Thank you so much to all of last week’s guests! Here’s a summary with links to their pieces in case you missed any of them:
- R.F. Kuang (The Poppy War) wrote about the lesson the Chinese legend of the Moon Lady teaches girls and her love for Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender with all her ambition and rage—and touches a little on the women of The Poppy War, of whom she writes, “They want power, they kick down doors to get it, and they are more than occasionally assholes. Radical, isn’t it?”
- Melissa Caruso (The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir) discussed her love of fighting in ballgowns, including how she’d always loved seeing gowns and swords together—and later found that the two did in fact work together with the right dress!
- Ausma Zehanat Khan (The Bloodprint, The Black Khan) wrote about the main theme in her Khorasan Archives series—the power and agency of women—and the historical and present-day inspirations for the Companions of Hira.
- Jeannette Ng (Under the Pendulum Sun) presented an overview of the field of fairy lore in “An Incomplete Taxonomy of Fairies, with examples”—including examination of fairies and works depicting them as Other, people, predators and parasites, abstract concepts, and mirrors.
- Claire North (84K, The Sudden Appearance of Hope) shared some thoughts on Strong Women: including that we need them more than ever but also that there need to be new conversations about the meaning of “strong women,” as it often seems to limit female characters to simply being strong in certain ways without also allowing them to be vulnerable or complex.
The Reader-Recommended Science Fiction/Fantasy Books by Women Project: In 2013, Renay started the recommendation list project linked on the sidebar—and it’s been a part of Women in SF&F Month ever since! Earlier this month, she revealed the latest list of recommended books by women including submissions from 2017, and once again, you can add up to 10 books by women that you read and loved in the last year so the list continues to grow!
Now, I’m excited to announce the final guests coming up next week, starting tomorrow:
April 23: Mary Fan (Flynn Nightsider and the Edge of Evil, Starswept, Jane Colt)
April 24: Ann Aguirre (Sirantha Jax, Ars Numina, Razorland, The Honors)
