(Author picture courtesy of Brenda Cooper)

Bradley P. Beaulieu is an author who has taken a slightly skewed route in regards to his epic fantasy debut The Winds Of Khalakovo. His debut trilogy takes after a strong Russian influence and that helped distinguish his debut book amid the vast field of epic fantasy. He’s recently came up with a Kickstarter campaign for his first short story collection called “Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories”. The cover as seen below is titled Dark Valkyrie and is by Sang Han.

It has the following lineup of stories in it:
 - “In the Eyes of the Empress’s Cat”. First printed in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.
 - “Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten”. First printed in Realms of Fantasy Magazine.
 - “Sweet as Honey”. First printed in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.
 - “Shadows in the Mirrors”. First printed in Dimensions Next Door by DAW Books.
 - “Parting the Clouds”. First printed in Time-Traveled Tales.
 - “Flotsam”. First printed in Writers of the Future XX.
 - “A Trade of Shades”. First printed in Alien Skin Magazine.
 - “Good Morning Heartache”. First printed in Spells in the City by DAW Books.
 - “Cirque Du Lumière”. First printed in Fellowship Fantastic by DAW Books.
 - “How Peacefully the Desert Sleeps”. First printed in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.
 - “Foretold”. First printed in Steampunk’d by DAW Books.
 - “From the Spices of Sanandira”. First printed in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
 - “An Instrument of War” (Previously unpublished).
 - “Prey to the Gods” (Previously unpublished).


The original goal of the campaign was to reach $1,000 that it reached on the first day itself (which by the way is a fantastic achievement in itself). There are some stretch goals that have been set up by the author:
 1) $1,500 — Unlocked! — I'll write a brand new story set in The Winds of Khalakovo universe.
 2) $2,000 — Unlocked! — Everyone will receive an e-copy of The Winds of Khalakovo as part of their ePack.
 3) $2,500 — Unlocked! — I'll write a second story set in The Winds of Khalakovo universe.
 4) $3,000 — Everyone will receive an e-copy of The Straits of Galahesh as part of their ePack.
 5) $3,500 — I'll write a third story set in a brand new middle-grade world I'm working on, a world that's loosely based off of Norse mythology.
6) And in the event we get even higher, I'll add additional stretch goals, which will probably be art renderings for some of the stories in the anthology.

The campaign is on track to reach the fourth stretch goal (atleast) and so all backers will receive a free e-copy of Bradley’s second book The Straits of Galahesh that was released earlier this year. I’m hoping that this campaign breaks as many stretch goals as possible and so I would invite all the readers of this blog to join me and the other backers to contribute and be a part of this wonderful kickstarter campaign.

Teresa Frohock, author of the wonderfully dark Miserere has come up with a very cool giveaway. She’s giving away THREE SIGNED COPIES OF MISERERE and today (10th December) is the last day to enter this awesome giveaway. Also did I mention that it is open WORLDWIDE!

So hop over to her blog and leave a comment to enter this giveaway and be sure to let her how you found out about this contest as it's a requirement (not that we want you all to blab about us). That’s it and best of luck to all the entrants!!!

Kevin Hearne recently announced this piece of wonderful news, Del Rey Books have signed him on for six more books. Three of which will be the last three books in the Iron Druid Chronicles as was his plan all along and detailed over in his interview with us last year. In addition to the earlier good news, there’s also the added tidbit of the Iron Druid Chronicles being published in hardcover for these titles and the title of the seventh book is revealed to be Shattered. Kevin previously had also revealed that in this book Atticus will be moving away from his familiar haunts on to newer geographical locations due to events that take place in Trapped and Hunted.

Also in regards to the remaining three books (of the six-book deal), Kevin has mentioned that they will be a bit epic and so I’m thinking they could be something to do with epic fantasy. For Kevin Hearne fans, this is simply fantastic and I can imagine everyone is as stoked as me for these future books.

Lastly there’s this small interview with Jen Kirchner, author of the comic urban fantasy The Fourth Channel done by Candice Bundy. I’m very very curious about this debut and will be reviewing it here in the near future. Until then for those wanting to get their hands on it, author Candice Bundy is running a wonderful contest to give away two free e-copies of The Fourth Channel.

So click over here (scroll all the way down) for a chance to win a copy of this comic debut about the world’s worst necromancer who won’t kill anyone and her talking, sacrificial knives who won't stop talking her ear off.

