V. S. Holmes | News

The Only Thing Money Can't Buy is a Miracle

8/22/2020

The First to Lie, by author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan, is an engaging and twisting domestic thriller. Initially, we follow Ellie, an investigative journalist (like the author herself!) newly relocated to Boston for a job at the brand-new Channel 11 News. Her first big story aims to take on a massive pharmaceutical company for misleading patients about its new miracle drug. Not only is Pharminex pushing it for off-label use as a fertility treatment, but the medication may be causing permanent infertility. As the story hurtles forward, we’re introduced to an all-woman cast of characters, each with their own secrets--and some whose identities just might be one and the same.

My taste in thrillers usually trends toward medical and science subgenres, but Ryan’s strong, decisive voice and familiarity with my own Boston hooked me from the beginning. I enjoyed each new twist as we moved from Ellie and Nora (a cunning pharmaceutical rep) to the ruthless and privileged women on the arms of Pharminex’s men. Every piece of this seemingly chaotic puzzle clicked into place, including a few I hadn’t predicted. Ryan did a wonderful job weaving a tale of the lengths women will go to secure their futures--or avenge them--in a world run by masculine power and wealth. Through the characters’ heartaches and regrets, we learn that the only thing money can’t buy is a miracle.

Recommended to fans of corporate espionage and modern journalistic thrillers, 4 out of 5 stars.

Decolonizing Dragons and the Impact of Language With Celeste Harte

8/19/2020

V and Celeste Harte discuss the impact our mother-tongue has on our thought process as writers, different creative outlets, and how she decolonized fantasy as a way to explore her own erased heritage.

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Keplan's Machinations with ManyBooks.Net

8/18/2020

I had the honor of being a featured author on ManyBooks.Net in July. I shared what makes Keplan tick, my non-writing skills, and the underlying messages in my work.

MB: Please give us a short introduction to what Blood and Mercy is about.

VSH: Blood and Mercy is the second in the Restored duology in the Blood of Titans world. It takes place in the political and personal aftermath of a war between the gods and their creators. Rih, a Deaf former soldier, plots rebellion while married to a queer, teenaged god. While Rih juggles revolution with life in a foreign country, Keplan struggles with addiction, visions, and murder. He hopes the world ends, she prays it doesn’t. ...read more

Making Fantasy Worlds Accessible with Top Shelf Magazine

8/18/2020

I joined Top Shelf Magazine to share my article "You Can't Miss the Library," an examination of disabled characters in science fiction and fantasy worlds. I'm grateful they provided the space to untangle these thoughts and hope you'll take a look, especially if you're a fellow author!

Stark land sweeps from the buildings atop the hill. I’d liken farm fields to skirts. This vista is too sharp for that. These are nature’s tassets. Narrow stone paths and hard-packed trails wind between sod roofs. This is a place with the brutality of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. The latter was filmed here, and I can see why: I’d gladly immerse myself in this landscape. But it, like many places I’ve visited in the past year, has barriers.

Fantasy is known for austere settings, twisting streets, and remote cities. Even outside of the grimdark subgenre there’s a mercilessness. I settle against a wall across from the broad stairs, knuckles white on the handle of my cane. Pain tunnels my brain to the duality of dissociation and immediacy...read more

Writing Dystopia While Living in One with Jenna Greene

8/12/2020

YA fantasy author and podcaster Jenna Greene returns to the show to discuss what it's like writing dystopia when our world increasingly looks like one, and how she got started with podcasting! Plus an update on the sequels to REBORN.

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Favorite Characters and Social Barriers on Jera's Jamboree

8/11/2020

I hopped over to Jera's Jamboree last month to discuss which Blood and Mercy character I'd want to be, where I go for inspiration, and which social barriers my work tackles.

JJ: If you could choose to be one of your characters, who would you be?

VSH: This is a tough one! I certainly have favorites to write, but as far as who I’d want to be–Reka is pretty similar to me. I’d love to live in the Wise Hare as the bartender Firas, or as Sha/Rheman, the gender queer dockhand. ...read more

Interview in Uncaged Magazine

8/11/2020

I spoke with Uncaged magazine this month (pg 60-66), sharing glimpses at my new projects, how COVID-19 has changed my lifestyle, and an excerpt of Blood and Mercy! There's also some photos of my works space and indoor garden, not to mention our dear dog, Rory, is featured on page 38!

UNCAGED: Welcome to Uncaged! Your latest book, Blood and Mercy is part of the epic fantasy series, Blood of Titans. Can you tell readers more about this series? Can each book be read as standalones?

VSH: Thanks so much for having me, this is really fun! Blood of Titans is an epic fantasy world. Each of the series within it focuses on the machinations of war between the gods and the creatures who created them. The first series follows three characters caught in the crossfire of that war and heroes who are as broken as the world they’re trying to save. In Madness and Gods and Blood and Mercy a Deaf former soldier plots rebellion while married to a queer, teenaged god. While Rih juggles life in a foriegn country and revolution, Keplan struggles with addiction, visions, and murder. He hopes the world ends, she prays it doesn’t....read more

Guardian Angels and Writing Research with K. C. Freeman

8/5/2020

I discussed real-life guardian angels, the daunting reality of co-authoring, and wrinkles in researching real-world places with urban fantasy author K. C. Freeman.

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