thrilling and more than a little scary.” Booklist called it “timely and thought provoking.”
    Read more (and splice yourself. It’s a hoot!) at https://www.spliced.world.
    Available from your local bookstore, Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Spliced-Jon-McGoran-ebook/dp/B075NTC63T/) or order a signed copy from Open Book Bookstore (http://openbookphilly.com)

36. THE MEMOIRS OF LADY TRENT ARE COMPLETE! If you’re the sort of person who waits to acquire a series until all the books are out, all five volumes are now in print in the U.S. and U.K. (Three are out in French, and the first in German, Romanian, Polish, and soon to be Russian.)

    For those who aren’t aware, the Memoirs of Lady Trent are the tale of Isabella, Lady Trent, the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

    Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expeditions to the far corners of the world, where she made a series of historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

    * A Natural History of Dragons
    * The Tropic of Serpents
    * Voyage of the Basilisk
    * In the Labyrinth of Drakes
    * Within the Sanctuary of Wings

    Or if you’re in a mood for epic fantasy, try my Varekai novellas, Cold-Forged Flame and Lightning in the Blood, the story of how an archetypal creature bound to human service fights to regain her understanding of who and what she is.

37. Thanks, John!

    I’m the editor of the Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide anthology series.

    Share your love of science fiction with the next generation with the anthology Kirkus Reviews has called “a stellar collection.” Twenty-four short stories for middle grade readers (ages 8-12) to inspire them to dream of the stars. Available paperback at all the usual locations: Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

38. Thanks, John!

    My latest book is SOUPY LEAVE HOME. It’s a depression era coming of age graphic novel about a girl hobo, written by me and illustrated by Jose Pimienta. So if you like adventure, train travel, hoboes, history and heart, than this is the book for you. Suitable for ages 10 and up!

    Pearl Plankette ran away from her home to escape an abusive father and an unhappy future. Disguised and reborn as a boy named Soupy, she hitches her star to an unlikely hobo, and they begin their journey from the cold heartbreak of their eastern homes toward the sunny promise of California in this train-hopping, Depression-era coming-of-age tale.

    (there is a ten page preview of the book over at this link along with links to your fave places to buy)
    https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/24-487/Soupy-Leaves-Home-TPB

    “Castellucci has created a strong heroine who both defies conventionality and embodies empowerment; as her transformative journey nears its denouement, she makes a resolute decision: “I have to go and face my things or else I’ll never be free,” a message still highly relevant to today’s world.” Kirkus – Starred Review

39. Hi! I’m Tim Lees, author of the Field Ops books from HarperVoyager. Ever wonder what we’ll do when fossil fuels run out? Well, I can tell you. We’ll have a bunch of guys who race around the world digging up ancient gods to change into electric power. Chris Copeland is one of them. Follow him from Iraq to Budapest, from Vegas to Chicago, as he hunts down some truly terrifying entities – primal beings from the dawn of time – fends off the machinations of his colleagues, tries to get back with his girlfriend, and, like the rest of us, moans about his job. After all – one wrong step, and it’s the apocalypse. That tends to be a little stressful, sometimes…
    The books can be read in sequence or as stand-alones. Check out The God Hunter, Devil in the Wires and Steal the Lightning.
    http://www.harpervoyagerbooks.com/book-author/tim-lees/
    https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Lees/e/B006E4I288

40. Space Opera murder mystery / conspiracy thriller trilogy.
    Tasting notes: character driven, gritty, hints of humor.
    * UNEXPECTED RAIN out now!
    * UNCLEAR SKIES out now!
    * UNDER SHADOWS – paperback release Dec 26th!
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B01CG17PAS/ref=dp_st_0008120714

41. Mixed Up: Cocktail Recipes (and Flash Fiction) for the Discerning Drinker (and Reader) edited by me and Molly Tanzer, was genetically designed in a secret publishing laboratory/bar to be the perfect holiday gift. (Click! http://amzn.to/2knFsnl )

    Not only does Mixed Up include dozens of classic cocktail recipes perfected under Molly’s sure hands, it features short fiction about cocktails by the likes of:

    Jeff VanderMeer (have you seen the trailer for Annihilation?)

