The ‘Powder Mage’ Series and the Challenges of Writing Historical Fantasy
I don’t often post book reviews on my blog, but I’m making an exception here as my response to The Powder Mage series of books is complicated and possibly centres on some important aspects of writing Fantasy, especially fantasy with an historical context. Brian McClellan’s The Powder Mage series...
Listen to The Laws of Magic!
At last – I’m excited to let you know that the entire The Laws of Magic series is now available as audiobooks! The fine people at Audible have turned the adventures of Aubrey, George, Caroline and Sophie into quality audio texts, and you’ll find them here: Blaze of Glory Heart of Gold Word of...
Fantasy and Historical Fiction? The Same Thing, Really.
Bold statement – writing Historical Fiction and writing Fantasy (of certain sorts) are almost identical undertakings. A Game of Thrones and Wolf Hall? The same thing, really. Think about it. Writers of both have to introduce and explain an unfamiliar world. Writers of Historical Fiction and writers of Fantasy can’t...
Behold the Art Deco glory of the Padua Theatre, Brunswick!
I’ve been doing some research on the great picture palaces of 1930s/1940s Melbourne. Recently, I stumbled across the wonderful Harold Paynting Collection at the State Library of Victoria and discovered these images of the long lost Padua Theatre, Brunswick, Victoria. Thanks to people like photographer Lyle Fowler, we can gaze...
Back cover reveal
And here’s the back cover for Leo da Vinci Vs the Ice-cream Domination League, with lots of teasers. The fabulous Jules Faber does the illustrations, and the book is due out from Random House Australia in August....
DISTRACTION THROUGH ACTION
When advising or teaching people about writing, I often emphasise the usefulness of doing preparatory work before starting to write. With Fantasy and Science Fiction that can mean considering details of the world in which the story will take place. Listing aspects of the world can mean thinking about...
Leo da Vinci Vs The Ice-cream Domination League
And here it is, the cover for my next book, a zany fun adventure for younger readers. In a world very much like ours, 10 year old Leo da Vinci is an inventor, artist, dreamer, and dedicated fighter against supervillains … And don’t I just love Jules Faber’s illustration? Outrageously...
Autumn
Keats said it, and said it best. Autumn is the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’. I love the cool, dewy mornings. I love the way the hot air balloons arrive, happy in the calmer, cooler skies. I love the long, blue afternoons that fade into drowsy dusk. I love...
A New Series!
Leo da Vinci. Artist. Scientist. Inventor. Dreamer. Ten year old fighter against supervillains. As promised, it’s time to reveal some details of my new writing project. This is another departure from my writing for Young Adults, and I’m fairly and squarely writing for primary school readers this time with...
What Our Politicians Read On Holidays
It’s that time of the year again, when our elected representatives head off on holidays and newspapers are groping for copy. The result is the standard ‘What are our politicians’ holiday reads?’ where our pollies nominate the books they just haven’t had time to get to during the year. The...