Official Author Website
Order Cold Days HERE
Read the first two chapters HERE & HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Changes
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Ghost Story
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Welcome To The Jungle

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Jim Butcher is the bestselling author of The Dresden Files, which has been adapted into a SyFy television show and a series of comic book adaptations produced by Dynamite Entertainment. He is also the author of The Codex Alera epic fantasy saga. In addition to writing, Jim Butcher is a martial arts enthusiast and live-action gamer. He currently lives in Independence, Missouri with his family.

OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill.

Guess which Mab wants first?

Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own… His soul.

CLASSIFICATION: The Dresden Files is an urban fantasy series that boasts of a fun mix of fast-paced supernatural action, humor and a dash of mystery/thrills.

FORMAT/INFO: Cold Days is 528 pages long divided over fifty-three chapters, an Author’s Note and an Acknowledgments page. As usual, narration is in the first-person, exclusively via the private investigator/wizard Harry Dresden. Cold Days is the fourteenth volume in The Dresden Files and it is highly recommended that new readers start at the beginning of the series since this book has a lot of revelations and builds up on the characters and plot arcs introduced in the preceding books.

November 27, 2012 marked the North American Hardcover publication of Cold Days via Roc Books. The UK edition (see below) was published on November 27, 2012 via Orbit Books. The cover art is done by Chris McGrath.

ANALYSIS: Since Jim Butcher debuted; his books have gained a cult following of sorts. As with all cults, his following began small but over the last dozen years the number of followers increased exponentially. All of this was due to Jim’s terrific storytelling abilities and the fact that he delivered twelve awesome titles one after the other. The thirteenth title however stopped the juggernaut and was widely considered by many to be the title they didn’t enjoy the most so far. So with Cold Days many fans had huge hopes and anticipation for twofold reasons:

a) To see whether the series would regain its earlier glory?
b) What would Mab do now she had Harry under her thumb?

The answer to both queries is that Jim’s back to his earlier strengths and expect the unexpected when it comes to Mab. The story begins after the events of Ghost Story and we are re-introduced to Harry and his new life as the Winter Knight. Just a world of caution, in talking about the plot points of this book, there might be spoilers for the previous books so be warned those who aren't up to speed on these books. First up is the physical rehabilitation courtesy of Mab’s imagination that Harry survives just barely and soon he has to learn the duties and responsibilities of his new role. The author makes sure that as a reader we are thoroughly fascinated by this process and with Harry’s constant stream of thoughts, the chapters go by and then Harry gets his first task as the Winter Knight which is to slay an immortal, nothing more or less. Harry Dresden then has to return to the mortal plane of Chicago and thus begins his first task as the emissary of winter.

I can’t reveal much more than this as everything else will be spoiler material and of course will lead to further questions but I can say that readers will be in for a terrific read for the following reasons. Primarily we get a nice return to the feel of the earlier books when Harry was often struggling to solve the case/problem with his lucky/scrappy band of allies. The situation is similar but the level of power involved is way jacked up due to the presence of Sidhe. Thematically and plot-wise this book shares a lot with Summer Knight and readers will find that there’s much more to this statement when they read the book. Harry as a character has gained a lot of power however has not lost his humanity, his sense of humor or stupidity that has endeared him to many readers and characters. The story has a lot of revelations about a lot of characters, situations and world secrets. I think Jim is slowly trying to lay the background for the bigger metaphysical picture and the some of the revelations have some serious implications about the major players (human and non-human alike).

The main plot is action packed and humor laced as were those of the earlier stories, we get to know about a slightly different side to Mab, meet certain characters from the past and basically Harry learns how deep in trouble the world really might be. The climax however takes things to another level as certain plot twists occur that might perhaps share the same shocking potential as say Changes or even Small Favor. All of the fan favorite character cast is back with some minor changes as well (in regards to recent events). The humor level is back at optimum strength and lastly there are some terrific hints allayed in this book that give certain strong clues in regards to future books. The prose levels are top notch as they can be and the author showcases deft talent as he delivers the twists and yet manage to keep the reader hooked onto the next one.

