Marc Aplin's Blog, page 93

Small Press, Big Stories – Skyhorse Publishing

We’ve been quiet for a while – blame the day job and an inexplicable desire to hibernate until February – but you can’t stop the signal, so we’ve been having a chat with Cory Allyn, senior editor at Skyhorse Publishing, over the waves there in the US. Skyhorse is probably the biggest independent “small press” […]

The Siege of Abythos by Phil Tucker

Spoiler Warning: This review contains spoilers for books one and two of the Chronicles of the Black Gate series. Please read with caution if you’ve yet to finish the first two. But, you HAVE read them, right?!? I took pages of copious notes while listening to and reading The Siege of Abythos, book three of […]

Justice League – Movie Review

Hoo boy. I’ve not made any secret to anyone who knows me that, Wonder Woman aside, I have not been at all impressed with DC Extended Universe. In fact, I actively consider Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad to be among some of the worst superhero movies I’ve ever […]

Monthly Short Story Winner: Find the Story in the Picture

This month our entrants got three pictures to choose from. Every picture a frozen moment from an unknown story. They convey atmosphere and (part of) a setting. The rest is up to you. Rules: 1. The story/poem must be inspired by one of the pictures. 2. Prose must be 500-1500 words long. 3. Poetry must […]

Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beren and Lúthien contains echoes of Romeo and Juliet, Rapunzel, and the Orpheus and Persephone myths. In it, Lúthien—a demigod elf princess whom Tolkien refers to both as a “mere maid” and “the greatest of the children of Iluvatar”—singlehandedly defeats Morgoth, the Big Bad of the First Age of Middle Earth. The story […]

Josh Vogt Interview

I am pleased to welcome Josh Vogt, a full-time freelance writer and editor, who has sold numerous stories to Paizo’s Pathfinder Tales, Grey Matter Press, the UFO2 and UFO3 anthologies, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and Shimmer, among others. His work comes in everything from flash fiction to short stories to novellas to door-stopper novels, and is […]

Miles Cameron Interview – The Fall of Dragons

Five years ago The Red Knight came into the world to high acclaim. This year The Traitor Son Cycle concluded with The Fall of Dragons. We at Fantasy-Faction have been following this series since the beginning and are lucky enough to have here today author, re-enactor, outdoors expert, and weapons specialist Miles Cameron to tell us […]

The Ten Strangest Races in Fantasy Literature

To me one of the most wonderful things about reading fantasy is the chance to encounter strange and magical beings that couldn’t possibly exist in the real world. Ferocious and exotic warriors, wise immortals, fey creatures as beautiful as they are mysterious, people made from wood or stone, animals that walk and talk like humans, […]

Don’t Show, Don’t Tell – Guest Blog by K. C. Alexander

We’ve heard it, right: “show, don’t tell.” A four-word reminder to make sure your work is rich with description, follow-through, actions rather than (in a non-literal sense) words. But what about “don’t show, don’t tell?” (Not to be mistaken for outdated military doctrine.) Stick with me, kid, it gets way more interesting. And it starts […]

Big Fish & Begonia – Movie Review

So apparently China is making big animated movies now? Good on them. No seriously, that wasn’t sarcasm. Good on them. The more different animations out there the better. Especially if they’re as gorgeous and engaging as this movie. Seriously though, as anyone who knows me might be aware, I’m a fairly big fan of animated […]