Monthly Short Story Winner: Maiden, Mother, Crone
Xiagan
The depiction of women in fantasy is a controversial, fascinating, and ongoing topic. This month we had our entrants write a story about women. Specifically, we wanted a story with…
fantasy
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Eric Christensen
Robert Jackson Bennett’s Foundryside combines the action scenes and snarky banter of a summer blockbuster with the complex characters and keen-eyed societal critique of an Oscar-winner. What begins as a…
Once Upon A Time: Fairy Tales and Fantasy
Jo Niederhoff
Once upon a time… Just about anyone familiar with the Western literary canon knows that phrase. It opens familiar fairy tales we’ve grown up with, like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty,…
Warriors by Erin Hunter – Series Review
A. M. Justice
When I hear my twelve-year-old weeping, I know one of two things is happening: a) she’s reached the climax of another Warriors book, or b) there’s been another tragic death…
Monthly Short Story Winner: Letters
This month we had our entrants try their hand at writing a letter. Sounds boring and not fantasy-ish at all? We hope not! We didn’t want them to just write…
The Armored Saint by Myke Cole
Rakib Ahmad Khan
To be able to write efficiently in more than one genre is a rare talent. Although I loved his first series, I going to be really honest at the onset…
Frances Hardinge Interview – A Skinful of Shadows
Jonathan Thornton
Frances Hardinge is one of the finest fantasy authors around. Her inventive and beautifully written YA novels, the most recent of which is A Skinful of Shadows (2017), are widely…
Monthly Short Story Winner: Writing In A Subgenre You Don’t Like
We chose this topic to achieve two things: First, to acquaint entrants with something new, and second, to help entrants identify what they normally don’t like about their chosen subgenre.…
Jonathan French Interview – The Grey Bastards
JC Kang
Many of you will remember both Jonathan French and his book, The Grey Bastards, as the winners of the 2nd annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off in 2017. Since then the…
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Spinning Silver is Naomi Novik’s second book that retells and elevates classic folklore and fairy tale elements, spinning and weaving them into something deeper, richer, and original. Spinning Silver isn’t…
City of Lies by Sam Hawke
Charlie Hopkins
City of Lies was entertaining from start to finish. It was incredibly refreshing to see poison front and centre in a book. City of Lies follows the two viewpoints of…
Duel of Fire by Jordan Rivet
Jordan Rivet’s book one of the Steel and Fire series, Duel of Fire, has a familiar premise: a girl living in an idyllic mountain kingdom, who can’t live up to…