Character Madness and Musings

A Virtual FantasyCon Guest Post The Magic Within  by  Author, Rick Haynes The Magic Within  Fairy-tales ... from me? After all, I mainly write medieval fantasy. And where would I start? At the beginning, I suppose. But of course, didn’t we love to hear fairy-tales from our parents? When I was small, my dad told me a different story every night, and every single one came from his own imagination. Looking back I realise how many were inspired by fairy-tales. With the vivid imagination of a small boy, I had dreams of standing in front of the fire-breathing dragon and slaying it with one slash of my huge sword. Dad even made me a wooden one. And what about Jack and the Beanstalk? I loved it, but my mum was none too pleased when I cut down her giant sunflower. Of course fairy-tales were told many, many, years before I emerged into the world. Take the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood as an example. This tale was originally dated back to the 1...

Apologies for my neglecting this blog this week. I've been in quite the spin. The good news is that Pretentious 4, is almost ready for the editor. With the holiday season just kicking off, I'm already busy, but can't wait for FantasyCon, the Halloween parties, and the holiday party for my street team, all happening in the next few weeks. I have a lot of good things planned for this blog in the near future, including some of the old style, character to character interviews - so stay tuned. This is the final installment for where my ideas come from. You may have realized by now that they came from all over. The idea for Pretentious came when I was on a chick flick spree. Stories about entertainment, dancing, acting. No one specific story kicked it off. It was more of a 'pieces of reality that you see in the business' kind of thing, blended with fiction. You may think I'm being a touch evasive, but to divulge more here would be a big spoiler, and I can'...

There have been so many Authors that inspired me over the years that I don't think I can do this topic justice. I can touch on the most important ones, though. I think the Authors that inspired me most were J. R. R. Tolkein, Mary Stewart, Robert Jordan, and Brandon Sanderson. All for different reasons. Tolkien seems like an obvious choice for the fantasy writer. From the green fertile lands of the Shire, to the beauty of Rivendell, and the barrenness of Mordor. The Worldbuilding, adventure, frightening journey's, and numerous cultures are amazing. He was kind of one of a kind in his day. I wonder what he would think of the world of fantasy if he saw it now. Mary Stewart is my favorite of favorites. She wrote an Arthurian series that focused on Merlin's point of view and character. She also placed a strong focus on people, religion, the changing times, and various cultures, using historical facts and turning it into fiction. Her descriptive quality ...

Last week I talked about Reflections. This week I'll be focusing on The Carriage, a story about a conceited teenage girl, Alexis, whose sister Brooke, sends her back in time in a fit of anger.. Alexis arrives in the Victorian Era, and meets Ezra, a man dealing with his own sibling rivalry, having been killed by his brother Amos, months before, and brought back to life with a dark magic his father paid for with his life. The Carriage is actually an idea that came from my new adult, romance story, Pretentious. Feeling the need to take a trip to New York and confirm the logistics of the story, I started researching what we would do when we got there, and where we would go. The tourist side of me demanded we take a trip to Central Park, where they still have old-fashioned carriage rides. At the time I wanted to write another historical romance from the Victorian Era. So I googled and saw the carriages online, and since I always look at the images, I saw some accidents. My br...

Q - Are you a Reader, Author, Artist, or blogger? A - I'm a reader, author, and blogger Q - What was your first experience with fantasy, book or movie? A - First experience with a fantasy was back in 4th grade. I still wasn't much of a reader then, and someone challenged me to try "Wishsong of Shannara". From that I was almost hooked. What cemented my love of reading, and my obsession with fantasy was "Watership Down", which I finished in less than 2 weeks. Q - Have you written any stories? If so, tell us about it. A - I've written several by now, though only one has been published to the public. The Followers of Torments saga is my debut series, and is a walk on the darker side of fantasy that addresses such topics as feral children, mental illness, self-image, and cultural acceptance. (With some prettier wrapping than the bare facts make it seem.) So far, the first 3 books are published, the last 2 should be released in the next yea...

Character Madness Introduces  Elemence and Arlondyn  from Elven-Fire  by  Raven Williams Coming September 25th, 2015 Elemence: Hello.  My name is Elemence.  I am, well I was, the leader of the Phoenix-Shifters of Estrearona.  I stepped down from my position to lead my Warriors on Earth in support of the Light. I was leader of my people for close to five centuries.  I took over for my Father after he crossed into the realm of Spirit.  I never knew my mother as she died giving birth to me. The last five centuries have been especially lonely for me.  I have delighted in seeing my people prosper and many finding their one true mate.  I fear for, love has forsaken me.  Those younger than me are finding their mate, yet I am still alone.  This loneliness grows stronger within me, clouding my judgment.  I fear I am no longer fit to lead my people. When I was Captain of the Guard, I felt a sens...

Happy Monday to all my awesome followers, and apologies for being late getting this month's Pretentious up this month. I hope to have that corrected in the next few days. Today's topic is where do story ideas come from? The answer to that questions varies widely between Authors. For me an image, song, or quote might inspire something. Here is the story behind one of my current published novels. My favorite story to tell is Reflections . I've always wanted to write a novel based on Hans Christian Anderson's Little Matchgirl , so I was researching the era in which the child would have lived. The Victorian Era was a time of change for everyone. Steam engines, toilets, electric lights, and the telephone, were all products of the age. The Industrial Revolution, California Gold Rush and Potato Famine were also part of the era. Education for young children became free under Queen Victoria's rule, yet a good portion of the population remained uneducated, and even...