V. S. Holmes | News

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

Moral Disability: How Villainy Looks When You’re the Monster

7/5/2020

I had the honor to write this essay for the Sirens Conference on how the conflation of villainy and disability impacts the disabled communities in our real world.

"Our depiction of disfigurement and disability in villains—those in speculative works, particularly—taints our perception of disabled people in our own world with a dangerous morality. All of us know the ache of being unable to find yourself in a book and the annoyance when a character is just the lovechild of stereotypes and bigotry. So much of Sirens focuses on the importance and beauty in seeing ourselves—our strengths, our flaws, our lives—in speculative fiction. But when I search for a character like me, I find Captain Hook’s missing hand. I find Viren’s magical staff. I find villains..." read more

Surrender Isn't Giving Up: Unafraid Podcast

6/20/2020

A few months ago I jumped onto Jae's Unafraid podcast to discuss my journey through being queer, and the strange dual dysphoria that comes from being disabled and genderqueer. It's much more autobiographical than many of my other interviews and touches on how I moved from a genderless ball of rage to a place of peace.

I hope you'll take a listen and reach out if you have respectful questions or feel the same. Love to all my queer family during Pride, and especially now, as our rights are threatened.

Listen now!

Reforged tour dates (New England)

4/3/2020

This summer I'm embarking on a small local tour to launch Blood and Mercy, the final book in the Reforged series! I'm so excited to have partnered with the Toadstool Bookstore with the help of the incredible Mickey at Creative Edge. I'll be hitting each one of their New Hampshire locations, signing copies, doing a reading, and answering all your questions!

Additional locations may be announced later, and dates may change due to Covid19

REFORGED
Smoke and Rain
Lightning and Flames
Madness and Gods
Blood and Mercy

dates, times, locations

July 11th
Peterborough, NH at 12 Depot Sq.
Saturday 11 am-12 pm

July 11th
Keene, NH at the corner of Main and Emerald (12 Emerald)
Saturday 1 pm- 2 pm

Nashua, NH at the Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St, Rte 101A
Date TBA

Peterborough, NH at 12 Depot Sq.

Keene, NH at the corner of Main and Emerald (12 Emerald)

Nashua, NH at the Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St, Rte 101A

arm cast podcast with armand

3/27/2020

I had a great time speaking with Armand Rosamilia, host of the amazing Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Podcast! We talked routine during Covid19, my writing process, and representation. You can listen down below, or hop over to the Arm Cast site to hear all the episodes.

We've Got A Release Date!

1/10/2020

It's been literally years in the making, but the series that began on a floor, upstairs in the dark is finally coming to a thunderous conclusion. Blood and Mercy, the final installment in BLOOD OF TITANS: REFORGED will hit stores and digital shelves on June 27th 2020!

You can check out the first scene and the amazing full cover by Ben Donahue below.

-V

Saving the world may have doomed them all

Genres: science fiction with go indie now

10/19/2019

I joined the awesome team of Go Indie Now for two great episodes. We discussed the roots of our love for sci-fi, common tropes, and where we think the genre is going on GENRES: Science Fiction and then answered a round of rapid-fire questions about life as an author for the 10 Minute Drill.

Making new paths for new voices

9/18/2019

I stopped by Writers, After Dark to talk a bit about how writing started for me and what I'm doing to create better representation in my work.

"My life is marked more by the few times I stopped writing than when I started. My first series was the Adventures of Heidi Bear, written at age eight and starring my stuffed teddy bear. Through several stapled books, she saved the jungle, tamed a pony, and discovered a long-lost sister. Like most fiction, it said more about me than Heidi.

The story that became Reforged started with a single image...read more

sisters of sci-fi: writing and archaeology

8/27/2019

I just had the amazing opportunity to speak with Stephanie Tait of Sisters of Sci-fi all about being femme in the world of science, and how archaeology and writing intersect. This was Part Two of a swap-cast with Stephanie, so be sure to check out Part One too!

disability in fantasy with females in fantasy

4/7/2019

I joined Briana de Silva, the intrepid host of the Females in Fantasy Podcast to discuss disabled characters in fantasy worlds! You can listen here or head on over her her site to hear more!