Interview with David Coe

I did this interview with David B. Coe several years ago. Since then he has written several Fantasy novels over the years. His first books consist of the Lon Tobyn Chronicle trilogy that mixes magic with technology. These books are: The Children of Amarid, The Outlanders and Eagle-Sage. Next he did an Epic Fantasy series called “The Winds of the Forelands” of which Rules of Ascension is the first. followed by Seeds of Betrayal, Bonds of Vengeance, Shapers of Darkness and Weavers of War. The new series he is working on now consists of The Sorcerers’ Plague, The Horseman’s Gambit and the forthcoming The Dark-Eyes’ War, which makes up the “Blood of the Southlands” series. He blogs about writing at .

Debbie Ledesma: How did you become a writer?

David B. Coe: I actually knew that I wanted to be a writer from a very early age -- really as long as I can remember. In fact, several years ago, after my father died, I spent some time going through his old papers and found among them a "book" I had written in first grade, about eagles no less. I pursued this interest in writing through high school and went to college thinking that I would be a creative writing major. During these years I even began work on the skeleton of a fantasy novel that would later become Children of Amarid, my first published book.

Somewhere along the way, however, my parents convinced me that a career in writing was too uncertain and that I needed to pursue a more stable career. I switched majors and ended up going to graduate school in history, getting my Ph.D. Still, what drew me to academics was not so much the research and the teaching as the prospect of spending my life writing history.

As it turns out, writing history doesn't have nearly the allure for me that writing fiction does. After completing my degree, as I began to send out job applications, I also began to write fantasy again. So for a while I was pursuing these two career paths, wondering which one would bear fruit first. I received my first academic job offer and my first indications from Jim Frenkel at Tor that he was interested in Children of Amarid, within twenty-four hours of each other. Faced the choice between a career that didn't really thrill me, and a chance to follow my childhood dream of writing novels, I chose the latter. I've never looked back.

DL: What authors influence your writing?

DC: In a sense, I've been influenced to one extent or another by just about every author I've read. I don't think a person can read something that moves them, either emotionally or intellectually, and not be influenced by it. Certainly many of the fine historians I read during my years in academics have influenced me in many ways, most notably in my world-building.

That said, it's only natural that my main influences would be in the fields of fantasy and science fiction. I've learned a good deal from the wonderful storytellers I've encountered as a reader, not only the authors I mentioned earlier -- Tolkien, Kurtz, McCaffrey, LeGuin, Donaldson -- but also others, like Frank Herbert, Orson Scott Card, Katharine Kerr, Nicola Griffith, to name just a few. Part of becoming a writer is finding your own voice, your own style, and so in that sense I think I'm less influenced by writers now than I used to be. But the two authors whose work I most admire, are George R. R. Martin and Guy Gavriel Kay. They are among the finest fantasy writers in the world today, creating worlds that are incredibly rich and textured, and characters who are interesting and memorable. When I pick up one of their books, I feel that I'm being transported to a different time and place, one that becomes as real and immediate as the world in which we live. As a fantasy reader, I can't ask for any more than that, and as a fantasy writer, I strive constantly to do the same for my readers.

DL: Why did you choose the Fantasy genre?

I came to fantasy the way most writers in the field do, through Tolkien. I read The Hobbit when I was thirteen or fourteen and loved it. A few years later, I read Lord of the Rings and was utterly enthralled. Fantasy became the only thing I wanted to read. I ripped through (among other things) Katherine Kurtz's Deryni books, the first Pern series (Anne McCaffrey), the Earthsea Trilogy (Ursula K. LeGuin), and both Thomas
Covenant trilogies (Stephen Donaldson). It was during the second of Donaldson's trilogies that I realized that I wanted to write this stuff as well as read it. Covenant is a terribly dark character and I know that some people found these books difficult to read. But I found the use of a dark hero so compelling, so new, so different from anything else I'd ever read, and I found the world he had created so fascinating, that I knew I wanted to spend my life creating characters and worlds of my own.

DL: Are you planning to branch out into other genres?

DC: For the moment, I'm very happy writing fantasy. I enjoy the act of building worlds and cultures, imagining histories, coming up with magic systems. So I would guess that for the foreseeable future, I'll stick with this genre. Down the road, however, I'd like to try my hand at some other things -- mystery perhaps, or thrillers. And I have a number of ideas for mainstream fiction stories and novels that I do hope to get to at some point.

DL: I like the use of the hawks and owls in your books. Where did you come up with the idea to use birds for your mages?

DC: My brothers, both of whom are a good deal older than I am, Ùgot me interested in birdwatching when I was just a kid -- six or seven years old. And I've been a birder ever since, some thirty-plus years now. Throughout that time, I've always been drawn to birds of prey -- owls, hawks, eagles. Mostly, I guess because they're just so cool. There's an elegance to them, and a native intelligence, that I've always found very attractive. When I started developing a magic system for my first series, it seemed natural to include these birds in it in some way.
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DL: You have a new series called Winds of the Forelands. Tell me a little about the new series and how d âoes is differ from the LonTobyn Chronicle?

DC: Winds of the Forelands is my new four-book fantasy project, and I'm very excited about it. It tells the story of a young noble who is falsely accused of a murder and thus denied his rightful place in the ascension of kings. In trying to prove his own innocence and reclaim his birthright, he discovers a plot to destroy not only his own kingdom, but the neighboring ones as well. The four books revolve around his effort to establish his innocence and his fight against the conspiracy.

I’m having a tremendous amount of fun with this series right now, for a number of reasons. It's straight fantasy, without any of the science fiction crossover elements found in my first series, but it's actually a far more complex story set, I feel, in a far more deeply realized world. Each of the kingdoms I deal with (and there are seven of them in all) has its ´ own unique political traditions and conflicts, so as the scene shifts from kingdom to kingdom throughout the books, the reader finds her/himself in a new place with different rules and different concerns. Also, the magic system is different. Rather than the magic coming from birds of prey as it did in the first series, this magic system is racially based. Either you're Qirsi (the sorcerer race) or you're Eandi (a race very much like us). And so magic becomes linked inextricably with the racial tensions and conflicts that lie at the root of the conspiracy. Finally, the characters in this series are more challenging, both for me as a writer and for my readers. In my first series, there were many characters who could be labeled either "good" or "evil" without too much trouble. The characters in Winds of the Forelands tend to be in that grey area. Good people are forced by circumstance or tragedy to do bad things, and "ba Kd" characters have admirable qualities. It makes for an interesting story.

The first book of the series, Rules of Ascension, came out in March from Tor. The second book, Seeds of Betrayal, is already in production and will be published in May 2003. I'm currently working on Bonds of Vengeance, book three.

DL: Do you use any mythology sources for your writing?

DC: Yes, I do. Part of creating a world that will serve as a setting for a book or series of books, is coming up with history for the world, a religion or set of religions, and a culture and sustainable society. It would be impossible to do these things without founding them on a series of myths and legends, just as the history, religious traditions, and cultures in our own world are based on mythologies and legends. So in creating these myths, I first have to be familiar with the ones in our own world. Prior to beginning the first book, I spent a good deal of time rereading the Greek myths, reading Celtic and Nordic mythology and even looking at some more esoteric sources, like Native American legends and Basque mythology. I learned a tremendous amount and had a good deal of fun in the process.

DL: What do you think is the important function of Fantasy?

I believe that fantasy -- and science fiction as well -- offers us an opportunity to look at important issues in our own world through a lens that grants us the freedom to look at things in a new light. For instance, as I mentioned before, my new series has a magic system that is racially based. Hence it deals with racial conflict. Well, writing about racial conflict (or cultural conflict or religious conflict, etc.) in mainstream literature is hard to do without offending one group or another. But by creating new worlds and thus changing the lexicon of the discussion, fantasy gives us
the freedom to look at these issues without all the baggage we carry. There are no Eandi or Qirsi in our world -- the issues might be similar to racial issues in our world, but I ‘m not going to anger anyone as I point out injustices.

That, I believe, is one of the great values of all speculative fiction. Remember the so-called "Gay Episode" that was on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" several years ago. It dealt with homophobia in a direct, compelling way, but did so with a new vocabulary that perhaps allowed people to see the issue in ways they never had before.
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DL: What themes do you find most compelling to include in your writing?

DC: Different books usually call to mind different themes, but there are certain themes that seem to come up in my writing a good deal. The narrative in The Outlanders, the second book of my first series, centered on the idea of sacrifice, of taking burdens unto oneself in the interest of the greater good. The three main characters in that book -- Orris, Melyor, and Gwilym, all made extreme sacrifices, in very different ways, toward one common aim. This is a theme that also comes up again and again in my new series.

I also like to explore the balance between choice and responsibility, the idea that each time we choose a path in life we must accept that we are responsible for the consequences of that choice. I see this as being tied to the notion cof fate, and how we accept or struggle against the circumstances life throws at us. Writing in fantasy, I have the added fun of giving characters a glimpse of their fate (I do this in all my books really), which complicates the choices they must make and the responsibility they
bear for those choices.

Finally, a recurring theme in my books, one that I find fascinating as an author, is the interplay between loyalty and betrayal, specifically how one deals with divided loyalties. Many of my characters find themselves wedded to a cause (or a person) only to discover that their emotions and needs are at odds with those to whom they've pledged themselves. I think of myself as a very loyal person, and I'm really not certain where my fascination with treachery comes from, but it's real, and it's out there in my books for the whole world to see.

DL: Movies are a different medium. Do you think any of your books would make a good movie? Which ones?

