Magic systems in fantasy often fall into two distinct categories: hard magic and soft magic. Each offers unique storytelling opportunities, although readers tend to gravitate towards one or the other. What is the allure of each? I know I lean heavily toward hard magic, myself. Magic as technology has a strong appeal for me. The […]
The Duality of Magic Systems in Fantasy: Hard vs. Soft Magic Read More »
Fantasy as a genre tends to run long. One hundred thousand words (400 pages) for a novel is average. But short fantasy: short stories, novellas and novelettes, are a specialized artistry for the fantasy author. The shorter stories have the same amount of world building as the longer novels, but you only glimpse it. It’s
Top 13 Fantasy Magazines I Follow Read More »
Authors can go to extraordinary lengths to build their fictional worlds. They have travelled the world, and spent decades in research. James Cameron has gone where few men have gone before–in ocean depths that few have ever seen. Based on his research he wrote The Abyss (one of my favourite movies ever) and Titanic. J.R.R. Tolkien invented
Tolkien’s Sources… Read More »
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction writer who is also a political activist, with a lot to say about capitalism, most of it not nice. He does not mince words. Recently, he wrote a long post that is of relevance to both authors and readers. ‘How a billionaire’s mediocre pump-and-dump “book” became a “bestseller“‘ takes
Helping Authors Without Spending A Penny Read More »
Under one of my other pen names, I received an email from a reader who had found a post I wrote years ago, debunking the myths about crop circles. His email was a single line, which I will paraphrase: You write about magic, but you don’t think crop circles are supernatural? I admit my jaw
Authors Must Write About What They Believe? Read More »
142 years ago, Queen Victorian narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by Roderick Maclean, who was offended by the Queen’s response to some poetry he sent to her. It was the last of eight attempts by separate people to kill or assault Victoria over a period of four decades…and Victoria is considered to be one of
Assassination as a tool of Statecraft Read More »
I’ve only recently become aware of a trope in fiction that I have long enjoyed without knowing it was a thing. I absolutely love Competence Porn. And I like it in more than just the novels I read. I often find myself on YouTube, watching diverse people complete projects like cleaning up overgrown yards, building
Competence Porn in Fantasy Read More »
The Shield of Falconer is Now Out Everywhere! It’s release day for The Shield of Falconer, the last book in the Harley Firebird series. I’m sad to see this one wrap up, as I explained a few weeks ago, but on the other hand, I’m really looking forward to the spin-off series that will emerge
The Shield of Falconer is now out everywhere. Read More »
Starting today and running to the end of the month, Barnes & Noble has every book in the Harley Firebird series included in their BOGO 50% sale. To access the sale, head here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/h/coupons-deals. Scroll down to the BOGO 50% Off sale, then click on the See All link, just under the heading. Scroll to
BOGO 50% Off on all Harley Firebird stories at Barnes & Noble. Read More »
A quick follow-up to today’s email about The Dragon of Falconer being 99c at Barnes & Noble until the 15th. (A copy of that email/post is below.) Barnes & Noble, for some mysterious reason, decided to not put my book on discount. I had a few emails from readers pointing that out and at this
DRAGON OF FALCONER is NOT on Barnes & Noble Right Now, but you can still get it for 99c. Read More »