Marc Aplin's Blog, page 105
August 3, 2017
Urskuul’s Reading Circle: The Management Style of the Supreme Beings by Tom Holt
Dear Members of Urskuul’s Reading Circle, This isn’t something I enjoy doing, but I have to remind you all that we do have rules that members are expected to follow. While you may think the rules appear arbitrary or unnecessary, there are good reasons behind all of them. Xerxes Law, our suspiciously, conveniently named resident […]
August 2, 2017
The Pros and Cons of a Macro Timescale
Most fantasy and science fiction series tend to be, by their very nature, large in scope. We expect stories about the fate of worlds, the rise and fall of empires, and history in the making. A book might still focus on a character’s personal, small-scale struggle, but it’s rare the focus will only be on […]
August 1, 2017
Angela Bole Interview – Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), based in the United States, has served independent publishers and self-published authors since 1983. The organization is one of the few to serve this market, providing a wide-range of opportunities for its over 3,000 members. Today, I am excited to introduce Angela Bole, the Chief Executive Officer of IBPA, […]
July 31, 2017
Tough Travels: Strongholds
At the start of every month, Fantasy-Faction will lead you (yes, YOU!) on a tour of the fantasy genre. From high to low, from classics to new releases, from epic to urban; each month, we will guide you in search of a different trope, theme or cliché. Lest we become lost, we’ll be referring to […]
Cover Reveal & Extract for A TIME OF DREAD by John Gwynne
John Gwynne is a favourite here at Fantasy Faction. His The Faithful and the Fallen series has been named in our ‘best of’ and ‘most anticipated’ lists time and again, and for good reason. His debut, Malice, won the David Gemmell Morningstar award, and the next three books (Valour, Ruin, and Wrath) were all shortlisted […]
July 30, 2017
10 Tips for Self-Published Authors
In publishing there are outliers who release a book straight to the top of the charts, but they are few and far between. Happily, you don’t need this to happen to be able to make a full time living from writing—the slow build to a solid platform is equally viable, albeit longer in the making. […]
July 28, 2017
Monthly Short Story Winner: Dragons
This month we decided to give you a treat. Something grand. Something terrifying. Creatures you complained about being not depicted as they should be. This month our entrants wrote about dragons! Absolve yourself and picture them as the menacing, intelligent, magical, godlike terrors they are. Or not. You never know what our writers are going […]
The Belgariad by David Eddings – Over Thirty?
Hands down, one of the greatest fantasy series of all time. You’re still here? Great. The books, the first five that make The Belgariad, are over thirty years old and still in print. There are many a book, and series, that has gone out of print in that time. Clearly, this series has long term […]
July 26, 2017
A Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane
Maybe it’s because Mars is named for the Roman god of war, but something about the Red Planet has captured human imagination, or at least the imagination of Western media. Think about it: when there are invaders from within our own solar system, where do they most often come from? It’s a trope that’s over […]
July 25, 2017
The Hollow Crown by Jeff Wheeler
Spoiler Warning: While what follows is a spoiler-free look at The Hollow Crown, discussion of the 5th book in a series and the start of a new trilogy necessarily “spoils” much of what came before. If you plan on reading Wheeler’s Kingfountain novels but haven’t quite gotten around to it yet, suffice it to say […]
