Tag archives for Fiction - Page 6
Geas or How to tie your character in knots
In my fantasy world Skyss they use geas to control people. Not everyone is under a geas, but those in public office have it as place of their oath of allegiance. Similarly prisoners get a geas of public service compelling them to atone for their offences. Also I had my bad guy put one of my characters under a geas, just because it sort of made sense to the plot. What is a Geas? English:a design from the Book of Kells, fol. 29r. Traced outlines in black and white representing three intertwined dogs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) A geas (pronounced gesh) is a sort of unbreakable vow. It's a celtic thing that appears in Scots & Irish folklore and legends. It's a bit more than a curse, in the sense that there are positive benefits to accepting a geas. Being under…
Early Writing (aged 7) – My Kitten
Alexander asked me how tall I was when I was his age, and I found this piece of my early writing in the book that my mother recorded such things - a story entitled 'My Kitten'. It's not precisely dated, but it refers to my baby brother, and that gives it a window for when he was a baby. So I was seven when I wrote it, in the very late 1970s. My Kitten My kitten is called peper. It drinks whisky mixed with beer and brandy. Sometimes it runs away with with my action men but it plays with the baby. It's basket is under Michael's cot. It eats 3 meals a day. It likes going out. Sometimes I play with it. Sometimes it goes on my bed and it likes watching television. Commentary 'My Kitten' is definitely a piece…
Noren the Strong – new Fantasy Novel – #NaNoWinner2016
I am still alive, all through November my writing time has been used on writing Noren the Strong, a new novel rather than blogging. I've managed just over 50,000 words, although Noren the Strong (working title, very likely to change) is not yet complete. So, I'm still writing even though November is finished. Noren the Strong An alley in Bryggen, this was the inspiration for the main buildings in Straven, where Noren and Yngvild grew up. Noren the Strong is a fantasy novel set in a world inspired by my recent visit to Bergen, Norway. The key point of view character is Yngvild, who has more than a bit of a crush on Noren. She's a few months older than him, and they've grown up together in a small community of about 50 people. I wrote 50,128 words for Noren…
Blood Faerie by India Drummond [Book Review]
Blood Faerie by India Drummond My rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked this up on kindle on a special offer, and finally got round to reading it over the summer holidays. I've enjoyed the Iron Druid stories, and it seemed to share some level of realism with those. Not exactly the same, but not a sparkly urban fantasy tale either. The faerie lore was quite different, and so were the druids. Blood Faerie is set in the real world, and magic happens without us noticing. So worth a read, especially on special offer. Blood Faerie Review I enjoyed it quite a lot. I would certainly read more in this world. The premise of the story is that there are some kinds of magic that the faeries don't tolerate. The Blood magic in the title being one of those forbidden…
Fiction Bookshelf – Bookshelves Abound = #Shelfie 01
Bookshelves abound in my home and this is my fiction bookshelf. Every room has some books in it. So inspired by this tweet from @helionbooks I thought that it might be interesting to take pictures of all the bookshelves in my house and post them one at a time over the next couple of months with a little tiny bit of commentary on where it is and what the books are. Here is the first #Shelfie Fiction Bookshelf Fiction Bookshelf on the upstairs landing I've called this the Fiction Bookshelf because it is majority fiction, and most of my books aren't fiction. So this one is unusual because it houses most of the fiction titles in my house (well at least most of my fiction, there's a lot of other fiction belonging to my wife and children). This is a…