Category Archives: fantasy
Looms, Weaving, the Fates and Story
My mother is the quintessential picture of the renaissance woman. She’s never been fond of institutional education, having walked out of college on the first day of school, never to return. Yet, she is the consummate artisan in many disciplines: … Continue reading
Hometown Paper Review of The Fury Clock
My hometown newspaper, the Salinas Californian, just did a nice review of my book The Fury Clock. Bit of a relief. You never know how reviewers are going to take a story, particularly one as odd as The Fury Clock. … Continue reading
Fantasy should be written for Children
Fantasy should be written for children, not adults. Have you ever sat down and read a child a fantastical story? If they aren’t the sort of child who’s had their imagination ruined by a vigorous schedule of television and video … Continue reading
Tolkien’s On Fairy Stories
If you write fantasy or if you read fantasy, if you’re a Tolkien fan or if you wonder about the limits of reality versus the limits of the imagination, you must read Tolkien’s essay On Fairy Stories. If you enjoy … Continue reading
The Evolution of Fantasy Sub-Genres
Fantasy began as myths, legends, tales boomed forth in smoky caves by the tribal storyteller. Fairytales and epic fantasy, the stuff of Andrew Lang and Tolkien, were the soup du jour for long years. Then came Stephanie Meyer and her … Continue reading
On Pre-Writing Fantasy: the Iceberg Below
The iceberg below the surface is much more important than the iceberg above the surface. It’s the edifice below that’s going to sink your ship. It’s also that mass that keeps the smaller, visible mass above the water stable. Without … Continue reading
A Different Turn of Events: when Jute and the Hawk returned to Hearne
I dug up another portion of the Tormay Trilogy that didn’t make it into the published version. This section (rather long) is intriguing for me to look back on because the events it describes morphed into something entirely different when … Continue reading
A Conversation Between Ronan and Lena
Prompted by a friend of mine, I’ve decided to begin posting some of the material from the Tormay Trilogy that never made it into the books. I have a great deal of these bits. They weren’t cut due to being … Continue reading
The first few chapters of A Storm in Tormay…
The first few chapters of A Storm in Tormay are found in the first book of the Tormay Trilogy: The Hawk and His Boy. If you wish to read them, you can download that entire book here: The Hawk And His … Continue reading
A Visit from Australia: Ryan Sullivan
Australia has always fascinated me. Perhaps this is due to its unusual history as part of the British Empire. Maybe it’s because of that old Rescuers movie with Miss Bianca and Bernard haring off to the interior to do their … Continue reading
