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6th Annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off: An Introduction to the SPFBO
Fantasy-Faction has been part of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO)—a fantasy fiction competition sponsored by Mark Lawrence—from the beginning, and as the sixth round of the competition kicks off, we’re itching to get our hands on the next batch of contenders. The submissions seem to get stronger every year, and we can’t wait to see […]
A Walk Among the Trees: A Look at Forests in Myth and Media
Forests have always been places of enchantment, haunted by outlaws, gods, angry ghosts and ferocious monsters. Walk a while with me. The wind sings through the leaves. Birds squabble in their nests and animals great and small slink through the underbrush. Trees older than cities slumber peacefully in hidden glades. Time moves to different rhythms […]
Solaris Signs New Author G R Matthews!
You heard that right! Our own G R Matthews is now a Solaris author! 😀 Matthews has been with Fantasy-Faction since 2014 and has been self-publishing fantasy and sci-fi since 2015. His first novel with Solaris will be, Seven Deaths of an Empire, to be released next summer! Here’s the summary: The Emperor is dead. […]
The Cardboard Box: Women as Protagonists – Guest Blog by R.W.W. Greene
Gentle readers, I will be using wide strokes to paint the picture following. The end work could even be dubbed an abstraction. If you stand back from it and see some representation of truth and reality, great. If all you see are random colors, shapes, and gestures, none of which apply to you, I love […]
Books to Read in Fantasy: A Look at Lists
Recently a question was asked in the Fantasy-Faction Facebook Group. This is that question and some of the reasons why its answer looks the same, every time the question is asked. Question: What are the books which you think are a great introduction to fantasy—the books which every fantasy should read throughout their journey? Now, […]
Fantasy-Faction’s Best Fantasy Books of 2019
Hello Factioners! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season full of family, friends, food, and fantasy books! We spent a lot longer working on our Best Of list this year than we normally do, as there were so many amazing titles to choose from. Even after weeks of debate, we couldn’t fit […]
Year in Anime 2019
2019 is coming to its end. Anime has reached new heights in popularity in the Western Hemisphere and now even popular streaming services like Netflix have taken up producing original animes. And despite the volume of anime there is content that is quite good and deserves to be watched and enjoyed. So, I stand here […]
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence – Cover Reveal
I first got my hands on work from Mark Lawrence back in 2011. He was pitched as the next George R.R. Martin (most authors are!). What I read wasn’t that. It was something much different, but at least as good. A book I described at the time as, “Disturbing, Beautiful, Chaotic, Poetic, Haunting, Exhilarating…” and […]
On Character Agency
What will a character do next? What can they do next? These are the questions that drive the narrative of a story forward and determine what direction it will follow. While they may follow a greater plot arc, the best characters have agency of their own that directs their narrative. Character agency is usually defined […]
Angry Robot Purchases Dan Hanks Debut
Today we are thrilled to announce that our own Dan Hanks is to be published by Angry Robot Books! Dan has been with our team since 2012 and we can’t wait to read his debut novel, Captain Moxley and the Embers of the Empire! In post-war 1952, the good guys are supposed to have won. […]
Paternus: Rise of Gods – Hardbacks Kickstarter – Ends Today!
What can you say about Dyrk Ashton that others haven’t already said? I am frankly at a loss, however I will say that his first book, Paternus, has place on my shelf of books that must be read. It takes so many myths and legends, weaves them into each other so smoothly you come to […]
NaNoWriMo 2019: My Personal Experience – Part One
As I am writing this, I am feeling completely burned out. My hair is a mess (is that another silver strand sprouting up?!), my eyes are puffy and twitchy, dark circles nestle beneath and I am desperately trying to hold back a yawn…aaaaand the yawn wins out. I managed to force out 400 words this […]
