Marc Aplin's Blog, page 184
April 2, 2015
Chinese Dragons
Since we’ve looked at both the origins of our scaly friends, and their purported racial types, it seems wholly on course to take a jolly meander off the beaten path and explore an entirely different nest of dragons. Dragons feature in most world mythologies, and whilst some traits are similar and their appearances closely resemble […]
April 1, 2015
So What’s The Fuss About Dropbox?
Being a writer is about facing fear daily. Whether it be trying to tackle scenes that seem a little challenging or dealing with the daily worries of trying to forge a writing career in a marketplace that is seeing massive upheaval, fear is something that writers know all too well. But if there’s one phrase […]
March 31, 2015
80s Fantasy Cartoons!
If you are like me, a child of the 1980s, then you probably watched a lot of cartoons. Saturday mornings were your hook up, holla if you hear me! Oh, those glorious mornings were chock-full with three networks running cartoons from 8am to past noon. I remember the Saturday mornings of my childhood well since […]
The Arthur C. Clarke Awards: Submission List 2015
There are often questions raised about the diversity of shortlists in Fantasy and Science-Fiction awards. When questions such as these arise for awards which are sent a list of books for consideration by the publishers – like the Clarke Awards – the question of whether the young/old, male/female, ethnic minorities (etc, etc) have been turned away at […]
March 30, 2015
Reading Like A Writer: Why to do It, How to do It, and Why I Often Fail at It
In podcasts and interviews, I often hear authors lamenting the fact that due to deadlines and publicity efforts, they don’t get to read as much as they used to. Even worse, when they do get to have time to read, they often can’t simply read for pleasure. Oh, sure, they can enjoy a book immensely, […]
March 28, 2015
Bloodborne – First Impressions
This article was turned in late. My apologies. I was playing Bloodborne. I had every intention of writing this on Thursday, when I finally managed to get a few hours alone. I didn’t. Instead? I played Bloodborne. I had another chance Friday. I had a half-day off. The kids were at school. The house was […]
Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan
Three, apparently, is a powerful number. Bad things are said to come in threes, and it has all sorts of mystical significances that could probably form a whole post of its own (or possibly a series of posts on the importance of numbers… but I digress). Most importantly for this review, three is a popular […]
March 27, 2015
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
In a never-ending quest to find new and interesting fantasy fiction, I picked up A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I liked the idea of a magician that could walk between worlds while also walking the line between royal messenger and smuggler. Kell is Antari, one of the last magicians who can create […]
March 26, 2015
Writing a Book People Can’t Put Down: The Art of Pacing
It’s two o’clock in the morning. You’ve had a long day, you’re exhausted, and in just four short hours you have to get ready for another day of work. More than anything, you just need to go to bed. So why don’t you? Because you just have to finish this absolutely amazing book you can’t […]
March 25, 2015
Half the World by Joe Abercrombie
With his second foray into the young adult genre, Joe Abercrombie continues to keep us on our toes. Half the World continues the story of Yarvi, now the “deeply cunning” minister of Gettland, but rather than continuing Yarvi’s story through his own eyes, as Abercrombie did in Half a King, he now moves the plot […]
