You might think that having all the time in the world to do your writing is a good thing. You have these images of people with unlimited time sitting there with a candle burning, a notebook and a pen on their desk, wistfully staring out of the window and contemplating existence. However, I don’t think … More Having all the time in the world isn’t always a good thing
There is a lot of good writing advice out in the internet ether that recommends reading a lot if you want to write a lot. This advice has a lot of truth in it, and it is important to read to help your writing craft. However, today I want to talk about the benefit you … More Consume stories, regardless of the medium
Having finished the Farseer Trilogy, I then had a decision whether I wanted to follow the rest of the Realm of the Elderlings storyline in chronological or published order. I decided to go with chronological, which then led me to the first of the Liveship Traders trilogy, the Ship of Magic. Part of my reading … More My thoughts on Ship of Magic – beginning the Liveship Traders Trilogy
The last book in the Farseer Trilogy we weave our way to the conclusion of Fitz’ quest to find Verity, who has been lost in the mountains since the end of book 1. I really enjoyed the start of the book, which followed Fitz’s reintegration with the human world. The gentle way that Hobb highlights … More Finishing the Farseer Trilogy – my thoughts on Assassin’s Quest
Second books in trilogies sometimes struggle to find their own rhythm. They tend to be a bridging story – taking the characters from the start of their story towards were the dramatic conclusion is. The second book of Robin Hobb’s trilogy Royal Assassin is anything but that. It’s one of the few times that I’ve … More Royal Assassin – Continuing my read through of the Farseer Trilogy
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these updates about my fantasy novel The Akrion Cycle (Book 1). The last six months have not got much to show in terms of words on a page, but there have been points of intensive creativity which have pushed the book forward. One of the things … More You write what you read
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
When I sat down to write this blog, I was concerned I wouldn’t have anything to write about. The last few months have been filled with everything other than novel writing (including downloading new computer games, woops). As such, there hasn’t been much progress on my novel to speak of. However, when I look back … More Looking back on a year
The feeling was not of anger or of hatred. It was the bone sinking, gut wrenching quiet whisper of doubt. It was the thoughts Felicity didn’t even know where there until Gerrard had pointed them out. Her snappiness. Her temper. She was scared, scared for them all, but she’d never admit it. She’d never admit … More Fear (From the Archives)
“It was all so good,” Tristan sighed, into his drink “before you lot got involved.” The bodies didn’t talk back. They never talked back. “You know,” he said, reaching over the bar and pulling a bottle from under the shelf, “I really wish that time magic was a thing. That I could go back to … More Before (From the Archives)
Alex.J.Cobalt 