How many of you have wished that you were half-horse? Or half-bull? Oh, come on. You can admit it! Okay, neither have I. But for those who have no choice and were born as centaurs or minotaurs, here’s a blog post to help the rest of us humans understand why they are the way they are: Minotaurs Minotaurs also come from Greek mythology. There was one main minotaur who was trapped in the center of Daedalus’s labyrinth as punishment for being the offspring of Daedalus’s wife. Prior to some classic fantasy, “the minotaur” was just one creature from Greek mythology. They weren’t really …
Mythological Creatures: Elves & Dwarves
The final Hobbit movie released, so this month we’re going to tackle the mythological creatures of elves and dwarves. Elves There are numerous forms of elves: tall, lithe, “High Elves” (Lord of the Rings), cliche tiny singing elves (Santa), house-elves (Harry Potter), etc. We can’t tackle them all in one post, but it’s important to understand that the defining characteristics of elves differ depending on which country’s folklore we look at. Norse mythology: These tall, majestic elves are called Alfar and are benevolent (Light Elves) or sinister and powerful (Dark Elves.) English and Scottish folklore: These human-sized elves torment and harm humans. They would torment people as …
Mythological Creatures: Phoenix vs. Thunderbird
Fantasy is filled with mythological creatures. But how well do we really know them? Who, off the top of their head, can define the difference between phoenix and a thunderbird? . No one? Okay, then let’s start a new blog series on . . . you guessed it. Mythological creatures! . Phoenix If you’ve read Harry Potter, then you have a good idea what a phoenix is. This mythological bird regenerates from its own ashes every time it dies. According to greek mythology, it’s associated with the sun and fire. The phoenix could be as large as an eagle and generally has scarlet …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Time Travel & Alternate History
A bittersweet good-bye is upon us. This is the last of the subgenre blogs. We’ve covered most of the big ones over the last year: Dystopia & Utopia Space Opera & Hard Sci-Fi The Fantasies Steampunk & Cyberpunk Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic Alternate Reality & Virtual Reality Superheroes & Fairy Tales Paranormal & Supernatural Today we’ll be covering Time Travel and Alternate History. Strap yourselves in and let’s step into the Tardis. Time Travel In time travel stories the protagonist will move forward or backward to different points of time. This doesn’t always require a time machine — those are so old-fashioned. Haven’t you seen …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Time Travel & Alternate HistoryRead More
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Paranormal & Supernatural
Paranormal. Supernatural. They’re the same thing, right? I don’t want to say a flat-out no but…no, not really. Often times these terms are used interchangeably, but they are different. Paranormal Paranormal refers to things that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding, like telekinesis or telepathy. The word paranormal means, essentially, “something that exists outside of what we consider to be normal.” Talk about a broad subgenre. The thing that grounds paranormal fiction are the subjects and creatures — werewolves, vampires, ghosts, aliens, time travelers, etc. Anything out of the ordinary that can’t be explained by science and doesn’t fit the conventional expectations …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Superheroes & Fairy Tales
There are heroes…and then there are superheroes. There are tales…and then there are fairy tales. What do superheroes and fairy tales have in common? They’re both awesome subgenres of speculative fiction, of course! And we’re going to dig into them today. Superheroes The subgenre of superhero fiction falls under the fantasy side of speculative fiction, but it can really flit into the science-fiction genre depending on the world in which it takes place. Superheroes took off in the comic book world. Actually, they originated there and then bled into novels. Characteristics of superhero fiction: the superhero is usually a human and almost always has a special power …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Alternate Reality & Virtual Reality
Who doesn’t like escaping into a book? It’s like alternate reality in paper form. Speaking of alternate reality (see what I did there?) the subgenres-of-the-month are…alternate reality and virtual reality. Alternate Reality The subgenre of alternate reality can also be called parallel universe. Some sites make a distinction between the two, but it’s not large enough to label them as different subgenres (unless you want to get reeeeally picky.) Alternate reality can fall under both the fantasy and sci-fi genres. It refers to another world or reality that exists inside our own. (Narnia fans, you with me?) Often times these stories …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Alternate Reality & Virtual RealityRead More
A Time to Die Kickstarter Video
As part of our Kickstarter campaign we have Nadine Brandes here to talk about her upcoming debut novel, A Time to Die. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/BqOR_jrE7Uo
Spec Fic Subgenres: Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic
I thought apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic were the same type of story for a long time. In fact, I even confused them with the dystopian genre at times, which I still see many readers doing today. Now that I finally have all of them straight (as far as I know) I can freely call myself a fan of all three subgenres. What’s that? You want to call yourself a fan, too? Alright then, let’s dig into the details: Apocalyptic In an apocalyptic book, the characters actually encounter the “apocalypse.” Often times this is some sort of natural disaster, divine judgment, nuclear warfare, supernatural phenomenon, …