Graëlstorm Will Be Available as an Amazon Countdown Deal
Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk will be running a Kindle Countdown Deal in which my recently published novel, Graëlstorm, will be offered by Amazon at a promotional price of only £0.99/$0.99 from May 8, 2023, increasing incrementally to the full price on May 15, 2023. This offer is for one week only, so don’t miss out. Click…Read More
Mythmaking
“I love playing with myths. A lot of it has to do with that they’re the basic places stories come from. They’re the clay that you make the bricks out of.” – Neil Gaiman Role of Mythmaking Mythmaking bears witness to the human spirit’s quest for knowledge. From the dawn of intelligence, humanity sought to…Read More
Mad March Weather
“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson It’s early March. Daylight hours are stretching, and some daring primroses have opened yellow rosettes in more sheltered spots of my garden. Northern Switzerland experiences four defined seasons that are typified by long, cold winters and humid summers that can…Read More
Food in Fantasy Fiction
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” — Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin February has brought a cold snap to Switzerland, and my winter stomach has been craving meals that are hearty and comforting. Food is like that: it’s an essential part of life, and it provides more than mere nourishment. Food…Read More
Liminal Characters
“Then I shan’t be exactly a human?” Peter asked. “No.” “Nor exactly a bird?” “No.” “What shall I be?” “You will be a Betwixt-and-Between,” Solomon said. — J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens Betwixt-and-between It’s December, the season of midwinter. Christmas is just round the corner, and soon we will stand on the…Read More
Book Editors are your Friends
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” – Winston Churchill Open to Criticism Some people take criticism better than others, but not all of us can take it gracefully. It’s uncomfortable at best,…Read More
Holy Grail Fiction
“The journey is the treasure.” – Lloyd Alexander Myths have been recurring elements in storytelling down the ages, and none more so than the Holy Grail. It has fascinated writers for centuries and is a popular theme in TV series and movies. You only have to look at the success of films the Grail…Read More
Body Language: More Powerful Than Words
“The eyes are the windows to the soul” – William Shakespeare Writers of speculative fiction portray mind-reading as a superpower. In the real world, reading others is an inborn ability most humans have. We can’t read their minds, but we pick up cues from their non-verbal messaging. How People Read Each Other When trying to…Read More
When Tribalism Goes Toxic
“We all face a choice. We can choose to press forward with a better model of cooperation and integration. Or we can retreat into a world sharply divided, and ultimately in conflict, along age-old lines of nation and tribe and race and religion.” – Barack Obama The Group Instinct Tribalism is human nature. We are…Read More
The Power of Awe
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder or stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed.” – Albert Einstein Awestruck Most of…Read More
