Own Voices to Meet

Image by by Vinicius Henrique on Unsplash

Heyo Everyone,

I hope you are all safe and well, taking this crazy journey one day at a time. 

Meanwhile, in my reading room, there are some amazing 'Own Voices' books on my radar and I wanted to share them with you.

NOTE: #Ownvoices is a subgenre of writing found in almost every kind of literature. The only exception I can think of is Memoir because that's 'own voice' by default, right? 

Nope. Just checked. There are #ownvoices Memoirs too. 

Own Voices is defined as writing where the protagonist and the author share a marginalised identity. I realize my chance to write in this category will depend on creative a main character over 65, facing a world that glorifies youth. Not sure if that counts, but I'm thinking about it. LOL

for now, let's look at some titles in this genre that light me up.

Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

First on my list is Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn. In this story, the Tech sisters don’t date in high school. Not because they’re not asked. Not because they’re not interested. Not even because no one can pronounce their long, Thai last name—hence the shortened, awkward moniker. But simply because they’re not allowed...

DMP is an #ownvoices novel, written by a first-generation Thai American. Pintip Dunn grew up in a tiny town in Kansas and went on to graduate from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. and to receive her J.D. at Yale Law School. I'm so glad she spends at least SOME of her time writing novels (Forget Tomorrow Series being one of my favorites). Can't wait to read this one.

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The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

From Abigail Clarkin Jan 22, 2019 - In a horrifying turn of events, Princess Amrita watches as her family and friends are enslaved and slayed by her fiancé. Shocked into action, the princess escapes from the palace and embarks on a journey to find the Library of All Things. If she can find it, she grasps the one way to change the past and reforge the future.

Aditi Khorana wrote both Hindu and Indian traditions into Library of Fates. Born in India herself, the inclusion of the vetal creatures and reincarnation were a nod to Indian folklore and faith.

I'm on my tiptoes, ready to read this one!

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Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

You've heard me rave about the extraordinary worldbuilding in this book (Ships that Sing), and the magic of the human to non-human sentience, but I'm not sure I mentioned it was an #ownvoices and #Afrofuturism title.

From the back blurb - Escaping Exodus is a story of a young woman named Seske Kaleigh, heir to the command of a biological, city-size starship carved up from the insides of a spacefaring beast. Her clan has just now culled their latest ship and the workers are busy stripping down the bonework for building materials, rerouting the circulatory system for mass transit, and preparing the cavernous creature for the onslaught of the general populous still in stasis. It’s all a part of the cycle her clan had instituted centuries ago—excavate the new beast, expand into its barely-living carcass, extinguish its resources over the course of a decade, then escape in a highly coordinated exodus back into stasis until they cull the next beast from the diminishing herd...

Again, the worldbuilding is mindblowing!

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Detective by Day Series by Kellye Garrett

Kelley Garrett is an Award-winning #ownvoices crime fiction author (http://amzn.to/2vhS3wt). 
@CrimeWoC cofounder; #PitchWars & @SincNational board. So multitalented I think she's a Gemini, or maybe Gem rising?

Her Detective by Day books are "...lightweight mysteries that draw on my experiences working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. I often encountered the various people chasing fame, be it a sprint, a marathon or a journey that never quite reaches the finish line. These are the people who populate Dayna Anderson’s world. If you’d like to meet them, read on... 

I sure will!

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The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis

And finally, the woman who coined the term #ownvoices on Twitter, Corinne Duyvis' upcoming release, The Art of Saving the World.  @corinneduyvis Sci-fi scribe, award accepter, disabled delight, #ownvoices originator.

From Goodreads: When Hazel Stanczak was born, an interdimensional rift tore open near her family’s home, which prompted immediate government attention. They soon learned that if Hazel strayed too far, the rift would become volatile and fling things from other dimensions onto their front lawn—or it could swallow up their whole town

"If you like the idea of anxious, asexual lesbians saving the world from an interdimensional rift alongside a grumpy lady dragon mentor - my next YA novel THE ART OF SAVING THE WORLD releases September 15..."

Now, how about your suggestions? I'd love to hear them.


