Tag Archives: epic fantasy

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The Next Big Thing

Hello gentle reader,

I was recently tagged by the lovely Amanda Fanger for The Next Big Thing blog hop and I’m happy to take part since all I have to do is answer questions about my Work In Progress.

What is the working title of your book?

THE LAST QUEEN (Book I in THE DARKLANDS trilogy)

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I started thinking about this story ten years ago. I wanted to write a story where the main character would be a teenage girl (like I was at the time). I also liked the idea of a fantasy land where humans were the lesser people. Finally I wanted to write a love story that would be as realistic as possible, although set in an imaginary land.

What genre does your book fall under?

YA high fantasy.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

In the dangerous Darklands, a power struggle between Elves, Wolfmen and Humans is igniting, shattering the lives of a young princess, a warrior and a slave boy whose destinies seem meant to intertwine.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’m going to cheat for that one 😉 I have no idea who would play my characters on screen, but I can tell you who inspired me while I was writing The Last Queen. I need to have a clear picture of my characters in my head in order to bring them to life, and I’m usually inspired by actors. With that in mind, here goes:

Elian is my main character. He is a 16-year-old slave whose life has been quite traumatic until he meets Araminta. He was directly based on English actor Eddie Redmayne, who was in countless historical movies between 2007 and 2010. Every time I saw him on screen I thought “This is Elian!” So here it is: Elian.

Araminta is 14 years old. She is an Elf, and a Queen. She is strong-willed, smart and quiet. When I described her in my WIP, I thought of English actress Lucy Griffiths.

Theron is 19 years old and he is Araminta’s husband. He is a Wolfman and the son of a lord, who loses all at the beginning of my WIP. He is a short-tempered warrior who happens to be very good-looking. Since I have had a crush on British actor Henry Cavill since, well, forever, I pictured Theron looking like him.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Call me crazy, but I’m going for the traditional route.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Seven months for the first draft. Then six months for the first round of revision. I have battled with a high word count, instances of telling instead of showing, repetitions, adverbs, passive form and everything you shouldn’t do when you write. I’m still working on this manuscript, hoping one day I will get it in shape for the query process.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

That’s a tough one. If you don’t know what High or Epic Fantasy is, think Game of Thrones and The Lord Of The Rings. But I can’t compare my WIP to those masterpieces. Since it’s YA, I guess it could be compared to The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

My favourite character in the book (beside Elian) is Araminta’s bodyguard/slave/assassin Jerod. I actually wrote a short story about him entitled The First Guardian, because I felt he deserved his own story since he is, you know, awesome.

Thanks Amanda for nominating me!

And now, for my nominations… Six special ladies who write Epic Fantasy:

Raewyn Hewitt http://raewynhewitt.wordpress.com/

Mara Valderran http://maravalderran.blogspot.co.uk/

Susan Francino & Tyler-Rose Counts http://thefeatherandtherose.blogspot.co.uk/

Rachel Horwitz http://www.rachelhorwitz.com/blog/

K.L. Schwengler http://myrandommuse.wordpress.com/

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Word count : is your Fantasy novel too long ?

Hello gentle reader,

It’s Thursday! Let’s talk about writing, shall we?

As you may know, I am currently revising my WIP The Last Queen, and I have been struggling with a high word count. I wrote the first draft of this YA Epic Fantasy novel without really thinking of its length (I just wrote the story I wanted), and now I have to cut down some words if I don’t want to make agents cringe when they read my query letter.

This week I have also helped the lovely Mara Valderran with her own query letter. She is currently querying her Epic Fantasy novel HEIRS OF WAR with a word count at 137k. And here is what she says about her word count: “My word count is really high for a new author. You know this, I know this, and I’ve done my damndest to cut it (I shaved 12k off in the past two weeks! Yay!). Is it a roadblock for me? Sure. But it’s one I am painfully aware of.”

So it seems that I’m far from being the only Epic Fantasy writer struggling with a high word count.

As writers, our first reaction is often to say: but there are lots of Fantasy novels out there with huge word counts and they still sell! And some are even first novels! (see Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian, at about 240k words)

Yes, people do buy books with high word counts. I’m one of those readers who are not afraid to read a super long book. However, these books are either AMAZING like The Historian, or they are, well, too long. G.R.R. Martin can publish A Storm of Swords at 424k words because he is an established and bestselling author, but I still think this novel was way too long and should have been edited down. The same goes for The Passage by Justin Cronin: 300k words and half the book could have been cut out without hurting the story.

So if you write Fantasy and you’re trying to get agented or published, nothing stops you from querying a 150k + words manuscript.

YA Epic Fantasy author Sarah J. Maas did just that with her 240k-word novel Throne of Glass back in 2008 (read the story here). And guess what? She got rejected. She did eventually get an agent with her manuscript at 145k words. And guess what? She got rejected by editors. Throne of Glass was finally published in August 2012, with a final word count of… a little over 100K words.

The moral of this story? Listen to the advice of professionals. Whatever the genre of your novel, research the word count expected by agents and editors. And follow their guidelines, even if it costs you. Editing your Masterpiece is part of the writing process. So is getting rid of unnessary plot points and extra words. Do it. It might save you time, and the pain of being rejected.

Freelance editor Cassandra Marshall gives these guidelines for Fantasy books word counts:

YA fantasy:  70-90k words

Adult Fantasy – 80,000-120,000 words (most averaging 100k-115k but editors would prefer to see them below 100k)

YA epic/high/traditional/historical fantasy = 90k to 120k

Finally, if you’re curious about the word count of popular Epic Fantasy novels, you can check them out here.

So what do you think? Are you struggling with a high word count? Do you think agents and editors should be more flexible debut authors and their word counts? As a reader, do you enjoy reading long books? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

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YA Epic Fantasy

What’s on my bookshelf ? 6

Are you looking for Epic Fantasy novels that are suitable for Young Adult readers? Here are a few that I enjoyed reading…

So, on my bookshelf, you can find:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit”... and the most famous YA Epic Fantasy book came to life in 1937.

The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams China

Han is a reformed thief in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Raisa is the princess heir of the Fells. In the Seven Realms, clans and wizards are about to start a war. That’s when the lives of Han and Raisa collide…

The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper

An immortal boy, six medallions created and hidden centuries ago, a Rider intent on gathering them and raising the Dark… an awesome read!

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman

“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book.” Philip Pullman, in his Carnegie Medal Acceptance Speech (1996). Such a complex, beautiful book, for all ages.

That’s it for today… I have many other YA Epic Fantasy stories sitting on my bookshelf but they’ll have to be included in another post…

Any other books you’d recommend? Feel free to comment!

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Waiting On Wednesday – 18

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I’m waiting on THE ASSASSIN’S CURSE by Cassandra Rose Clarke (expected publication: October 2nd 2012 by Strange Chemistry). This is a YA High Fantasy novel and a 2012 debut.

From Goodreads:

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her. 

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.

I already have way too many books on my TBR list, but I couldn’t resist adding this one to it. The cover is gorgeous and the blurb really intrigues me.

What do you think? Is this book on your TBR list?

And what are you waiting on this week?

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Gearing Up To Get An Agent Blogfest – Meet and Greet

Hello gentle reader,

this month I am taking part in an exciting blogfest: Gearing Up To Get An Agent (aka GUTGAA) hosted by the amazing Deana Barnhart.

What is GUTGAA? you ask.

GUTGAA is a blogfest Deana Barnhart started last year “in the hopes that those of us striving to reach “agented” status could come together, polish those pitches and have fun at the same time.”

Today is the first day of this blogfest and it’s Meet and Greet time… If you want to join the fun and sign up for the blogfest, you can do so here. Then add a Meet and Greet post on your blog and you will have from today until Friday, Sept 7th to visit others’ blogs and get to know them. Have fun and visit as many as you can!

Questions for the Meet and Greet
–Quick bio

I am a writer of YA High Fantasy novels. I live in an English castle, travel extensively, read voraciously, listen to music bands few people have heard of and watch too many movies to count. In case you are wondering, I also have a full-time job, so I mostly write at odd hours and drink a lot of tea. I am also a member of the British Fantasy Society.

–Where do you write?
At home, at my desk in my living room. From my window I can see the castle’s park and the beautiful English countryside beyond. No need for a retreat for me!
–Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?
My armchair. This is where I sit to read. And I read A LOT.
–Favorite time to write?
Evenings.
–Drink of choice while writing?
Tea!
–When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?
I need music to write. I even wrote a blog post about my favourite writing music.
–What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?
I write epic fantasy. I have had my WIP in me FOREVER. I think I got the inspiration for it about ten years ago. I wanted to write a story with a strong female teenager as the main character. I also liked the idea of a fantasy land where humans were the lesser people. Finally I wanted to write a love story that would be as realistic as possible, although set in an imaginary land.
–What’s your most valuable writing tip?

Write every day, and NEVER give up.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to comment below and I will definitely pay your blog a visit.

Also you can enter my 100 Followers Giveaway here and win YA books!

Finally, I would love to hear from you on Twitter if you wish to know me better.

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What is Gritty Epic Fantasy?

Hello gentle reader,

When people ask me what genre my WIP The Last Queen is, I usually reply “Fantasy”. But if I wanted to be precise, I would say “Gritty Epic Fantasy”. Usually I’m not that precise, because then I would have to explain what Gritty Epic Fantasy is and I would end up talking for 15 minutes…

So today I thought I would explain what Gritty Epic Fantasy is, just this once.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

According to Wikipedia,

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common.

Epic Fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds.

NB: Because they share so many similarities, Epic Fantasy and High Fantasy are often used as synonyms. In this post, I will not differentiate the two subgenres, although I do think there are some differences that distinguish them.

J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are seen as the founders of the Epic Fantasy subgenre. Both authors invented imaginary worlds where their characters go on a great adventure. Their books focus on a good-versus-evil story and they were published during the first half of the 20th Century.

These books are all about escapism and heroism. In The Hobbit, Bilbo is on a quest to find a treasure guarded by a dragon. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf comes back from the dead. In The Chronicles of Narnia, children protect the fictional realm from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. In these first Epic Fantasy books, there are talking animals, mythical beasts, sword fights, magic at every turn and people rarely die.

As many other readers out there, I love those stories. But Fantasy literature is about being a metaphor for the world we live in. And this is 2012. Since the 1950s, society has changed. Readers have changed. They’ve grown up watching people getting killed live on TV, hearing about horrific cases of child abuse and reading about human trafficking in the paper. When they read Fantasy books, they want to read about characters who face similar challenges to the ones they do.

And that’s what Gritty Epic Fantasy, also known as Realistic Fantasy, has to offer.

The trend was started by Glen Cook’s Black Company series in the mid 1980s. Then George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series followed in the mid 1990s. And in the last ten years, this subgenre has grown exponentially, with authors such as Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, K. J. Parker, Mark Lawrence, Steven Erikson and Brent Weeks.

In these books, the setting is still imaginary worlds. But instead of relying on complicated magic systems and weird creatures, these stories show us a world in shades of grey, where the characters are as flawed as we are, with the same emotions and reactions. These books touch on concepts which echo in our real world. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire tackles politics and relationships, Week’s Night Angel trilogy mentions child abuse and moral ambiguity.

In Gritty Epic Fantasy, there is no old grey-bearded wizard in robes to save the day. No quest to find a hidden treasure. No talking lions and children more powerful than kings. No brave knights who defy death. No world in black and white.

“There’s no guarantee that justice will win out or that a noble sacrifice will make any difference. But when it does, there’s something that still swells my chest. There’s magic in that…. It tells me that’s the way things are supposed to be.”

Brent Weeks, Beyond the Shadows

So maybe Gritty Epic Fantasy is not for you. But I find that this Fantasy subgenre is the one that echoes the most in me and this is what I write.

Some reading recommendations:

Black Company series   (Glen Cook)
A Song of Ice and Fire series  (George R.R. Martin)
Malazan Book of the Fallen series  (Steven Erikson)
The Deed of Paksenarrion  (Elizabeth Moon)
Prince of Nothing series    (R. Scott Bakker)
Acacia  (David Anthony Durham)
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant  (Stephen R. Donaldson)
First Law series  (Joe Abercrombie)
The Lies of Locke Lamora  (Scott Lynch)

The Night Angel trilogy (Brent Weeks)

Prince of Thorns (Mark Lawrence)

 On the web:

Gritty fantasy

http://bestfantasybooks.com/gritty-fantasy.html

Painting With Grey: The Development and Popularity of “Gritty Fantasy”

http://fantasy-faction.com/2012/painting-with-grey-the-development-and-popularity-of-gritty-fantasy

Why the Turn Towards Gritty Realism In Epic Fantasy?

http://io9.com/5850891/why-the-turn-towards-gritty-realism-in-epic-fantasy-authors-sound-off

So what do you think? Do read or write Gritty Epic Fantasy? Why or why not? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Book of the Week – 13

This week I’m reading The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks. It was published in 2008 and it is the first novel in The Night Angel trilogy. As an epic fantasy book, it was nominated for the David Gemmell’s Legend Award and it is a New York Times bestseller.

I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to read this book, it is amazing! I really recommend it if you like gritty epic fantasy and great characters.

From Goodreads:

“For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city’s most accomplished artist.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he’s grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly – and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins’ world of dangerous politics and strange magics – and cultivate a flair for death.”

You can visit Brent Weeks’ website here.

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Waiting On Wednesday – 16

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I’m waiting on Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes (Expected publication: December 11th 2012 by Razorbill). It is a YA High Fantasy novel and I can’t wait to read it. For those of you who don’t know, I write YA High Fantasy myself, and I’m very curious to see what Michelle Rowen (author of romance novels with vampires) has come up with under the pseudonym of Morgan Rhodes…

From Goodreads:

“In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined. The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?”

What do you think? Is this book on your TBR list?

And what are you waiting on this week?

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Valar Morghulis : On killing your characters

Hello gentle reader,

for this second ROW80 check-in, I thought I would tackle the issue of killing characters in novels. Let’s say you’ve created a number of interesting and believable characters in your WIP. Is killing off one or all of them going to help or harm your novel?

Over the past few months I have had to consider this question for two reasons:

–          one of the main characters in my epic fantasy novel The Last Queen dies at the end of the book and some of my beta readers have protested against such a death.

–          I have come across several serial stories where killing off characters was an over-used writing device and it made me wonder when killing your characters actually damages your story rather than makes it go forward.

I am not talking here about the horror genre, where killing off all the characters one by one is an expected writing device. I am talking about the other genres, especially Fantasy and Historical Fiction.

The first example of a story where no one is safe is A Song of Ice and Fire by G.R.R. Martin. One of the catch phrase used in this series of books is actually “Valar Morghulis”, which can be translated as “all men must die”. In the books (as well as in the TV show Game of Thrones that is aired on HBO since 2011), a great number of the major characters die, often brutally and unexpectedly.

The second example I have come across recently is the Starz TV show Spartacus, created by Steven S. DeKnight and Robert Tapert. In this historical drama, the writers’ motto is “Kill Them All”, which translates into the death of almost every single character, save for Spartacus himself.

So I get why killing off characters can be a useful writing device. When the reader has become invested in sympathetic characters, it is always a great emotional shock to see those beloved characters die, especially if those deaths are paired with acts of bravery and/or selflessness. For the writer, the death of a character can also be a great way to move the plot along. For example, at the beginning of the second season of Supernatural (a CW TV show), the death of the heroes’ father was a great way to get the story forward. In the Harry Potter series, the deaths of Sirius Black (in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and Albus Dumbledore (in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) were impressive plot devices that made the young characters grow up and move forward despite their grief.

What I am questioning here, however, is the over-use of the device. In a way, G.R.R. Martin and the writers of Spartacus have painted themselves into a corner, because their readers/viewers now know that they shouldn’t invest too much in characters that are going to die anyway. Also the element of surprise is gone: when you get to Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire, you basically expect everyone to die. In this case, the reader/viewer feels cheated because instead of being presented with a great plot and believable tragic events, he is faced with yet another character’s death that doesn’t stir any emotion in him and harms the plot instead of moving it forward.

So what do you think? Do you read or write stories in which everybody dies?

Before wrapping up this post, a few words about my ROW80 goals:

1-      Write everyday: 5/7 days. This week I wrote every day except for Thursday and Friday when my day job took over my life.

2-      Self-edit The Last Queen: not exactly done. I have actually added a few scenes to the novel instead of editing it down. Argh.

3-      Continue writing the first draft of The Cursed King: done, but only a few hundred words.

Here is the Linky for the other ROW80 participants. How have you been doing?

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Book of the Week – 10

This week I’m reading Book 3 of the Song of Ice and Fire series by G.R.R. Martin: A Storm of Swords. First published in 2000, this book is a whooping 1128 pages long. Right now I’m about halfway through and I just cannot put it down. I will not go into too many details about this book here for fear of spoilers, but I will include the blurb for Book 1, entitled A Game of Thrones, to make you want to dive into this amazing epic fantasy series.

From Goodreads:

“Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.
Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.”

So, have you read this series? What did you think?