My favourite novel from 2017 was Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, which is about a girl who is obsessed with a fictional world, much like that of Harry Potter, and who writes fan fiction about it which is almost more popular than the author’s books themselves. It reminded me of a time when I honed my own writing…
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Looking Ahead to 2018
As we stand with Janus, Roman god of doorways, looking both back at the past year and ahead towards the year to come, it’s customary to review what we have achieved and make plans for the future. I like to make New Year’s resolutions. I firmly believe that you always need to strive towards something.…
All I Want For Christmas
The internet is abuzz this time of year with lists of gifts to buy for everyone, including the writer in your life. And sure, I wouldn’t mind another pen and notebook set, or a scarf covered in Jane Austen quotes, or a Harry Potter-themed board game, but I don’t need any of those things. There…
A Worthwhile Prize
Alanna grabbed Kael’s shoulder, wrenching him backwards. “Stop!” she hissed, pointing at the spot where he was about to step. The warrior looked down, his face paling visibly as he noticed the slightly raised edge of a round disk on the elaborately carved floor. “Trigger trap,” he confirmed. “Better keep a close eye on the…
Do You Enjoy Reading Flash Fiction?
I only learned about flash fiction about a year ago. If you haven’t encountered it before, flash fiction is the term for fully contained stories in a very limited number of words. They usually range anything from 100 to 1000 words. Personally, I prefer writing stories towards the upper reaches of this word limit, because…
Why You Should Review Books You Love
I know, I’m guilty too. It’s just so much effort to log into Amazon and write a coherent review about a book, even if it is one you loved that resulted in a three-day book hangover preventing any kind of productivity at work. And even if I did take the time to write my thoughts…
Representation in Fiction
“Representation” is the current buzzword in the world of fiction. Readers are getting more and more vocal about stories that are not representative enough and woe betide anyone who happens to write something with a straight white male protagonist in the lead. And I get it. Sort of. When I first started reading (English) fiction on my…
Second Book Syndrome is Real
NaNoWriMo kicked my butt this year, and the reason for that is because I’m trying to write the second installment of my Mythical Menagerie series. While the first story flowed from my fingertips as if Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, was whispering in my ear, writing this second one is like trying to wade through a pool…
Confession: I Hate Vampires and Werewolves
I’ve always considered myself an epic fantasy girl. Give me a hero, an evil nemesis and an impossible quest and I’m in my element. I devour books by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson and Robin Hobb as if they were slabs of chocolate. The guilt-free kind. So it came as a bit of a surprise that…
To NaNo or not to NaNo
If you’re a writer, then you’ve probably heard of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Writers exist in a coffee-fuelled, sleep-deprived zombie-like state throughout the month of November as we attempt to write 50,000 words in thirty days. That breaks down to 1667 words per day, which doesn’t actually sound that much – until you…
