A Free Short Story // The Structure of Fantasy Writing

Hello from Luxembourg,

The days are getting shorter, and the weather cooler.

A Free Short Story

I promised as much in the subject line, and so I must provide. Please find here below a link to a short story I wrote as an exercise in the horror genre. Now a few reverse-trigger-warnings: it's not gruesome and it shouldn't give you nightmares unless you're particularly sensitive. It's a sort of twisted romance combined with a re-imagining of the vampire creation myth.

I would very much like to know what you think of it. Please do hit reply, or click here and let me know!

Download "Rare Gifts"

How Do You Consume Your Fantasy Reading?

As some of you know, I find the effort of getting your book noticed by potential readers very difficult, given the Amazon algorithm and the noisiness of the literature marketplace, so I've been looking at alternatives.

One that's jumped out is online serialization. This is often done on Royal Road, or WebNovel, or Substack, or directly on Patreon.

For this model to work, the readers need to want lots of short chapters that they read on a regular and ongoing basis, and that requires a very specific type of commitment from a writer, which is both long-term and high-volume.

There's a tradeoff. You can have something fast, good or high quality. Pick two. Rapid web serialization tends to trade off the high quality for fast, good stories. The prose is less literary, the characters less fleshed out, the action faster paced and the grammar and vocabulary simpler. It's not a judgement, just an observation, you can't do all three at once.

Some writers on these platforms have written very succesful works (I'm not sure what to call them, they're not "novels", they're both too long and too short at the same time).

So my question to my audience is: do you know about these websites? Do you use them? What's your take? Would you read a fantasy story written in my style on one of these websites? Is it something I should explore once I've finished my next novel?

Answers, as always, by hitting reply or using the form on my website.

Support Independent Authors

Writing can be lonely and ungrateful before you're noticed, and finding a good book to read can be a frustrating exercise. Try something from the authors below, and perhaps you'll discover a new writer you want to follow!

Both of these books are available on Amazon.

Static Slums by R.M. Demeester

At eighteen, every citizen is tested. Pass, and you earn a life of cutting-edge technology, elite education, and near-zero crime. Fail, and you're discarded to the slums.

Xanthe has never believed intelligence determines a person's worth. After her parents vanish trying to expose the system, she deliberately falsifies her IQ score and disappears into the forgotten undercity.

But the slums aren't what she expected. As she befriends Phoebe Null and takes in Lola, a damaged android whose devotion blurs the line between machine and human, the mission that once defined her begins to unravel.

Some choices can't be undone. This was one of them.

The Alchemist's Shadow by Laurie Bowler

Imesda Schatten has spent seven years working in the shadow of Volkov Castle, where glass, fire, and forbidden formulas are safer than people. When the Crimson Blight reaches the castle, she expects another disease to dissect. Instead, she discovers an ancient mark in the flesh of the dying—and the same mark burning beneath her own skin.

The Alchemist's Shadow is a dark, atmospheric fantasy filled with forbidden alchemy, ancient magic, betrayal, and survival.

If you enjoy gothic fantasy, sinister churches, haunted forests, morally complicated characters, and supernatural suspense, step into the shadow.

Thanks again for your continued support, and I'll look forward to writing again in September!

Cheers,

Nick.