Marc Aplin's Blog, page 96
October 10, 2017
Urskuul’s Reading Circle: Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Well everyone, we have somehow managed to navigate the perils of 2017 to survive all the way into October! I think we all should be congratulated on this sterling effort, since I originally figured this would be a quick money-making opportunity. Everyone would stop coming to Urskuul’s Reading Circle after the first few months and […]
October 9, 2017
SPFBO3: Another Five Fall
The Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off officially began on July 1st! In case you missed it, here’s what Fantasy-Faction has posted so far: Our announcement Introducing round one Cover contest winners First five fall Second five fall And of course you can keep track of everything relating to round one on the SPFBO page on Mark Lawrence’s blog. Ahh, […]
October 8, 2017
Aliya Whiteley Interview – The Beauty & The Arrival of Missives
Aliya Whiteley is an author of strange and lyrical stories about fungal infections that breed new life even as they end the world and mysterious messages from the future. Her novella The Beauty (2014) was nominated for the James Tiptree Award and the Shirley Jackson Award, and her novella The Arrival of Missives (2016) has […]
October 6, 2017
Monthly Short Story Winner: Omens
“An omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. People in the ancient times believed that omens lie with a divine message from their gods. These omens include natural phenomena, for example an eclipse, abnormal births of animals and humans, and behavior of the sacrificial lamb […]
THOSE BRAVE, FOOLISH SOULS FROM THE CITY OF SWORDS by Benedict Patrick – Cover Reveal
Here at Fantasy-Faction we’ve had the pleasure and privilege of hosting an entire bunch of gorgeous cover reveals for indie authors. Look at these bad boys as examples of those we’ve hosted just within the last twelve months (not to mention The Midnight Dunes just yesterday!): The Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO) cover contest is also doing […]
October 4, 2017
THE MIDNIGHT DUNES by Steven Kelliher – Cover Reveal
Working with artist Aaron Nakahara on the covers for the Landkist Saga has been a dream for me and… probably something else entirely for him. While the production processes for both Valley of Embers and The Emerald Blade were moderately smooth, The Midnight Dunes required a longer process and more iterations to really get right. […]
October 2, 2017
Queer Representation in SFF
One of two things happen when you raise the issue of queer and gender rep in speculative fiction: The first is we’re told it’s not important, that unqueer people don’t care, and that they do not want it “shoved down their throats”. Second, we’re given a blithe, well-meaning shrug and told that people are not […]
October 1, 2017
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Katherine Arden’s debut novel, The Bear and the Nightingale, was as charming and magical a debut novel as you could hope to find in 2016. Drawing comparisons to Neil Gaiman, Naomi Novik, and Robin Hobb, Arden’s debut became a bestseller, but more importantly, it marked the introduction of an incredible new voice, one that repackaged […]
What is Orctober?
Howdy, y’all. I’m Ashe Armstrong, author of the Grimluk, Demon Hunter series. Welcome to Orctober. I know some of you are probably asking just what the hell that is. And if you’re not, I’m going to pretend you are because it’s central to writing this little thing. Did I make a typo? Is it some […]
September 30, 2017
Tough Travels: Minions
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 […]
