The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed

Award-winning YA author Sarah Arthur returns to the Toolshed to discuss her brilliant new book, Once A Castle. Sarah also shares her experiences following the release of her debut YA novel (Once A Queen), what it was like writing book two, and how theme has played such an important role in the writing of both. We also

In this episode, I'm joined by fantasy author and ER doctor, HB Reneau. HB talks all about injuries we commonly see in fantasy worlds--usually inflicted by swords and magic, and explains how we can best portray things like wounds and infections. We also talk about the impact of injuries and trauma and mental health too

In this episode, I'm joined by Brianna Summers, literary agent assistant with Holloway Literary. Brianna also works as an editor with Of Metal and Magic Publishing. Brianna shares her wisdom after spending several years working in the literary agency field. She tells us what it's like for agents on a day-to-day basis a

In this episode, award-winning short story writer and editor Dan Coxon joins me for an in-depth chat about writing short fiction. We look at the definition of a short story, the different structures they can have, the pitfalls to avoid, and best practices for editing. Dan also shares his best tips on getting short stor

In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by the Queen of Grimdark, Anna Smith Spark! Anna joins me for a deep dive into all things writing. We look at Anna’s process, how she wrote her brilliant books, A Court of Broken Knives, A Woman Of The Sword, and A Sword Of Bronze and Ashes, and how she approaches pantsing. A

In this final episode of 2024, I discuss all of the best writing tips I've come across in the past year, as well as the most helpful things I've learned. In particular, I dive into writing short stories and getting them published, amazing pieces of wisdom from legendary author Ian Rankin, and the most important thing I