DC: I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't eager to see all of my books turned into movies -- I think that many authors feel the same way, not only because it can be a wonderful source of income, but also because it would be great fun to see these characters and worlds brought to life visually. This may be even more true now, particularly in the wake of Peter Jackson's magnificent interpretation of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Of the three books in my first series, I actually think The Outlanders would make the best movie. Though it's the middle book of the trilogy, it holds together pretty well on its own, and it could be visually stunning. I also like the idea of having a mage from a pastoral society forced to make his way through this industrial nightmare in order to save his land. I believe it would work well on the screen.

Rules of Ascension would also work well as a movie. It's got many of the elements Hollywood looks for -- romance, mystery, some good battle scenes, and a measure of redemption as it ends. I'd love to see it adapted to the screen.

Finally, I have a short story coming out later this summer -- "Night of Two
Moons" in the Summer 2002 issue of BLACK GATE -- that I think would be a fabulous movie. Quite often, short fiction lends itself to a movie better than a novel, simply because with shorter material a director has more time to bring out the complexities of character and relationships. Too often these elements of a story get glossed over in the rush to make a coherent movie out of a full-length novel. "Night of Two Moons" is about a traitor during a war and his attempts to rationalize his choice as he watches
the people around him being killed. Like my books, it has many of the elements Hollywood wants in a movie, but it's short enough to be translated to the screen without sacrificing too much in the interests of time.

DL: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

DC: Giving advice, particularly on an endeavor as personal and idiosyncratic as writing can be tricky. That said, I do have a few suggestions that are worth what you're paying for them. First off, all the writers I know began as readers, and so for younger writers out there I would say read as much as you can. That's how we begin to learn our trade. We read the work of other men and women and learn what works and what doesn't, what makes a compelling character as opposed to an uninteresting one, what makes a narrative flow and what makes it stall, what elements make a world believable and fun to visit. As we experience other people's stories, we begin to get a sense of how we might write our own, not by imitating, certainly not by stealing ideas, but rather by applying storytelling techn µiques that we see to our own ideas.

I would then say that a writer writes. That may seem laughably basic, but how many times do we see in media the stereotype of the frustrated writer awaiting inspiration. I find that image offensive. It implies that most of the time writers aren't working. They're just waiting for that one magical moment to strike and then--POOF-- out pops a bestseller. By my experience, that's not at all how it works. A writer writes, every day. Some days go better than others, and occasionally you have a day where nothing comes or what does come is worthless. But the important thing is to write. I don't believe in writers' block -- for me (and all writers are different, so I'm not casting aspersions on others) if I'm "blocked" it usually means that I've taken my narrative or one of my characters in the wrong direction. But if I make myself write every day, I never have to wait around for inspiration. Which is a good thing, because that kind of bolt-of-lightning-inspiration doesn't come often enough to pay many bills.

DL: What books or stories are in your future?

I have a feeling that even after I finish the Winds of the Forelands tetralogy,
I'll remain in the world I created for the series to write some more books -- either a few stand-alone books or a new series. It will follow a different story arc. It might even take place at a different time in the Forelands' history. But the world is rich enough to sustain many more books.

I have a few short story ideas as well, and, in fact, my first short story will be published this summer in the Summer 2002 issue of Blackgate. The story is called "Night of Two Moons" and I wrote it as I was developing the history of the Forelands. The events in this story take place nearly 900 years before the first book in the series, but they offer some insight into issues brought up in the books.

DL: Than you very much for the time you spent on this interview.

Arthurian Fantasy

The story of King Arthur, Merlin, his knights and every other aspect of the legend has fascinated and resonated with people for centuries. After Epic Fantasy, Arthurian Fantasy is a large subgenre of Fantasy fiction. Books and stories in this area have some aspect of the legend of King Arthur in them. These books and stories can be retellings of the legend, focused on different characters or elements that appear in the modern day. Many authors have mined the King Arthur myth for stories. Some with great success and some have failed. Arthurian literature stretches back to the time of the Medieval romance. There have been many books in the last fifty years using this material. It seems almost every modern Fantasy author must write an Arthurian novel or story. (I'm no exception, working on a novel now.)

Some of the books tell the story from the viewpoints of different characters or are about different characters. Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley tells the story from the point of view of the women. In this story we get the story from Morgaine and Guinivere with a pagan versus Christian clash of beliefs. This is a complex novel that remains with readers for a long time. Mary Stewart's The Wicked Day gives us Mordred's story through his eyes. The book follows him through his life until the final battle portraying a sympathetic character that had little choice with his life.

We have other books where Arthurian elements and charactrers appear in contemporary times. Excalibur by Sanders Anne Laubenthal takes place in Mobile, Alabama with the quest for Excalibur. Arthur and Gawain are reborn in our world to fight for the possession of the Grail in The Forever Knight by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy. Tim Powers wrote a book, The Drawing of the Dark, which brings humor to a fantasy with Arthurian elements.

One of the most prevalent characters in Arthurian Fantasy is Merlin. The mysterious, powerful magician, prophet and mentor of King Arthur has permeated many books; there is even a TV miniseries about him titled "Merlin” that was made several years ago. Merlin's story is told well in the trilogy: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart. He appears in many other works such as Kingdom of the Grail by Judith Tarr that includes his as part of the story of Roland.

Arthurian Fantasy also appears in other works. There are collections of short stories in anthhologies like Excalibur and Camelot Fantastic. Young Adult novels also use the King Arthur story. T.A. Barron writes about the teenage years of Merlin in a series of books beginning with The Lost Years of Merlin. A new British TV series called “Merlin” has the characters meeting in their teen years and provides a different story of the legend.

As can be seen, there are many books using the story of King Arthur. An exhaustive list would take pages to talk about so here is a list of a few other book to check out:

The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Broken Sword by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy

Merlin's Bones by Fred Saberhagen

King Arthur by Mike Ashley: This is a very good source book with almost everything about King Arthur.

The Dragon Queen by Alice Borchardt

Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw
Kingdom of Summer by “
In Winter’s Shadow by “

The Green Knight by Vera Chapman
The King’s Damosel by “
King Arthur’s Daughter by “

Arthurian Fantasy is large subgenre of Fantasy that continues to grow every year with new books, movies and TV series. King Arthur and the Matter of Britain will continue to live on as long as Fantasy exists as a genre, enriching the story with new views from talented authors. Readers will continue to explore the legend of King Arthur and be entertained by the story for ages to come.

David Eddings

I’m posting the blog entry early this week.

David Eddings died recently. I was sad to hear of his passing. His loss is a blow to the Fantasy genre. This is an updated article I wrote on him a few years ago.

Few writers of Fantasy have made the New York Times Bestseller list. David Eddings has done it several times. What makes this author so popular? It is his storytelling ability. He writes books full of adventure, realistic characters, action and intricate magic systems with a subtle sense of humor running through his books. His many books are entertaining contributions to the worlds of Fantasy.

Mr. Edding's books are under an overall title for his various series. The first of these was the "Belgariad." It contains five books: Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardry and Enchanter's Endgame. This series tells the story of Belgarion, a young boy living with a formidable woman named Polgara. Fantastic circumstances put him and several companions on a quest to stop a fallen god. Belgarion learns to use his magic talents and grows with every new book of increasing complexity.

In his next series, the "Elenium," Eddings introduces us to his character of Sparhawk the Pandion knight. The Diamond Throne finds Sparhawk returning from exile to discover the young queen of Elenia trapped in a crystal. The story continues in The Ruby Knight and The Sapphire Rose in the battle against an old god. These books have a Medieval structure of feudal kingdoms, orders of knights and a young goddess that appears to her followers frequently. There is a subtle streak of humor running thoughout the books that will sneak up on the unsuspecting reader.

Next, Eddings returned to the world of Belgarion for the "Mallorean." This time, the characters are older. Belgarion, his wife and companions pursue the kidnappers of their child through new realms of magic and strange cultures. The five books in this series are: The Guardians of the West, King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda, Sorceress of Darshiva and The Seeress of Kell.

The "Tamuli" returns to the world of Sparhawk and his friends. They embark on a trip to a distant, foreign empire to battle a dangerous god. Domes of Fire, The Shining Ones and The Hidden City are full of the action, well-developed plots and humor like the previous novels in this world. By the last book, Sparhawk knows and faces his true destiny.

Eddings returns to the world of the "Belgariad's" past in his next two novels. Belgarath the Sorcerer tells the story of Belgarath's life with his wife. His daughter's story is told in Polgara the Sorceress and how she comes to be the guardian of young Garion, future inheritor of the Rivan throne. These two novels fill in an important aspect of this world's history and completes the stories of two popular characters.

Another different book is the Rivan Codex. This one is not a fiction book. It is Mr. Edding's notes and outlines on how he developed the world of the "Belgariad" and "Mallorean." Readers will find in depth material to add deeper appreciation of the novels. Aspiring Fantasy writers will get a good idea of the work that goes into writing a complex Fantasy novel. They will find some good advice for writing Fantasy.

Regina’s Song is a stand alone book not part of any series. This book is different because it is set in the modern day world with supernatural elements. In this story of twin girls, Regina and Renata, one is brutally murdered. Mark the family friend tries to help the survivor cope with her loss. Interwoven through their story are a series of vicious murders occurring in Seattle. Mr. Eddings provides a different book for readers with this story.