Going on the drawbacks of this volume after the deluge of positives, the main point of contention between Harry and Karrin is still not resolved and to see a repeat of events that have been done before was majorly disappointing. At this point I would think the author would have resolved this situation but no we get a repeat of the same “will they or won’t they” situation. There’s also some of the same Harry-gets-his-ass-kicked-till-the-very-end variation of the plot, which has been seen, in the past books. I expected with the mantle of winter things might be a bit different but the author doesn’t seem to equate the status change with his plot format. So readers can expect some of the same and after 13 books maybe some readers might be justified to expect that its time to try something new.

CONCLUSION: Jim Butcher is back and with a bang if I may add. Not only does he serve a whole lot of revelations, he writes a twisted tale with aplomb. Readers familiar with the series will definitely be entertained and shocked by the plot twists. Beckoning readers with a mix of some old tricks and new revelations Jim Butcher easily proves that he’s still the master and when it comes to conjuring literary magic, he’s as talented if not better than any wizard known to mankind.

The novel follows Óscar Amalfitano—an exiled Chilean university professor and widower—through the maze of his revolutionary past, his relationship with his teenage daughter, Rosa, his passion for a former student, and his retreat from scandal in Barcelona.

Forced to leave Barcelona for Santa Teresa, a Mexican city close to the U.S. border where women are being killed in unprecedented numbers, Amalfitano soon begins an affair with Castillo, a young forger of Larry Rivers paintings. Meanwhile, Rosa, Amalfitano’s daughter, engages in her own epistolary romance with a basketball player from Barcelona, while still trying to cope with her mother’s early death and her father’s secrets. After finding Castillo in bed with her father, Rosa is forced to confront her own crisis. What follows is an intimate police investigation of Amalfitano that involves a series of dark twists, culminating in a finale full of euphoria and heartbreak.

Featuring characters and stories from his other books, Woes of the True Policeman invites the reader more than ever into the world of Roberto Bolaño. It is an exciting, kaleidoscopic novel, lyrical and intense, yet darkly humorous. Exploring the roots of memory and the limits of art, Woes of the True Policeman marks the culmination of one of the great careers of world literature."

Official Author Website 
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Heroes 
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Patriots
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Junkie Quatrain
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of 14 

 I discovered Peter Clines last year when I read Ex-Heroes and Ex-Patriots back to back. I was veritably stunned by his mix of comedy, thriller and exciting characterization. Since then I have read every book of his that I could get my hands on and have found that I enjoyed all of them quite a bit. I was ever curious about Peter's thoughts about his books, his writing style and the horror genre. Read ahead and get to know Peter better...

Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic. For starters, could you please introduce yourself, tell us what inspired you to write in the first place, and describe your journey to becoming a published author.

PC: Thanks for having me. It’s usually a challenge for me, but I’ll try my best to be concise and interesting...

I’m not sure there’s anything that “inspired” me to become a writer. My family will vouch for the fact that I’ve been telling stories my whole life. Sometimes I was acting them out with Star Wars figures and Micronauts. Sometimes I was drawing them in class as comic books when I was supposed to be learning... something, I’m sure. And eventually I found my Mom’s old Smith-Corona and started typing them... one letter at a time.

It’s fair to say the journey took years. I wrote half-assed comic-book scripts all through grade school, and short stories in junior high and high school. In college I made my first few attempts at novels, and then one serious attempt after moving to California. But then I got the screenplay bug and spent, oh, a decade or so working on that. I had some bare-bones success, but eventually decided to pick up one of my novels, The Suffering Map, again. And then I tried a few new short stories, a new novel called Mouth, and then I had this superhero-zombie idea.

So I’m a thirty-year overnight success.

Q] What was the spark that lead to the genesis of the Ex-Heroes series? How long have you been working on it and has it has evolved from its original idea (if any)?

PC: I think the first thing, to be honest, is that I never envisioned it as a series. Ex-Heroes was just written as a single, stand-alone book. I didn’t know if I was going to sell the one, so I definitely wasn’t silly enough to plan any multi-book epics.

There may have been two or three sparks. One was frustration over a zombie-superhero series, one of the Big Two comic publishers did. It seemed like such a great idea—a zombie outbreak in a superhero world--but it was just so horribly executed. It wasn’t even about heroes fighting zombies. It was just ghouls in costume wandering around in the aftermath and talking non-stop about how they were dead and hungry. It seems like a gigantic missed opportunity and I scribbled out a few notes of “how I would’ve done it.” More or less around the same time (spark number two) my girlfriend and I moved in together and I finally had an office. I was unpacking some stuff and found these sketchbooks from grade school and high school, back when I wanted to write and draw comics for a living. I was looking at all these characters I’d made up back then and realized the basic archetypes fit very well into my “how I would’ve done it” story. So I started writing and eventually realized I had a book on my hands. I submitted it to Jacob Kier, he bought it, and started asking me about a sequel. Or maybe even a trilogy.

