Fantasy Recommendation: The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy Growing up in a fairly conservative household, the first hints I had that homosexuality was even a possibility were in Mercedes Lackey’s books. There are minor lesbian characters in her Heralds of Valdemar trilogy, which I believe was her testing the waters for her next idea. The Last Herald-Mage…
Since I began writing as a teenager, I’ve always had multiple stories in the works at once. I think my highest number was twelve! Just like I’m a mood writer incapable of sticking to a To-Be-Read list, I’m a mood writer as well. I consider myself incapable of being monogamous to my stories, but I…
We rarely get a good example of unrelated women in a platonic, close friendship in older, more traditional fantasy stories. All too often, women are singular additions to a group of men, the love interest of the male main character, or the single character going it alone against seemingly unbeatable odds. While more recent fantasy…
I wrote my first fanfiction story when I was fifteen, and I had no idea what I was doing as far as plotting and planning. It probably exists somewhere out there in the ether of the Internet, although I haven’t checked in a long time. It definitely exists in my files, a reminder of how…
As the first true fantasy series I ever read, many books based in Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar hold a special place in my heart. Introduced to the idea of fantasy as a genre in sixth grade through a story in my Language Arts textbook, I immediately went to the library to find more to read by…
One criticism that fanfiction authors get all too often is that we aren’t “real” writers because we are using someone else’s characters. I would argue with that in many ways, but like other criticisms in life, there is a grain of truth involved. We can take characters which already exist, have personalities and backstories, and…
As a shiny new member of BookTok and Bookstagram, I’m inundated these days with the newest and (hopefully) greatest in fantasy reading recommendations from all subgenres. However, I don’t see much love for what I consider the classics. I want to rectify that, and I figured the best way is to start with one of…
From the name you use to identify your writing as “yours,” to what you’re going to title a piece of writing, to what names you use for the characters if you write fiction, there are many choices to be made. Each choice can affect how your audience perceives you, your writing, and the things you write about.
Once upon a time, there was a young girl who loved exploring imaginary worlds, meeting extraordinary characters, and experiencing exciting adventures through the joy of fiction. All grown up now, with thirty-eight years of life experience under her belt and a decades-long desire to tell her own stories, it's time for this girl to take…