A Quick Update about a Beard and Book Covers (for some reason)

Well seeing as the WFC has released a much more detailed schedule let’s talk about that!

You can now see the details of the wonderful things that they have on rather than just the glorious titles!

So I thought that today I would chat about some of the ones that have jumped out at me (apart from Terry Pratchett and Patrick Rothfuss)

There is to be a panel about book covers, now this may not sound all that exciting. But think about it, that’s a single image, sometimes not even that when all you can see is the spine of the book, that has to ensnare and sell a book to everyone. I think it’s a very important part of the production process and can easily, easily make the difference between making a book look professional or something you’ve thrown together.

I think that’s the same reason it’s quite hard to make your book as professional when you’re publishing, especially in fantasy. And I have seen some books which go from looking professional (although similar to others on the market .... but it was like a best-seller so is that a bad thing?) to, at least what I see as, looking more like a self-published book. This is I think an important distinction to make purely because I think that it can be off putting for some people to go with self-published works.

It is nice to give your money to the little guy and support writers who may well be just getting into the wacky world of writing, but then there’s the flip side from a sales point of view that some people just won’t want to spend their money on something that will be a bit of a gamble. Of course you can have some fantastic self-published works, Michael J Sullivan is one of those very people! But of course a lot of people won’t necessarily see it that way and will look out for covers as easy targets to discern whether they want to spend their hard earned cash.

Anyway! That turned into a bit more of a rant than I was expecting on that topic!

Just a short blog post today because I (and others!) are busy in preparation for the WFC as it starts today! I am finalising my train ticket and don’t you worry, I shall be sticking my head out of the window like an excited dog the whole way!

There will be lots of updates on here throughout the convention and then I’ll also do a nice round u.

BREAKING ROTHFUSS NEWS!

On another note dear reader, we find that Patrick Rothfuss is doing a bit more of a tour around the UK! Well to London at least, for the moment. Upon his facebook page he has created several groups and is traversing Europe to do signings! I thought that this would be a very important piece of information to share with you and I suggest you go to whichever is closest! There are a  few in the UK and also a couple in Spain! Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) the extra event in Brighton has sold out, but you can’t say that wasn’t going to happen! They’ve got all the fantasy fans in the world there right now!

But, let us part ways once more and I shall keep you posted about the hippenings and happenings throughout the convention! (And yes I promise never to say ‘hippenings’ again...)

Good hunting!

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The Battle of Pratchett and Rothfuss

So this week we’re going for something a little bit different (again). Instead of a review we’re going to be looking at the exciting (and I’m not going to lie slightly irritating) scheduling for the World Fantasy Convention as it looms on the horizons of our calendars.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m going to be dithering on about this time the World Fantasy Convention (we’ll call if the WFC for the sake of laziness and brevity) is an international convention for the publishing industry focusing on the fantasy genre. So perfect for me! It’s usually held in the USA but will sometimes make its way to Canada, and so this year marks only the third time that the convention has been hosted outside of North America. Great news for me!

If you go to the WFC website you can see a long list of attending members many of whom are delegate parties from publishing companies from around the world (Gollancz, Orbit, HarperCollins to name but a few) and many others are authors, old and new, famous and infamous. The rest are likely made up of people like me, keen enthusiasts and only just stepping foot into the industry! There’s panels, discussions and awards ceremonies so a little bit of everything that you could want!

So there was excitement abound recently as the WFC website placed up its first official line up of programming, with only a few short weeks to go! Of course, not all of the programming will be as fascinating as others to every single attendee but it all looks rather fabulous and my mouth is already salivating with the prospect of this fantastical buffet.

So I look down through the days and give a chuckle here and a coo there at various amusing and interesting panels. But what’s this!? “Sir Terry Pratchett: In Conversation” I am not ashamed to admit that there was a little bit of hyperventilation when I realised that Terry Pratchett is going to be an attending member of the WFC this year! It is not often that you are offered the opportunity to meet a man who is as much as part of British culture as he is an international best seller.

But, now! What is THIS!?

