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Latest Stories
You can’t re-write history
“Stop this!” Vashna screamed, pulling at the ropes around his wrists, “for the sake of yourself, Maynie, you need to stop!” Maynie looked up from the alter, hair askew and magic wild in her eyes. Blue energy surrounded her hands as she continued to move them in the ritual movements. “Stop?” Even though her word … More You can’t re-write history
No way I’m eating that
“There is no way on this side of the eleven circles of afterlife I am eating that,” Tanker scrunched his nose up at the proffered sandwich. “Oh come on,” Flanks said next to him, her voice crackling over the comms unit, “why the hell not.” “I ain’t got any idea of what’s in it,” Tanker … More No way I’m eating that
No One of Importance
“Who are you exactly?” Ratve’s voice broke through the silence around the campfire. He asked what they were all thinking but he was the only one brave enough to actually ask the brooding woman with a sword strapped to her hip about her background. Geika elbowed her husband, glaring at him. The last thing their … More No One of Importance
Remember (but I can’t)
“Remember when we said we’d first come here?” Sanra shouted in her mother’s ear over the roar of the waterfall in front of them. One of the original homes of the Coven, hidden behind the towering water that plummeted from the cliffside above. It was no wonder the locals called this place Witches Haunt. Sanra … More Remember (but I can’t)
The Return of the Green Witch (Flash Fiction)
“If these are your fabled ruins,” Unlana remarked, “I’m disappointed.” Ewani ignored her captors remarks, drinking in the sight before her. The ancient stones still stood in tall columns, towering towards the sky from the depths of the basin. Once they would have held the worship platform, made from wood and iron. Now, they only … More The Return of the Green Witch (Flash Fiction)
The Night of the Eighteenth
“Magic,” he said, sipping his drink,” is just another kind of force. Like the weather, or a good cup of tea.” The wizard smiled over the rim of his teacup at Aredria. She held his gaze, smiling back. Her own tea sat untouched on the table in front of her. She wasn’t here for pleasantries. … More The Night of the Eighteenth
The Lost Mage
“So, you used to be famous?” Marle could hear the excitement in her Granddaughter voice. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as she expected it to. It had hurt when her son had found out, aged fifteen, but then he had known enough about the world to know how different his life could have been … More The Lost Mage
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Latest Blogs
My Thoughts on An Echo of Things to Come
When I started An Echo of Things to Come by James Islington, I was certain of two things. Firstly, reading a huge fantasy story that I hadn’t read before on an e-book was considerably harder because I couldn’t have easy access to the map or the glossary, and secondly I knew for certain that this … More My Thoughts on An Echo of Things to Come
Why you need to go outside
If you are active on any kind of social media, you are likely to see photos of beautiful writing setups, cosy desks, achievements of those who have written ten thousand words in a single day. Don’t get me wrong, that version of a “writing life” is quite valid, but I’m here to talk about why … More Why you need to go outside
Top Tips for creating power structures in your fantasy books
Identifying how power works in your world is important because, let’s be honest, power is what drives society. Who has it, who doesn’t have it, and what those in power do with that power impact swathes of society and the people within it. It constrains some actions and allows others, creating a complex web of … More Top Tips for creating power structures in your fantasy books
Edits, Edits, Edits
In April 2020, I wrote 40,000 in one month on my novel. In April 2022, I’ve written…about 2,000. But you know what? I’ve still written more valuable words, because they make sense. And this, my friends, is the conundrum called editing. I’ve been a religious users of wordcount trackers since about 2018, but recently I’ve … More Edits, Edits, Edits
My thoughts on The Poppy War
The Poppy War by R.F.Kuang is a book I first stumbled upon when meandering through the quiet bookshelves of Waterstones on a “just let’s have a look and not buy anything” book hunts. Whenever I go to bookstores, I like to try get a flavour of the book from the first few pages – it … More My thoughts on The Poppy War
Why Writing Warmups are Important
Whether you’re new to fantasy writing or you’re an old hat, you’ve probably come across advice to use writing warmup exercises to get the creative juices flowing. I never used to use exercises before I started a writing session, but more recently I’ve found them really useful to not only try out new ideas, but … More Why Writing Warmups are Important
The Purpose of an Antagonist
If you’ve read anything about character building, you’ve probably heard about the term “antagonist” before. You might even know who in your book is going to be set up to be the antagonist, but you might not know where to start with building them. This is where understanding the purpose of an antagonist in your … More The Purpose of an Antagonist
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Alex.J.Cobalt 