Writer of Fantasy and Stuff Maker-Upper
I have recently come across a Twitter thread by the wonderful Joanne Harris where she quoted a review of her own book, Chocolat, where the author of the review chose to describe it as a tale of a a single mother who liked chocolate. I kid you not. That prompted an extensive conversation and wide-spread … Continue reading Books by Women
Now my writing is filled with a whole lot of pain and hardship and difficulties. Misery writes itself, as we all know. But that could lead you to the entirely wrong assumption that I enjoy inflicting pain upon my characters. I do not. The scene I wrote today felt as upsetting to write as it … Continue reading Writing Scenes of Pain
Now for something entirely different… When I write I like to do a few sketches here and there: mostly of my characters and maps, though I have in the past done larger illustrations too. I thought I would share a few of them. It serves a purpose further than just indulging my love for art. … Continue reading Character sketches
Yesterday I reached the 50k words point in my new novel. There is something about reaching that mark that feels significant. Ten thousand words and I feel “wow, I’m writing this thing”, I reach twenty thousand words and I worry how much I still don’t know about this thing I’m writing. Thirty thousand words and the plan for the rest of the novel tends to reveal itself to me, so I can gleefully jot it down. I reach forty thousand words and I begin to question and doubt everything.
Myths and legends of all description have always held a deep fascination for me. The books available to me mostly covered the ancient Western belief systems, the Celtic, Norse, and Greek mythologies being the most easily accessible. The Norse gods with their unveiled desires and petty meanness, their heroic deeds marked mostly by unrestrained impulses … Continue reading Slavic Myths
I had the most exciting evening at Southbank Centre in London. As part of their yearly Autumn Literary Festival, they invite the greatest literary stars from around the world to give talks. Last year I was gutted to miss out on the Margaret Atwood one, and so I wasn’t going to mess around come this … Continue reading An evening with Salman Rushdie