Author Archives: Barbara Howe

Banned Book Week 2021

Posted on 25 September 2021 by Barbara Howe

The first headline to catch my eye this morning read “Pennsylvania school district reverses ban on books by authors of colour”. Excellent timing for the beginning of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Banned Book Week. Feel like celebrating? I don’t, … Continue reading →

Posted in On Reading | 2 Comments

The City We Became

Posted on 10 September 2021 by Barbara Howe

The City We Became, the first book in N. K. Jemisin’s Great Cities series, is a love letter to New York City, in all its exuberant, chaotic, contradictory glory. And to city life in general. The idea here is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Urban Fantasy | 1 Comment

The Collapsing Empire

Posted on 20 August 2021 by Barbara Howe

Without faster-than-light transportation, is interstellar travel possible? In The Collapsing Empire, the first book in the Interdependency series, author John Scalzi imagines a strange phenomenon called “The Flow”, unknown to our current physics. Using normal rocket propulsion to reach a … Continue reading →

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Book Announcement: The Forge

Posted on 8 August 2021 by Barbara Howe

The Forge, the fifth and final book in the Reforging series, is scheduled to be released on 3 December. I’ve just seen the cover art, and it’s gorgeous: The artist, Catherine Archer-Wills, has done a fantastic job with all five … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life, Epic Fantasy | Comments Off on Book Announcement: The Forge

The Stranger House

Posted on 24 July 2021 by Barbara Howe

Young Australian mathematician Sam (Samantha) Flood comes to the small Cumbrian village of Illthwaite looking for information about her grandmother, also known as Sam Flood. The older Sam emigrated from the U.K. in 1960 and died in childbirth only a … Continue reading →

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My Brother Michael

Posted on 11 July 2021 by Barbara Howe

Nothing ever happens to me. That is the opening line of My Brother Michael. A young Englishwoman—the narrator, Camilla Haven, on holiday in Greece—is sitting in a cafe in Athens, writing a letter back home, and feeling a bit sorry … Continue reading →

Posted in Romantic suspense | Comments Off on My Brother Michael

Witchy Fiction

Posted on 26 June 2021 by Barbara Howe

Does a collection of optimistic, easy-to-read fantasy novellas sound appealing? Especially if they include a bit of romance? Then check out the books at WitchyFiction.com. This brand is the brainchild of a group of New Zealand writers who began these stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary Romance, Fantasy, Kiwi author | 1 Comment

The Bookman’s Tale

Posted on 13 June 2021 by Barbara Howe

When grieving widower Peter Byerly pulls an old book off a shelf in a secondhand bookstore, he discovers a loose sheet of paper, four inches square, tucked into its pages. He turns the paper over, and nearly collapses in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Mysteries | Comments Off on The Bookman’s Tale

A Life Well Lived

Posted on 29 May 2021 by Barbara Howe

My father, Lamar Howe, died on 17 May. I’m writing this on Saturday morning, a week after the funeral, at the time when we would have been having our regular video chat. It hurts to know I’ll never be able … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | 25 Comments

A Few Short Reviews

Posted on 14 May 2021 by Barbara Howe

The Stone Wētā by Octavia Cade is a timely and rather chilling take on the repression of scientific data by climate deniers and corporate/political interests. It reads a bit like a World War II spy story, with the scientists acting … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Kiwi author | Comments Off on A Few Short Reviews