“The BookMatch program launched quietly about two weeks ago. [This quote is from August 2014 – Ed.] It’s completely free: just fill out the online form telling the nice librarians what you like to read, and they’ll come back to you in about a week with a list of five or six recommendations. You can even specify what type of format you prefer (book, ebook, audiobook, or large print)” (Merlan, Village Voice 2014). In addition to filling the requests, the lists are also anonymously posted on the library’s website, allowing other patrons to browse at their own convenience. Among the topics that already exist are:

• Drama/Suspense
• Historical romance
• Great Gatsby read-alikes
• Father and sons
• All kinds of books/no mushy stuff
• SciFi-Fantasy with strong females and diversity

Since the beginning of this program, the 35 librarians who maintain the website have been inundated with patron requests. This has been a successful launch of a new program, and it may actually prove to be too much for just the 35 librarians to complete each list in under a week if it keeps growing in popularity. This watershed moment of customer service shall work as a tableau for public libraries at large.

I began to think of how this may grow while researching this topic. Many public libraries have more items than books. I’m thinking about music, movies, and even periodicals. This program could increase its scope and therefore its ability to accommodate more patrons. It’s an amazing idea that truly comes from the basics of librarianship and adapting to the current times. Haven’t all librarians at one time or another given recommendations based on one book or movie? This is just taking that customer service to a new and more convenient level for patrons who may be living a hectic lifestyle and don’t have the time to browse the stacks.

This is definitely a program that can work in public libraries all over the world. Thanks, New York; you managed to inspire us once again with your indefatigable efforts at cultural programming!

Works Cited

Merlan, Anna. “A Brooklyn Librarian Will Now Make You a Personalized Reading List, and You Don’t Even Have to Put on Pants.” Village Voice. August 26, 2014.  (accessed September 20, 2014)

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Eugie was the 2009 Nebula Award winning author of Best Novelette for the work Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast. She was also the 2011 Drabblecast People’s Choice Award for Best Story winner for The Wish of the Demon Achtromagk. Her work Mortal Clay, Stone Heart won the 2011 Aurora Award for Best English Related Work. She attended many conventions over the years, and was no stranger to JordanCon where she was a frequent panelist who discussed short stories, writing for contents, and of course, Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, a series we shared common ground with.

Few people could write short stories the way that Eugie Foster could. It was a gift; I have always admired the finesse, style and depth of her short stories and frequently wished I could emulate her success. As of this writing, she had published over 100 short stories, which is 100 more than I have ever published, and yet she remains relatively unknown among most of the greater fantasy names of the age.  In Returning My Sister’s Face: And Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice Eugie elegantly created characters drawn from Asian folklore and laced it all together with complexity, beautiful thematic elements and touches of humor that shine like starlight; hers is a loss that will be felt in the fantasy community for many years to come. I strongly recommend her works to anyone who enjoys a different point of worldview than their own. She wrote with grace and a certain sense of self-awareness, but it made her works all the more charming and appealing because of it.

Photo of the author from blackgate.com

On Foster’s blog, her husband Matthew wrote that memorial service arrangements would be announced soon, but more importantly:

“We do not need flowers.  In lieu of flowers, please buy her books and read them.  Buy them for others to read until everyone on the planet knows how amazing she was.”

Thank you, Eugie Foster, for all of your wonderful short stories, your advice on succeeding in the writing business, and for just being yourself.  I may have known you only peripherally, but your common sense approach to writing will always be with me. It was an honor to have met you, and I will not forget your many words of wisdom.

To my readers: Please read her books.  Celebrate the life of this wonderful, talented, and special person who made a mark on the fantasy community, and so many others, through her words.  You can find her works on her website, EugieFoster.com, and through Amazon.com.

The post In Memoriam: Eugie Foster first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Resa Nelson has been selling fiction as a professional since 1988, and is a longtime member of the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America). She is also a graduate of the Clarion SF Workshop. Previously Nelson has been the TV/Movie Columnist for Realms of Fantasy magazine (for 13 years) and has been a contributor to SCI FI magazine. She has sold 200 articles to various magazines in the United States and the United Kingdom.  Her first novel was The Dragonslayer’s Sword, and it was recommended for the Nebula Award. It was also a Finalist for the EPPIE Award.  In The Dragonslayer’s Sword, Astrid is a blacksmith who makes swords for dragonslayers. When a strange gemstone emerges from her body, it sets in motion a calamitous chain of events that threatens to destroy her life. As the story progresses, Astrid learns the truth about the people she knows and loves as well as those she has disdained, and the ultimate secret of her mysterious past and the family from which she was separated comes to light. Throughout the story, Astrid is constantly confronted with who she thinks she is and the person that she truly is beneath all the layers she has created to keep herself safe.

