Showing category "FantasyFiction" (Show all posts)

Happy Days

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, In : FantasyFiction 
You know what it's like when you decide to have a tidy up and throw out the things that you no longer need. You end up going through everything, reminiscing or rediscovering old loves. I finally got around to sorting through my handwritten drafts and notes for the Exiles of Ondd series, and found early incarnations of the novels, several deleted scenes, characters and discarded plot lines that I really did not want to put in the recycling bin. I even found an Iyessi lullaby that I'd forgotten...
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Double Trouble

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, In : FantasyFiction 
Just when you think everything's under control, something comes along and slaps you in the face.
I came up with the title of Discord's Shadow before I even started on the first draft. At the time, I did an internet search, and was happy that it didn't clash with anything–book, song, game, anything else. At intervals, I repeated the search. When I put the novel on Smashwords and Amazon for pre-order I checked again. Now, only a week since Discord's Shadow was released, I put the title in on ...
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Aliens and Humans

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, November 28, 2016, In : FantasyFiction 
Why do people write and read fiction or poetry? I believe it's to make sense of the world, to learn about themselves and/or the human condition. Even if a science fiction or fantasy tale has no humans in it, it won't work if there's no humanity in it.
    When you write about the vastness of space, describe dust clouds around planets, or the power of black holes you have to do so in such a way that the reader can relate to them, have feelings e.g. fear of their power, awe at their beauty, or ...
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Farewell, Terry Pratchett

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, April 27, 2015, In : FantasyFiction 
When Terry Pratchett died on 12th March the world lost one of its funniest, most clever writers, and I lost one of my favourite authors. I know people who can't stand his work, but as the author of the most shoplifted books in Britain, his popularity can't be denied. Many people wrote tributes to him following his death, and originally I saw no need to add to them. However, having listened to BBC Radio 4's production of Mort this week, maybe I do have something worth saying, after all.
    I f...
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Pope Buys Book!

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, March 30, 2015, In : FantasyFiction 
I had a really strange dream a couple of nights ago. I don't know how it began, like most dreams the action seemed to have started some time  before I became aware of it. I was evidently involved in a promotional event for Discord's Apprentice resembling a village fête or town show. However, I was not giving a talk or being interviewed. I scrambled into a barrel mounted on a stand like a cannon or a cement mixer next to a stall, which could have been a tombola. (I put it down to watching a t...
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Awkward Characters

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 27, 2014, In : FantasyFiction 
Discord's Apprentice was steaming along nicely this week, but then it got hijacked by one of the characters. I don't know where she came from and I'm not at all sure she should be allowed to stay. What's more, I'm not even sure whose side she's on. Now, she's painted herself into a corner, and I can't see yet how to get her out.
    No doubt, I shall have to backtrack. It could be that if I try thinking myself into another character, I'll find a more logical way for the story to progress. It c...
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Still Smiling

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, December 1, 2013, In : FantasyFiction 
I seem to have spent most of the past week uploading versions of Discord's Child with its super-duper new cover, and letting everyone I can think of know about it. The reaction has been brilliant and I'm truly grateful to everyone who has taken the trouble to let me know their thoughts. I'm still tempted to keep looking at it, but it's really time I got on with some writing otherwise Ro will have grey hair before I finish her story. Sorry, guys, no more time to chat, I have a band of Iyessi a...
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Life on Mars?

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, June 23, 2013, In : FantasyFiction 
One of the things I like about writing fantasy is that when you create your own world, no one can tell you that you haven't done your research. That doesn't mean that you can throw logic out of the window, however (unless in your fantasy world, Logic is the name of the cat).
If you decide to have three moons orbiting your planet, think about what effect they might have on it and anything living on it, and be careful if your characters take to sea when they align. Introducing three moons simpl...
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And It Isn't Even My Birthday

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, April 1, 2013, In : FantasyFiction 
I'm celebrating. Not my birthday, not even Dr. Who's birthday, but two of my stories going public. 'The Enchantress's Pets' appears in the April 2013 issue of Writing Tomorrow. There's a short article giving the background to how and why it was written too. You can also listen to 'Salvage' on the Beam Me Up Podcast, episode 359. I love the characters' voices and the way listening to the story has made it totally fresh. Thanks go to Paul Cole, the man behind Beam Me Up, for his hard work.
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The Feelgood Factor