A stand alone Epic Fantasy novel can be found in The Redemption of Althalus. The story is set is a world where three sibling gods vie for control. Althalus is a thief hired by someone to steal a magical book. He meets the feline goddess Dweia who keeps him for over two thousand years to lear magic. He must recruit several other people to aid in the quest to find a knife and fight in the coming battle between the god brothers Dewois and Daeva. Mr. Eddings delivers an entertaining story of adventure, action and humor.

“The Dreamers” series consists of four books: The Elder Gods, The Treasured One, Crystal Gorge, and The Younger Gods. This series tells the story of younger gods that come into power to replace the Elder Gods of their world as they wane. Into this mix is added another force of the Vlagh which begins a war of the gods. An exciting and fitting series written by Mr. Eddings that adds to his body of works.

David Eddings collaborated on many of his books with his wife, the late Leigh Eddings. Their deaths silence two great contributors to the genre. Still, readers will continue to enjoy the unforgettable characters, intricate magic systems, complex cultures and adventure of their works for many years to come.

Interview with Steve Erikson

I recently started reading Gardens of the Moon by Steve Erikson, so I thought I’d share this interview I did with him a few years ago.

Steve Erikson is the author of the long Fantasy series Malazan Book of the Fallen. The first books of the series have been published in Britain. Recently the first book, Gardens of the Moon, was published in the U.S. Mr. Erikson uses his training as an archeologist and anthropologist to give his books a realistic feel and depth. The other books in the series are: Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice, House of Chains, Midnight Tides and several others.

Debbie Ledesma: What led you to become a writer? Was it hard getting published?

Steven Erikson: I began with illustrating, thought about comics since narrative seemed to be implicit in my artwork, then finally left the drawing behind and settled for the narrative itself. It was easy getting published with my so-called literary stuff, and very, very difficult getting the fantasy novels landed with a publisher. In retrospect, I have concluded that the literary market (at least in Canada) is far less competitive than genre markets, simply because it is not as tightly bound to sales.

DL: Do you miss working in archaeology and anthropology? Do you plan to work a little in your fields of specialty to keep your hand in so to speak and help with your writing?

SE: I don't think I realised how much I missed field work until this summer, when my wife, son and I volunteered on a dig in Wyoming for a couple weeks; and I suspect we will be doing similar ventures each summer from now on. The dig was sponsored by the US Forestry Service and in conjunction with the University of Wyoming and the site was in the Black Hills, a lithic occupation that had seen use from about nine thousand years ago until just before European contact. The real gift such projects offers is the opportunity to meet people, and I was lucky in this instance to find not one but four serious readers of fantasy (one of them a project director), so we had plenty to talk about. Tack on another project director who was a collector of science fiction books and, as you can imagine, the campfire conversations were enlivening. In terms of inspiring my fiction, most certainly, but then again, I get inspiration from a multitude of sources so it's hardly surprising. Much of one of the themes in Midnight Tides came from a terrific vacation in South Dakota. My son's acquired an interest in paleontology so next summer we'll probably try that.

DL: Do you attempt to influence the way people view society through your writing, and if so do you believe Fantasy can have an impact?

SE: I'm not sure if influence is possible; nor am I sure I want to influence people about much of anything, since that presumes my vision of the world is somehow superior or more complete -- and such conceits affect one's writing in unwelcome ways. There are certain elements that drive my work, however, and they seem to derive from my notions of what it means to be a writer of fiction. In learning to get inside the heads of characters, no matter who they are or what they do, one ends up walking in a lot of shoes, some of them decidedly uncomfortable, and yet, with enough diligence and ruthlessness at work, the most powerful message that hits me as a writer (and, one hopes, the reader, too) is that there is more than one side to things -- to anything, in fact -- and moral judgement can only be reached (if one chooses to do so) once some kind of understanding is achieved of as many sides as possible. Now, that being said, I am no fan of 'moral relativity' wherein one shrugs off, say, female circumcision, simply because it's some culture's tradition to conduct such butchery. Screw that. But the mindset behind such an activity (to extend the example) is always contextual, and it's that context that I find intrinsically interesting. (Which is why I explored it in the fourth novel in the series.)

It's often commented that my stuff is all shades of grey rather than black and white, and I guess that sense comes from what I said above; but that's not the same as saying every character is similarly grey -- the effect is an overall one, rather than a specific one. Most of the characters I come up with have pretty fixed notions of right and wrong, they have a moral centre, in other words, whether consciously recognised or not. But in coming at something from more than one side, the reader is left free to choose which one they'll favour. The thing is, story-telling is, at its root, a form of communication intended to entertain. The subtext stuff, if there is any, generally reflect the story-teller's own obsessions. That probably can't be helped, but it's not the same as saying it's all secret code intended to brainwash the reader.

Is there any way to determine if fiction -- any fiction -- has an impact on the way people view anything? I'm not so sure. Non-fiction, certainly. But fiction is by far much more complicated a thing -- the thesis, whether the author is aware of it or not -- is always buried deep, and may often be contradictory, especially when the writer hasn't bothered thinking hard enough about 'what it all means.' How can any effect be measured? Did the underlying quasi romantic anti-industrial subtext of Lord of the Rings create a generation of Luddites? I don't think so. Yet people like the notion of going back to the land, to simpler, rural times -- at least in the abstract (if it means dumping the SUV and swearing off fossil fuels, forget it) -- and so they conform, in a sense, with the trilogy's moral centre. But LOTR didn't create that sensibility, it simply reflected it, and in a rather simplistic way at that.

DL: What do you think is the important function of Fantasy as a genre?

SE: Hmm. Well, the fantasy genre lets a writer take a metaphor and make it real, and barring magic realist or absurdist fiction (which are, arguably, forms of fantasy anyway), it's unique in that. I am aware of myself doing that all the time, sometimes in an ironic sense, but other times in a far more visceral way. I'm not sure if anybody notices, but that's okay too. Now, is that function important? Who knows -- see my reply to your first question....

DL: I'm always fascinated with Fantasy that has mythic themes. Do you use themes from mythology in your books?

SE: Not directly, although no doubt some archetypal stuff seeps in. I love the language of myth, and the dialogue it creates (or created) with its audience, particularly the way it can seem entirely alien to our modern sensibilities (as in Beowulf or Gilgamesh), and the way in which we can at times re-interpret a myth and so embrace it under our own terms (as with Homer, for example). For so long the fantasy genre was trapped in the inherent antiquity of myth -- by that I mean it clung to the trappings that, to my eye, seemed of least importance -- feudal hierarchies and archaic diction come to mind as examples -- which quickly became pastiche. In other words, the outward form and cultural source of mythology took on absurd importance, as if to mime the style was to celebrate the meaning. Which is rubbish. It misses the point. So when I say I love the 'language' of myth I don't mean that stuff, I mean everything that's underneath and behind it -- because style, diction and social structure (and the sensibilities it entails) are all context-based and, while interesting in the abstract, not as important as the way in which a myth or legend explores and celebrates the human condition.

Yikes, I'm in real academic mode this morning. Sorry!

DL: Have current events such as 9/11 and such found their way into your writing or influenced it?

SE: I don't think there is a way wherein current events do not reflect upon what someone writes; with some writers it's more direct than with others, but we're all thinking creatures and it'd be pretty difficult to will oneself blind or indifferent to the world. Having lived in England, where security issues were always present regards the IRA, I was to some extent used to the idea of persistent risk. And any reader of history and anthropology can get a sense of social/cultural/religious upheaval and the desperate acts that result. The human mind seems capable of virtually anything, and in a very senseless and tragic way that was made all too clear on 9/11, and yet in the aftermath we saw the other extreme, in the instances of profound courage following the attack.

The human condition is central to all fiction, and for myself, writing military fantasy wherein tragedy plays such a fundamental role, I've spent a long time considering how one gives answer to the most terrible acts undertaken or witnessed, and for me it keeps coming back to the realisation that one rarely has the chance to match the magnitude of the bad with grand gestures of good. Instead, those gestures, of humanity, are always small, subtle, and all the more powerful and, ultimately, more meaningful than what went before. Sometimes a single life saved can in some way give answer to a thousand lives lost. I don't know how or why that is, but thank God it can, or we would all be in deep trouble. Compassion is always personal, and a focus for grief seems essential to healing.

I've not considered whether there's been any direct influence on my writing. Each work of fiction has some sort of emotional context, but that's never clear cut or simple, and often the whole process of identifying and interpreting it belongs solely to the reader. Which is, I think, as it should be.

DL: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

SE: 1. Finish what you start
2. Keep writing
3. Read books on writing fiction that discuss the gritty details of narrative structure and craft. If you don't see words like dialogue, point of view, exposition, theme, plot, psychic distance, diction level, setting, etc. and examples of the like -- find another book. If you see stuff like 'the bliss of talent' and the 'wonders of writing' stay away. Try John Gardner, Jack Hodgins and Stephen King -- all three have written excellent books on writing.

DL: Thank you very much Mr. Erikson.

Dragons in Fantasy

Dragons are one of the most popular mythical creatures of the Fantasy genre. They grace the covers of many books and play important roles in them. Fantasy authors use dragons in their works in various ways as villains, heroes or in other roles. They are one of the most important aspects of the Fantasy genre, adding a formidable symbol to the books.

Author Gordon R. Dickson created an interesting, sometimes humorous series of books with dragons. In A Dragon and His George, a man from our world travels to a fantasy world where he ends up in the body of a dragon. In this world, dragons call humans Georges. Jim Eckert becomes Gorbash and must learn ho to use his dragon body. He gets help from other characters as he tries to save his love interest. The story continues next in The Dragon Knight and through several other books.

