Fictitious

Mary E. Pearson is the New York Times bestselling author of the REMNANT CHRONICLES young adult fantasy series. Last year she released DANCE OF THIEVES, which is set in the REMNANT universe. And now, she’s following up with its sequel, VOW OF THIEVES. Sparks fly in this new series when a reformed thief turned Queen’s guard becomes reluctant allies with the leader of an outlaw family on the edge of the kingdom. A turbulent romance tests their individual loyalties even as a greater, insidious threat looms over everything they hold dear. A Fierce Reads title, VOW OF THIEVES arrives on August 6th from Henry Holt and Company.

Fonda Lee is the author of JADE WAR (Orbit Books). Her early works were the acclaimed young adult science fiction novels Zeroboxer, Exo, and Crossfire. Her first adult fantasy novel, JADE CITY, kicked off the Green Bone Saga. JADE CITY won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for both the Nebula and the Locus award. The sequel, JADE WAR, continues to explore her mafia-meets-fantasy world, where magic, martial arts, and explosive action combine with the complex drama of family loyalty, honor, and corruption. 

J. Michael Straczynski is well known in science fiction fandom for creating the seminal TV series BABYLON 5, and recently SENSE8 with the Wachowskis for Netflix. His body of work includes the films Changeling and Marvel’s Thor, and acclaimed comic book runs on the Amazing Spider-Man, Rising Stars, and Midnight Nation. His latest work is a memoir called BECOMING SUPERMAN. For writers, it is a prime illustration of how the craft is more than a hobby or career pursuit – it is an opportunity to conquer reality and make of it what you desire. BECOMING SUPERMAN arrives on July 23rd from Harper Voyager.

This is the wrap-up episode for Season 3 of Fictitious. I'll be taking a short summer break to catch up on some reading, do some traveling, and work on a few projects, including updates to the show's website. Fictitious will return on Monday, July 22nd with celebrated science fiction screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski. 

Megan E. O’Keefe is the author of the new space opera novel, VELOCITY WEAPON (Orbit Books). Gunnery Sergeant Sanda Greeve awakens aboard an unmanned enemy ship to discover she has lost a leg, lost her entire planet, and lost 230 years in stasis. Her only companion is Bero, the ship’s advanced AI, who is eager to help, but is perhaps not entirely trustworthy. Sanda’s deep space plight runs parallel with her brother Biran’s political career on their home planet, as he struggles to retrieve her and other military personnel lost to the catastrophic attack from a rival colony. 

Keith R.A. DeCandido is a prolific author known for his work with media tie-ins, including Alien, Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, and Dungeons & Dragons. His new urban fantasy novel, A Furnace Sealed, follows his character Bram Gold, a Bronx-based freelancer tasked with investigating and containing supernatural mishaps and malefactions. When his latest job wrangling a rogue unicorn cascades into a wave of dead immortals, Bram and his compatriots must find the murderer - before their actions summon something far worse. A Furnace Sealed is available now from Wordfire Press.

Caitlin Starling is the author of The Luminous Dead. It's a paranoia-drenched sci-fi tale that follows a young woman named Gyre on a solo expedition into an enigmatic cave system on a far-off planet. Her only companion is Em, a mysterious and often untrustworthy benefactor who guides her from afar via a high tech caving suit. Em's motives, Gyre's history, and the terrifying secrets of the cave tangle in this claustrophobic and emotional decent into discovery and delirium. The Luminous Dead is available now from Harper Voyager.

Do you have a story to tell, but struggle writing that traditional novel, comic, or screenplay? Modern media presents you with extraordinary new options to tell your tale and win an audience. Whether it's a podcast, video series, webcomic, RPG, chat & text story, indie game, serialized mobile fiction, mystery box subscription, or something completely new, your potential fans are waiting! Fictitious host Adron Buske moderates this panel of writers about the evolving world of multimedia entertainment – and how you can break in with your own stories. Featuring David Accampo, writer of the comics Lost Angels and The Margins; Gwenda Bond, author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds; Rob Hart, author of the Ash McKenna series; and Brian McClellan, author of the Powder Mage trilogy. Recorded live at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington, on March 14th, 2019.