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, January 3, 2013, In : FantasyFiction 
It's no good having a fragile ego if you're a writer.  It isn't like being a mathematician or a scientist, there are no absolute right or wrong answers or ways to do things.  All the rules can be broken as long as you know that you're breaking them and have a reason for doing it.  The problem is that writing is subjective.
Some readers will happily ignore the occasional grammatical error or typo if there's a cracking plot, or will forgive a slow pace or digression if the language is beautiful...
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Shameless Plug

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, December 9, 2012, In : FantasyFiction 
Plasma Frequency 3 is now available in print and free online versions, containing my fantasy story, Job Satisfaction.  The magazine is a great mix of fiction from action or poetic to tongue-in-cheek. One of my favourites is The Glass Hill by Joanna Michal Hoyt, which is a beautiful tale about the reaction of a young musician to the mockery of his less talented schoolmates. Check it out here. I've also seen the cover of Otherwhere and Elsewhen from Bridge House, which will include my science f...
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All the Latest

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, November 11, 2012, In : FantasyFiction 
The news is, I now have an author page on Goodreads with details of Discord's Child. Of course, I shall still be reporting any news on my website, but the Goodreads page will allow me to do a few extra things without overloading visitors there who are more interested in other areas of writing. There will be updates on the progress of the next novel in the series, as well as about my quest for a new cover for Discord's Child. (I've just sent the novel to an artist. I'm looking forward to heari...
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Starting Today

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, May 28, 2012, In : FantasyFiction 
Visitors to my website can now be sure of finding something new on a regular basis, apart from this blog. I'm adding the lyrics from Iyessi songs. 
For anyone who hasn't read Discord's Child, the Iyessi are people living in a remote region of Najarind where sensitivity to the elements and music are of paramount importance. Ro is a young woman who cannot feel the elements as others do and the disharmony this causes leads to her and her family being exiled.
As music is an integral part of Iyess...
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On the Loose

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, December 13, 2011, In : FantasyFiction 
The big news is that my fantasy novel, Discord's Child, is now available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KRYYOK. The process was far easier than I had imagined.  In the event, I wasted a lot of time worrying about converting the manuscript to a Kindle-ready version before deciding to simply upload the .doc file and let Kindle convert it for me (which is free). The preview facility allowed me to check everything was okay before finally clicking 'Save and Publish'.  Anyone who is worried that p...
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Magic

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, May 14, 2011, In : FantasyFiction 
It's strange how seeing your story in print can change the way you feel about it.  Maybe it's the influence of the other stories around it, maybe it's something to do with how it's illustrated.  You begin to see how other people might interpret it, and that might not be the way you intended.  According to reader-response theory, no text is complete until it's been read, and then only for that reading, so seeing work in a different context is bound to change it.
Bearing this in mind, I read th...
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Double Whammy

Posted by Karla Sally Dearsley on Sunday, February 27, 2011, In : FantasyFiction 
Yippee!  Drollerie Press want to publish my fantasy novel, Discord's Child, under their Kettlestitch imprint.  They contacted me a few weeks ago, but I didn't feel I could let the world know until the contract had been signed.

Discord's Child follows what happens when a young woman's inability to feel the energy within all things, as everyone else in her community can, leads to her family being exiled.  They seek help in the capital city only to find themselves caught up in a life and death st...
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Naming Names

Posted by Karla Sally Dearsley on Sunday, February 13, 2011, In : FantasyFiction 
Shakespeare might have written 'a rose by any other name would smell as sweet', but if he'd called Romeo and Juliet 'Fred and Elsie' would the effect have been the same?  What you call your characters is tremendously important, and can be particularly full of pitfalls for writers of speculative fiction.

Fans of the SF and fantasy genres are used to unusual names and can easily cope with the likes of Obi Wan Kenobi or Galadriel, but if you're sending your story to a competition where the judges...
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About Me


My writing career began as a freelance feature writer for the local press, businesses and organisations. Now a prize-winning playwright and short story writer, my work has appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic. I write as K. S. Dearsley because it saves having to keep repeating my forename, and specialise in fantasy and other speculative genres.

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