So last Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of interviewing Australian children's and YA fantasy author Garth Nix for an event at Manchester's Waterstones bookstore. Which, I'll be honest, was a lot of fun. Nix is one of the most celebrated and prolific authors of the last 30 years — he's written over 40 books,… Continue reading A writer’s guide to creative courage
Tag: author
Horror, hope and humanity
I was invited, this past month, to reflect upon my writing influences, and in so doing share insights on how horror, as a genre, has shaped elements of my storytelling. And I won't lie, I had a fair bit of fun contemplating this. Horror is a style of storytelling I've always had a love-hate relationship… Continue reading Horror, hope and humanity
What an evening with Yaa Gyasi taught me about inspiration
I first came across the incredible stillness and power of Yaa Gyasi's writing some years ago when reading a short story penned by the Ghanaian-born author in Guernica Magazine. Inscape, narrated from a daughter's perspective, told the tale of a woman and her Ghanaian mother, weaving between themes of religion, culture and mental illness with… Continue reading What an evening with Yaa Gyasi taught me about inspiration
Feature: In conversation with Sanjida O’Connell
Thoroughly enjoyed being interviewed by the ever eloquent Dr Sanjida O'Connell and featured at Writersmosaic this past month. Sanjida, along with her PhDs in zoology and psychology, is an award-winning novelist and a gorgeous non-fiction writer. Which is partly why I was so excited about the opportunity to talk shop and dive into the nuts and… Continue reading Feature: In conversation with Sanjida O’Connell
Reasons to write
Although my love for writing came late, I think I’d always had a special regard for the power of the written word: the way life – with all its colours and vicissitudes – can be funnelled into the cool, clinical science of grammar and syntax, sentences and spellings; a domain of rules and laws. I… Continue reading Reasons to write
Life, Learning & The Secrets of the Universe
Probably the most fun I’ve had being interviewed to date. I had the very rich and real pleasure of chatting with Rachael Kearney of the Call on Courage podcast (highly recommend). In short, we take in everything from Thundercats to the education system to philosophical ruminations on the creative process, on the way to talking through my… Continue reading Life, Learning & The Secrets of the Universe
The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy
So the plan today was to fly out to Dublin, around about 3.15 this afternoon for Worldcon - a plan that has been scuppered by illness, rendering me duvet-bound within the cosy confines of my home, gazing at the grey drizzly skies outside. On the one hand, I'm gutted to be missing out on what… Continue reading The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy
The Power of Empathy
I had the rich privilege of chatting with the very smart folks over at the Fantasy Hive about the journey behind the writing of my sophomore novel, Pale Kings. Really fun conversation. You can check out the full interview by clicking right… here.
Noirish, Grimdarkesque Fantasy Thriller type stuff
What a pleasure it was to chat (digitally) with writer and editor Paul Semel about writing, genre, worldbuilding, and my new novel, Pale Kings. It was a really fun conversation. You can check it out by clicking right… here.
Betrayal, Blood & Gods
So a cool thing that happened recently was I got to speak with the very lovely folks over at The Nerd Daily about writing and my upcoming release, Pale Kings. It was a very fun and lighthearted chat, and one in which I shared a few things about my writing process and what readers can expect to… Continue reading Betrayal, Blood & Gods