Today we’re getting a sneak peek at the new novel Rise from Amy Winters-Voss. I’m looking forward to the release of this fantasy in Japan, about a man trying to leave his yakuza past in a new rural town but getting entangled in local and supernatural events, endangering… Yoshida Shōin –The Twenty-One Times Audacious Samurai
How did a war for natural resources in Korea lead to a ubiquitous American college food? Let’s talk about how in real life everything is connected, and how we can use that to make our fictional worlds more robust, cohesive, and fascinating.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Ivorivet joins us again to talk about historical fiber arts, from carding to spinning to weaving! Great for historical or fantasy world details.
Historical Fiber Arts (To Write and Have Written)Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Today’s post is part of the February is Fantasy blog event, so you might want to look around and see what else is happening! Me, I’m talking about research for writing fantasy.
Yes, research for fantasy. If you want to see me flip out like an emo teen ninja whose parents were murdered by zombie pirates, casually mention how easy fantasy writers have it since they can just, you know, make everything up.
In Shard & Shield, Ariana’s friend Ranne is a bookbinder. Tonight I needed to add a bit of activity, without repeating one of her usual procedures, and so I went off to review traditional bookbinding.
Even though I needed only a single sentence, traditional crafts are so fascinating that I ended up watching multiple videos far beyond my needs. This one I found particularly gorgeous:Paper Marbling
I just found this post in draft form, never published, and I thought since The Songweaver’s Vow is the March 2018 read for the Fellowship of Fantasy online book club (join us!), now would be a good time to add some more background. (Check out the rest of the posts in the series.) Plus, everyone likes to talk about Loki.
Warning, some spoilers ahead.
Today’s guest post is from K F Baugh — why yes, we are related, by marriage — on her new book Valley of the Broken. As I also write from traditional folklore and various cultures, I really like her take on traditional folkloric representations of the humanity we still are now, and what that means for us.
Who can say what will spark the idea for new book?
In my case, it was a monster.
Let me back up.Guest Post: K F Baugh, The Monsters We Are
So we’re going to talk about classic world literature and Open, Sesame. But first, the public service part of the blog!
So you’ve heard by now of the sweeping security breach involving Equifax, who among other things were caught using the user name “admin” and the password “admin.” Seriously.Open, Sesame! Literature & Passwords
Today’s another entry in the Background & Research posts for The Songweaver’s Vow.
When Thor goes to fight Jörmungandr, he seeks the sea-sized serpent at a place he calls the Wyrmhole, baiting him out with a bull cut into quarters. The Wyrmhole is shamelessly based on a real place I visited in Ireland. (Though I saw fewer sea serpents.)
The Songweaver’s Vow: The WyrmholeAnyone who’s spent more than three minutes reading up on the Norse pantheon — or pretty much any polytheistic pantheon, really — knows it can get complicated in a hurry. So when I stumbled upon this Norse deity family tree from Veritable Hokum, I knew it would be a fun share here.
The Norse Pantheon Family Tree
