Assaph Mehr's Blog, page 54

Sav (of Black Cross – Black Powder Wars, by JP Ashman)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a former city guard, turned pathfinder for the spymaster.

He’s here to tell us about his love of scouting and archery, his travels, and the arcane plague that befell his lands.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

Wesson? It’s not bad, as cities go, but growing up there was fun, to a point. The sea air is nice, although I prefer the smell of green. You know? Out in the fields and forests of Altoln. No cramped living. Less s...

Ancient News

As most of you know, I love reading news about discoveries from ancient Rome. This post collects some recent articles, as well as a short piece I wrote for Virtual FantasyCon event about using real historical detail as background colour for storytelling.

First, a bit out of In Numina. I use a lot of real historical details, subverted slightly to fit in the fantastical setting. When, during the course of an investigation Felix is invited to the mansion of a rich family, he notes a particular...

Konnon Crillian (of Song, by Jesse Teller)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a bounty hunter from the world of Perilisc. He’ll take any job though – bodyguard, a mercenary, anything – to afford the medication his daughter needs.

He’s here to tell us about taking the job of hunting one of the kingdom’s most dangerous men – together with others just as bad.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

Dragonsbane is a marvel. It’s filled with landmarks and wonderful things that a...

OMG! Best Meme Ever!

So… I was scrolling past the messages in one one my favourite Facebook groups – Grimdark Fiction Readers & Writers – when what should I see?

Someone. Created a meme. About. MY. BOOK!!

And I don’t even know them… Years of trying to push my own memes on people, and finally I have fans who create memes about Felix…

Many more to come, I hope!

(And, to answer the question in the pic, the next book – In Numina – is coming next Feb. In the meantime...

Chance Welfrey (of Dead by Morning by Kayla Krantz)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a young man, often considered the charming golden boy of his school. Yet is he just a pretty face, or does he cynically use his good looks to mask his involvements in the recent disappearance of several schoolgirls? And why does he suddenly haunt the dreams of one particular girl, a girl who seems decidedly uninterested in him?

Read on to find more from Chance.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

You like trees? You would love wh...

Book Review: Black City Saint by Richard A. Knaak

Let’s keep it short, shall we? You’re here because you like historical-urban-fantasy. So stop reading, and go get your copy now.

Still not convinced? Let me share some more details then.

What to Expect

Black City Saint is the first novel in the series from Richard Knaak. Set against the back-drop of Prohibition-era Chicago, Nick Medea is a private detective of sorts, dealing with paranormal cases.

Not that it’s as straightforward as that. Nick has a checkered past, and some...

Bauldane (of the Ivory Chronicles by James Mansfield)

Dear readers, tonight with us on the interview couch is a living skeleton. He has no memories of how he got to be this way.

He is here to tell us of the world he lives in, and what he had discovered about it since awakening in this state.

Tell us a little about where you grew up.

I cannot.

Why is that?

I awakened in the Aulaen Grey Forest. Before then, there is nothing. I have retained my memories of the world, Gaea, but know nothing of myself, of who I once was. (Bauldane removes a gauntlet...

Bits and Snippets of Writing

Not all ideas end up as a full novel. Sometime’s it’s just a flash fiction, or even a mere snippet of a story. Here are a couple of particularly delicious ones from the past few weeks. All were done as a prompt (where someone asked for it or not…) to an image.

This little techno-beasty appeared in my favourite Historical Fantasy Book Club group:

Back in more rural ages, dragons terrorised the countryside, subsisting on cows. With the advent of the industrial revolution came...

Nash Xander Korpes (of The Korpes File by J.I. Rogers)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a master technician, formerly with the Korlune Military Research and Development. He is also the first from the diasporan population to win top prize at the prestigious Symposium .

As Nash’s time is limited, I’ve arranged to meet with him between appointments. He indicated that he is willing to answer questions about his early life and talk about some of  the difficulties he’s faced, career-wise, in a country ruled by xenophobic traditions.

C...

Recreations of Roman houses

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I love old ruins, as you surely know. Whenever I find myself walking amongst them, or even just in old streets of modern cities, my mind is only half focused on what I see. The other half sees what these places were in their prime. Makes it a bit of a chore to avoid traffic…

But there is nothing like watching proper archaeologists and historians recreate what originally stood there. Here are a couple of such recreations. I posted these links originally on my Facebook page, but since these te...