It was nice to go back and get to expand some points and play with the characters a little more now that the “origin stories” were all out of the way. And since I was relatively sure I’d get a book three I got to weave a few more plot threads and set-ups into book two. When Ex-Communication comes out I’m hoping folks go back and realize how many things were set up in Ex-Patriots. Some of them are obvious “to be continued” points, but others, I hope, are going to be big surprises and twists.

Q] As a writer, your work is known to feature zombie horror, but your books also encompasses elements of thrillers, science fiction, urban fantasy, et cetera. As a reviewer it’s hard to pin down your books genre wise. Having mixed so many genres and tropes, do labels apply to your work? If necessary, how would you label your own fiction?

PC: “Adequate” is a good label. I’d be happy if most people called it adequate.

I’m not really sure, either, to be honest. There is a point where all these genres and sub-genres and niches just become arbitrary labels. A friend and I were debating once if the new Fright Night remake was a horror-comedy or just a horror film with a lot of comedy in it, and I had a discussion once with a magazinE editor about what defines a romantic comedy. For a long time if you tried to do anything fantasy or sci-fi that was based in the real world, it tended to get labeled as horror. Consider Carrie and The Dead Zone –they’re both sci-fi stories about mutants with psychic powers. But there was no way to label such things in the ‘70s so they became horror novels. When The Sandman first came out it was considered a horror comic. Jurassic Park has some serious sci-fi and horror elements, but have you ever seen it shelved in those genres?

So where am I? No clue. Another author I know, Lincoln Crisler, once used a term I liked—speculative fiction. I’m not sure if he made it up, but he’s the first person I heard use it. I think that’s probably the best I could say—I write about “what if...”

Q] Recently you revealed that you have been signed on by Crown Publishing to publish the three Ex-Heroes books and a fourth book set in the same world, can you elaborate on how all of this came about?

PC: I’d love to say it was some clever manuevering and dealing on my part, but really it was just serendipity. Which is a fancy way of saying dumb luck on my part.

An agent who also happened to be a fan of the Ex- books got in touch with me and asked about showing the books around. He mentioned them to an editor he knew at Crown who’d read and liked Ex-Heroes a year or so earlier It also happened that Crown was looking for a “flagship” series for a new line they’re starting. So, there was a lot of back and forth between Crown, Permuted, and me about how we could do this so everyone came out ahead, and in the end we found some middle ground that made us all happy.

Essentially all the paperback books are going to vanish for a bit and then next year they’ll get re-released by Crown one after another with new covers. Ex-Heroes, Ex-Patriots, Ex-Communication, Ex... well, you get the idea. I think the plan is to put out a book every two months or so.

Q] As a follow-up to the previous question, what can you tell us about the fourth book, will it be a prequel, sequel, sidequel? Any thoughts you can reveal about the title?

PC: It’s going to be a sequel, but it’s going to be a bit different. The first three books have a pretty similar structure as far as flashbacks and viewpoints, and this breaks from that a bit. Not drastically, but I think (hope) it’s going to be interesting. I’m about halfway through it as I write this.

I don’t want to talk about it too much because some of it does depend on things that happen in Ex-Communication and a few things that happened in Ex-Patriots, too. I have a title, but I’m not a hundred percent comfortable with it yet so I’m keeping it quiet. I can say it’ll be like the others in the series, that there’s two ways to read it.

Q] I know you are a comic book fan as well so in regards to your team of super-heroes, How do they stack up against DC’s JLA or Marvel’s Avengers? Also in between those two who are they more alike?

PC: In all honesty, my heroes would probably get annihilated by most of the JLA or Avengers. A lot of superheroes these day seemed to be dialed up to eleven or so. They’re just insanely powerful. I wanted to keep these characters a bit more in believable levels. I mean, believable considering we’re talking about a bulletproof man who can fly and breathe fire.

