Hey everyone! Andrew here.

So a lot of things have happened since our last newsletter. Let's recap. I sent out a newsletter talking about my thoughts on recapturing the childhood feeling of being lost in a book and... oh boy. Did it spark some discussion? You betcha. Not only did ZZ's email inbox get flooded with thoughtful reminders about writers I'd forgotten to list (thank you all by the way! More on that later) but my mother wrote in (hi, Mum!) to remind me that while I may have loved reading as a child, I could not take any of that credit. Apparently I used to pester her incessantly, demanding that she "read me" at all times. So I guess if I am going to speak about the feminine influences on my reading and writing, we should start there. Thanks Mum. There's nothing I like more than reading (playing guitar comes second, but it's no contest) so I am very thankful.

What else? Oh yes, forgetting to list up some majorly influential women writers. Guilty as charged. I did forget some, but those of you who read closely will have seen that I said I would address that in more detail at a later time. Sheesh... you guys really ripped me apart. Yes, Andre Norton! Yes, to Octavia Butler. Here's one I love but failed to mention as well: Connie Willis. My favorite book of hers is "To Say Nothing of the Dog." If you have not read this, I highly highly recommend it. Connie's Christmas short stories are also the stuff of legend.

The Bishop's Bird Stump in To Say Nothing of the Dog must be the most innovative McGuffin I've ever come across. If Harlan Ellison taught me the value of lean prose (a lesson I clearly failed to absorb, sorry Harlan), then Connie taught me the value of letting scenes breathe. Her stories move with patience, grace, and a lot more kindness than I ever thought to put onto the page.

I would say more here, but I have just come back from a massive overseas business trip and I am worn out so I am going to cut this one short. Suffice it to say that all the emails this discussion generated are appreciated. I do want to acknowledge too, that a lot of the thoughts that I've been having and that go on to make it onto the page in these newsletters are sparked by your emails and messages. So if you notice something familiar, that's why. I do absorb things (even if I am slow sometimes and need time to ponder on the ideas). I use this newsletter to do that sometimes and when you write back it really amplifies the effect.

One more thing before I sign off: a huge thank you to everyone who grabbed a copy of Splice during our freebie promotion last week. The response was fantastic and I am so grateful for the support. We were number one in Amazon's store in multiple categories for a week! If you did download it, I really encourage you to leave an honest review when you're done. Those reviews help other readers find us and also provide important feedback on what worked and what didn't.

That's it for this week. I'm off to recover from jet lag and hopefully get some writing done on Muni (my feeble brain is still wrestling with the plot, but I think I'm making progress). Talk to you next week!

All the best,

Andrew (ZZ)

NB. that link to Connie Willis's novel is an affiliate link.

Check out these bargain and discounted reads from our fellow speculative fiction authors!

And now, let's take a look at last week's poll results. We asked, "How do you recapture that childhood feeling of getting lost in a story?"

Here are the results:

• That spark never left! → 58%
• Create time when you won't be disturbed by anyone → 15%
• Revisit old classics that shaped me  → 10%
• Other  → 10%
• Disconnect from screens and just read → 8%

Andrew: 
So apparently my poll was a hit. Here's what we learned: 58% of you never lost the spark at all. I have to admit, I'm delighted.

The 15% who carve out undisturbed time are onto something important. I think that's probably the answer for a lot of us who did lose the magic somewhere along the way. It's not that we can't get lost in stories anymore. It's that we never give ourselves the chance.

Lily wrote in with a recommendation: Anna Velfman's "Snowblind." She compared it to Anne McCaffrey with that same "oops, you thought this was sci-fi" vibe. Anna Velfman has now joined Lily's top three alongside McCaffrey and Andre Norton. That's high praise indeed, and I'm adding it to my TBR. That is a wickedly pretty cover too, but I am partial to cherry blossoms...

Gail shared something beautiful about working with young children and introducing them to physical books. Not just reading to them, but teaching them how books are made, from author and illustrator all the way through to publishing and bar codes. Then making games and puppets to bring the stories to life. Gail, I think you've probably given those kids a gift that will last their whole lives. Thank you for sharing that.

Eleanor reminded me that she asked me this very question first (yes, Eleanor, I do remember!) and raised an interesting point about how reading becomes easier as our brains get wired to recognize words and phrases. Maybe the very skill that makes us better readers also makes us less absorbed? Something to ponder.

Mike quite rightly called me out for missing Andre Norton, the "Grand Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy." Mike, you are absolutely correct. My bad. She blazed the trail for so many of the writers I did mention. Consider me thoroughly chastened. :-)

And Glenn shared some fascinating reading experiences, including The Hunger Games (forgiving the worldbuilding issues for Katniss's compelling character arc), and a couple of manga recommendations: Azumi and Angel Densetsu. Glenn, I appreciate you sharing these.

Thanks again for sharing your stories with me. I'm grateful for every single message.

**Please note: All links in this newsletter are affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.