Marc Aplin's Blog, page 97

Monthly Short Story Winner: Through the Beast’s Eye

Writing often means putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes and writing from their perspective. The barmaid, the warrior, the shady detective, the witch, or the orphan boy. You do this all the time, becoming somebody else for the time you write that person. If you’re good at it, all the characters will read, sound, and […]

Urskuul’s Reading Circle: Age of Assassins by R. J. Barker

Welcome back everyone to Urskuul’s Reading Circle’s latest newsletter! You will be delighted to hear that this month I was able to lead the meeting, following last time around when I was unfortunately absent owing to my enforced attendance of a family holiday. I know, I know, I shouldn’t complain. I got to go on […]

Ancien and the Magic Tablet (Napping Princess) – Anime Movie Review

Ah… Now, how exactly do I describe this movie to a newcomer? Imagine Inception, except where the dream involved has a significantly more fairy tale/fantasy bent, mixed with a corporate political thriller and a huge dollop of anime tropes, including giant robots and school girls. That feels like it might be a start to describing […]

Fantasy-Faction is Looking for Contributors!

Do you read fantasy, science fiction, horror, steampunk, or any other of the many subgenres of SFF? Are you writing the next great epic fantasy novel or are at least trying to? Do you have some free time to share your love of genre fiction with others? Then Fantasy-Faction wants you! We are a fan […]

Swinging the Scythe

Death is an essential part of many of our stories, whether it’s just the threat of it to provide peril for our protagonists, or having some of the characters actually bite the dust for reasons of plot or drama. If written well a death scene can have a great impact on the reader, triggering a […]

Angry Robot Signs Sean Grigsby with Smoke Eaters!

At Fantasy-Faction we enjoy all shades of genre from space opera to sword and sorcery, from horror to steampunk. And while vampires, angry robots, and clockwork time machines are all well and good, this is a fantasy site and here what we really love is dragons! Which is why it is our pleasure to announce […]

Monthly Short Story Winner: Fanfic

This is the fourth year we’ve done a fanfic month. We didn’t want it to get boring so we’ve tried to change it up each year. The first year you could write whatever you wanted. The second year we limited the books you could choose from. The third you had to stage a fight between […]

The Kaladin Book Soundtrack based on The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – Call To Action

Sometimes, when you work in entertainment, you take the gigs that will feed you. Sometimes, you take the gigs that inspire you. Sometimes, the gig pays off. Rarely, a gig can change your life. The Kaladin book soundtrack (inspired by The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson) saved mine. Literally. None of us at The […]

Small Press, Big Stories: Mrs. Claus Anthology – Cover Reveal

Summer’s gone, days spent in the grass and sun. And with the drop in temperature come pumpkin spice lattes, fireworks, and eventually Christmas! So with that in mind, it’s more than time to get your seasonal TBR pile set and maybe have something to read while you’re waiting for Santa to make off with the […]

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost – What Does It Mean?

When Lord of the Rings enthusiasts are not burning wedding bands in fiery pits in their backyard—checking for Black Speech inscriptions—they are frequently found uttering the clever sayings of their favorite fantasy author. Who can blame them? Tolkien, a philologist by trade, is known for many wondrous, existential musings. Yet one proverb is clearly quoted […]