Drawing Dead, by Brian McKinley, is set in 1930s New York, a time when the Mafia ruled supreme in the area. We first meet Faolan O’Connor, a hitman known as ‘the Wolf’, as he is preparing to go out on a job to take out Dutch Schultz. Faolan himself is also marked for death this […]
Nightmare’s Eve by Stephen H Provost is an intriguing collection of poems and short stories focusing on the darker side of life. From waking nightmares, and death, to the haunting madness of the human psyche, these stories and poems run a gamut. There are tales set in the modern or near modern world, tales from […]
Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan is the first in the series by the same name. It follows several different, sometimes overlapping perspectives. During a ferocious battle at a river, which featured several of our main male protagonists- Karyl, Jaume, Falk, and Rob Korrigan- Voyvod Karyl is betrayed by his comrades and left for dead. To […]
Strasser’s Beast of Cretacea is one thrilling ride from start to finish. It was something fresh and innovative, with an unexpected surprise ending. If I could give this captivating read more than 5 stars, it ranks as one of the few books I would do so. Aside from the brilliant story, the cover is absolutely […]
Song Castle by Luke Waterson is a historical fiction novel centring on the 1176 CE events in Wales during which Prince Rhys of Deheubarth arranged a most magnificent contest of song and music to establish Wales as a place of culture, and not just of war. People came to this, the very first Eisteddfod, from […]
***Trigger warning: profanity Damn Fine Story by Chuck Wendig is a delightful writingcraft book whose aim is not to offer ‘writing advice’, which Wendig stresses time and again is just that- advice. Not gospel. He very much encourages finding what works for you. No, this book is all about helping you be a better storyteller. […]
Taq has come to a future Prague, where people called the Bohemians bring the city to vibrant life each day. They are entertaining the city, filling it with magic both literally and figuratively. Being Bohemian means being under the Magistrate’s dominion. As long as the person in question is part of the group, they are […]
Jiayi is a servant to the Empress. She possesses the clairvoyant gift of retrocognition. By touching an object, she can see its past- who owned it, who handled it, etc. She never knows when along the timeline of the object she will end up though. The Empress has her using her gift to attempt to […]
In the last post, I laid out the basics of the Heroine’s Journey. What follows here is Christopher Vogler’s variation. *Ordinary World- this is where the journey begins, usually from some sort of subtle or overt imprisonment. The Heroine is trapped by the strictures of society and culture, whether she realizes it fully at […]
My goal, over the next few weeks, is to introduce you to the Heroine archetype, the Heroine’s Journey and a selection of heroines the world over, from the most ancient to the most modern. As with a great many things, this is just one perspective. If you find it useful, that is awesome. I’ve done […]