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.

Can't Wait To Be Read 2019

The second in the Blood Eternal series is on my radar, out April 2019

With 2019 underway, it's time to reassess the alluring and sometimes daunting To Be Read list. 

Because, no matter how long the TBR stack, there's always room for more great books, right?

Here are some of my new additions, coming out in 2019. They range across a bevy of genres and sound amazing to me! Loving the cover art too! Do you have a favourite?

Can't wait for this by one of my fav authors.

I love this author. Her writing is crisp and engaging, the subject matter always deep. Don't be halted by the YA tag. Dunn is great reading, for any age.

The Wicked King, Book #2 in The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black

My first Holly Black title was The Darkest Part of the Forest and I've been a fan ever since. The Folk of the Air is right up there with her best!

#11 in the Mercy Thompson series out March 2019.

Fabulous Urban Fantasy! In all of this series, I think the first, Moon Called, is my fav, but I'm looking forward to more Mercy and Patricia Brigg's fabulous writing

Coming out February 19th, by Sup author, T. Frohock.

This is a long-anticipated read, a lyrical historical fantasy adventure. It's set in 1932 Spain and Germany and brings to life the world of the novellas collected in Los Nefilim: Spanish Nephilim battling daimons in a supernatural war to save humankind. Can't wait to read more of our own Supernatural Underground authors!

We're all waiting for book #4 of this fabulous series!

Speaking of our very own Sup authors, I just talked with Helen Lowe. Although she concedes it's not quite as exciting as anticipating a new release, Helen is very much looking forward to completing the fourth and final novel in her The Wall Of Night series (working title: The Chaos Gate)... coming out in the middle of the year? I hope so!

And, of course, she can't wait to share all the pre-release excitement, including cover art and sneak previews of the final instalment! Because (I was going to say "at the end of the day" at this point but realize it is every part of the day--and night!) the story is what we're all about here on Supernatural Underground.

Debut epic fantasy? Yes, please.

This is the first book in Lyons’ A Chorus of Dragons series launching an epic fantasy tale I'm really excited to dive into. I mean, dragons!

This book had me at the cover and the tagline. The ARC reviews are riveting! 

Seanan McGuire, who brought us October Daye, has a standalone fantasy coming out in May 2019. Looking forward to this one too. That cover...

Finally, I have a title coming out in September 2019 but am not allowed to say more. Sneak-peek it though, at AKWilder.com. :)

I'd love to hear of more books for 2019... especially the different and obscure ones that might be on your TBR list. As Haruki Murakami says, "If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."

Ideas?


Kim Falconer's New YA Fantasy Series is out in 2019 - The Bone Throwers. Also check her urban fantasy out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel and the SFF Quantum Enchantment Series. You can find Kim on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Kim also runs GoodVibeAstrology.com where she teaches the law of attraction and astrology.