    National Book Award nominee Carmen Machado (if you liked Her Body and Other Parties…here’s another story you haven’t read yet, about very special parties)

    USA Today best-selling indie author and “hint fiction” innovator Robert Swartwood

    I Hate the Internet author Jarret Kobek who was recently nominated for a comical award that I think got a previous version of this comment caught in a spam trap.

    and others, including World Fantasy Award nominee Selena Chambers, Shirley Jackson Award winner Carrie Laben, Mr. Nice Guy Maurice Broaddus, thriller/horror/comic book author Benjamin Percy, and even li’l ol’ me.

    We were even a Big Idea back in October! https://whatever.scalzi.com/2017/10/03/the-big-idea-nick-mamatas-5/

    You should probably buy a copy for every person you know.

42. Scott Joplin, America’s first internationally celebrated composer, died in 1917. That’s about the only piece of his life that scholars agree about. He left a lot of mysteries and controversies behind. And who better than mystery writers to fill in the gaps?

    The RagTime Traveler takes on the controversy over the authorship of Joplin’s most famous composition, “The Maple Leaf Rag.” It’s got a century-long family feud, time travel, and some of the greatest music ever written.

    Available from all the usual vendors. For more information and direct links, swing by my website.

43. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI comes out next week, but you can spend a night on the lavish casino world from the movie tomorrow, as Tuesday sees the release of STAR WARS: CANTO BIGHT, an anthology featuring four novellas taking place the same night. The hardcover/ebook/audiobook includes the first long-form Star Wars work from SALADIN AHMED, RAE CARSON, and MIRA GRANT (the pseudonym of SEANAN McGUIRE) — and it’s a return trip for me, having written KENOBI, NEW DAWN, and many other Star Wars works.

    The novellas are very different, following various new characters seen in the film through their adventures on the world; my own, “The Ride,” confronts a career card-player with a trio of gamblers whose luck defies explanation. This is my first original story tying into an unreleased film, and it’s been a fun experience building on what the filmmakers have in store.

    I have preorder links at my site…
    http://blog.farawaypress.com/2017/10/fall-update-two-new-star-wars-books-new.html

    …and Random House has a giveaway casino-token pin for preorders. There are preorder links here too, at the bottom of the page.
    http://www.randomhousebooks.com/campaign/canto-bight-star-wars/

    Thanks, John!

44. If you’re looking for an adult fantasy that’s dark and genre bendy, I humbly submit my debut novel THE NINE from Pyr. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and everywhere, and in audio through Audible & Recorded Books!

    Black market courier Rowena Downshire lives in a world where science and faith are one and the same, and God is the keeper of the Grand Experiment of life itself. When discovery of a harried scholar’s mysterious, self-writing text – the key to the Grand Experiment itself – turns into a late-night delivery gone terribly wrong, Rowena finds herself entangled in a robbery, a murder, and a conspiracy to derail divine judgment. Survival will require the one thing she’s never had: trust in others, including two shadowy ex-mercenaries who have as much to run from as she.

    THE NINE on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Thieves-Fate-Tracy-Townsend-ebook/dp/B06WVGGX7T/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=)

    THE NINE on Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-nine-tracy-townsend/1125814956?ean=9781633883413#/)

45. Thanks, John! You’re fantastic.

    How about a little necromancy for the holidays? A war between two disparate realms? A few toothy people-eating monsters lurking in the hollows beneath an unwitting kingdom?

    Book IV of my Bone Magic series – The Exiled King – is just out from HarperVoyager. Enjoy a new fictional found-family while you sip mulled cider in front of a cheerfully crackling fire…with all the lights on and every single door locked tight.

46. Having found a home at Fantastic Books, a small press based in New York, I’ve been able to focus on SF instead of more general media matters, having done the Hugo finalist “Jar Jar Binks Must Die… and other observations about science fiction movies” and “Shh! It’s a Secret: a novel about aliens, Hollywood, and the Bartender’s Guide,” which shortlisted for the Compton Crook Award for best first novel.

    This year’s offering is my take on time travel stories, a subgenre I enjoy but wanted to have some fun skewering, as I went after as many cliches as I could. “Time on My Hands: My Misadventures in Time Travel” has gotten raves in Analog and Asimov’s and, best of all, from readers who say it’s made them laugh out loud.

    More details here: http://fantasticbooks.biz/fantasticbooks/sf/1515400522.html

47. This is very kind of you!

    My latest is nonfiction on epidemiology, microbiology, food politics and farming: BIG CHICKEN: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats (National Geographic Books/Penguin Random House). It’s the story of how we came to give antibiotics routinely to most of the meat animals on the planet, how we discovered that was a terrible idea, what the prospects for change are now, and who really invented the chicken nugget.