As far as similarities... well, I tried to model a lot of their personalities off the Marvel heroes back in the ‘80s. Y’know, back when you could have a dark issue once a year or so, but for the most part they were positive stories about heroes trying to make a difference and even having a degree of fun. Most heroes were people you’d like to know, even if they weren’t superheroes. I think nowadays that’s been replaced by a lot of dark melodrama and “mature” storytelling. Which definitley appeals to some folks but... well, I don’t think it’s a coincidence the comic industry’s been struggling for the past ten years or so.

Q] Can you tell us about any other writing projects that you’re currently working on or plan on starting in the near future?

PC: Well, a couple things have gone back on hold because of the Crown deal, the most notable one being a sci-fi zombie thing I’ve been trying to do for a few years now. At the moment I’m playing with the idea for a new series, and I’m hoping to find some interest for it once I’m done with the fourth Ex-book. It’s still early days, but I’d call it the very dark, disturbed love child of The Dresden Files and Joss Whedon’s Angel.

Q] Are there any preconceived notions that you’d like to dispel about Zombie/horror literature?

PC: Honestly, my biggest complaint is more how some people view the writers of these stories than the stories themselves. It’s just sort of assumed if I write zombie books or horror books, well, I must be screwed up somehow. I probably had some horrible childhood incident and now I hang garlic in the windows, wear upside down crosses, and keep a loaded shotgun in every room of the house for the day when the zombies rise—and they will rise! Believe it! Yet nobody thinks Dan Brown was raised by a secret society, young Isaac Asimov had some scarring incident with a robot, or Michael Crichton had a terrifying vacation in Costa Rica where several family members were eaten by dinosaurs. It’s an assumption that’s only makes about horror writers, that we write this stuff because of something that happened to us. Heck, I’ve even run into a few would-be writers who feel that way, that you can’t be a good horror writer unless you had a messed up childhood.

The truth is, most of the horror writers I’ve met (and me, too, I’d like to believe) are really decent, kind people from very normal backgrounds. Honestly, they’re some of the best people I know. Craig DiLouie, Mira Grant, Jonathan Maberry, Eloise Knapp, Iain McKinnon, Timothy Long, Jonathan Moon—these are all wonderful people. They’re funny, they’re clever, they’re kind.

What amazes me is that no one assumes the people who write about real horrors are messed up. Serial killers, greedy CEOs, corrupt lawyers, self-serving politicians—if you write about that horrible stuff as entertainment you’re well-balanced and worthy of a Pulitzer. But make stuff up that’s complete fantasy and you must be sick in the head.

Q] I’ve noticed you have an IMDB page and it says the following:
“Has included a plush toy beaver in at least one scene of every movie and television show he's worked on since 1998.”

“Until the secret identity of the murderer is revealed in Psycho Beach Party, the part is played by prop master Peter Clines.”

“Nickname – Peter Props”

 Tell us more about the aforementioned facts. What about your experiences in Hollywood and could you share any bizarre/funny experiences?

PC: I worked in the film industry for about fifteen years as a prop master before I decided to get out. During that time I tried writing a few scripts and got a lot of interest and meetings (my first meeting was with Ron Moore at Deep Space Nine), but none of them really went anywhere (I’ve actually had more luck in the years since then). It was fun and I met a ton of really wonderful people, but I’ve been a much happier person since I started writing full time.

The Psycho Beach Party thing was more about convenience. Most of the time movie making’s not as clean and perfect as a lot of film professors would have you believe. A lot of stuff gets changed last minute and tweaked for whatever’s fast/ cheap/ good. On Psycho Beach Party they didn’t want to bring the actual actor in every day the “mystery murderer” was filming, because that’s expensive. The special effect makeup guy, John, pointed out that I knew how most of the various “death” gags worked, and I was there all the time, so it made a lot more sense to just put me in the costume and have me “kill” everyone. So if you watch that film, every time you see the chest-down shot of the murderer in the black jacket and gloves, that’s actually me.

There’s not much to tell as far as the nickname. In the film industry people tend to identify you by your department more than your last name. I have friends who are known on set as Laura Wardrobe and Matt Camera. I’ve worked with Greg Props and Ilya Props and Dave Props. Mine just stuck fast because it was alliterative.

As for bizarre or funny stories... wow, there are just too many. I’ve got an odd story about an ostrich, and two related stories about chimpanzees, but they’d all take way too long to tell (people reading this—hit me up at conventions and I’ll tell you). I can say that Tony Todd really is just as big as he looks on screen (and a very nice guy). Jon Polito (who’s been in everything from Highlander to Flags of our Fathers) is one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. Reiko Aylesworth is about ten times more beautiful in person than she is on screen. Seriously, she’s breathtaking (and a pool shark).

