‘Hands Like Secrets’ tour: Mariah Norris Interview

‘Hands Like Secrets’ tour: Mariah Norris Interview

Welcome back to another stop for Escapist Tours! This time we’re celebrating Hands Like Secrets from Mariah Norris that was released earlier this month by Shadow Spark Publishing. I’ve had the pleasure interviewing Mariah for my stop on the tour where we talk about worldbuilding with diverse characters, designing festivals and the need for more cats in Fantasy! Hands Like Secrets is the first instalment of The Seven Strands, a new adult epic fantasy series that follows a young autistic woman…

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Review: Gunmetal Gods

Review: Gunmetal Gods

Gunmetal Gods by Zamil AkhtarMy rating: 4 of 5 stars   NB: This review is also available on Black Dragon Books. Please consider using them for your SFF and Horror book purchases.    What use is winning if we lose everything in the process, even ourselves?  This is the question that runs central to Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar. We see a war brought to the doors of Sirm; one that has been hundreds of years in the making led…

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Guest Post: L.L. MacRae on ‘Dragons: Friends or Enemies?’

Guest Post: L.L. MacRae on ‘Dragons: Friends or Enemies?’

As part of the Escapist Book Tour for The Iron Crown, I asked author, L.L. MacRae, for her thoughts on dragons.  Dragons. Love them or loathe them, they’re a staple of the fantasy genre (and to be honest, one of my most favourite things in the world!). Whether it’s a tiny, palm-sized dragon fiercely guarding a single gold coin (its entire hoard!), or a titanic behemoth whose wings blot out the sun, dragons inspire awe and wonder in equal measure….

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Writing: Grasmere

Writing: Grasmere

For National Storytelling Week, the library at my university held a flash fiction competition for entries that were 100 words or under and inspired by the painting ‘Grasmere’ by George Fennel Robson. Below is my entry. I left a piece of myself in Grasmere, atop Helm Crag to watch the Lion play on cloudless nights. To remember flying higher than kites and flowing through the world like a stream beneath the peaks. To see the jigsaws in the land and…

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Review: Brave New World

Review: Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous HuxleyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars   Brave New World was first published in 1932 by a man who was nominated for a Nobel Prize on nine separate occasions, so you can imagine that much of what can be said about Brave New World has already been said. It is used as set texts in school curricula and has had innumerable books, articles and research papers written about it. In context, this review is but…

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Review: Dreams of the Dying

Review: Dreams of the Dying

Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas LietzauMy rating: 4 of 5 stars   Some of you may have spotted on Goodreads that I read Dreams of the Dying and never reviewed it. Don’t worry, I have reviewed it and a full and comprehensive review can be found at Grimdark Magazine, here: https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-dreams-of-the-dying-by-nicolas-lietzau/ I’m very pleased and excited to say I’m joining the Grimdark reviewer team with this, my debut review! 

Writing: NYCMMF250 2021 – Round 2

Writing: NYCMMF250 2021 – Round 2

Following on from my post with Round 1’s story, here is Round 2’s entry and feedback! Sadly, I didn’t advance into Round 3 but nevertheless I’m quite impressed I got as far as I did for my first attempt at any of NYC Midnight’s challenges. I hope to revisit this story and maybe expand it, and correct a couple of parts. My Round 2 prompts were: Genre: Sci-fiAction: Opening a refrigeratorWord: Tail Welcome Homeby Rai Furniss-Greasley, 2021 Rin and Char…

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Writing: NYCMMF250 2021 – Round 1

Writing: NYCMMF250 2021 – Round 1

The NYC Midnight Micro-fiction 250 Challenge for 2021 is the third time it has been run and, in short, it’s a challenge to write flash fiction stories, in under 24 hours, to three specific prompts and no more than 250 words long. Each round you get a genre, action and word prompt that shapes what your piece looks like. If you’re in the top 10 of your group at the end of Round 1, you get to go through to…

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Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society

Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziMy rating: 5 of 5 stars A spectacular modern-day sci-fi romp through an alternate Earth with mountainous creatures and a bunch of nerds trying to study them. Jamie, our narrator, stumbles into a job as a lifter of things for KPS but, for some reason, doesn’t ask what KPS stands for. Upon arriving at his new workplace it becomes apparent: the K means Kaiju. Jamie and three other newbies to the company become quick…

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Review: The Coward

Review: The Coward

The Coward by Stephen AryanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars The Coward takes a look behind the heroes in their tales and sagas to reveal who the real people behind the songs and daring deeds are. Written primarily from the point of view of main character, Kell Kressia, The Coward sees a damaged man thrust back into the world of heroism he had been hiding from for the last ten years. Once, he desperately wanted to be a hero and…

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