Tea With the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy is a combination Mystery and Fantasy. The main character is an imperial Chines e dragon living as a human in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a private detective. A woman hires him to solve a mystery and becomes a love interest for him. This book was followed by a sequel, Twisting the Rope.

Author Joel Rosenburg created an interesting dragon character for his “Guardians of the Flame” books. Fantasy role players from our world end up in a Fantasy world of many dangers. During part of their adventure, they free the dragon from being used an incinerator in the city garbage dump. The dragon helps his liberators during the rest of the books.

Some authors create their worlds to revolve around dragons. This creates clashes between the dragons and humans. Richard Knaak does this in his “Dragonrealm” books. Dragons of different colors rule different parts of the realm. Humans have increased their population and want to be free of the more evil dragons. The many books of this series are full of adventure. Fire Drake is the first book in the series, which is very long.

Barbara Hambly invokes the powerful nature of the creature in her books. Dragonsbane introduces a complex story of humans and dragons. Morkeleb has all the characteristics of a dragon from mythology. He is powerful, enigmatic, intelligent and dangerous. She has continued the sometimes tragic stories with other books.

Recently, newer authors have done different things with dragons, adding new dimensions to the creature. Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner tells of a romantic relationship between a human girl and a dragon. Joanne Bertin created a rich world of humans that are dragon shape shifters dealing with unique problems. Dragonlord and Dragon and the Phoenix are the first two books of this series with more to follow.

Many other books have dragons in them as some part of the story, whether as a main character, villain or victim. Dragons are a vital aspect of the Fantasy genre. These powerful mythic symbols will continue to fascinate readers for generations to come.

Robert Newcomb Interview

This interview appeared before at my old Suite101 site. Robert Newcomb writes interesting Epic Fantasy books with intiguing characters and plenty of action. I enjoy his books immensely and highly recommend them. That’s why I’m sharing this interview again. Information on Robert Newcomb’s books can be found at his web site at: http://www.robertnewcomb.com

Debbie Ledesma: What led you into a writing career?

Robert Newcomb: My path to a writing career was fairly circuitous one. Had you asked me earlier in life, writing fantasy novels would have been the farthest thing from my mind. I was a businessman in upstate New York. As a result of a fairly unique offer, I sold my businesses and moved to Florida. My wife had just read her first fantasy novel, and she liked it. She said that I should read it, and I must admit that at first I was hesitant. But to my surprise, I liked it too. My wife then challenged me to sit down and try to write one of my own, and I took the bait. At first I would write a bit here and there—mostly as the mood struck me, and the various ideas came along. Before too long, The Fifth Sorceress was finished. Frankly, I was surprised at how much I had enjoyed the process.

DL: How long did it take you to write the first book and how long did it take to get that book published?

RN: How long did it take to write The Fifth Sorceress? I always find it interesting that people ask this question—it is without doubt the one that is most frequently asked. When I was writing the book, my work habits were very erratic. Some days I would turn out one page, some days ten, and some days none at all. Overall, I suppose it took me about twelve months.

Finding an agent, selling the work, and seeing the first book on the shelves took longer. Including the editing, that process lasted about sixteen months, I’d say. But the time went by fast, because during that period we finalized the deal for the first three books and I had to begin writing the second volume, entitled The Gates of Dawn. I have been inordinately lucky, I know. This has been a magical time for me—a whirlwind—and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

DL: With three books published, you’re relatively a new author to the genre. Why did you choose the Fantasy genre to write in?

RN: I chose the fantasy genre because the creative p ˛ossibilities seemed so endless. To my mind, even sci-fi and horror don’t allow for the great range of self-expression that fantasy does. I also feel that the use of magic has a far more intriguing quality about it than aligning warp coils or calculating the distance in light years to Ceti-Alpha Five, for example. But don’t make the mistake of believing that I think less of sci-fi. It’s just that for me, fantasy is so much more intriguing. The questions worthy of exploration are infinite. Who can learn magic? What makes some persons better at practicing it than others? What is the mythology of it, and how do the people in the story make use of it—for good or for evil? These are the kinds of things I choose to pursue in the world I have created. Some say that the final frontier is outer space. In a strictly realistic sense, I suppose they’re quite right. But in an artistic sense, for me the real frontier is how my characters learn and employ the magic, and how their lives come to be affected by it.

DL: How many books is your current series going to be?

RN: How many books will the series be? That depends. I’m asked that one a lot. My standard, joking answer is that I’ll write as many as my publisher wishes to buy! But seriously, I think I would like to see the series go to ten books. The trick is to continue expanding on the story, and still keep it interesting. I don’t want to wear out my welcome, so to speak. I like to think of as each book as one chapter in an ongoing tale. I would also like to write a series of prequels to the current story, if there is sufficient interest.

DL: Do you have ideas for any other books besides your current series?

RN: I would love to write a series of prequels to "The Chronicles of Blood and Stone". And I am currently working on something else in my spare time. It’s a modern day thriller, with fantasy overtones. But given my current time constraints, it will have to wait for a while.

DL: What authors do you enjoy reading?

RN: I don’t really have ı any fiction authors that I am following just now. In recent years I have turned away from reading novels and toward reading biographies. In my youth I read Ian Fleming, Ernest Hemingway, Frederick Forsyth, and Lawrence Durrell, (the "Alexandria Quartet"), among others. Durrell’s work is sheer poetry, and I reread the Quartet from time to time, just to revisit his amazing style.

DL: Do you attempt to influence the way people view society through
your writing, and if so do you believe Fantasy can have an impact?

RN: I don’t try to preach any brand of morality in my books, or project my personal political philosophies onto my readers. Frankly, I’m not sure that I have the right do that. My primary goal is to tell a great story, to captivate the reader during my time with them, and to entertain him or her in the best way I know how. For me, that is what good fantasy is really about. When someone picks up one of my books, I want them to know that they’re about to go on an adventure—one —that they will hopefully sweep them away. Personally, I think lectures should be left to the college professors, rather than to the fantasy authors. But others disagree, and that’s fine. It’s all a matter of taste and style. But do I think that fantasy novels can have such an impact if written that way? Yes, of course.

DL: I’m always fascinated with Fantasy that has mythic themes. Do you use themes from mythology in your books?

RN: As far as mythology is concerned, I don’t use any of the traditional mythological references in my work. The mythology of "The Chronicles of Blood and Stone" is all home-grown, so to speak. The adepts who originally refined the "good" side of the craft are called the Ones Who Came Before. The first masters of the "dark" side of the craft are called the Heretics of the Guild. These opposing groups supposedly exterminated themselves in a cataclysmic war eons ago. But their differing brands of magic live on, and continue – to struggle for dominance. These beings presumably reside as spirits in the heavens, but much of their true nature has yet to be revealed. Just as it is my plan to reveal a little bit more about the magic as the books go forth, so too shall it be with the history and mythology of these two groups.

DL: What themes or modern day issues do you include in your works that you want to share with readers?

RN: The primary theme of my books is the good old "good vs. evil" question. But my villains don’t see themselves as evil. Due their biological makeup, they are more prone to want to practice the darker side of magic as a force of nature, and they can’t fathom why anyone would wish to do otherwise. They believe themselves to be as right and as vindicated as do the forces for good. This leads to some very interesting dynamics between friends, relatives, villains, heroes, etc. Good should win, of course, and it does. But I always try to leave behind the seed ≠ of some future darkness that is about to follow in the next book. At that point I want another domino just about to fall, and start another interesting series of events.

DL: What would your advice be to any aspiring writers?

RN: To aspiring writers, I would say this: Above all, don’t become discouraged. Second only to that is the fact that you mustn’t take criticism personally—a certain amount of it always goes with the territory. If your work is good, it will eventually be found. Polish your manuscript as best you can, and then try to find a good agent to represent you. It can be difficult to find representation, but you have to persevere. There will probab /ly be many rejection letters to wade through, before that magical one comes along. And be especially wary of polite, well-meaning comments from family and friends. Don’t ask what they liked about your work—ask about what they didn’t like, instead. It will be far more productive, I assure you.

When you write, don’t be afraid to go for broke—the delete key is always there at your fingertips to wipe out your mistakes. Own the page, and keep going! Most of all, try to write a little bit each day, no matter your personal circumstances. A little every day is a lot better than a whole bunch every once in a while. If you must rise at 4:30 AM each day to accomplish this, then so be it! In the end it will be worth it. At the rate of only one page a day, in a year you will have a 365 page novel.

Tom Deitz

Author Tom Deitz died earlier this week, so I'm posting this article I wrote on him.

A part of rural Georgia has mysterious golden tracks leading to other worlds, propelling young people into fantastic battles with magical beings. In the near future, humans and Selkies fight shapeshifting whales out to destroy humanity. Tom Deitz is the Fantasy author of some of these scenarios. He writes Contemporary Fantasy set in the South where magic impinges on reality. Other books are about the near future. His books are full of adventure with strong plots, realistic characters and powerful themes.

Windmaster's Bane is the first book in the series introducing David Sullivan and his friends. David lives in a rural section of Georgia with his family. He discovers he possesses Second Sight. One night, David and his younger brother see the Sidhe riding along the track near their home. This starts the first encounter with the magical creatures of Fairy. Subsequent books mix Native American fantastic elements with Celtic to create further adventures for David and his companions. The rest of the books in the series are: Fireshaper’s Doom, Darkthunder’s Way, Sunshaker’s War, Stoneskin’s Revenge, Ghostcountry’s Wrath, Dreamseeker’s Road, Landslayer’s Law, and Warstalker’s Track.