Take care, everyone!
xxKim
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Kim Falconer's New YA Fantasy Series is out January 5, 2020 - Crown of Bones. (Writing asr A.K. Wilder) 


Also, check her urban fantasy  - The Blood in the Beginning - an Ava Sykes Novel and the SFF Quantum Enchantment Series. 

You can find Kim on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or pop over and throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.

Ships that Sing - Three Books Reviewed

Shark Ship by Daniel Dociu

Hi Everyone, 

I wanted to share today three novels that have an underlying theme - sentience vessels. (Shoutout to Helen Lowe and her inspiring post on the Live Ship Trader Series.)

The three books I'm talking about today have their own style and grace, SF wonder and amazement. Each author writes with ability, power and insight. But what really excites me about these novels is their treatment of human and non-human sentience.   

What is Sentience?

Is it sapience, intelligence, consciousness? The definition can blur between self-awareness, compassion, identity, ability to suffer and also to adapt, judge and change. But once named 'sentient' everything does, indeed change.

Sentient entities are generally considered deserving of moral rights, respect, and freedom, at lease where these rights are bestowed on humans. So, do these qualities, and therefore rights, belong to humans only? If not, where do we create distinctions?

Toxic by Lydia Kang

I love these three books because they each explore these hard questions, though in different ways, yet always juxtaposed to a human main character.

The Ship Who Sang - Ann McCaffrey

Back in the 60's Ann McCaffrey wrote a short story called The Ship Who Sang. She went on to revise it into a novel and then a series which was also co-written by other SF authors of the time. I'm not sure how the premise would be handled now with more awareness, 60 years later, of persons with disabilities, but still, McCaffrey asks the questions, which is what a good storyteller does.

The Ship Who Sang is about Helva, a human born disabled to the point they only could save her brain. Her life is salvaged by implanting her into the titanium body of an intergalactic ship. When she chooses a human partner, her life unfolds in terrifying and spectacular ways. Ann McCaffrey herself said this was the best story she's ever told...

Toxic by Lydia Kang

Toxic is a standalone, Young Adult SF romance with a touch of fantasy and horror. Written in Kang's ever-engaging style, Toxic is a smart read, one that takes a 'speculative' concept and makes it feel true, right down to the core.

The story focuses on a dying ship and a suicide squad sent to record its demise for the company that made it. In that crew is a young man named Fen who plans to use the last days of his life to make up for a series of wrong choices. 

Unknown to all is Hana, the girl left behind by her crew, a girl that has never been out of her room or far from the aqueous folds of her 'bio-mother-ship'... until now.

Toxic asks questions about human and non-human rights, about shifting loyalties and the power of cultural conditioning. But none of that occurs to you while turning the pages. There's too much at stake!

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

This book, the first in a series of at least one more, still haunts me with its metaphysical questions and real, hard-core truths. The story is, on one level, about a young woman named Seske Kaleigh, heir to the command of a biological, city-size starship carved up from the insides of a spacefaring beast.

Carved up, literally.

While still alive.

The 'beasts' take years to die and there are classes of humans on the city/vessel/beast whose sole purpose in life is to keep it living until they find the next one to replace it. Every possible point and counter-point to the sentient experience is explored in dramatic, spellbinding, heartbreaking ways.

The world--the world-building!--that Drayden creates is so utterly unique, cinematic and so...well, real, you can't tear your eyes off the page, sure is sure is sure. 

I highly recommend all of these reads if you want to awaken your mind to the hard questions of science and philosophy, rights, laws and justice of what we deem alive and worthy. But I promise, while you're reading, you won't be 'thinking' at all of these things but instead gripping the edge of your seat until the ride is over.

Do you have a favorite 'non-human sentient' character? I'd love to hear of them in the comments.

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Kim Falconer's New YA Fantasy Series is out August 4, 2020 - Crown of Bones. (Writing under A.K. Wilder) 


Also, check her urban fantasy  - The Blood in the Beginning - an Ava Sykes Novel and the SFF Quantum Enchantment Series. 


You can find Kim on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or pop over and throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.