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So, this is a bit of an unusual episode. Normally, we get an author on to discuss their new book. But today we have three authors talking about a brand new non-fiction book they’re part of, and two of them are your hosts!
The book in question is Writing the Magic, the fourth in an award-winning series edited by Dan Coxon that includes Writing the Uncanny and Writing the Murder.
Writing the Magic brings together essays from a variety of fantasy authors which includes us – Charlotte Bond and Lucy Holland – and the amazing Juliet E McKenna. It examines different aspects of writing fantasy fiction from RJ Barker’s epically titled essay, ‘You Do Not Need to Know How to Write a Book (Or How to Embrace Ignorance and Run With It)’ to Jen Williams’ offering, ‘Building a World and Getting Away With It.’ There are also spotlight essays on influential fantasy authors such as Tolkien, Moorcock, and Ursula K Le Guin, two of which were written by our guests today.
Juliet E McKenna is a British fantasy author living in the Cotswolds, UK. Loving history, myth and other worlds since she first learned to read, she has written fifteen epic fantasy novels so far. Her debut, The Thief’s Gamble, began The Tales of Einarinn in 1999, followed by The Aldabreshin Compass sequence, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, and The Hadrumal Crisis trilogy. The Green Man’s Heir (2018) was her first modern fantasy inspired by British folklore.
Her 2023 novel The Cleaving is a female-centred retelling of the story of King Arthur, while her shorter stories include forays into dark fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. She promotes SF&Fantasy by reviewing, by blogging on book trade issues, attending conventions and teaching creative writing. She has served as a judge for major genre awards. As J M Alvey, she has written historical murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.