    At Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Chicken-Incredible-Antibiotics-Agriculture/dp/1426217668/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
    At the publisher: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/546760/big-chicken-by-maryn-mckenna/

48. Do you like Rhode Island? Do you know anyone who likes Rhode Island?

    What do you mean, “I don’t know…”? Rhode Island is amazing! Sure, it’s most famous for being a unit of measurement (“The crater was as big as seven Rhode Islands…”), but it is a state filled with wonderous things and important history.

    IT HAPPENED IN RHODE ISLAND is a short collection of important events that happened in Rhode Island, as you might suspect from the title. Ranging from the historical (Great Swamp Massacre, Burning of the Gaspee) to the more modern and esoteric (Babe Ruth’s first home run, Bob Dylan playing electric guitar), this book is a collection of cool RI firsts you may not have known about.
    (https://www.amazon.com/Happened-Rhode-Island/dp/0762769742/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)

    RHODE ISLAND CURIOSITIES is a more light-hearted collection of short profiles of weird things around the state, from the iconic Big Blue Bug to a disappearing diner. This book is an ideal bathroom book.
    (https://www.amazon.com/Rhode-Island-Curiosities-Characters-Roadside/dp/0762743387/ref=sr_1_1/105-1741395-6021223?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187538284&sr=8-1)

49. “The Military Guide To Financial Independence And Retirement”.

    … for U.S. military servicemembers, families, and veterans. You don’t need a pension, and even one service obligation gives you the knowledge & skills to make it happen.

    All of my writing revenue is donated to military-friendly charities.

50. Dear folks,

    Two books of mine to recommend… plus a “don’t buy” which kind of pushes the categories, but I think John will allow it:

    First and foremost, SATURN RUN by me and John Sandford, Big Idea’d here:

    https://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/10/08/the-big-idea-ctein/

    You like me? You like Sandford? You like thrillers? You like science fiction? You like hard SF with LOTS of strong women characters? All of the above? Any of the above?? You gotta like this book.

    Second, DIGITAL RESTORATION From Start to Finish by me, solo. If you’re at all interested in restoring any of your old family photographs on a computer, you want this book. It is widely considered to be the Bible on the subject. Look for the third edition — it’s got a bunch of new stuff.

    And, my “don’t buy” — my first book was a book on fine photographic printing called POST EXPOSURE. It’s still available commercially, but I recommend you not pay good money for it, because the rights reverted to me some years ago and I made it available for free from my website. Save your hard-earned shekels.

    – pax \ Ctein
    [ Please excuse any word-salad. Dragon Dictate in training! ]
    ======================================
    — Ctein’s Online Gallery. http://ctein.com 
    — Digital Restorations. http://photo-repair.com 
    ======================================

51. Anders Jensen is having a bad month. His roommate is a data thief, his girlfriend picks fights in bars, and his best friend is a cyborg…and a lousy tipper. When everything is spiraling out of control, though, maybe those are exactly the kind of friends you need.

    In a world divided between the genetically engineered elite and the unmodified masses, Anders is an anomaly: engineered, but still broke and living next to a crack house. All he wants is to land a tenure-track faculty position, and maybe meet someone who’s not technically a criminal—but when a nightmare plague rips through Hagerstown, Anders finds himself dodging kinetic energy weapons and government assassins as Baltimore slips into chaos. His friends aren’t as helpless as they seem, though, and his girlfriend’s street-magician brother-in-law might be a pretentious hipster – or might hold the secret to saving them all.

    Frenetic and audacious, Three Days in April is a speculative thriller that raises an important question: once humanity goes down the rabbit hole, can we ever find our way back?

    https://www.amazon.com/Three-Days-April-Edward-Ashton-ebook/dp/B00XHRVXJA

52. Thanks, John! I’ve written four traditionally published novels.

    Want to read about a woman who can bring her tattoos to life trying to raise a teenage weretiger? Then you want the Dakota Frost, Skindancer series!
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07254LT38/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
    FROST MOON – Magical tattoos and werewolves!
    BLOOD ROCK – Magical graffiti and vampires!
    LIQUID FIRE – Magical firespinning and dragons!

