The Realms of a Fantastical Mind

Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, a genre that has traditionally been the domain of male authors; it always fascinates me to hear how authors get drawn to a genre that has dominated by the other gender and what crossing the gender boundary has been like. This is part one of a five-part interview. Be sure to check out the other BRoP sites for the rest of the interview:  Part 1 with Terri - Wednesday, January 23 Part 2 with T.W.  - Thursday, January 24 Part 3 with me (waves) Part 4 with  Sandra  - Monday, January 28 Part 5 with  Dean  - Tuesday, January 29 Let's get right down to our chit-chatting with Gail about the Creative Process.  I'll admit, it's my favorite part to learn about!  BRoP: Where do you get your story ideas? Gail:  I like to ask, “What if?”  What if…a society depended on magic the way we depend on the power grid.  What if…a war was settled by a doomsday magical strike, a Weap...

I walked into the book store the other day.  Anyone who knows me, knows this isn't something new, nor something to be rushed.  I always head directly to the Fantasy shelves.  I look over the authors I know. I remember that I already have each book that catches my eye.  I step back.  So many books.  The shelves look like chaos. I scan to see what covers look appealing, but in the end I don't pick up a new book to read.  Instead I'll head over to one of the books from those that have been interviewed on the Blog Ring of Power, or that have been suggested to me.  More often then not, it's a YA novel of speculative fiction base.  It makes me sad, even though I've picked up many great YA novels since the start of BRoP. (I admit I haven't picked up every book of every author we've interviewed.) It's hard for me to get into a book that is completely new to me.  Either by being from an author I don't know, or just a book I haven't heard...

Growing up the youngest of three girls, Lori never had control of the remote. (Not that she’s bitter about that. Really. Okay, maybe a little, but it’s not like she’s scarred for life or anything.) That meant a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy. Star Trek, Star Wars, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits – you name it, she watched it. It fed her imagination, and that came in handy when the hormones kicked in and she needed a creative excuse for being out past curfew. After graduating from the University of Central Florida, Lori spent over a decade working in the fun-filled worlds of retail management, financial planning, and insurance. The writing bug bit a few years later. After completing her first manuscript, she joined the Romance Writers of America and Central Florida Romance Writers. Now she exercises the analytical half of her brain at work, and the creative half writing paranormal romance. When she’s not doing either one of those, she’s usually spending time with her husband...

Welcome, Susan Curnow, to the first Blog Ring of Power interview of the year!  About the author: Born in UK, now living in Alberta, Canada, when not writing, Susan Curnow is wrangling horses walking her Irish Wolfhound or being owned by her cats.When folk wonder why most of her main characters are males, she just smiles politely and tells them go look at her house, count the sons, the husband, the menagerie, and see just how many of them are guys. Why science fiction or fantasy? Why not write of her epic journey with five suitcases and a dog to Calgary Airport, her hounds, her horses, her sons? No other genre offers to fulfill the scope of her imagination.  One world is just too small. Section #5: Words of Wisdom BRoP:   Tell us about your route to success –how did you land your agent/publisher?    Susan: I was asked to submit because the novel I had written refused to leave my publisher’s mind. The how is sheer stubbornness, I guess. I just k...

We have come to 2013.  Most of us have not seen the end of the world.  Life goes on.  There was no Zombie apocalypse, no disaster of some strange planet X coming to wreak havoc on the land. No, our doom will be as it always was. Of our own making. So as we enter the new year most of us are hoping to change something about ourselves or what not.  How about we just stick to what we already have.  Why change?  Why try to make things 'better' for yourself when it may not make you happy. Having more money wont make things easier, it will just create more bills. Having lost weight wont make you healthier unless you drastically change everything you do and eat.  So let's face it.  We all want to be happy and we all have some wacky idea of what will get us there. Just don't forget what you already have.  What makes you happy?  Have you paid attention to those things around you that make life worth living.  Stop and just look a...