Deitz's next series is the "Soulsmith" trilogy. This series tells the story of a group of people with strange powers. Set in the South again, the "Soulsmith" series is told in the books: Soulsmith, Dreambuilder and Wordwright.

The next two books are Science Fantasy. They take place in a near future Earth. Selkies and other magic creatures ally with humans to fight against shapeshifting whales. The whales want to destroy humanity because of the destruction of the environment by man. Above the Lower Sky and Demons in the Green are the two books in this series.

The Gryphon King is a stand alone novel. It's about some students at a college. They raise Satan during a mummers play. The students must fight to get rid of Satan.

His newest work is Bloodwinter. It's an Epic Fantasy and the start of a new series. In this book, two kingdoms fight for survival in a vicious winter. Characters in the book discover a gem with supernatural powers that drinks blood. They are drawn on a quest that may start a war between the two kingdoms. The book ends in a cliffhanger with lots of loose ends for the next book. This is a different subgenre for Deitz, but one he fulfills nicely.

Tom Deitz is a Fantasy author with a great imagination. He creates detailed books with a realistic edge and strong sense of wonder. His realistic characters, interesting plots and contemporary settings combine into thought provoking explorations of Fantasy worlds. Readers will enjoy their journeys through Deitz's books.

Interview with Sara Douglass

This interview appeared at my old Suite101 site a few years ago that I thought I would share again. Sara Douglass is a Fantasy author with interesting and varied books. She is an Australian author with a unique voice in the genre. Her books are vivid tales with compelling characters, interesting themes and gripping plots. Among her many books she is best known for the “Wayfarer Redemption” series consisting of: The Wayfarer Redemption, Enchanter, Starman, Sinner, Pilgrim and Crusader. Many of her other books take place in this world or are set in other worlds she has created. More information about Ms. Douglass can be found at her web site: http://www.saradouglass.com

Debbie Ledesma: How did you decide to become a writer?

Sara Douglass: Because I enjoyed it, and because I had trained as one. Writing was something I had always done well, and something I had always been at ease with, since I was a child. I always wrote: I kept diaries, I penned letters, I wrote novels, theses, lectures, talks, articles, non-fiction books. I don't think I ever 'decided' to become a writer. I just did it as a part of my daily life.

DL: Why did you choose the Fantasy genre?

SD: Again, because I had the background and the skills for it. I was never a particular fan of reading fantasy, but I enjoy writing it. I have been trained as a medieval historian - thus I am comfortable with alternate worlds - and I was trained as a writer as part of my training to be a historian. Many fantasy writers come from medieval teaching backgrounds. It's a natural breeding ground for fantasists!

DL: What authors, Fantasy or otherwise, influence your writing?

SD: None that I am aware of. I read a huge amount of material, mostly
non-fiction, and everything I read influences me in one way or the other, but there has never been a single author, or group of authors, who I can point to and say, "That author/book has influenced me".

DL: Does living in Australia influence your writing?

SD: Short answer: No. If it influences me to be any different than any
other nationality of writer then I am not aware of it.

DL: Have current events like talk of the war, 9/11, etc. influenced your writing?

SD: Not that I am aware of.

DL: Are you planning to branch out into other genres?

SD: Who knows what the future holds! At the moment I have no plans to
'branch out', but I can never rule out the possibility. I tend to write, and other people tend to categorize me. I send in a manuscript to a publisher, and someone in their wisdom says, "This is fantasy!" or "This is historical drama!" and I just shrug and say, "OK, if that's what you say" and go along with the entire publicity campaign.

DL: What themes or modern day issues do you include in your works that you want to share with readers?

SD: Hmmm. There are probably many 'issues', although not necessarily modern day ones. It's often been said that the entire Axis Trilogy (which the USA has as the first 3 books of the Wayfarer Redemption) is one gigantic diatribe against the medieval Christian Church, which is certainly true. The medieval church preached endlessly about the evilness and dangers of untamed territories (forests and mountains) and the majority of the environmental problems we have today are as a direct result medieval teaching (ever noticed how we always talk about landscape in war like terms? 'Conquering' mountains, for example. Most extreme sports are in effect war against the natural environment, man against land, which derives from our medieval past. I always have a go against organized religion, in whatever form, because I see it only as a form of social control (again, highly apparent in the first 3 books of the Wayfarer Redemption, and more particularly apparent in a series called The Crucible).

DL: I love books with mythic themes. Do you use any mythology sources for your writing?

SD: Not in any coherent sense. I would probably tend to use medieval
romance epics more than mythology, but then romance epics draw on
mythology. I generally take elements that appeal to me and mix them
up higgeldy piggedly, which annoys the Fact Nazis!

DL: What do you think about the current state of the Fantasy genre. Do you think that many books are too derivative?

SD: I have no idea what is happening in the current state of the Fantasy
genre! I haven't read a fantasy book for at least 20 years (unless
for a blurb). Like so many genre authors, I stay away from reading
within my own genre. Who wants to read for pleasure what they've
been slogging away at for 8 hours a day? It is also, I think (and this
view is also shared by many authors, and I've heard it stated many
times) highly dangerous to read within your own genre to any large
extent. This is for 2 reasons: 1) who can stay fresh if you are constantly reading what everyone else is doing?; and 2) the possibilities of unconscious plagiarism are massive (and in the current climate of suing for any mild reason, no author wants to plagiarize). You read something - a scene, a piece of dialogue - think that it's fabulous, and then 12 years later you unwittingly use that in one of your own books. Next thing you know you're in court. I read a great deal of crime, but at least then I am far more away if I am trying to transpose something admirable from a crime book into a fantasy book (having to change the AK47 into a magical sword, for instance. :))

DL: What do you think is the important function of Fantasy?

SD: I enjoy writing it, beyond that I honestly don't know. I don't try to rationalize or justify what I enjoy! :)

DL: With the success of Fantasy movies like “Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter,” do you think any of your books would make good movies?

SD: Movies leave me stone cold dead. I don't think I’ve been to the movies in over 5 years. Any one of my books might, I suppose, make a good movie, but authors generally get such a rotten deal out of movie rights that, quite frankly, I would rather not know about it!

DL: What themes do you find most compelling to include in your writing?

SD: Well, the constant diatribe against organized religion, which I loathe ... and a good brutal birth scene normally always features somewhere! I also like to investigate the nature of evil. I hate it when the entire experience of life gets brutalized down to the simplistic good against evil. Neither inherent good nor inherent evil exist. We are all a mixtures of both. Life is nothing but a myriad shades of grey. I very much enjoy taking a set of 'good' characters at the beginning of a series and turning them into 'evil' characters by the end of the series merely by changing the readers' perceptions of 'good' and 'evil' (I don't do this so much in the
Troy Game, but I certainly do it in the last 3 books of the Wayfarer Redemption, and very particularly in The Crucible).

DL: The Wayfarer Redemption books have been published in the U.S. What other Fantasy books have you written?

SD: There are another 3 books in the Wayfarer series (Sinner, Pilgrim and Crusader), plus a trilogy called the Crucible (made up of The Nameless Day, The Wounded Hawk, and The Crippled Angel), a standalone called Threshold, another standalone called Beyond the Hanging Wall, and a non-fiction (and somewhat anti-fantasy!!) book called The Betrayal of Arthur (which debunks the entire Arthurian legend). There's also Hades’ Daughter, of course, available in the USA!

DL: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

SD: Write. If you want to write, then ... write. There is so much advice
everywhere that everyone forgets the simple rule; all it takes to be
a writer is to write. You may not be a publishable writer, but at
least you will be a writer.

DL: What books are in your future?

SD: The final three books of The Troy Game! Beyond that I haven't
thought.

DL: Thank you very much Ms. Douglass for this interview.


P.S. Recent news on Sara Douglass is worrisome. She has been diagonosed with ovarian cancer. My prayers are for her to beat this terrible disease.

Alan Garner

Imagine. A group of children fight magical forces in another world. Ghostly hunts cross the skies, hounds baying for their prey. A silver tea service is the key to breaking an ancient curse. These images are part of the Fantasy worlds of author Alan Garner. He is a talented writer that brings magic to life with descriptive words. Though he hasn’t produced any books, the existing ones are all Fantasy gems.

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is the first of Mr. Garner’s books. It tells the story of two youngsters, Colin and Susan, that move to a country home in England. While wandering through the woods, they are captured by dangerous creatures. A wizard named Cadellin rescues them. The children help him by going on a quest and are helped by the magical stone of the title.

In the next book, which is a sequel, The Moon of Gomrath, Susan and Colin release the Wild Hunt. The wizard Cadellin helps them again. Colin must save his sister from the effects of an ancient magic. Some Arthurian elements slip i nto both books with the king and his warriors sleeping under the hill. Mr. Garner imbues both books with vivid images of imaginative detail.

Elidor is a Contemporary Fantasy that straddles two worlds. The story begins in a depressed neighborhood of Manchester, England. Some youngsters find their way into the Fantasy world of Elidor. They are needed to save this world and restore its magic. The children flee back to our world with magical objects and the unicorn Findhorn, pursued by evil. A suspenseful tale ensues with Mr. Garner’s usual descriptive talent.

Perhaps his most powerful book is The Owl Service. This Fantasy possesses a mythic quality that resonates deeply with the reader. The story takes place in a Welsh village where the inhabitants are curse Ød to repeat the tragic myth of the woman made of flowers. Allison, Gwyn and Roger find an old bunch of plates with owls on them. One of the owls disappears, setting the myth in motion. The three young people must strive to break the curse before it ends in tragedy again. The characters are well drawn and the setting of the Welsh village is very realistic. This is a Mythic Fantasy not to be missed.