    Want to read about a world where women’s liberation happened a century early, so, with twice as many brains working on hard problems, they’re more advanced in 1908 than we are today? Then you want JEREMIAH WILLSTONE AND THE CLOCKWORK TIME MACHINE! http://a.co/jeoIv75

    Also, we’ll have audio adventures for Jeremiah soon at http://www.jeremiahwillstone.com/ …

53. If you like Twitter, and like politics, or are politically minded, or trying to make sense of politics as it plays out on social media, you will enjoy The Role of Twitter in the 2016 US Election, a volume of academic research (edited by me and my colleagues Jennifer Lucas and Tauna Sisco) analyzing multiple aspects of how the election played out on Twitter. Chapters delve into how ideology works on Twitter, how different candidates used Twitter for various purposes, how online humor worked in 2016, and more.

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/3319689800/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504404653&sr=1-4

54. The final volume of my middle-grade fantasy series, THE FALL OF THE READERS, comes out tomorrow! (Tuesday Dec 5.) It has people who go inside books to bind monsters, talking cats, and murderous black kiwis. Target ages roughly 8-12; I think of it as about the level of Harry Potter book one.

    Here’s the links to the final volume, and also to book one if you want to get started!

    The Fall of the Readers (Book 4) — https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Readers-Forbidden-Library/dp/0399539204/ref=sr_1_1

    The Forbidden Library (Book 1) — https://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Library-Django-Wexler/dp/0142426814/ref=sr_1_1

55. Tired of oversimplified fantasy with polarized conflicts? No farmboys, No orcs, No darklords, No cliffhangers…War of Light and Shadows (HarperCollins Voyager) could be for you – tenth book, Destiny’s Conflict just released with the finale just around the corner. Series navigation page with book links to excerpts:

    http://www.paravia.com/JannyWurts/website/downloads/StoryArcs.html

    Or if you prefer a standalone intrigue to action thriller with a plot that finishes out in five and a half days (sort of a Fantasy 24) try To Ride Hell’s Chasm, (HarperCollins Voyager) link has excerpts:

    http://www.paravia.com/JannyWurts/website/Books/ToRideHellsChasm/ToRideHellsChasm.html

    (Thank You, John)

56. I’m Nicky Drayden, writer of delightfully twisted things and author of THE PREY OF GODS, a near future thriller set in South Africa with gods, robots, and hallucinogenic hijinks.
    https://www.amzn.com/0062493035

57. I wrote a YA called JERKBAIT to help prevent LGBTQ+ teen suicide. Also hockey.

    Even though they’re identical, Tristan isn’t close to his twin Robbie at all–until Robbie tries to kill himself.

    Forced to share a room to prevent Robbie from hurting himself, the brothers begin to feel the weight of each other’s lives on the ice, and off. Tristan starts seeing his twin not as a hockey star whose shadow Tristan can’t escape, but a struggling gay teen terrified about coming out in the professional sports world. Robbie’s future in the NHL is plagued by anxiety and the mounting pressure from their dad, coach, and scouts, while Tristan desperately fights to create his own future, not as a hockey player but a musical theatre performer. As their season progresses and friends turn out to be enemies, Robbie finds solace in an online stranger known only as “Jimmy2416.” Between keeping Robbie’s secret and saving him from taking his life, Tristan is given the final call: sacrifice his dream for a brother he barely knows, or pursue his own path.

    How far is Robbie willing to go and more importantly, how far is Tristan willing to go to help him?

    https://smile.amazon.com/Jerkbait-Mia-Siegert/dp/1631630660/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512430720&sr=8-1&keywords=jerkbait+mia+siegert

58. If you’re a Star Trek fan looking for something to satisfy your Trek-cravings until the second half of Star Trek: Discovery’s first season arrives in 2018, might I suggest you check out my two most recent Star Trek novels?

    If you’ve enjoyed the new series, consider picking up my Star Trek: Discovery novel Desperate Hours, the first original novel based on the new series: http://davidmack.pro/writing/desperate-hours/

    If you prefer your Star Trek set in the 24th century, try my brand-new Star Trek Titan novel Fortune of War (just released last week): http://davidmack.pro/writing/fortune-of-war/

    Both books are available from all your favorite retailers in paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats.

    (And, as always: Thank you, John, for opening this forum to your fellow authors.)

