Benedict Patrick's Blog, page 7
February 15, 2017
What is the Yarnsworld?
This is a question I’ve been getting a lot lately – what is the Yarnsworld?
The Yarnsworld is a place where folktales and fantasy meet. It is a place where monsters from stories are real.
In the Yarnsworld, the line between reality and stories isn’t quite as defined as in our own. It is a place where folktales – and a knowledge of those tales – are an important aspect of life, no matter where in the Yarnsworld people live. Knowing those stories can be the difference between life and death.
I...
The Magpie King and the Black Squirrel
As voted by my readers, here I am reading their favourite tale from They Mostly Come Out At Night:
January 28, 2017
Let me read you a folktale!
I’m planning to read you some Yarnsworld folktales, and I want you to choose! I’ll let this guy (me) explain everything:
Your choices are:
Artemis and the Three Daughters
The Magpie King and the Black Squirrel
The Magpie King and the Pies
Head over to the posts on Facebook or Twitter to cast your vote – you have one week to decide!
December 22, 2016
Fabulous Fantasy Fundraiser
Hey all,
A quick message just before Christmas. I’m proud and privileged to be taking part in Booknest’s Fabulous Fantasy Fundraiser, alongside many of my indie pals, but also some much bigger names in the industry such as Mark Lawrence, Sebastien De Castell, and Django Wexler.
The basic idea is you donate (minimum 1), and you then have the chance of winning a bundle of gorgeous, personalised books. All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders (akaMédecins Sans Frontières). Click HERE and chec...
December 15, 2016
Star Wars: Rogue One first impressions video
Last night I got back late after a midnight showing of the new Star Wars movie, and had to record this before I went to bed. Would be great to hear your thoughts on the film!
November 18, 2016
Where the Waters Turn Black, the next Yarnsworld novel, has been released!
It’s here, it’s here! Where the Waters Turn Black is out in the wild, and is only 99c/99p for the first couple of days:
Here’s a look at the cover and the description again:
When gods and monsters battle, her music will not protect her…
The Crescent Atoll is a remote string of tropical islands, connected by long canoe journeys and a love of stories.
When Kaimana, a young ocarina player, discovers the lair of a taniwha – a legendary monster – she finds herself inspire...
November 3, 2016
Can we judge books by their covers?
When Mark Lawrence recently announced the ten finalists of this year’s SPFBO on the Fantasy subreddit, he had this to say about his earlier cover competition, in which the SPFBO bloggers nominated their favourite covers from this year’s entrants:
“But only 2 of the 10 finalists were in those cover nominations. So there’s no statistical support there for the idea that a better cover means a better book.”
That sounds like a challenge!
Okay, first, what Mark says is of course correct – there is...
October 16, 2016
Cover Reveal – Where the Waters Turn Black
Hey all – I can finally reveal the cover for the next Yarnsworld novel, Where the Waters Turn Black!
Here it is in all its glory, as well as the current book description:
When gods and monsters battle, her music will not protect her…
The Crescent Atoll is a remote string of tropical islands, connected by long canoe journeys and a love of stories.
When Kaimana, a young ocarina player, discovers the lair of a taniwha – a legendary monster – she finds herself inspired. The song she is composing...
July 26, 2016
What a month!
Phew – what an amazing month it’s been. They Mostly Come Out At Night has been out for just over a month, and I’ve been blown away by its reception.
Here’s a selection of some bloggers who loved the story, and their reviews:
Liz’s review from Cover to Cover
Finally this review from Kitty G’s Youtube channel:
A huge thanks to everyone so far for taking the time to read my book – I’ve been thril...
July 1, 2016
Why I Read Indie
Why I read indie, in support of #IndiePrideDay
First up, for those who don’t know me I should mention that my views on this matter are biased because I’m an indie author. But we’re not here to talk about writing today…
I almost exclusively read indie books right now. This hasn’t been a conscious choice, and there are many traditionally published works on my TBR pile right now, but here are a few reasons that I continue to find myself drawn to the indie titles on my iPad/iPhone when looking fo...