Alan Garner is not a prolific author, but his few books are gems in the Fantasy genre. Do not let the Young Adult label deter you either. He uses vivid descriptions and images to bring his worlds to life. Welsh and Arthurian myths blend with realistic British settings to create memorable stories of ordinary characters. Mr. Garner is an author worth seeking out. Hopefully, he will create more stories in the future.

Other books:

The Strandloper

The Voice That Thunders - This is his biography.

Louise Cooper

Imagine breaking a forbidden rule and being responsible for the destruction of your people. Or, imagine living in a world where gods of order and chaos vie for supremacy. These and many other Fantasy worlds are the creations of British author Louise Cooper. Her works are filled with memorable characters, imaginative plots and complex themes. She is an author every lover of Fantasy should read. Whether part of a series or stand alone books, she leaves an impact on readers.

One of Ms. Cooper's longest series tells the story of Indigo. This character is a young woman, like Pandora, who sets demons loose in the world out of her curiosity. Her people are killed and she is given immortality until she defeats all the demons she set free in the world. Indigo is helped by a sentient female wolf called Grimya. In each book, they travel to different parts of their world to fight one of the demons. The eight books are: Nemesis, Inferno, Infanta, Nocturne, Troika, Avatar, Revenant and Aisling.

Ms. Cooper's other series books are part of her Chaos and Order world. The seven gods of Chaos and Order struggle for a delicate balance of control. The stories of the complex characters of Tarod, Cyllan, Yandros and many others unfold in two trilogies. The first consists of The Initiate, The Outcast and The Master which tell the stories of Tarod, Cyllan and Chaos restoring the balance to their world. The next trilogy is about the battle to stop a powerful Chaos demon's daughter from conquering the world. The books here are: The Deceiver, The Pretender and The Avenger. A prequel trilogy was not published in the United States except the first book called Star Ascendant.

She has written many stand alone books too. Mirage is a Dark Fantasy. It tells the complex story of the city Haven and the troubled characters locked in a final battle. Most of the other books are Young Adult Fantasies and not available in the United States. This is a shame since she is an excellent writer for any age.

Louise Cooper is a Fantasy writer of great imagination and story telling ability. She uses her interests in music, folklore, mythology and comparative religion to weave entertaining stories with difficult themes. Her books are worth seeking out and reading. More information on Louise Cooper can be found at her web site: http://www.louisecooper.com

Patricia Briggs Interview

I did this interview with Ms. Briggs several years ago, but thought readers would enjoy it again.

Debbie Ledesma: How did you decide to become a writer?

Patricia Biggs: I’m not sure it was ever anything so definite as a decision - except perhaps this last year when I began to write full time. I’ve always loved books. When I ran out of horse books to read I started reading my sister’s collection of Andre Norton and branched out from there. Writing just seemed like a natural extension of reading.

DL: Why did you choose the Fantasy genre?

PB: If you could look at my collection of books, you’d know just how good a question that is. I read anything from philosophy to romance and most things in between.

When I was a child, my older sister spent several years reading a different fairytale to me every night. By the time I was out of elementary school I’d read all of Andrew Lang’s color fairy books twice over, as well as all the fairy tale books in the local library. My degree is in history, and I really loved the Middle Ages. I had this wonderful professor who used to bounce up and down on his heels as he described the final moments of the average black plague victim. Finally, I’ve always been a
horse person. It took years for my mother to explain to me that most people like to talk about other things than horses. So when I decided to take the plunge and write a book; folklore, history and horses seemed to point to Fantasy.

After I started to write I found that it was a better choice than I’d expected.
Fantasy is among the least restrictive of all genres. My books can be mysteries, war stories, romances... whatever I feel like writing and they are still fantasies. I read articles about authors who complain how hard it is merely to switch from time-travel romance to contemporary romance because each subgenre has a different readership. Fantasy readers seem to be more forgiving than that. The person who reads Robert Jordan, for instance, probably would still enjoy Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks. I believe the kind of person who opens themselves to different worlds is too adventurous to restrict themselves to one subgenre: Fantasy readers allow authors a lot of leeway.

DL: What authors, Fantasy or otherwise, influence your writing?

PB: Holy, cow. Who didn’t? Not that I planned it that way. When I wrote my first book, I felt like I had done it on my own. Which is particularly silly, in retrospect, because I wrote Masques as an exercise to find out if I could actually write a book from beginning to end. I purposefully chose the most classic plot of fantasy, evil wizard tries to take over the world while the valiant underdogs strive to stop him. So even before I read Tolkien’s LOTR he had a tremendous effect on my writing. For those
of you who caught the implications, yes, this does mean that I read LOTR after I was a published writer - actually it was just this year. I must have read The Hobbit a bizillion times, but I tried to read LOTR when I was too young and unfortunately never got past it. I used to hang my head at SF Conventions...

When I started writing, I turned to other authors’ works to see how to do things - how to punctuate conversation, for instance. The only teacher I had, and I had many wonderful teachers, who taught proper punctuation of conversations was my second grade teacher, Mrs. Searle. To see how to get a conversation to flow, I picked up a few of my favorite character-building authors and picked apart their conversations: Dick Francis, Barbara Hambly, Robert Parker, Jayne Anne Krentz, Anne McCaffery and a dozen or so others.

But the most influential writer would have to be Andre Norton, because if my sister hadn’t taken Black Beauty (which I recently read to my children and realized that I still have large sections of it memorized) forcibly out of my hands and replaced it with Beast Master - I would never have discovered how much fun adventurous reading
could be.

DL: Are you planning to branch out into other genres?

PB: I don’t think so. As I mentioned earlier, Fantasy allows me tremendous scope. When Demons Walk was a mystery with a light touch of politics. Hob’s Bargain was a fairy tale and an apocalyptic/survival novel (which I would have had a hard time selling in
the traditional genre of apocalyptic novels, SF). Dragon Bones is a coming of age novel and a survival story in its own right. I do try to stretch and grow as a writer with each novel, both to keep my interest up and to keep my books from being repeats of earlier books, so I suppose changing genres is not out of the question, just unlikely in the near future.

DL: Do you use any mythology sources for your writing?

PB: Absolutely. Northern European Folklore was steeped into me from childhood. I read a lot of folklorist’s books, including the invaluable Encyclopedia of Fairies by Katherine Briggs (no relation) before I wrote The Hob’s Bargain to brush up on my knowledge of the lesser-known fey. Though I have to confess that I used the pooka
Harvey (from the old movies of the same name) as a basis for my Hob. One of my only two short stories is a retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" called “The Price” which appears in the Datlow-Windling anthology Silver Birch, Blood Moon. That anthology, BTW, won
the World Fantasy Award for anthologies.

I have read/studied many other mythologies - I even taught Greek and Roman mythology. But other than “The Price” and The Hob’s Bargain, I don’t recall deliberately using mythology in a story.

DL: How long did it take you to write your first book and how long did it take to get that book published?

PB: My first book, Masques, took me about a year to write, once I quit rewriting the first ten pages over and over again. It’s a short book, about 75 or 80,000 words which, set in a small font, came out as just under 200 pages in a book format. It still takes me about a year - except for When Demons Walk, which was a sheer romp. I sent a synopsis and three chapters out to all the Fantasy publishing houses with a letter telling the editors I had a complete novel and asking them if they’d like me to submit the book (submitting a book to multiple publishers at the same time is a Very Bad Thing). After about six months I got back letters from all the publishers except for Ace. Everyone said no except for Del Rey who said - we don’t read samples, either submit this or don’t bother us. So I did another polishing run on the whole book, printed it out ready to send to Del Rey, when I got a letter from Laura Anne Gilman at Ace. (She’s now running the editorial show at Roc.) I submitted it to her. She wrote
me back for revisions, which I did. Miracle of miracles, she bought it. It was probably a year from when I finished Masques until Ace finally made an offer on it, and I took another year before they published it.

Most authors don’t sell their first book -- or even first few books, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t. Luck can compensate for skill -- I was lucky that there was an editor at Ace who liked the kinds of books I write. Laura Anne babysat me through the editing process - and most editors don’t have the time to do that. But skill will compensate for lack of luck as well, it just takes longer.

DL: What do you think is the important function of Fantasy?

PB: This question usually comes up in some variant as a panel topic at science fiction conventions, and I’ve even been a participating panelist on it a time or ten - and I think that the answer varies with the author, the book and the reader. There are some things that Fantasy can do very well - and like its siblings SF and horror - has traditionally done. The first and most obvious is escapism. Allowing people to put aside the trials of their lives to live in a different world is valuable. Art reminds us that there is beauty in the world when our world looks pretty bleak. Sometimes that makes people angry; because art can point out the joy that is lacking in their world. But the best art, whether books, paintings, or music can console us and lift our expectations. I am a firm believer that if you want to be happy, you have to snatch happiness and fight for it. When I was in high school, I used to take Christopher Stasheff’s wonderful novel, The Warlock In Spite of Himself with me to dentist visits - or any other high stress times. I wore out five or six copies -- that was in the days before he made a big splash so those copies were hard to find. No matter how upset I was, I could always laugh when I read that book. It saved me a lot of Valium. When I
write, I try to offer hope. I want people to feel better when they finish my books than when they started them.

