The Fairy Tale Case Files - Backstage!

  I have written fantasy all my life, with a smattering of light science fiction and when I was a kid, stories with lots of horses; but by and large, I write fantasy with sub genres like mystery. Fantasy is popular with authors because it allows us to explore concepts in the real world with a stronger boundary between good and evil, right and wrong.  Traditionally, fantasy can have a harder time being considered literary, but that is thankfully changing. There are many writing genre tips I could come out with when writing to the fantasy genre, but the area I’m going to explore here is magic. In the kingdom of Altria and beyond, where William Tenys lives, works, and suffers, magic follows some straightforward rules of engagement. In all three books, there are some common threads that we can follow to see the rules of arcana in Altria. For example, (spoilers ahead!) in The Curious Case of Prince Charming , we see how people and metaphysical beings (a demonic entity in this c...

 Happy (latish) Sunday! I was busy today, baking, putting up the tree, chasing the toddler, so on and so forth, so we're a bit late tonight. But on with the show! Leticia is one of the deuteragonists of the Fairy Tale Case Files and a pretty important character in her own rights (particularly in the latter part of the series, but *spoilers!*). She was pretty deliberately designed early on and her arcs are fairly deliberate as well (As much as anything I do is).  Tag line: I will follow my heart and the needs of my kingdom to the best of my ability.   Appearance: Mid height (about five foot five) with long blond hair and cornflower blue eyes. Light skin. Roundish face, normal sort of weight. A few years younger than William at time of first book. Looks like the stereotypical princess! Personality: Leticia may look like a stereotype, but she is no damsel in distress. Smart, capable of taking care of her own destiny, and coming into her own in terms of the power she ...

 Hello and welcome to Author Tips Wednesday! (Er, something like that). Wednesdays are (tentatively), not about my novels, but instead about my process, trials, tribulations, issues, triumphs, how-goes and what-fors (that sounded better in my head to be honest). In the spirit of having just completed my tenth National Novel Writing Month, I thought I'd dust off this piece I wrote a couple of years ago. Enjoy! When I talk to people about the fact that I’m an author, particularly with people who are aspiring authors themselves, I get asked for a lot of writing tips and then the question that always comes out: “How long does it take you to write a novel?” I’m never quite sure how to answer that question to be honest and when I do answer it, I get some fairly flabbergasted looks. So, here’s my answer for the records: For the first draft of a novel (not finished): One month. How do I do it? I’m a devotee (is that the right term?) of National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. T...

 I'm hoping that every Sunday will be Character Profile Day, though I don't want to do too many characters since I don't want to jump ahead of the books being pushed out! So it might be Character Profile Day for December and then shift to something else, lol. Anyway. William Tenys is the protagonist of the Fairy Tale Case Files.  Tag line: When princesses go missing and curses start flying, give William a call! Appearance: Tallish with shaggy brown hair and grey eyes. He’s been teased in the past for his ‘changeling’ appearance as he has high cheekbones and a pointed chin. He usually wears practical, sturdy clothing and a good hat to help prevent anyone he doesn’t want to talk to from trying to catch his eye! At the time of the books, he’s in his mid-twenties and has been working as a detective for a couple of years, mostly doing small odd-jobs. Personality: William is fairly clever and intuitive; he has a knack for putting strange puzzle pieces together to get a wh...