Recent A Dribble of Ink interviewee Daniel Abraham (check the interview HERE) has been detailing his experiences at the mysteriously named “The Symposium”, where he sat in with authors such as George RR Martin, Ian Tregillis and Melinda Snodgrass.

Why does this matter? Because he’s got a lot of interesting insights into writing.

One topic he tackles are the definitions thrown at novels, something I’ve gotten into a couple of times at various places on the ‘net. More specifically he tackles the concept of “Second-World Fantasy” (or “Epic Fantasy” as it might be better known as).
Read More »

As a writer, something I’ve always put a lot of thought into, and struggled with, to be honest, the use of 3rd-person narrative versus 1st-person narrative. I really feel that both are incredibly valid ways to tell a story, and each comes with its own pros and cons. As a reader, I enjoy both for different reasons as well and often get in moods where only one type of storytelling and narrative will satisfy me. I don’t seem to be the only one who feels this way, either.

In preparation for this article I decided to go out and get an objective look at the subject, so I looked towards two of my favourite forums (Westeros and the Official Terry Brooks Forum) for some opinions. The subject prompted a lot of good, intelligent debate on the forums and I was pleasently surprised by what I found.
Read More »

Daniel Abraham, author of A Shadow in Summer and A Betrayal in Winter, made some waves earlier this year with the release of his collaborative novel, Hunter’s Run. The interesting thing, however, is who he collaborated with: Gardner Dozois and George R.R. Martin. So how did a relatively new author like Abraham (who you’ll find out has perhaps been on the scene longer than some people realize) hook up with two legends? Well, you’ll just have to read an find out!

As many of my readers know, I’m always a sucker for a short, lean novels and that’s exactly what Abraham sets out to deliver with his first series of novels, The Long Price Quartet. Enough rambling! Read on and see what Daniel Abraham has to say. You won’t be disappointed.
Read More »

Winterbirth

Author – Brian Ruckley

Trade Paperback
Pages: 576 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: September 10, 2007
ISBN-10: 0316067695
ISBN-13: 978-0316067690

Winterbirth was a milestone for me. Orbit Books (the publisher) was the first publisher to approach me and offer to send me advance review copies of their novels and it seemed to validate the existence of A Dribble of Ink. Ironically, I actually received it a couple of months ago but agreed with Alex Lencicki (Ruckley’s publicist) that it would be best to hold of on the review (and interview) until Winterbirth was closer to its US publication date.

So, it was with great eagerness that I finally picked up Winterbirth and began reading. While my copy sat for several weeks, taunting me, I watched several other reviews roll in, all of which confirmed that I should be eager to read the novel. Winterbirth had a lot to live up to when I finally started reading it; the hype was sky high.

So the question is: did it live up to the hype? Well, Yes and No.
Read More »

You may not know the name Mark J. Ferrari… but you will soon. His debut novel, The Book of Joby, has been released to critical success and is as unique as it is controversial. A standalone fantasy, set in our world, retelling the Book of Job with a comical twist? God and Lucifer are characters? What’s not to like?

Here’s the synopsis pulled from his web site:

Mark was kind enough to drop by and give us a little bit of insight into exactly what to expect from The Book of Joby. You might be surprised by what he has to say (it’s not a piece of Christian literature, for instance) and wait until you hear the story of how he got knocked into being a novelist!
Read More »

Shawn C. Speakman, known to many of my readers as the man behind The Signed Page, is a good friend of mine. Beyond that, though, he is a storyteller. Like many of us, Shawn is an aspiring writer, looking to emulate the success of many of his idols (some of whom he also considers friends) and is hard at work on a trilogy titled Battle’s Perilous Edge, with the first novel being called Song of the Fell Hammer. The problem however, according to his blog, is that he has been unsuccessful so far in finding an agent to represent him or a publisher to publish him.

Why?

This is pretty darn silly if you ask me. Sure, Urban Fantasy is king (or should I say Queen…) at the moment, but that doesn’t mean epic fantasy doesn’t sell. George R.R. Martin, anyone? Too established. Fine, how about Patrick Rothfuss? New writer, epic fantasy and a first person narrative? Terry Brooks’ latest novel was once again a New York Times Bestseller, R.A. Salvatore still sells bucket loads and newcomer Joe Abercrombie seems to be doing pretty well for himself.
Read More »

Well, I once again had the chance to sit down with Steven Erikson for a little while (at a signing and then at a pub) and this time I have a bit of actual news for all of you Malazan fans out there!

Steve held a reading/signing at a local bookstore at which he read from not Reaper’s Gale (his latest release), but instead from his work in progress, Toll the Hounds. I’ll save the really juicy stuff for after the jump (stuff that some people might consider spoilers) but right now I can tell you that Toll the Hounds is almost finished, the ending is still supposed to knock your socks off, and that the final two novels in the series, Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God, will essentially read as one gigantic novel, as opposed to being stand-aloneish like his other books.

He also mentioned that he’s already rolling around ideas of where he might go once he’s done the current cycle of books and that one of the ideas he’s throwing around is to explore the pasts of some of the Ascendents (such as Anomander Rake) before they became the powerful figures we see them as in The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Pretty cool stuff, if you ask me!

Cam’s novel, The Return of the Crimson Guard is finished and in the hands of his publisher. Steven said it clocks in at around 280k words, so expect a much heftier novel than Night of Knives.

Also, don’t forget that I’m accepting questions for my interview with not only Steven Erikson, but also with Ian Cameron Esselmont! You can send questions to questions(no-spam)@aidanmoher.com [Just remember to remove the (no-spam) tag!]. And I also have a giveaway for signed copies of The Bonehunters!

Now for the Toll the Hounds spoilers!
Read More »