Q] Amidst your bibliography is a book called The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe. You had faced a rather funny issue with its publication. Can you tell us about how what exactly happened with it and what was your inspiration for writing it?

PC: I’d finished Ex-Heroes and was playing around with that sci-fi zombie thing I mentioned before. It was early 2009 and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies had started that whole cross-genre mashup craze. Jacob Kier at Permuted Press asked a couple of us if we’d ever considered writing a mashup, and I think a few folks responded with different ideas. I’d just re-read Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe a year or so earlier, so I had a few ideas.

I decided I didn't want to do something silly or bizarre, though, I wanted to do a serious book... at least, as serious as possible when you're introducing werewolves and the Cthulhu mythos into one of the classics of English literature. And I'd like to think that, on an artistic level, I succeeded. I wrote a perfect, early 18th century horror novel in the language and prose of that time.

The downside, from a business point of view, was that I wrote a perfect, early 18th century horror novel in the language and prose of that time. And those really aren't selling these days... as I found out. It hasn’t been the greatest flop Permuted ever put out, but I’m pretty sure it’s on the short list.

Q] In the SFF genre, some authors like to put an emphasis on characters or worldbuilding; others on storytelling. Where do you fit in this picture and what do you feel are your strengths as a writer? What about weaknesses or areas that you'd like to get stronger in?

PC: I think worldbuilding is cool, and a lot of fun, but at the end of the day you really need some kind of story in that world which ties to characters. The world of Star Trek is amazing and very well-detailed, but Paramount doesn’t spend any time or money putting out “Federation Orientation” films. Even with books, you see technical manuals for Trek, Star Wars, or Doctor Who, but they only sell to a small sub-set of die-hard fans. The things that sell are the stories about characters we’ve all grown to love.

I think a writer needs to have relatable, likable characters. These characters need to take part in a plot that, to some degree, changes their lives and gives them a bit of an arc. Nothing gigantic, but if a story ends with all the character right back where they started, in my mind that means nothing important happened.

I’d be worried by any writer who thinks they don’t need any improvement. I go back over older material and see little tweaks and changes I would’ve made. I read other writer’s material and see clever ways they describe something or little sleight-of-hand tricks they pull with their plot or their writing. So I’m always on the lookout for things that will help make me a better writer.

Q] On your blog there are several posts about writing & publishing in general. Could you give aspiring writers the top three points of your choosing which you believe are of utmost importance to any newbie [or for that matter any writer]?

PC: Limiting it to a top three is tough. A lot of aspiring writers, I think, are looking for magic bullets. They want to know the one thing they need to work on right now so they can sell their material, and the truth is—like I was just saying—you need to work on everything. Basics like spelling and grammar are a must, but I also need to be good with characters and dialogue. I have to understand story and plot, narrative and structure. And I need to have an empathic sense of how the reader’s going to recieve the words I’m putting down. These aren’t things you learn in an afternoon—they take years of work and experience. i still look up words in the dictionary all the time because I want to be sure I’m using something the right way and that it means what I think it means.

Here’s my one big tip. Writing is like prospecting for diamonds. A lot of people see gems in a jewelry store (metaphorically speaking) and when they go prospecting they toss aside every diamond they find because in nature it’s a rough, crusty thing. And then there are the folks who grab every one of those black, misshapen little lumps, glue them to rings, and demand six grand for each one. Neither of these approaches work. A diamond inherently needs work before it’s ready to sell. You never find the end product. It’s going to need a practiced eye to tell which ones are worth the time and effort, and then they need lots of cutting and polishing.

Q] Finally, Thank you for taking the time for this interview.

PC:  Thank you for thinking I’d be somewhat entertaining for your readers.

When I started reading blogs a few years ago, there were few blogs that stood out because of their review style, blog content and overall pizzazz  One of my favorite ones was run by this British dude called Graeme Flory. He often blogged about fantasy titles, comics and other things that caught his interest. I found that my tastes ran similar to him and so I would always keep a lookout for his reviews and recommendations. Sadly I never had the pleasure of meeting or interacting with him, so when he blogged about this a couple of days ago I was truly saddened to hear of it. Here’s what Graeme had to say: