My writing room is a lovely airy space. It’s also north facing, which is great, except it gets essentially no direct sunlight. Which is why I’m sitting here at 11am shivering in the dark. Okay, that’s entirely self-inflicted: my lights work fine and I both have, and can afford to use, central heating. I’m farContinue reading “Pretty Poisons”
Category Archives: Legendarium
The Chase
Breaking with recent traditions, this week’s story prompt image is relatively recent. It was taken in July this year in the walled garden at Culzean castle. Yes, I go there a lot. I know it isn’t the only place worth going. It’s still a favourite, so I don’t see us breaking the habit any timeContinue reading “The Chase”
Faltha’s Celebration
Way back when I first wrote Summer Sorcery (in that no-one-else-gets-to-see-ever first draft) I imagined a backstory scene with Faltha and Malachite. There’s a nod to it on p125, but the book didn’t need derailed with the plot-irrelevant personal history between two important but ultimately secondary characters. However what made it into the book plantedContinue reading “Faltha’s Celebration”
Wizard and the Imp Location #2 – The Faerykirk
For as long as I can remember one of my favourite things has been finding out that places in stories are real locations that can be (theoretically at least) visited. Of course, as a dyed-in-the-wool sci-fi fantasy fan you can imagine how often I stumbled upon the places that I’d read about. Annoyingly, the woodsContinue reading “Wizard and the Imp Location #2 – The Faerykirk”
Wizard and the Imp Location #1 — The Tower
This month we’ll take a look at the site that was my inspiration for the Tower of Sorcery. Calais Muir Wood is a small patch of woodland about (34 hectares, which apparently counts as quite big these days) on the eastern edge of Dunfermline. It’s been something of a lifeline over the last 18 monthsContinue reading “Wizard and the Imp Location #1 — The Tower”
Magic in The Wizard and The Imp, and other stories.
As with many fantasy stories, magic is at the heart of Summer Sorcery (and the rest of The Wizard and The Imp series). Like most elements in story-craft, magic is something of a double-edged sword. Undoubtedly it is an excellent way to inject wonder into a tale, and wonder is one of the main currenciesContinue reading “Magic in The Wizard and The Imp, and other stories.”
Nuckelavee
This week’s story prompt comes via two photos that span a bit of both distance and time. The post’s featured image is a scrap of coastline at the north of Mull, which we visited this summer. I’m sure I’ve waxed lyrical about the island’s beauty and splendour before, so I’ve leave that as pre-said. TheContinue reading “Nuckelavee”
Cauldron’s Web
I woke up today to a garden full of dew-glistening webs, which for me is a good start to any day. I keep trying (pathetically, really) to get a decent photo of one. Whatever skills or talents required to succeed at that still elude me, but I do enjoy trying. Spiders have fascinated me forContinue reading “Cauldron’s Web”
Selkies
I’ll admit to these magnificent sea-dwellers being something of a blind spot for me. While I grew up with tales like ‘The Kingdom of the Seals’ (from the worn out tape of my much loved issue 24 of Storyteller magazine), my interest in selkies didn’t properly take root until a few years ago. My childrenContinue reading “Selkies”
Brownies, Domovoi, and other household spirits.
For those not in the know, I’m not referring to the small square cakes of chocolatey goodness. The other kind of brownie is a being from Scottish mythology. They’re household spirits that delight in maintaining order and tidiness within a home. Traditionally, they live in hearths and other warm nooks.
Brandon Lim 