Blog

Creating a World by Anna Smith Spark

When I came to write The Court of Broken Knives, it was the world that came first, not the story. The story, in fact, is pretty simple, in the way that myths and folk tales often are. The first scene I wrote was a description of men in a… Read More

Hero Risen: Guest blog from Andy Livingstone

The safety valve for our darker selves Cricket with my parents and brother on baking-hot days in a park on holiday in Blackpool. Tennis, with my dad pretending I was as good as him and, in later years, with my brother proving I was not. Rugby at school, hockey after… Read More

An exclusive message from Robin Hobb

I dedicated Assassin’s Fate to Fitz and the Fool. They’ve been my closest friends for over twenty years. That’s not to denigrate my marriage of forty-six years, or the friendships that reach back to my high school. The characters we write live inside our minds, creating an internal friendship that… Read More

A Letter from Mark Lawrence

Red Sister contains a very different story to that in my debut, Prince of Thorns, or my next trilogy starting with Prince of Fools. When I brought Jorg Ancrath’s story to a close I made it clear that I didn’t want to be wedded to one character for the whole… Read More

Red Sister is coming! Out tomorrow!

  “If you wish to know what someone is made of you must squeeze them until it shows.” In the Convent of Sweet Mercy Abbess Glass and her sisters apply pressure to the girls placed in their care. They find out what their novices are made of and train each… Read More

A Ripple in the Glass by A. F. E. Smith

Every book holds up a mirror to the world, and to humanity. Sometimes the reflection shows us as we are. Sometimes it shows us as we might be. Fantasy is particularly good at this, I think, because it puts a ripple in the glass. That ripple changes the reflection, makes… Read More

How to be a good supporting cast member – A guest post from Peter Newman about The Vagrant and the City

It was an interesting challenge writing this story. It had to: • Be a complete narrative on its own while fitting into the overall arc of the trilogy. • Reveal something interesting about the characters but nothing so important that readers would need it to understand the main books. Read More

Rachel Winterbottom

#BFIVoyager – Definitive Content List

Rewriting the Script: Laura Liddell Nolen (@LauraLLNolen) gives 3 Reasons YA Sci-Fi Creates Spectacular Female Characters An interview with… Read More

#BFIVoyager – Author Lineup

Al Robertson Dr Caroline Edwards Chris Brosnahan Christi J Whitney Claire North David Cronenberg Dean Johnson Derek Landy Emmi Itaranta Erik Laan Francesca Haig Garth Nix and Ilona Andrews Gerrard Cowan Guy Haley Henry V O’Neill Ingrid Seymour James Smythe Janet Edwards Jason W LaPier Jeff Pearce Jeff VanderMeer Joanne… Read More

Nevernight is out NOW!

Never flinch. Never fear. Never forget. The incredible Nevernight is out now, and here are just a few of the reviews… ‘If you love Robin Hobb or George R.R. Martin, you will adore Nevernight‘ Starburst Magazine ‘The Venetian-style city, colorful profanity and quick-witted banter of Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards;… Read More

Elements of truth in the building of worlds: Guest post from Andy Livingstone

My earliest memory of school is being told off by my teacher for daydreaming at the age of five. My earliest memory of fantasy fiction is picking up a copy of The Hobbit at the age of six, trying to be smart and thinking that the title would make my… Read More

Publication Day: Stephen Moore’s GRAYNELORE

Publication Day: Jason LaPier’s UNCLEAR SKIES

Jason LaPier’s UNCLEAR SKIES is out today – this is Book Two in Jason’s incredible, darkly funny space opera THE DOME TRILOGY. He’s guest blogged for us today on what inspires him as he writes. Hello, there! I’m delighted to be able to show off a small part of my… Read More

Peter Newman on why he made one of his main characters a baby…

Happy publication to Peter Newman! The Vagrant is published today in paperback, ahead of his new book, The Malice, out in May. Here he talks about why he cast one of his main characters in The Vagrant as a tiny baby, and where that idea came from…… Read More

Read the first chapter of THE VAGRANT

Tomorrow, Peter Newman’s incredible epic fantasy THE VAGRANT, will be released in paperback. If you haven’t read it yet, now is your chance to start a brand new epic fantasy series. Read the first chapter below, or order your paperback right here. Starlight gives way to… Read More