The stories I have shared so far touch upon lessons learned thanks to the women in genre or the strength I have gained through the friendship and talent of these women. You can say continuity has an established role in my life, though not every encounter with a brilliant talent grows into a relationship. Its beauty lies within its brief brilliance (can I get bonus points for alliteration?) and such is the case with Tammy Moore, better (if) known as T.A. Moore.

Spoken as a true hipster, I’m sure you’ve probably never heard of her, because she is accounted for several short stories and a single novel – “The Even“. I’m going to be talking about “The Even”, which I still remember fondly even though I read it first in 2009. The book is a textbook example of obscure literature as it came out from a small press (the excellent Morrigan Books) and had a short run with not a lot of buzz generated. T.A. Moore is not Karin Tidbeck, whose first English collection was technically published by a small press, but made a huge international splash.

I consider “The Even” to be one of the most beautiful books I have laid eyes on. Aesthetics matter to me and as shallow as it may sound, to see one of my favorite fantasy artists (Stephanie Law) provide cover and internal illustrations for the novel made me further fall in love with The Even, which turned out to be as beautiful and delicate in its writing. Yes, I did enjoy it for the story, but form and presentation greatly influence how I experience a work. In my 2009 review, I say the following: Continue reading »