59. Violet Crown: A Dr. Hedy Villarreal Novel
    K.C. Littleton
    Pearlsong Press, 2017
    https://www.amazon.com/Violet-Crown-Hedy-Villarreal-Novel-ebook/dp/B076NS1DVZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512431113&sr=8-1&keywords=violet+crown

    Dr. Hedwig (Hedy) Villarreal is a forty-something criminal psychologist and sexually liberal fatass with the vocabulary and nerd tattoos of a well-educated sailor. Two years after the death of her wife, she’s hanging out on the Texas coast in her father’s condo, occasionally consulting as a profiler for the DEA. That work puts her at odds with a powerful drug trafficker, landing her in protective custody at a black ops site deep in the central Texas Hill Country.

    Hedy quickly finds out her world is not as she thought it was, and sets out to use her unique skills to support those who would protect her. Violent encounters change lives, painful truths are unearthed, and Hedy discovers that her various entanglements have roots that reach further back than anyone realizes.

    (Thank you for the opportunity to post!)

60. For those Star Wars fans! If you like foul-mouthed, snarky gunrunners, comrades-in-arms, and things that go boom you’ll love The Indranan War Trilogy starting with book #1: Behind the Throne (link)

    Hail Bristol has made a name for herself in the galaxy for everything except what she was born to do: rule the Indranan Empire. When the former gunrunner is dragged back to her home planet to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir, she finds that trading her ship for a palace is her most dangerous move yet.

61. Looking for bad-ass women in love? Check out DISSENSION and REGENERATION!

    For four hundred years, the Church has led the remnants of humanity as they struggle for survival in the last inhabited city. Echo Hunter 367 is exactly what the Church created her to be: loyal, obedient, lethal. A clone who shouldn’t care about anything but her duty. Who shouldn’t be able to.

    But Echo hides a deadly secret: doubt. And when Echo’s mission leads her to Lia, a rebel leader who has a secret of her own, Echo is forced to face that doubt. For Lia holds the key to the city’s survival, and Echo must choose between the woman she loves and the purpose she was born to fulfill.

    https://www.amazon.com/Dissension-Echo-Hunter-367-Novel/dp/0062466135/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

62. Happy holidays, friends!
    Great news! My publisher has put Something Like Family on sale for the first time – only $1.99 for kindle and $6.99 for the paperback.
    A feel good family story about a grandfather searching for his grandson.
    https://www.amazon.com/Something-Like-Family-Heather-Burch-ebook/dp/B01N9SD05I

    Happy reading! Heather Burch

63. Thanks John!

    THE FINN FANCY TRILOGY from TOR (US) and TITAN (UK):

    “… it’s an urban fantasy, one that takes place in and around present-day Seattle. But even though it deals with sinister magic and family tragedy, it counterbalances that darkness with something that’s become increasingly rare in fantasy fiction: laughs, laughs, and more laughs.” – NPR

    Here’s book 1:

    Some content was stripped by our security filters, but it should be possible for one of your Editors to embed the content for you.

64. Hunger Makes the Wolf is a book about biker space witches fighting a labor war on a corporate-owned mining planet. And in the middle of this conflict, two women reaffirm their ride-or-die friendship and there is a train heist. (Available from B&N too!)

65. The Deeds of Pounce is a fun romp about two goblins in San Francisco, trying to save the world without learning anything about culture or love.

    The rich history of one of America’s most fascinating cities is set in a fully realized comic fantasy universe for a fast paced adventure with the heart of a Young Adult novel and the brain of a literary epic. All that, plus the world’s most heroic mouse.

66. THE BURNING, recently published by Annorlunda Books,
    http://annorlundaenterprises.com/books/the-burning/
    is a perfect holiday reading choice for men and women of all ages, and is available in print as well as ALL e-book formats.

    THE BURNING is faction–part fact, part fiction, about what happens to a family as the result of a coal fire burning under their town. You can read the excellent reviews on Amazon at:

    https://www.amazon.com/Burning-J-P-Seewald/dp/1944354263

    Happy Holidays, everyone!

67. THE BEAST ON THE BROCH – a Scottish children’s adventure set in Pictish times.

    12-year-old Talorca is a Pictish girl living in North-east Scotland in 799 AD.

    When Gaelic-speaking Dalriadans arrive in her village, her world is turned upside down. Her only friend is the mythical Pictish Beast, who has been injured by the Dalriadans.

    Talorca decides to take a stand against the intruders and hatches a plan to drive them out. But she can only do that with the help of the wild beast on the broch…

    Available on Amazon US and UK in print and ebook, as well as just about every UK-based online store (Waterstone’s, Wordery, and so on).

