I grew up on Hans Christian Andersen stories, and one of my favourites is The Tinderbox, with its three magical dogs, one with its eyes ‘big as wagon wheels.’ I remember the image from the Storyteller series in particular, and I would go back to that story again and again. So naturally one day I sat down to write a story about a penniless soldier who finds a treasure, falls
This story was first published in the anthology Ghost in the Cogs, a collection of steampunk ghost stories from Broken Eye Books, and was later included in my collection Learning How To Drown, from NewCon Press. I am putting it up online for Pride 2022. It is winter in Pal-em-Rasha and all the roosters have been strangled. We are in mourning. The prince was born white and strange, his dead
These are two post Thief Mage, Beggar Mage ficlets that show the different sides of the same coin. WARNING FOR MAJOR SPOILERS, so definitely only read these if you’ve finished the book. 5 Times Dozha Did Not Fall in Love, and One Time He Did. 1 It was not easy being the adopted child of a dragon, chosen for one thing and one thing only. Dozha knew that Sinastrillia did
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I’m going to put it out there: I’m a writer who has struggled with depression, anxiety, and possible ADHD. I’ve grown up always expecting the worst to happen. When things go wrong I am drowned under an ocean of deep and utter despair. I’ve given up writing more times than I’ve killed house plants. (It’s a skill, okay.) And while I’m joking about it at the moment, there is nothing
How it is July already? I’ve been working on some new and old projects, and trying to light a fire under my creativity again. Reading good books always makes me want to write (and write better than I did before), so I’ve been dipping into Neil Willamson’s excellent collection Secret Language. He’s a very good writer, so always a goto for inspiration. Check out his work here at NewCon Press. I’ve
May is my birthday month, and so far, so very, very good. Because I’m chairing a couple of events at Cymera Festival, I’ve been sent a bunch of books to read, and as most of you know, books are the best presents.
A creative process is a personal thing, and it can take years to find the technique that works for you. It’s taken me a pretty long time to come to a place where I’m getting more comfortable with my artistic process. I hope that my experience helps guide you to finding your own way and makes you feel better about any setbacks. It seems obvious in retrospect, but I’ve discovered