Author Archives: Barbara Howe

The Quicksilver Pool

Posted on 30 July 2022 by Barbara Howe

This was a pleasant surprise. The blurb on my copy of The Quicksilver Pool by Phyllis Whitney paints it as a somewhat cliché gothic novel. When I paid a couple of dollars for this vintage (1955) novel at a used … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction | Leave a comment

Winter’s Orbit

Posted on 9 July 2022 by Barbara Howe

Irresponsible Prince Kiem isn’t ready to be married. But his cousin, Prince Taam, died in a crash, tearing a hole in the carefully arranged structure of alliance marriages binding the seven-planet Iskat Empire together. Someone has to salvage the situation … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+, Space Opera | Leave a comment

Piranesi

Posted on 17 June 2022 by Barbara Howe

Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Mysteries | Leave a comment

Elder Race

Posted on 28 May 2022 by Barbara Howe

Lynesse Fourth Daughter, the last and therefore least important of the queen’s daughters, is her family’s wild child. The one who gives the tutors ulcers and tries her mother’s patience. She is also the only one who takes seriously the … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction | Leave a comment

Right Wing Fairy Tales

Posted on 7 May 2022 by Barbara Howe

Once upon a time… That’s the start of a fairy tale, right? Well… Once upon a time, a position espoused by the American right wing—the Republicans, the conservatives—was that the government should keep its nose out of personal life, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

Flashback

Posted on 23 April 2022 by Barbara Howe

Anna Pigeon is enjoying her temporary assignment as Acting Supervisory Ranger of the Dry Tortugas National Park. The Dry Tortugas, seventy miles further into the Gulf of Mexico than Key West, is one of the U.S. National Park System’s least … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Mysteries, Mysteries | Leave a comment

Death and Taxes

Posted on 1 April 2022 by Barbara Howe

Death and taxes: the only things certain in this world, and they’ve taken a toll on us over the last few weeks. Between a funeral (of a friend and former neighbour, not a family member) and some complications in our … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life, Historical Mysteries, Mysteries, On Reading | 2 Comments

A Few Short Disasters

Posted on 18 March 2022 by Barbara Howe

I’ve been reading more short fiction lately than I used to. Here are a few stories I’ve stumbled across and enjoyed enough to want to share. The only thread that they have in common is that the main event in … Continue reading →

Posted in Short stories, Speculative fiction | Leave a comment

Isobar Precinct

Posted on 18 February 2022 by Barbara Howe

Lestari Cassidy and her two friends have witnessed a murder. Or have they? The video they captured on a cell phone agrees with what they reported to the police—a man’s throat is slit; blood sprays out, soaking the shrubbery—but the … Continue reading →

Posted in Kiwi author, Modern literary fiction, Speculative fiction | Leave a comment

Against the Grain

Posted on 4 February 2022 by Barbara Howe

Against the Grain, by Melanie Harding-Shaw, is a great little comfort read, best enjoyed with a cup of your favourite hot beverage (hot chocolate for me) and a plate of warm baked goods close at hand. Part of the Witchy … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary Romance, Fantasy, Kiwi author | Leave a comment