Lately I decided to read Ursula K Le Guin’s Earthsea series, consisting of A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. I’d tried to read the books while a young teenager, but never really got into them. Now as an adult, I’m really enjoying the style of writing. I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes these books special. Certainly, they’re very well written and the world is fascinating (Earthsea is a series of islands in an archipelago).
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Saw meets Se7en: a review of Heavy Rain
For many years game developers have tried to create narrative driven games with multiple outcomes on a limited scale. The 1997 Blade Runner game had a possible 13 endings depending on your interactions with characters and Final Fantasy X-2’s had three alternate endings, one for perfect completion of the game. With the release of Heavy Rain, finally a company has succeeded where others have failed. With a possible 18 endings (and counting!), this is a game about the consequences of choice.
The process of novel writing
I’ve been hiding under a shell lately, trying to finish my novel The Memory of Blood. It’s currently at 68, 000 words and counting. I’ve been asked by a few people of late what my process is, how I write and put together something so big. I’m by no means an expert, as this is my first novel, but many writers find it helpful to hear from other people working on big projects. So here’s my friendly, amateur advice on novel writing.
World fantasy awards, draft swap and Margo Lanagan
On the weekend I attended a draft swap meeting run by a dear friend of mine, Jan Cornall. Jan’s a great facilitator, she’s led a number of wonderful authors from first concept to publication, one of them being the award-winning fantasy author Margo Lanagan.
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The 13 best films to watch on Friday 13th
It’s that unlucky time of year again when the number thirteen happens to coincide with Friday. For those of you who haven’t had their fill of horror, why not try these movie suggestions? There’s more than a few scares on this list.
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So… you know that book called Twilight?
I have a problem. Every time I go to buy a fun, distracting book, I come home with a handful of depressing, literarti treatises on the misery of life. When it comes to holiday reading, I really have to stop myself and think. Do I really want to read In Cold Blood relaxing in summery Japan?