68. My ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN series is about an assassin that runs a barbecue restaurant. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin codenamed the Spider who can control the elements of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing bad guys and righting wrongs, Gin runs a barbecue restaurant called the Pork Pit in the fictional Southern metropolis of Ashland. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vampires, and elementals – Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.

    SPIDER’S BITE, book #1, is currently on sale for 99 cents: http://amzn.to/2jT1Qmn

    Happy holidays!

69. https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B073D732TK&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_qtQjAbCYNY55B
    What if today’s most horrific and unrelated headlines were actually connected?
    Jack Montgomery, still reeling from the loss of his wife and daughter in a terrible accident, is the proverbial “canary in the coalmine”—someone given the unenviable job as first responder for major medical mysteries anywhere on the planet. A freelance investigator for the CDC’s Global Health Center, he stumbles upon a puzzle that threatens to change everything he thought he knew about the world, and might change everything he thought he knew about his life.
    As pieces of a global conspiracy fall into place, Jack awakens an ancient and patient force—a force with tendrils buried deep inside the power centers of every government and major corporation on earth. One that has now turned its attention to him.
    Jack and his friends—both old and new—must run for their lives in a desperate race to discover the truth, with humankind’s very survival the prize. Not everyone will reach the finish line.

70. Hello, everyone! I’m Tori Rigby, the author of the #1 Amazon Bestseller BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (released May 2016 through Blaze Publishing).

    BECAUSE I LOVE YOU is a YA Contemporary about sixteen-year-old Andie Hamilton who discovers she’s adopted when she becomes pregnant herself. With the help of her ex-boyfriend and her gay best friend, Andie seeks out her birth family to learn more about who she really is, and through her journey, Andie finds the courage to make a decision about whether or not she wants to keep her own baby.

    I’ve been told fans of Katie McGarry or THE FAULT IN OUR STARS would enjoy my book, so if YA Contemporary is a genre you like to read, here’s the link to BECAUSE I LOVE YOU on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Because-Love-You-Tori-Rigby/dp/0997010436/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8. It’s also available wherever books are sold.

    Thanks, John, for the opportunity to share BECAUSE I LOVE YOU with readers. Happy reading, everyone!

71. You would think that knowing the future and being able to change it would make for the perfect life. No more pesky ‘what if’s’ getting in the way of choices. It sure seems that way to a young Jordan, who is tasked by a stranger on a beach during spring break to be his “quantum collapser”, whatever that is.

    Instead of a glorious carefree life, he begins to create a life filled with regret and mistakes. It is interrupted one day by the arrival of two strangers who are utterly unpredictable, something he hasn’t experienced in two decades. The chaos they bring challenges Jordan to come up with answers before it’s too late.

    This first book in The Meddling Universe series sets the stage for a world that is starting to come apart at the seams and the people that have been tasked with patching it up.

    https://www.amazon.com/Future-Imperfect-Meddling-Universe-Vol1/dp/1520709323/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

72. Thanks, John!
    Looking for more LGBT or Q protagonists? My short story collection, OUT OF THIS WORLD: QUEER SPECULATIVE FICTION STORIES, was released by Queen of Swords Press earlier this year and is available on all major platforms. Rising Shadow says it’s “Excellent entertainment!” and it’s a current Lambda Awards nominee.

    A new edition of my menopausal werewolves novel, SILVER MOON, was also released by Queen of Swords Press this year. Looking for older female protagonists? This could be the novel you’re looking for! SILVER MOON is one of Book Riot’s “100 Must-Read Bisexual Books.”

    Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s?k=lundoff
    Barnes & Noble – https://m.barnesandnoble.com/s/Lundoff?Ns=P_Publication_Date%7C1
    Powell’s Books – http://www.powells.com/SearchResults?kw=title:catherine%20lundoff

73. The Unicorn in the Barn is a middle grade contemporary fantasy set in rural North Carolina. Eric sees a unicorn come out of the woods into the barn next door. He follows and finds that the vet who brought his grandmother’s house treats magical animals as well as ordinary ones.

