Hello again!

"Books and doors are the same thing. You open them, and you go through into another world." – Jeanette Winterson

I recently finished reading a book called The Anatomy of Genre by John Truby. It was a book that completely revolutionised any fixed ideas I had about the way stories and genres work.

I really need to stop doing that when I'm halfway through drafting something.

See, for John Truby, a detective story isn't about a private eye piecing together the clues to catch the crook. No—it's a journey of transcending our own limited epistemological systems. And a comedy isn't about having a laugh. It's about tearing down the facades that keep us imprisoned in irrational social conventions.

It was very enlightening to read, but it was also quite a lot to digest. What did it mean for me, and the story I'm trying to write? Was I fulfilling my need as a fantasy author to (paraphrasing Truby) 'teach the audience to appreciate life as an art form unto itself'? What does that even mean?

I'm still making progress in my drafting, but nowhere near as much as I had hoped. That's okay—it's all a process, and sometimes putting a bit of extra thought into things helps in the long run.

So, instead of writing, I've spent a lot of my time reading, and reading, and reading. I tend to juggle multiple books, and here are some of the titles that have been floating around my kindle and/or my nightstand:

The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel, Susanna Clark

Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett

Debt: The First 5,000 Years, David Graeber

In addition, some short stories by Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

As such, immersed in a bit of a reading frenzy, I felt the quotation I used to headline this newsletter seemed appropriate. Here's my recommendation to you: find lots of books, and read them all!

Below are some you might like.

Book spotlight

Death of the Tree Path

Just over three years ago, in April 2020, I released my second novel, Death of the Tree Path.

This one was a very special book to write, for me. For one thing, it was my first time working with the amazingly talented artist Jennifer Bruce. She turned my vague ideas into the wonderful artwork you see below. She even kindly sent me a high quality print of it, which I have hanging on my wall.

The story itself was a bit somber and serious to write, but not depressing. As you might be able to tell from the title, it's very much focused on the theme of death. Every main character grapples with the idea of death in some way: grief, the death of their home, their own potential death, or the death of loved ones.

The people of Wolfshead Hill must find a way harness the waning magic of their forest home, and it all comes to rest on the shoulders of the hunter's son Laester.

I liked writing it and I think it turned out well. I highly recommend it.

Buy now!

Book Recommendations

Thanks for reading

Until next time!

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