Carrie Vaughn

December and January are traditionally lighter months for publishing, but February is ramping things back up again—just in time for picking out a book for your Valentine (or yourself)! Romance is a theme this month—but you’ll also find space adventures, inter-dimensional hijinks, magical libraries, monsters, and more.What Makes Immortal Longings an Epic Fantasy? | io9 InterviewImage: Thomas & MercerThe Bad Weather Friend by Dean R. KoontzA man who’s having a string of bad luck inherits an unlikely champion: an…

You might think the author of A Game of Thrones has enough to occupy his time, but when he’s not making readers wait for his next book or toiling in the realms of TV, George R.R. Martin is known for elevating other sci-fi and fantasy writers. One way he does this: by presenting the long-running Wild Cards series, set in a world where an alien virus causes death, mutations, or superpowers among the infected.Since the Wild Cards shared universe’s arrival in 1987, it’s grown to include dozens of books by an array of authors,…

Illustration: Joeprachatree / Adobe Stockio9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “Learning Letters” by Carrie Vaughn. You can read the story below or listen to the podcast on LIGHTSPEED’s website. Enjoy!Learning LettersEnid sat on the front porch of Haven’s clinic with a half a dozen books, some paper, and a small chalkboard. Three days a week, when she was in town, she taught reading to Haven’s children who…