Have you ever had that creeping feeling you're not alone? Maybe you are walking through a wood as autumnal leaves dance by your face. It's cold. You feel a shiver and glance ahead. There's someone standing there, watching you beneath the trees. No...twas but a trick of the light! Or else maybe a deer, or some other wary beast observing your clumsy progress through the tangle of forest. You chuckle at your foolishness and walk on. And from the shadows [...]
There are some terrific fantasy writers out there at the moment: Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss, Trudi Canavan, and of course GRR Martin - to name but a few. Doubtless in days to come many future authors in the genre will talk about how the above names influenced their own work. And that the early 21st century was a terrific time for the fantasy genre - and they'd be right too. But, as a grizzled 54-year-old ex soldier/trucker, real-ale [...]
It's tough running a country. Especially when your father (the king) dies suddenly in suspicious circumstances. And at just twenty-two you have all the responsibility and decisions surrounding his kingdom hurled, like a heavy wet flannel at your face. That was where I found myself just over a year ago. I am Queen Ariane of Kelwyn, btw, and I'm taking brief respite from my duties and stresses to explain, dearest reader, about the awful mess we've fallen into. I need [...]
People often ask me why I became a writer and where I got my inspiration for the Legends of Ansu series. The obvious answers are: books, a warped and rampant imagination, and the stubborn determination to avoid getting another proper job. Been there - done that. A more subliminal response would be a daily consumption of M&M's: Music and Movies. Both were key to my becoming an author. And song and screen still fuel this dizzy writer's head with wild [...]
You take a sudden turn in a road, the scenery shifts, open fields yield to dark woods. A stone bridge spans a gurgling rushing stream below. Beyond, high hills frown down as you shift up, placing toe hard on the hammer. You have never been here before and will never return, so enjoy the moment. You cross that bridge, the road narrows amidst twists and turns, you change down twice, giving it full gas until you crown that first rise. [...]
I, Corin an Fol, one time heavy drinker, womaniser and general good for nothing, was born during the night of the Great Storm. That same infamous blow responsible for wrecking the High King's flagship off the rocky southern coast of Fol, and claiming the lives of his spouse, the High Queen, her adolescent son, and her younger sister, together with her own baby boy. My village, Finnehalle, was battered and several people died. That was what they told me, back [...]
Okay, so I've already discussed two origins for the fantasy arena: history and myth, or histology as I shall call it. Today I want to delve deeper, and if you don't mind, being of Celt and Saxon stock, I'll focus on the British Isles, my homeland. I have mentioned the Mabinogian, or Mabinogi before. These are old Welsh fables. Just how old they are is impossible to fathom, though I suspect their first echoes long predate the Fall of Rome. [...]
Where did it start - this random, fascination with all (well most) things fantastical? The answer for me lies way back. When I was a lad my dad used to pilot the rescue boat for a local sailing club in over East Sussex, England. Most Saturdays and Sundays I accompanied him (whatever the weather), assisting stranded and capsized racing crew, and running the soaked survivors ashore for a quick hot toddy and pat on the back. We went out in [...]
I was born amidst the cold dark of northern winter. My place of birth, a cave hidden amongst the pine-cloaked knees of Valkador's three sentinel mountains. That night the wind's searching fingers penetrated the semi shelter where my mother, Bera, held her newborn son. It was touch and go that first night, but somehow mother and son survived. And so started my story: Barin the Northman, wayfarer and sea voyager, redoubtable warrior and ale swiller. Born in exile whilst my [...]
'Okay, define fantasy' - someone once said. 'Where does it evolve from and what are its sources? And why is this genre so popular?' The answer lies deep within our own subconscious, like the monster lurking beneath the sleepless child's bed. It's that weird little voice hinting who we are, featuring in our dreams; kidnapping whimsical thoughts whilst we cruise the interstate, listening to hard rock - or maybe classic FM. Imagination is a big part of it, and a [...]