    Eric is delighted when he learns the unicorn is pregnant with twins and will be staying until they are born. Swearing the keep the more unusual creatures secret to protect them, Eric works at the clinic. Learning of the unicorn’s powers, he hopes his grandmother might be healed enough to come home, but thing don’t work out that way.

    http://www.regulatorbookshop.com/event/jacqueline-ogburn-unicorn-barn

    https://bookpage.com/reviews/21518-jacqueline-k-ogburn-unicorn-barn#.Wicw9FWnErJ

74. For people interested in speculative fiction that engages with our current political divisions, please consider TROPIC OF KANSAS, my debut novel published this summer by Harper Voyager that NPR called “frighteningly prescient,” Booklist said is “like Cormac McCarthy meets Philip K.Dick,” and Locus called “a knockout first novel.” It follows the adventures of a teenage fugitive pursued by his estranged sister across the barren heartland of a dystopian mirror America ruled by a charismatic CEO turned fascist president. Their paths finally intersect on the front lines of a revolution whose fuse they are about to light—to create a more hopeful American future.

75. Don’t Get Caught With Your Drawbridge Down!

    Just how secure is your computer right now? My guess is that you probably don’t really know. Computers and the Internet have revolutionized the modern world, but if you’re like most people, you have no clue how these things work or what the real threats are.

    Protecting your computer is like defending a medieval castle. While moats, walls, drawbridges and castle guards can be effective, you’d go broke trying to build something dragon-proof. This book is not about protecting yourself from a targeted attack by the NSA; it’s about armoring yourself against common hackers and mass surveillance. There are dozens of no-brainer things we should all be doing to protect our computers and safeguard our data – just like wearing a seat belt, installing smoke alarms, and putting on sunscreen.

    I’ve structured this book to give you maximum benefit with minimum effort. If you just want to know what to do, every chapter has a complete checklist with step-by-step instructions and pictures. The book contains well over 100 tips that are guaranteed to make you and your family safer!

    https://www.amazon.com/Firewalls-Dont-Stop-Dragons-Step-By-Step/dp/0997453605/

76. Tessa Reddick was convicted of killing her entire family: 37 Witches from one of the most powerful covens in history. She’s locked up at Lakeland Psychiatric hospital, still grieving but mad as hell at whoever-or whatever-put her there.

    A handsome FBI agent showed up to spring Tessa from the joint – but there’s a price. A series of murders is picking off Supernormals and the feds need the help of the last known Reddick Witch.

    Determined to learn who set her up for the fall and help solve the FBI crimes,Tessa is more than willing to play Witchy Nancy Drew.

    But Tessa has few friends left and something is coming for her, too – maybe it’s the one who framed her and killed her coven, or perhaps a new foe with a taste for Witch’s blood.

    Solving crimes. Doing magic. Drinking bourbon. Welcome to Otherwhere.

    Available at Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, and other fine bookmongers.
    Amazon:
    https://tinyurl.com/yazmzbae

77. My latest book is MAY THE ARMED FORCES BE WITH YOU, a history of the relationship (sometimes symbiotic, sometimes hostile) between the US Armed Forces and American science fiction, from Orson Welles’s WAR OF THE WORLDS and the early superhero comics to John Scalzi’s OLD MAN’S WAR and military support for sf movies including the TRANSFORMERS films, BATTLESHIP, BATTLE: LOS ANGELES and Spielberg’s WAR OF THE WORLDS. Available from the publisher or from amazon.

    http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-9742-3

    https://www.amazon.com/May-Armed-Forces-You-Relationship/dp/0786497424/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512578416&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+dedman

78. “There aren’t really any heroes, are there?” It is a question asked by a young boy at the start of my trilogy, The Seeds of Destiny… and he is right. In a land basking in the contentment of peace, those with the qualities of a hero needed in darker circumstances will often go unnoticed. But, as the boy is answered, “When hope is dying, we crave inspiration. And at that hour, we look to heroes.” And a danger is growing that will threaten their civilisation. And a hero will be needed. The three books – Hero Born, Hero Grown and Hero Risen – are an adventure story, they are fantasy that has been described as historical fiction in a world much like our own, and they are the tale of the way a young boy evolves, and is moulded, into the hero his world needs. You can find them on all major online retailers. Thank you!

79. Art books! Nonfiction, but with numerous references to fantasy fiction in 19th-century Japan, as seen in color woodblock prints from the amazing collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Both by yours truly, Sarah E. Thompson.

