All writing, it seems to me, begins in your own head. Sometimes it will be written as a strong spontaneous reaction to outside stimulus – protest songs, polemical essays, critical feuds, a satirical impulse to start telling a particular story in order to hit a particular target, but for me, the story starts as a …
Continue reading Why I Write Fantasy: The Travel Begins at Home Edition
In the late 2000s there were two years in a row when my sister sent me fantasy novels for Christmas. These are always welcome, and the choices both years were excellent and made a lasting impression on me, enough for me to consider them contemporary influences: books so good they raised the bar, made me …
Continue reading Why I Write Fantasy: The Christmas Presents Edition
The first love you wrote, I mean. Of course, many authors successfully publish their first loves, and do astoundingly well. For others there is another story, of a first, or first and second and more novels written and discarded, before a book is released to the reading world. I’m guessing that one of those discarded …
Continue reading The Writing Life: Letting Go of Your First Love
In the mid 70s I lived for a couple of years in the USA. When we moved back to Scotland, a large green suitcase came with us. This piece of luggage lived in our garage for years, and when I eventually explored it, I discovered that among the many odds and ends it housed were …
Continue reading Why I Write Fantasy: A Suitcase of Treasures, Part 1
Only a few days remain. Not to be dramatic or anything, but this is the culmination of a lifetime’s effort, and a childhood dream. However, the important thing is this: I believe I’ve written a book that's worth your time to read. And enjoy rereading. I really do believe this, when I swat away the …
Roderick T. Macdonald 