Another traditional role of fantasy is to disguise some current issue and examine it from an angle not possible if you were to write about it directly, the style this takes varies from satyrical to serious. In speculative fiction (the genre containing SF, horror, and Fantasy because in them the author speculates about worlds that operate under different laws than our own) we are allowed to change the society that is viewing the subject and use that to try to change the attitudes of our readership. Take the issue of homosexuality for instance. If you take the social stigma away from being
homosexual, how does that change matters? In our society, being homosexual is not only a sexual decision - it is a cultural one, with established roles to play: butch, transvestite and the like. To be homosexual in 2002 in the US is to make that single facet of a person's life the most important single thing about them. But in a different world where such things are normal, how does that change the participants?
How much of that familiar culture is caused by being homosexual, and how much is a reaction to society’s rejection? There are certainly non social issues for homosexual couples -- the most important one is that they cannot have children together without help. Sometimes taking away the familiar norms of our world allows us to see things in a different light. We might disagree about the answer, but posing the question in a different manner might just make us think about it instead of clinging to easy answers we were given by someone else.

Which brings me to another important function fiction, any kind of fiction, does: It allows the reader to see the world through different eyes. When I read, I can be a black man or a young child. I can be an old woman or a deer named Bambi. That doesn't mean that I think hunting is a bad thing -- but I do have sympathy for the deer -- and the little old woman who backs up traffic as she shuffles across a busy intersection. Psychologists say that one of the common difficulties shared by child molesters is the inability to empathize with another human.

Between faster communication and growing population, our world decreases in size every day. In the light of 9/11, it is important for us to be able to “walk a mile in another’s moccasins”. Books are, in my opinion, the single best medium to develop the understanding necessary to live together on our earth.

DL: There are a lot of books by authors like Robert Jordan, David Eddings, Terry Goodkind, etc. that are popular. Do you find a lot of the Fantasy books hitting the bestseller lists derivative? Do you think they’re helpful to further the field?

PB: To a certain extent, all books are derivative. The subgenre of Epic Fantasy is one of the few genres of fantasy that traditionally produces bestselling novels - meaning that people who don’t read fantasy will read Epic Fantasy. We owe this in a large part to the reputation of Tolkien, whose torch was first taken up by Terry Brook’s The Sword
of Shannara, which was the first trade paperback to hit the NYT Bestselling Lists. Now, publishing houses look at epic fantasies and say, “Gee, this might be a bestseller.” So they promote it as a bestseller - and the promotion helps make it come true. Because most of these books are epic fantasies, they share certain similarities. To me a good book is a good book, whether it is a Terry Brooks novel or a Laurell K. Hamilton. I like most of the bestselling fantasy books, and when I don’t like them, it’s not because they were too much like another book I’ve read.

Authors are not in competition with each other. Any author who can pull in readers, benefits the industry as a whole -- as well as their readership. I have a friend who had never read a book since high school. Last year she picked up a Nora Roberts book and liked it. Now she reads all the time, and not just Nora Roberts. The Harry Potter books have brought a lot of young readers into the genre. What do you think of this? Is it helpful to the genre?

I am for almost anything that can get children to read. Sometime in the eighties I read that 1/3 of adult women were functionally illiterate - meaning that their reading level was third grade or below and they could not fill out a job application. The article mentioned that the figure for men wasn’t quite as bad. Reading is such a basic skill, and it takes practice. If peer pressure forces children to read - especially good books like Harry Potter, then I’m all for it.

While Harry Potter fans are eagerly awaiting the next installment, they might try Tamora Pierce, Jane Yolen, or Brian Jacques. Some of them will continue to read Fantasy decades from now - and without Harry Potter, they might never have tried reading anything at all. The more children who read Fantasy now, the more adults will be reading Fantasy in the future. How can that be bad?

DL: Movies are a different medium, but do you think any of your books would make a good movie?

PB: If a good producer and a good scriptwriter (not me) got involved, found good actors and cinematographers, yes. When Demons Walk, in particular had a number of very visual scenes -- though I’m afraid the temptation would be for a producer to turn it into a horror movie. I’d like to see what the special effects people would do for Caefawn’s tail in The Hob’s Bargain . But to be a good movie, the stories would be different. Any industry that can take Andre Norton’s Beast Master and turn out the movie they did (which I enjoyed - but it had very little to do with the novel) is not to be trusted lightly with any book. Just look what they did with “Beast Master 2” & even worse 3! (Although I have to admit laughing myself silly at BM2 about 2am and had a wonderful time as visions of “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” ran through my head.)

DL: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

PB: Make sure you are doing this because you want to write - not because you want to be a writer. You can always sit down and write, but you can’t always publish. The publishing world is not a kind one. There are many, many authors who only ever publish one book, and still more who never publish any.

If you can’t take criticism learn how. Or don’t show anyone your book, ever. I’ve yet to see a book that hasn’t garnished a few nasty comments from someone.

Then write and read. Don’t pay anyone money to doctor your manuscript in the hopes it will be publishable afterwards. It is possible to about how to write that way, but there are less expensive and more effective methods. Don’t pay anyone to publish your book and expect to make money. No matter what they say. Don’t send your manuscripts to agents who charge reading fees. If they’re not making enough money off of selling books, they’re not good enough agents and try elsewhere. Don’t expect to become rich from writing. Some people do ‹ but the average person who claims writing as their main career makes something like $1200/year: that’s with Stephen King’s millions added into the mix.

Write - and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.

DL: What books or stories are in your future?

PB: I’ve finished the sequel to Dragon Bones. It's called Dragon Blood and is scheduled to come out from Ace in January of 2003. Right now I’m working on a trilogy proposal for Ace, just to try something new. I’m aiming for an Epic Fantasy novel, but I can never really tell until the book is finished.

Guy Gavriel Kay

Many authors write books in the genre that are full of action, magic and adventure. A few of these authors carve niches for themselves by having different views that set them apart. Fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay is a unique voice in the fantasy genre. His books create vivid fantasy worlds and stories that live on in a reader's thoughts and hearts for a long time.

The “Fionavar Tapestry” trilogy mixes Celtic, Arthurian and other mythologies for a deeply moving Epic Fantasy. Five college students from our world are transported to the world of Fionavar. They each must play a role in the battle to stop the evil power trying to take control of this world. There is tragedy and triumph throughout the books. The trilogy consists of: The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road.

Later Mr. Kay turned to historical fantasy with magic and mythic elements. These books take place in some historical period or alternate historical period but have fantastic events happening and interesting characters.

Tigana is set in an alternate medieval kingdom sort of like Italy. The kingdom of Tigana is under a curse due to the soldiers killing the sorcerer’s young son Stevan. Many of the characters fight to free the kingdom from the curse so they can regain their memory. This book is different from the usual battles between good and evil. There are many shades of gray. Mr. Kay produces a beautiful book of depth, plot and character.

Inspired by medieval France, Mr. Kay wrote his next book A Song for Arbonne. The book’s plot weaves around the the themes of art, religious strife and courtly love. The story is vivid take on a time that is romantic to modern day readers. Kay proves his talents again in writing a memorable story for readers.

In his next book, The Lions of Al-Rassan, readers are treated to an alternate medieval Spain with cultures similar to the Moors, Christians and Jews of that period. The author uses the legends based on EL Cid and others to frame a powerful story in this alternate world. There is no obvious magic in the book, but the reader gets Kay's usual depth of character and themes as his other books.

Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors belong to the duology called the "Sarantine Mosaic". Crispin is a mosaicist (an artist that makes pictures from colored tiles) who travels to Sarantium and gets caught up in political intrigue. This is a rich story of characters and themes set in an alternate Byzantine empire.

Next, Mr. Kay explores the ancient world of the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and Celts in Last Light of the Sun. This alternate historical fantasy follows the struggles of three people’s as they learn to coexist in a different Britain. Bern Thorkellson must come to grips with his past as he travels to a new land. King Aeldred struggles to control his capricious children while dealing with threats to his kingdom. The Celtic-like character, Alun ab Owyn, must deal with the strange fairy creatures he encounters. Mr. Kay weaves a dark book of a bloody period in the world’s history.

Mr. Kay’s most recent book is Ysabel, which won the World Fantasy award. This book is a Mythic Fantasy set in modern day Provence, France. Nick Marrinner is a fifteen year old boy who travels with his father to the region. He must face mythic creatures from the Celtic and Roman battles of the past that threaten him and his family. The author demonstrates his great writing skills to present readers with a thought provoking, memorable book.

Whether writing Epic Fantasy or Historical Fantasy, Guy Gavriel Kay is a fantasy author of high quality. He weaves complex themes and subjects like mosaics, poetry, and music into fantasy worlds of unforgettable beauty. His use of mythic elements makes each book a powerful read. Each of his books should be read by lovers of fantasy. More information can be found at the web site dedicated to him at: http://www.brightweavings.com

On Writing Fantasy: Adding a Mythic Quality to Your Writing

Why do some Fantasy works like Lord of the Rings stay with us for years while others fade away and disappear? The books and stories that stay with us have a mythic quality to them. Writers draw from myth for inspiration and to create works that become timeless for readers. Each reading of such a work provides the reader with new insights about humanity or ourselves. Mythic themes give Fantasy a unique quality of wisdom that persists in the mind and become part of an individual for life. If you write Fantasy, trying to include such a quality in your work is helpful. To do this isn't easy and takes some effort on the part of a writer. To incorporate myths into their works, Fantasy writers need an understanding of the relationship of myth to Fantasy, knowledge of mythology and to use their life experiences in their writing.