In the final pages of her book The Dragonslayer’s Sword, Nelson’s About the Author section discusses some of what went into the writing of the novel, and her methods of preparation are quite intense. While conducting research on The Dragonslayer’s Sword, Nelson took a course in blacksmithing, where she learned how to build a fire and forge iron and steel, and she also took a course at the Higgins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts in how to use a medieval sword, which led to her joining the Armory Guild. She also studied foil fencing for a year. Nelson participates in the guild’s study of fight manuals from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and participates in demonstration of historically accurate sword techniques. The swordwork in her novel is based on her studies in these techniques.

There are four novels in the Dragonslayer series: The Dragonslayer’s Sword, The Iron Maiden, The Stone of Darkness and The Dragon’s Egg. In addition, Nelson is the author of Our Lady of the Absolute, a fantasy tale of ancient Egypt. You can follow Resa Nelson on twitter @ResaNelson, and check out her books by following the links provided above.

Join me next time as I sit down with Resa Nelson to talk about public libraries, her writing, and the preparation she goes through in writing a novel.

Until then: Keep reading, and may all your stories be epic.

The post Enter The Dragonslayer – A Look at Resa Nelson first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

J.K. Rowling has, in a few short years, become a standard in the genre. You’d have to live under a rock to not know that the Harry Potter Series has spawned eight movies, a theme park, a website, and a franchise that has made the author very rich. Rowling has come a very long way from writing the origins of Harry Potter on a train, or living out of her car with her children and having to accept welfare. She is the ultimate success story of rags to riches all because of one stoic, lightning bolt scarred teenager who, with the help of his friends, fights off evil in the form of a Dark Lord named Voldemort. While some might argue that her works are geared toward children, I would argue that they haven’t read the last three books in the series, where the story takes a dark turn that clearly diverges from typical children-oriented fantasy one might find elsewhere in the genre.

Nora Roberts brings to mind many things, but rarely that of fantasy fiction. I have always been a fan of crossovers; that is, authors that transcend and blend genres in their writing. Roberts does this with style and effectiveness in two fantasy-themed trilogies The Circle and Three Sisters Island. In The Circle trilogy (Morrigan’s Cross, Dance of the Gods, Valley of Silence), sorcerer Hoyt Mac Cionaoith battles a centuries-old vampire named Lilith and his now-vampire twin brother Cian. After a bitter defeat, Hoyt is visited by the Goddess of Battles, Morrigan, and charged with the task of leading a battle against the vampire Lilith with the help of a witch, a scholar, a warrior, one of many forms and one he has lost. Hoyt then travels to present-day New York City where the quest truly begins.  In Three Sisters Island trilogy (Dance Upon the Air, Heaven and Earth, Face the Fire) a trio of witches must come to terms with themselves, their gifts, and an ages-old curse that threatens the very existence of their home. Readers should be aware: since Nora Roberts is a romance writer, some scenes can get racy. I wouldn’t describe this as a must-read for die-hard epic fantasy fans, but for those who enjoy light fantasy with a blending of romance, then this is a great place to start.

Our final author, Laurell K. Hamilton, is a very well-known name in contemporary fantasy. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series has spawned numerous landings on the best-seller lists. The series follows the exploits of Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, professional zombie raiser, and supernatural consultant for the police, as Anita gains in power and learns to deal with the unseen creatures of the supernatural world.  There are currently 23 novels in the Anita Blake series, beginning with Guilty Pleasures (1993) with a new release forthcoming in July 2013, entitled Affliction.

Stay tuned for the final installment in my four part series on women writers of fantasy fiction in my next post. As always: Keep reading, and may all your stories be epic.

The post Women of Fantasy Fiction – Part Three: J.K. Rowling, Nora Roberts, and Laurell K. Hamilton first appeared on Public Libraries Online.