    Kuniyoshi X Kunisada, MFA Publications, 2017. The catalogue of the exhibition Showdown! Kuniyoshi vs. Kunisada, on view at the MFA through Dec. 10. Kuniyoshi was a forerunner of present-day manga and anime, and continues to inspire artists today; here he’s paired with his contemporary rival Kunisada.

    Tattoos in Japanese Prints, also MFA Publications, 2017. Kuniyoshi loved drawing heroes with gorgeous full-body tattoos and is said to have been tattooed himself. Dragons and other fabulous creatures feature prominently.

80. Thank you, John, for doing this!

    I’m Jennifer Derrick, author of the Threads of the Moirae series. There are now three books in this YA series, but I suggest you start with the first, Broken Fate.

    Zeus gave Atropos one simple job: Kill every human. Atropos–daughter of Zeus and the third goddess of Fate from Greek mythology–spends her eternal life snipping human lifelines when their mortal lives are over. Killing and mingling don’t mix, which is why Atropos’ number-one rule is to avoid all relationships with humans. Caring for the people she has to kill is a fast track to insanity. However, when Alex Morgan walks into her life, she knows she’s in for trouble. He’s the worst kind of human for her to like–one with a rapidly approaching expiration date. And he makes Atropos want to break all the rules.

    Amazon

    (Note that the ebook of Broken Fate is currently free on all platforms!)

    Continue the adventure with Avenging Fate and Hunted Fate. All books are available in paperback and ebook formats, and from all major booksellers.

81. Detective Strongoak and the Case of the Dead Elf by Terry Newman (with thanks to John)

    The world turns and changes, as it has an annoying habit of doing, and Widergard changes with it. History becomes tradition, becomes fable and is reborn as the main feature at your local Seeing Stone Picture House. This is the shiny, bright New Age, you see. In modern Widergard they’ve got steam wagons, speech horns and performance art. And in Widergard the various peoples, men, goblins, elves, gnomes and the pix, have to get by as best they can – especially in the seething metropolis that is The Citadel.

    Crime is still with us too, but now that goblins carry shooters, down those mean cobbled streets a dwarf must walk tall. Yes, dwarves are still around as well; dwarves like Nicely Strongoak, Master Detective and Shield for Hire, and this is his toughest case.

    The ORIGINAL elf, orc, dwarf, detective modern mash-up and a #1 Kindle Bestseller Published by Harper Voyager on sale now: USA https://www.amazon.com/Detective-Strongoak-Case-Dead-Elf/dp/0008120668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512647632&sr=8-1&keywords=detective+strongoak UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Detective-Strongoak-Case-Dead-Elf/dp/0008120668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512647552&sr=8-1&keywords=detective+strongoak

    Have fun this Xmas!

82. My book SKY LANTERN is all about love, family, and the things that we as humans all have in common.

    John kindly hosted a Big Idea post about it, which you can read at the link. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

    https://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/11/17/the-big-idea-matt-mikalatos-2/

83. Love books about books and reading?

    My translation into English of Juan Villoro’s middle grade fantasy THE WILD BOOK has just been published by Restless Books: http://www.restlessbooks.com/bookstore/the-wild-book

    Here are some of the reviews so far:

    “Like comfort food for book lovers.”
    —Kirkus Reviews

    “Books are portals to other worlds. In The Wild Book, a young boy learns about the power of stories when he explores his uncle’s enchanted library of shape-shifting books. This is a beautifully written ode to the inherent magic of books and reading. … Translated by award-winning Lawrence Schimel, Juan Villoro’s prose is lovely and clear. Villoro, “Mexico’s Updike,” is his nation’s most prolific, prize-winning writer. The Wild Book is no exception within his canon. Each of the twenty-one chapters is accompanied by Eko’s stunning woodcut-style illustrations, depicting books with teeth and pages flying. Deserving a place beside classics like The Phantom Tollbooth and Half-Magic, The Wild Book is a timeless celebration of reading.”
    —Claire Foster, Foreword Reviews, Five-Heart Review

    “Brings to mind the same ecstatic thrill I felt reading The Phantom Tollbooth as a child, Fahrenheit 451 as a teen, and Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore as an adult. I’m absolutely envious of the young readers who are about to discover the magic of Juan Villoro’s The Wild Book.”
    —David Gonzalez, Skylight Books (Los Angeles, CA)

    “Villoro’s lighthearted and timeless voice makes it easy to suspend any disbelief and revel in the bookish magic.”
    —Caitlin Kling, Booklist