K. Makansi's Blog, page 2
December 28, 2020
The Paths Between The Stars
More than half a decade ago, a story was birthed here on this blog. For fans of Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman comes my newest novel, THE PATHS BETWEEN THE STARS, a genre-bending story about a young girl finding her way after a devastating loss. Due out in 2021, I’ll offer a complimentary copy to…
September 23, 2019
Summer Evenings: A Poem
Sweet is my memory That I am not a morning person– Glorying in the dawn, the revelatory nutty scent of brewing coffee– No. I prefer dusk. Evenings, the onset of dew The fade of heat into something more gentle The smell of dry grass, ready to seed, giving way to rose petal, wet earth. For…
September 12, 2019
Heartbeats and Dragon Curves: The Birth of a Story
Guest Post by Daryl Rothman, whose fantasy novel The Awakening of David Rose was published this Monday, September 9. Featured image by Tim Rebkavets on Unsplash What do you think of first when you hear, Jurassic Park? Dinosaurs? Blockbuster? Spielberg? Crichton? Most likely not Ekeland or Gleick. But Michael Crichton credits them in the acknowledgements of his…
May 20, 2019
10 Things I Hate About Game of Thrones Season 8 *Spoilers ahead*
As a writer, I care deeply about plot, pacing, and character development. It's all critical to my suspension of disbelief, not to mention that watching a master at work is both educational and validating. Good stories have power. Watching the six seasons of Game of Thrones taught me so much about how to write complex characters with long, thoughtful story arcs, how to make bad characters tun good, and good characters turn bad. How to build a world that feels as real as our own.
December 16, 2018
Scars
On the lessons we learn as we age One of the interesting things about getting older is that you learn. You actually do learn. People older than you always talk about this learning experience, but it’s hard to believe until you see it for yourself. You actually learn things about the world as you grow…
October 3, 2018
Book Review: Kinnara by Kevin Ansbro
“Why does nobody believe that I saw the evil spirit that day? They make offerings to phantoms, and yet when I offer them actual proof of one, they laugh in my face!” Kinnara by Kevin Ansbro is a charming book with a delightful tone and a happy ending. It interweaves magical realism, mythology, and travel narrative…
September 18, 2018
Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
It has recently come to my attention that I really like fantasy books. Last summer, I demolished Deborah Harkness’ entire ALL SOULS TRILOGY and Nnedi Okorafor’s WHO FEARS DEATH in three months. Some people might not think that’s a lot of books, but for me, that’s a lot of books. I devoured the first two…
September 4, 2018
Today is Literary Libations Launch Day!
Today marks a new milestone in my author career. My first solo book, LITERARY LIBATIONS: WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU READ, is gone into the world. Like a bird flying from the nest, it is out of my hands. Now, dear reader, it’s your turn. Your turn to hold, to dog-ear, to spill coffee…
July 9, 2018
New Video Alert! What to Drink with A SCANNER DARKLY by Philip K. Dick
Learn what to pour when you open A SCANNER DARKLY by Philip K. Dick
June 8, 2018
What Lightning in a Bottle Music Festival Taught Me About Writing Great Characters
A music festival might not seem the ideal place to spend a lot of time thinking about writing, but that’s pretty much all I thought about while I was at Lightning in a Bottle, an electronic music festival at Lake San Antonio, California. Lightning in a Bottle is no ordinary music festival. It’s not like Sasquatch or…
