Extract from the Book of Ihlok Allow me to introduce you to a few of the fantasy gods of Teth-Kiran. Some are mentioned in Knight of Aslath, others may appear later: Gods of the Empire One the Empire ruled most of Teth-Kiran. As they conquered, co-opted and assimilated other nations, their language (Kiran) spread, and […]
Hi everyone, I mentioned recently that a new fantasy map was being designed for Knight of Aslath by a talented Italian artist called Francesca Baerald. Well, it’s finally ready. Even having seen how good her work is I didn’t quite believe it would be this good. I will be interviewing her later this week so […]
Hi everyone, Talented Italian artist Francesca Baerald has designed a great fantasy map for my novel Knight of Aslath, today I’m going to show you the draft sketch of the map so far, which is looking pretty amazing. Those of you that have been following my blog for a while will remember the first fantasy […]
Today I will briefly introduce you to another of my main characters, Macalla. A ghost. Not literally, you understand; this is a nickname given to the araquan people of the Velderwood. The araquan are an elder race, beautiful in an otherworldly fashion with skin as pale and flawless as virgin snow, white hair and grey almond-shaped eyes. […]
There is something wonderful about fantasy novels in that they evoke a sense of ancient history, as though when turning the pages we rediscover a forgotten part of our world. In turn, these stories often refer back to even more ancient times, where the foundations of that world began and the seeds of the story were […]
“When the gods speak, they have not the voices of mortal men. They cannot be understood by words or speeches or written scrolls. When the gods speak, the heavens move, the seas rage and the wind whispers across the land. When the gods speak, mountains rise and kingdoms fall, life begins, and life ends. This […]
Magic exists… really. Whether or not in the real world, it certainly does in the worlds I create. I have to believe in it, and somewhat paradoxically it has to have rules to be believable. For a good long while I didn’t structure my magic in Warlords of The Dreaming God because whilst it is […]
The eternal war between this world and the one in your mind begins the moment you decide to be a creative writer. You have an idea which draws your attention, something which keeps you awake at night, which your mind turns to at any idle moment. Or sometimes when you really should be thinking about […]
A tricky question. I don’t believe there is any one place where ideas are made, like some vast creativity factory churning them out then shipping them across the ether to eagerly awaiting minds. Ideas come from many places, and at many times. I recently saw the excellent BBC2 series Wonders of The Solar System and […]