Robin Lythgoe's Blog, page 23
April 3, 2015
Women, Violence, and Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Welcome to the First Friday Feature of our Fantasy writers group, A Drift of Quills! The Quills come together this month to tackle a controversial question: Does violence by or against women add authenticity to fantasy/sci-fi tales?
Does violence by or against women add authenticity to fantasy/sci-fi tales?
(Woman With a Bow, unknown artist)
Fantasy and sci-fi—No, fiction authors (at
Does violence by or against women add authenticity to fantasy/sci-fi tales?
(Woman With a Bow, unknown artist)
Fantasy and sci-fi—No, fiction authors (at
March 27, 2015
10 Reasons to Read
A never-ending reservoir of stories lies waiting for you to dive in. Why should you (or anyone else) read? It could save your life. That doesn't mean you have a life of textbooks ahead of you. No, the reading material is up to you! (Though if you like textbooks, far be it from me to discourage you from reading them!)
According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
March 13, 2015
Mug Shots — 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Author Pictures
A lot of people don’t like being photographed. It makes them feel awkward and self-conscious. (I know all about that!) But people like, well, people, and providing a face to go with a name helps us to connect. When we have a face to associate with something—like a song or a book—we tend to remember it better.
Just like your book cover, your author picture (or “headshot”) has a job to do. You
Just like your book cover, your author picture (or “headshot”) has a job to do. You
March 6, 2015
Books We Love
Welcome to the Friday Feature of our Fantasy writers group, A Drift of Quills! We Quills get together once a month to chat up aspects of reading and writing. Here we are again with a few of our book besties, applauding Stephen King’s advice that (read a lot, write a lot)
Read on to see what’s carrying the Quills away!
My grandmother used to call me “Robin the Hood” when I was very
Read on to see what’s carrying the Quills away!
My grandmother used to call me “Robin the Hood” when I was very
February 27, 2015
Five Good Things
If you’ve been keeping up with my Facebook page, you’ll know I’m neck deep re-working the outline for my Work In Progress. I suffered a round of depression when I calculated that Act 1 needs to go on an extreme diet or I’ll end up with a 1200+ page doorstop, just for the first book! Using a physical plot board rather than the computer screen has helped a lot. It’s much easier to see what’s going
February 20, 2015
Nail Your Villain
via Sam Lavy, Flickr
Who doesn’t love a good — er, bad villain? Some excellent examples are Prince Regal in The Farseer Trilogy, Norman Bates from Psycho, Commodus* in Gladiator, Professor Umbrage from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Eremus from Mordant’s Need, Arienrhod in The Snow Queen.
What makes them so bad we love ‘em and can’t wait to see them brought low?
Humanity.
Who doesn’t love a good — er, bad villain? Some excellent examples are Prince Regal in The Farseer Trilogy, Norman Bates from Psycho, Commodus* in Gladiator, Professor Umbrage from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Eremus from Mordant’s Need, Arienrhod in The Snow Queen.
What makes them so bad we love ‘em and can’t wait to see them brought low?
Humanity.
February 13, 2015
Saira & the Dragon's Egg Serial by Moira Katson: New Release + Giveaway
I'm so excited to have the lovely Moira Katson visiting today! She's got a new YA fantasy series — or rather serial — out and it sounds so fun! Take a gander at the blurb for the first one:
Saira doesn't know how she ended up in a mountain cave. She's not quite sure where she got this magic sword, either - or the tattoo on her arm. In fact, Saira can't say for certain who she is.
What she
Saira doesn't know how she ended up in a mountain cave. She's not quite sure where she got this magic sword, either - or the tattoo on her arm. In fact, Saira can't say for certain who she is.
What she
February 6, 2015
Miniviews (With A Drift of Quills)
A Drift of Quills is here again! We’re like clockwork that way, every Friday! Today we’re doing “miniviews” — shortshortshort interviews with some of our favorite authors. We each picked a victim, er… writer, and asked them the same three questions. Read on to see how they answered.
A.E. Marling leaped into the indie writer scene about three years ago with his impressive debut, Brood of
A.E. Marling leaped into the indie writer scene about three years ago with his impressive debut, Brood of
January 30, 2015
The Great Cover-Up
I love great book covers. I have a digital collection that I go through every now and then, admiring and deciphering what it is about each that particularly intrigues or pleases me. Some days the walk through my virtual gallery is for the simple desire to appreciate the artwork. On other days (especially when I’m contemplating the creation of a cover) I look through the collection to inspire
January 23, 2015
More Good, Clean Reading
Are you one of those people that loves to read but hates trying to disinfect your eyeballs after they've been exposed to blood, guts, profanity or sex? Yeah, me, too … And I have good news!
As the hunt continues for providers of "clean" fiction, more sites and blogs are cropping up. This time I'd like to introduce you to Clean Indie Reads:
The goal of this site is to connect writers from across
As the hunt continues for providers of "clean" fiction, more sites and blogs are cropping up. This time I'd like to introduce you to Clean Indie Reads:
The goal of this site is to connect writers from across