It turns out that the Conversations with Terry Pratchett happens to be scheduled for the same hour that the readings by Patrick Rothfuss is scheduled! This is a most unpleasant and undesirable turn of events. Mr Rothfuss is perhaps my favourite author, not only because of the lyrical and beautiful books he has produced but if you follow his blog you’ll see that he’s a very kind and humorous man who really does a lot for charity.

I am super super miffed at this, but I know that if it weren’t Patrick Rothfuss then it would be someone else and I’m sure another attending member would be just as upset as I was when I found out. But thankfully the scheduling does appear to have 2 readings per hour slot so I am hoping that this means the readings start every half an hour. This at least gives me half an hour of basking in the reflected glory of Terry Pratchett before I sprint to absorb the mighty awesomeness of Mr Rothfuss’s beard.

There are many other reasons to be going to the WFC and I am going to a small meeting with Tor UK the book publishers which I am also very much looking forward to. I am also hoping to get some meeting time with other publishers to get their take on what I can do to get into the fantasy game within the publishing industry.

But that’s all my news for now, no doubt I shall batter your peepholes with more news as it comes forward! And rest assured that I am deep into the second instalment of The Gentleman Bastard Sequence so there shall be a blog about that soon enough!

Until then my teary-eyed viewers, readers and reviewers; Good hunting!

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Where To Begin?! A Quick Starters Guide To Fantasy Books

Last blog post I talked about planning your novel and a couple of methods that should make your planning more effective. So this time after we’ve done some planning we’re going to do some research (kind of).

This post is all about a beginner’s guide to fantasy. Maybe you’ve started watching Game of Thrones and want to read some similar works, or maybe the fantasy genre is something that you’ve always wanted to get into but just didn’t know where to start. Whatever the reason this post should help you decide where to begin!

So in no particular order, let’s dive into it!

Terry Pratchett's Discworld Series

I don’t think an entry talking about getting into fantasy should miss out this absolute gem of a series. Written by a genuine Knight of the Realm and Officer of the British Empire, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series spans (currently) almost 40 novels as well as short stories, maps and books on the science of Discworld.

In short, Discworld is a number of stories where the earth is a flat disc balanced on the back of four elephants who are standing on the back a turtle flying through space. And in a way that pretty much sums it all up. Pratchett’s writing is as wonderful as it is amusing, scattered with witticisms and puns as much as a dragon’s horde is scattered with gemstones.

The Discworld series spans across many different characters across the whole Discworld, from a cowardly wizard, the leader of the City Watch and even to Death himself. So there’s something for everyone, and each of the books is easily understood if you don’t have any other experience with the series. I would recommend starting with the first book The Colour of Magic and working your way out from there, but here’s a helpful infographic to help you find which books have which characters in them.

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld provides an excellent entryway into the fantasy genre as well as a most pleasant and entertaining read for veteran.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

This series is the perfect opportunity to acquaint yourself with contemporary fantasy. The series follows the character Harry Dresden, a private detective in modern day Chicago and he just happens to also be a wizard. Harry’s character is vibrant and funny and each story, whilst contributing to an overarching storyline, wraps itself up nicely if you want to just pick one up every now and again.

The stories are full of suspense, mystery and excitement (what else would you expect from a wizard P.I.?) and in every story you feel like Harry is being pushed to his limits. It’s a great series with warm characters and an excellent magic system, the story works its way up from Harry solving supernatural crimes in Chicago to fighting powerful magical beings AND solving crimes in Chicago.

A very fun series that’s easy to get into and easy to get hooked on, an excellent first adventure for those looking for contemporary fantasy.

The Mistborn Trilogy (ish) by Brandon Sanderson

You may have heard of the author Brandon Sanderson who does everything he can to disprove rumours that he is an automaton programmed to write excellent fantasy, and Mistborn does nothing to dispel that rumour.

The tagline for the first book in the series is ‘What if the Dark Lord won?’ and that’s exactly where you are at the start of the series. The evil overlord has reigned supreme for one thousand years and the world is covered in the ash from constantly erupting volcanoes. There is magic in the world in the form of Allomancy; the magic of metals. Certain people can ingest and ‘burn’ metals to release the magical energy within them, and different metals have different properties. The story opens onto Vin, a young girl who must master her Allmonatic powers and gets dragged into the plot for revolution.