Dan Stout is author of the debut novel Titanshade. It's a hard-boiled cop drama set in a 1970’s-esque fantasy world, where the titular corruption-infected city is kept warm by the heat of a tortured infernal god, some of the detectives have face mandibles, and the best squad cars come with 8-track players. Titanshade is available now from DAW Books.

Kat Howard is the award-winning author of the novels Roses and Rot, and An Unkindness of Magicians. Her latest book is a collection of short fiction called A Cathedral of Myth and Bone. These stories explore mythology, fantasy, and horror as they twist through the lives of women and saints, where the seeds of ancient revels and dread spring up anew in the modern age. A Cathedral of Myth and Bone is available now from Saga Press.

Mage Against The Machine, the debut novel from author Shaun Barger, is an explosive and emotional collision between fantasy and science fiction. It intertwines the stories of a young Magi soldier from an isolated world of government controlled magic, and a cybernetically enhanced resistance fighter struggling against a planet-conquering artificial intelligence. Mage Against The Machine is available now from Saga Press.

Gwenda Bond's work includes a trilogy of Lois Lane YA novels, and the "Cirque American" book series, as well as the audio drama podcast "Dead Air". Her latest novel, "Suspicious Minds", is the first official "Stranger Things" tie-in and works as a prequel to the hit Netflix series. "Suspicious Minds" is available now from Del Rey books.

Gareth Hanrahan is an author and role playing game writer/designer. His new novel, The Gutter Prayer, is a brilliant mash-up of fantasy, alchemical steampunk, and Lovecraftian horror. It follows three unlikely companions – a thief, a Stoneman and a ghoul – as they are pulled headlong into their ancient city’s hidden magical war. The Gutter Prayer is available now in stores everywhere from Orbit Books.

Jordanna Max Brodsky's previous series, the Olympus Bound trilogy, found the ancient gods of Greece living in modern Manhattan. Her passion for history and mythology is on display again with her latest novel, The Wolf in the Whale – which follows the quest of a young Inuit shaman to defend her people, and her own identity, from the wars of men and their gods. The Wolf in the Whale arrives in stores on January 29, 2019, from Red Hook Books.

S.A. Chakraborty is the author of The Daevabad trilogy, which includes her acclaimed debut novel The City of Brass, and its sequel, The Kingdom of Copper, which is available January 22nd, 2019 from Harper Voyager. It’s a lushly written, emotionally complex fantasy series with a fascinating, middle east-inspired mythology.

Fleeting and unsubtle, Sylvain Neuvel's The Test is, appropriately, all about choices. What decisions will a person make when their future is on the line? How do those choices change under pressure, when the lives of others depend on them? And who are we to judge if those actions make someone good, make them worthy?

Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. Her latest novel, the young adult fantasy The Gilded Wolves, arrives in stores on January 15th from Wednesday Books. It’s a fast-paced heist adventure set in a darkly glamorous version of Paris in 1889, featuring a magic system forged from a twist of biblical mythology, and a highly quotable cast of dysfunctional yet fiercely competent young thieves.

Fictitious Bonus Book Review: Bleak, propulsive, and frighteningly plausible, Robert Jackson Bennett’s concise novella Vigilance examines an America which has embraced gun violence as inevitable and marketable. Yet the greatest weapons wielded in this warning tale are the tools of media manipulation, used to keep a diminishing populace paranoid yet eager for more corporate-sponsored bloodshed.

Recorded at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, this live panel discussion features super-star TV-scribe Jane Espenson, Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger co-executive producer Christine Boylan, young adult breakout author Tomi Adeyemi, Marvel & DC comics writer Erica Schultz, bestselling paranormal romance author Rebecca Zanetti, and Nerdist and Geek & Sundry writer Kendall Ashley. Moderated by Fictitious host Adron Buske. If you’re interested in what makes a great villain so compelling and captivating, you’ll find a lot of ideas to explore in this discussion. WARNING: there’s a fair amount of good-natured swearing in this episode. It's probably not one to listen to with the kids. 

Isaac Marion is the author of the "Warm Bodies" series, which views the zombie apocalypse from the unique perspective of one of the Dead (who is trying very hard not to be). The bestselling first novel has been translated into 25 languages and was adapted as the hit 2013 film "Warm Bodies". The series includes prequel novella "The New Hunger" and sequel novel "The Burning World", and completes with his latest book, "The Living".