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Point of View: “I’m Your Number One Fan”

Elizabeth Nunziato and Jason Kuykendall in Misery at the B Street Theatre

It’s “fans” week here at the worldwide headquarters of J. Scott Coatsworth, Incorporated. First off, a tale from the dark side of fandom. We saw an amazing production of Misery (the play) – written by the same guy who penned the screenplay for the movie. It was produced at our local B Street Theatre, and featured two of our favorite local lead actors – Elizabeth Nunziato and Jason Kuykendall – who are married in real life. It was a surprisingly funny production, bringing out all the latent dark comedy in the piece, mostly due to Nunziato’s great talent as an … Read more

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Review: The Archimedean Heart – BJ Sikes

The Archimedean Heart - BJ Sikes

Genre: Steampunk, Historical France Get It On Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple | Bookshop.org | Universal Buy Link About The Book Paris 1880, the City of Electric Light Clockwork nobles of the Court promenade through the halls of Versailles, while Watcher spheres and cyborg police menace people in the streets of Paris. Adelaide, the Royal Scientist Doctor, works frantically on an automaton designed to replace the failing sovereigns, but can it be ready in time to save the monarchy? In the cafes of Montmartre, Henri paints the common people chafing under the reign of the Augmented monarchs and dreams of a France free of machines. John yearns to … Read more

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Author Spotlight: Rebecca James

Rebecca James

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Originally from Northern Virginia, Rebecca James now lives in Southeastern Tennessee. She is the mother of three grown children and a former high school English teacher. She has been writing MM Romance for close to ten years. Website: https://www.rebeccajamesmmromance.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccajamesromanceTiktok: @rebeccajamesromanceFacebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaJamesromance/Bluesky: @rebeccajamesmm.bsky.social Thanks so much, Rebecca, for joining me! J. Scott Coatsworth: When did you know you wanted to write, and when did you discover that you were good at … Read more

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Review: Forrest House – E.M. Hamill

Genre: Fantasy, Romance LGBTQ+ Category: Gay Universal Buy Link | Amazon About The Book Blood is Stronger Than Magic Ander Forrest renounced blood magic to become a nurse-healer in his rural hometown, far from the drama of wizardry and espionage his sister Kate craved. When Kate goes missing in action, Ander finds himself the legal guardian of her gifted twins and receives a cryptic warning from Kate’s husband to protect them before he, too, disappears. Six months later, his former lover crash lands in the kids’ bedroom via a spell only Ander’s sister could have cast. Druid Cai Piper doesn’t remember how … Read more

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Point of View: A House in (Good) Chaos

man with boxes - deposit photos

Hey y’all… just a short missive from me today. Life is going to be crazy for the next few weeks/months. We’re moving at the start of March, and are madly packing boxes, buying furniture, and finding homes for some of our old stuff. If you are in the Sacramento area and want some artwork (or various pieces of furniture or appliances), let me know and I’ll tell you what we have. I’m also busy organizing the Sacramento Book Festival, coming up on April 19. We have a fantastic team – I am by no means doing this on my own … Read more

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New Release: Forrest House – E.M. Hamill

Forrest House - E.M. Hamill

E.M. Hamill has a new MM urban fantasy out: Forrest House. Blood is Stronger Than Magic Ander Forrest renounced blood magic to become a nurse-healer in his rural hometown, far from the drama of wizardry and espionage his sister Kate craved. When Kate goes missing in action, Ander finds himself the legal guardian of her gifted twins and receives a cryptic warning from Kate’s husband to protect them before he, too, disappears. Six months later, his former lover crash lands in the kids’ bedroom via a spell only Ander’s sister could have cast. Druid Cai Piper doesn’t remember how he … Read more

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Author Spotlight: L.R. Braden

L.R. Braden

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: L.R. Braden is a bestselling, multi-award-winning author of dark-yet-hopeful urban fantasy stories that bring magic to the mundane. Her published works include the Magicsmith series, the Rifter series, and several works of shorter fiction. A bit of a recluse, she enjoys collecting skills that may (or may not) prove useful in the event that she is suddenly whisked away on some grand adventure in an alternate reality. Since that hasn’t happened yet, she mostly spends her … Read more

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Point of View: But Is It Art?

painter - deposit photos

I was just thinking about the difference between a writer and an artist. A writer, of course, is a kind of artist, crafting their works with a pen instead of a brush. And I’m going to make some generalizations in this column, so please bear with me. It seems to me that art – the kind you make on paper or with a physical medium like sculpture, is more of a focused craft. It requires lots of concentrated time working on a single piece to get it right. I enjoy drawing, and I’m pretty good at it, but I don’t … Read more

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Author Spotlight: John Beresford

John Beresford

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: John Beresford is a British science fiction & fantasy author who has been writing his whole life, but let his family and career get in the way of publishing for the first fifty years.  Now retired, he writes full-time and has several works to his credit. Seven novels (a science fiction thriller about what happens when GM food goes wrong, and two fantasy trilogies set on the world of Berikatanya), two volumes … Read more

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Point of View: The AI War

AI robbot arm wrestling a human man - deposit photos

We’re in the middle of an AI war, but it’s not the one you are thinking. Yes, every company of any size is trying to shove generative “AI” down our throats, scraping our content without commission, and filling their apps with AI “functionality” that in many cases makes those apps work worse than they did before. Notice how your voice to text is suddenly less accurate, and won’t type the right word sometimes no matter how many times and how clearly and slowly you say it? Microsoft has taken this to the next level, renaming its Office suite, a brand … Read more