The Mistborn is currently a trilogy that follows Vin, and then another book The Alloy of Law set about 300 years after the events of the original trilogy. Sanderson’s writing is thoroughly enjoyable and his ability to weave a story full of suspense, excitement and plot twists is second to none. Sanderson’s worlds are extremely well crafted and his stories work hard and fast to do them justice, and they succeed. I highly recommend this series; once you’ve dipped your toe in the proverbial waters of the Mistborn you’ll find it hard to put the book down. Definitely a must read for new and experienced readers alike.

Conan the Barbarian by Robert E Howard

The classic barbarian, Conan is thick sinewy muscle, moving with leonine grace as he dashes from

adventure to adventure. Conan first appeared in 1932 and has been at the forefront of fantasy ever since, appearing in countless adventures ranging across the written word to film and games.

Given the nature of the Conan stories a lot of them are relatively short so it’s nice and easy to dip in and out of. Although the chronology might jump around a bit, but it’s probably just a good idea to go along with it and think “Oh it’s just Conan on another one of his crazy adventures!” and apart from that there’s nothing to stop you picking a story at random and thoroughly enjoying the read through.

The prose that Robert E Howard uses in his stories is vibrant and elegant, his language easily conveys the lithe power and grace of Conan and the world springs to life from the page. It’s good old fashioned sword and sorcery adventure with something for everyone, if you don’t want to see Conan on one adventure there’s sure to be another adventure to your tastes! An excellent window into classic fantasy and a good refresher for anyone who wants a bit of a change from dark, gritty fantasy.

Magician By Raymond E Feist

The first book in the Riftwar Saga and the Riftwar Cycle, an epic story spanning across worlds, planets and time. Initially part of the Riftwar Saga trilogy, Raymond E Feist has recently finished the final book in the epic Riftwar Cycle, spanning 29 novels and more.

The orphan boy Pug is apprenticed to a master magician and as the kingdom is suddenly attacked by alien invaders, Pug and his friend Tomas are swept into the conflict and Pug’s destiny leads him through a rift to a new world.

I still remember my first reading of Magician and I remember pausing in my reading to think how wonderfully written it was and how much great fun it was to read. The writing is easy to get to grips with and the characters are vibrant and the world just as colourful, with magical races and creatures to keep you entertained. The story has some interesting twists and turns and the characters rise to their challenges but not without being tested both emotionally and physically.

A thoroughly enjoyable read and one that is sure to enthrall you from cover to cover, an excellent window into an epic cycle but is also neatly wrapped up in an initial trilogy should you wish to leave it at that.

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss

I would not be able to permit myself to talk good fantasy books if I did not mention The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. The novels follow a young man named Kvothe, a mysterious individual running a tavern in an out of the way village when he is happened upon by a man looking for him to tell his story, after some convincing he does just that. And so each book is a day of Kvothe telling his tale, with breaks in the first person narrative as Kvothe rests from his storytelling.

The first book is The Name of the Wind, the second is The Wise Man’s Fear and Patrick Rothfuss is currently working on the final instalment. Rothfuss’ elegant and elaborate prose will draw you into this book and the compelling story of Kvothe will keep you there. The magic within Rothfuss’ world is based on energy manipulation rather than outright magery, called ‘Sympathy’ it connects objects together and then uses energy manipulation to effect changes on the object.

The Name of the Wind is most certainly my favourite book of all time, the prose are phenomenal and you know that every word in the book has been placed there with extreme forethought and expert precision by Rothfuss.

So there you have it! My few suggestions for anyone wanting to begin reading in the fantastical world of fantasy if they’re not sure where to start! Most of these choices give you the option to read as little or as much as you like, in particular The Dresden Files and the Discworld series is perfect for jumping in and out of as you like.

If you have any other suggestions please don’t hesitate to email them in to thetemperedpen@gmail.com or send a message using the facebook page, and don’t forget to like it so you can see when we post something new!

Keep those pens poised and your words sharp!

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