First, writers of Fantasy need an understanding of the relationship of myth to Fantasy. Myths from many different cultures teach us about the human experience. They provide ways for people to work through problems, help with life changes and try to explain what we don’t understand. The relationship of the Fantasy genre to myth is that it performs the same function as myths in our present day. With this understanding, writers add a greater depth to their work and possibly create new myths. “In this way, the body of modern fantasy-and this true of fantasy by men as well-comes to resemble a mythology: that is, a compilation of narratives that expresses a society’s conception of itself, its individual members, and their place in the universe.” (Attebery, 89) This powerful relationship establishes strong, timeless works of incredible resonance. These works can stay relevant to different times and people; put simply, they last for generations. Once this understanding is accomplished, writers need to acquire knowledge about mythology.

Having a working knowledge about mythology is necessary for Fantasy writers. Without it, books and stories become lifeless forms of entertainment, losing their sense of wonder after one reading. A Fantasy writer needs to spend some time learning about mythology. An awareness of mythic themes and symbols creates more vivid works because: “Take myth away, and the magic in a Fantasy book is nothing more than special effects, or Le Guin’s phallic staff of wish-fulfillment. The myth is the magic, moving us through the dark, through the fire, flaying flesh from bone. By following myth to its end, the hero of the tale, and the reader, and the writer, all participate in the final rebirth--putting us back on the road to the east with tobacco seeds in our pocket.” (Windling, 26)
Acquiring knowledge of myths is easy but time consuming. There are many good sources; reading books on mythology, researching the Internet and reading Fantasy works that incorporate myth very well can provide writers with considerable knowledge. (A list of mythology and books can be found at the end of this article.) Along with knowledge of mythology, writers should use their life experience.

People’s hopes, dreams, life changes, education and everything that makes them who they are is a part of life experience. Writers should use their life experience in their works because most Fantasy literature is rooted there:
“What we do need is to remember that Fantasy (even more than other kinds of fiction) is a rites-of-passage literature--whether its themes are based on collective battles or on private, individual ones. The best Fantasy is rooted not only in myth but in life experience--while the worst draws experience secondhand from film, television and other books.” (Windling, 24)
It's hard to avoid the influences from other media. A writer must consciously avoid this trap, but let it blend with their own life experience and imagination to produce powerful works. This is an obligation to readers. Fail this obligation and readers are left with poor, lifeless stories. “As fantasist, we must look to the quests, ordeals, and trials that form (as Susan Cooper says) the shape of our own imagination and all its unconscious preoccupations. Through myth, symbol, and metaphor, the true fantasist transforms the personal into the universal--creating stories that not only entertain but provide the mythic tools we need to face the ordeals, the monsters, the wolves, of our modern age.” (Windling, 24)
This is not too much to ask of the Fantasy writer.

Without the presence of a mythic element in Fantasy, books and stories are sometimes little more than empty, flashy entertainment. Writers can create powerful works by understanding the relationship of myth to Fantasy; having a knowledge of mythology and epic cycles; and putting life experience into their works. Blending realistic characters, mythic themes and fantastic settings using the three things mentioned previously could give Fantasy readers timeless works to last through the ages.

Works Cited:

Attebery, Brian .Strategies of Fantasy., Bloomington and Idianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992.

Windling, Terri. “Unriddling the World:Rites-of-Passage Myths and Fantasy Tales.” Realms of Fantasy Volume 6 #2 (December 1999): 21-2

Books on Mythology:

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

The Golden Bough by James Frazer

Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung

Mythology by Edith Hamilton

Mythology Sites on the Internet:

http://legends.dm.net Covers Fantasy and Arthurian Legend

http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/myth.html Link page to many mythology pages.

Maggie Furey

Do you like strong women characters in your books? Do you want adventure stories with lots of action and magic? The Fantasy worlds of Maggie Furey have these things and much more. Ms. Furey writes books filled with vivid images, powerful characters and plenty of magical action. Her worlds have plots that move quickly, leaving a reader wanting more.

Aurian is the first book of Ms. Furey’s series “The Artefacts of Power.” Aurian is a young woman mage. She is sent to the city of Nexis to get training. In this world mage-folk are the rulers and do not mix with normal humans. Aurian breaks these rules by befriending many humans. She falls in love with Forral who is a mortal warrior. When she becomes pregnant, Miathan the archmage gets angry. He uses the Cauldron, one of the recently discovered ancient artefacts, to kill her lover and place a curse on her unborn child. She flees the city with a slave named Anvar and ends up in the southern continent.

The second book is Harp of Winds. Aurian’s pregnancy is slowly taking her magic away. She and Anvar are negotiating the dangerous southern continent with several companions searching for the other Artefacts of power to thwart Miathan’s plans. On their search, they meet new races such as the Skyfolk. These are people with wings that add another complication with their own intrigues.

Sword of Flames continues Aurian’s and Anvar’s stories as they search for the Sword of Flame. They must contend with Miathan’s continued machinations and hatred. Aurian’s son is still trapped with a curse. Their companions and allies battle over two continents in an effort to defeat the evil mages. Then, enters the wild card of the Phaeries, which ends the book in a real cliff hanger for the conclusion.

Ms. Furey brings the series to a rousing conclusion with Dhiammara. Aurian defeated one of her enemies, but now must face the powerful weather mage Elliseth. She has many obstacles, including dealing with the soul of her first lover now residing in Anvar’s body. With her companions, she must travel to the southern continent again to fight Elliseth at the ancient dragon city of Dhiammara. The series is neatly wrapped up with some vivid battle scenes and a lot of action. Readers are left with memorable characters and a satisfying conclusion.

Ms. Furey begins the new series of “The Shadowleague” with the The Heart of Myrial. This is a new world where the different realms are separated by curtains of magic. The curtains are breaking down, creating massive climatic changes and allowing stronger species to cross into zones of weaker ones, resulting in chaos. The Shadowleague sends out a Veldan her firedrake Kazairl to find the heart of Myrial. It is the only place to solve the problem of the Curtain Walls. This is a fascinating beginning to a new series that will be as interesting as her previous books.

The second book, Spirit of the Stone, continues the story of the world of Myrial. Deadly winged monsters have attacked the city Tiarond, leaving death everywhere. While survivors flee the devastation, a group of warriors try to reach the kingdom of the Shadowleague with important information. They have the knowledge of a Dragon Seer with them that could save the world. Ms. Furey keeps the middle book exciting with plenty of action and setting readers up for the last book.

Echo of Eternity wraps up the series of the “Shadowleague.” The struggle to save the world of Myrial is still continuing. With the Curtain Walls gone, the scattered members of the Shadowleague try to gather together. A man with the knowledge of the Dragon Seer is missing. Two warriors and their firedrake companion seek him in order to save the world before it is too late. The author brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion with her usual vivid descriptions and interesting characters.

Maggie Furey is a talented Fantasy author of imaginative worlds. She creates strong women characters to sympathize with and interesting creatures to populate her worlds. Her style of writing is concise but filled with dazzling images, plenty of magic and tight action plots. Readers will find her books entertaining. The books are hard to put down. Check out her books for a great reading experience. Ms. Furey has a new book, Heritage, coming out soon that returns to the world of Aurian.

Review: _On the Prowl_

Paranormal Romance or what I call Romantic Fantasy is growing popular among fans. Authors mix fantasy elements with romance to create new types of stories. Readers looking for some shorter Fantasy with romantic elements will find it in On the Prowl. This book consists of four stories from various authors that blend Urban Fantasy and Romance.

First is “Alpha and Omega” by Patricia Briggs, expanding her Urban Fantasy stories set in the same world as her Mercy Thompson books. Anna Latham is an abused, submissive werewolf. Something terrible is going on in her Chicago pack. Things change for her when she meets Charles, a werewolf sent by his father to investigate what is happening with her pack. Charles is a dominant aloof man until he meets Anna. She has a special magic that is rare in werewolves. Ms. Briggs provides an entertaining story to her Urban Fantasy with two new interesting characters.

Kia is a Gifted woman living in a small Texas town. She faces prejudice and danger in “Inhuman” by Eileen Wilks. Magic has entered the modern world. The Gifted are people with magical talents of various kinds. They face hatred from humans who have no magic. Kia is a telepath who sees people’s thoughts in color. Nathan is her friend. He is a police officer and has a secret that Kia keeps. When a murderer begins killing Gifted people, Kian and Nathan must work together to stop the killer. The author writes an enjoyable story with likable characters and an interesting plot.

In “Buying Trouble” by Karen Chance, Claire becomes an unwilling part of an auction. Different people want to buy her because of her magic power to nullify magic. She finds herself on the run with a Fey lord in an action action chase through Faery. Claire discovers her heritage and destiny in the land of Faery. Ms. Chance gives readers an entertaining story full of action.

The final story is “Mona Lisa Betwinning” by Sunny. This story is part of an ongoing series about the Monere, a group of shapechangers who get power from moon. Lisa is the current queen of the Monere, who must deal with picking a mate to ensure her people’s future. Dontaine is one of her body guards that loves her, but she chooses to ignore. An added complication to Lisa’s problems is the involvement of demons in Monere business. The author provides readers with an intriguing story that is sexually explicit.

On the Prowl is a good book to sample the subgenre of Romance Fantasy. The four stories in this book by different authors offer a variety of entertaining stories to experience a growing subgenre. Al the stories are by popular authors with good imaginations. Readers might want to seek out the other books that continue the further adventures of the characters in the stories from this book.