Miss Corianne Birch is fifteen and dealing with all the usual problems attendant upon a girl entering a new school. Unfortunately she also has to deal with a cruel and dangerous hazing ritual which has already left one of her classmates in a state of nervous shock. Fortunately Corianne has a rather unusual guardian; the …
Today was a brilliant day. The first sunny day after a weekend of rain and clouds. I decided today would be a good day to ride my horse. Sadly, it was not to be. As anyone who has kept horses will tell you: there are magical, wonderful days where you and the horse go galloping …
In a world where magic is real, mythical creatures such as vampires can collide with reality to produce astonishing events. In this, the third installment in the Adventures of Bouragner Felpz, we find the “Magician’s Consultant” and his long-suffering ward embroiled in an intrigue that connects a famous cathedral to something much darker, and downright …
I want to begin this journal with two quotes, each from men far older and more accomplished than myself. The first is from George R. R. Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire series. It is called On Fantasy: “The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as …
This entry was originally posted to Live Journal on January 23 2011, in response to my earlier piece The Problem of Adaptation. In my diatribe about the problems in Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’s Sherlock series I mentioned briefly that one of the troubles with adapting Sherlock Holmes is not only that the source …
Mr. Bouragner Felpz is a curious gentleman. “Magician’s Consultant,” according to his card, his practice takes him to places both fantastical and sinister as he untangles magical mysteries. And where he goes, his ward and reluctant biographer Miss Corianne Birch is often obliged to follow. Set in a time and place not far from late …
Happy New Year internet! Have a rant I originally posted to Live Journal on January 4 2011. But I think it’s worth archiving here. The trouble with adapting a story to another media, is that if that story is already practically perfect, any changes you make in the act of adaptation are more likely than …
…but first, a warning: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT, DETAILED SPOILERS FOR THE END OF BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR, AND SOME VAGUE SPOILERS FOR ANATHEM. READERS WHO HAVE NOT READ THESE TITLES AND CARE DEEPLY ABOUT HAVING KEY PLOT POINTS REVEALED TO THEM SHOULD GO AND READ BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR FIRST, AND THEN POSSIBLY ANATHEM, (not so much because I spoil …
Foreword: This is the second in a series of journals I’ll be posting about book covers, and how to make them. It is intended for the self-publishing writer with limited resources, but anyone who has any interest in creating covers can hopefully find some helpful info here. For my part, I am a self-publishing writer, but …
I was recently at a dinner gathering where I wound up engaged in conversation with a teacher. She was an English teacher, she said, she taught children how to write. She got very interested when she learned I was a writer, and asked how I dealt with my writer’s block. First I was amused that …