Marc Aplin's Blog, page 144

Using Scrivener To Store Your Research & Notes

If you enjoy writing, it’s quite possible that you’ve heard of Scrivener. The writing software, available for both Mac and PC, is a firm favourite for both published and unpublished writers alike. However, many are unaware of its numerous features and how it is much more than just yet-another-word-processor. It’s only when they learn that […]

New Models for Magicians

In many fantasy stories, magicians often follow one or two traditional models. Many are often portrayed as guides or teachers that assist the protagonist. Often this mentor is described as an old man, with a long, white beard. They wear robes and carry walking staffs. Merlin and Gandalf cast long shadows over the genre. Alternatively, […]

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Just like the smash hit Red Rising by Pierce Brown, Sleeping Giants has been turning heads because it has managed to sell movie rights before even being published. Its Publishers and early reviews from all around the world are promising that this is the next World War Z, The Martian, Gravity or Interstellar. That’s a […]

Angry Robot signs Eric Fischl

We keep a close eye on Angry Robot’s latest signings here at Fantasy-Faction HQ. This is because we know that when Angry Robot snap an author up, there’s two things guaranteed: brilliantness and something a little bit different. Need examples? Wesley Chu, Chuck Wendig, Anne Lyle, Adam Christopher, Laura Lam and many, many more besides should do! […]

Interview with Sylvain Neuvel

I was lucky enough to get a super-early Advanced Review Copy of Sleeping Giants. It was a book that immediately grabbed me and kept hold of me until I turned the final page. For anyone who has read The Three by Sarah Lotz, the style is rather similar. We are presented articles, transcripts and logs […]

Excerpt from ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ – A short story from Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

There are very few authors that Fantasy-Faction forum users and Facebook group members talk about more than Joe Abercrombie. There are many reasons for this, but in addition to truly enjoying his books, there is a feeling amongst the community that Joe Abercrombie is at least part responsible for the favourable direction that our genre has headed […]

Monthly Short Story Winner: Fairy Tales

Some are funny and silly. Some are dark and strange. But all of them have a morale, a (more or less fixed) narrative, and rules. This month’s short story contest features fairy tales. In fairy tales, numbers are important. It’s always three sons and the youngest is the smartest. There may be seven princesses but […]

Fantasy and the Collector Mentality

Raise your hand if own more than one copy of Lord of the Rings. I own four: the ebooks, my first mass market paperbacks from when I was 7 or 8, a leather-bound omnibus version I got for my 11th birthday, and a 7-volume edition I bought in my late teens. They look great on […]

Diverse Fantasy Is Better Fantasy

I recently I submitted a story to my writing group for critique. It was a secondary-world fantasy set in a pre-industrial port city. Of all the comments I received, the one that stuck with me complained that it was unrealistic that the people of my world didn’t have a problem with my lesbian protagonist and […]

The Paper Menagerie And Other Stories by Ken Liu

“Time’s arrow is the loss of fidelity in compression. A sketch, not a photograph. A memory is a re-creation, precious because it is both more and less than the original.” Before moving to novel-length fiction with last year’s excellent The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu concentrated his writing on short stories. His moving and inventive […]