I've been grilled about why I write Fantasy when I'm a skeptic about magic in real life.  I don't believe in ESP or any other paranormal phenomenon.  

Here's the thing though - it's FICTION, and Fantasy books challenge the imagination.  It's fun to write about magic and there is an emotional satisfaction in envisioning a world where it exists.  One thing I always liked about Harry Potter, for instance, is how JK Rowling used the imaginary magical world to make social commentary about the real world. 


Fiction in general (even the more "realistic" kind) is very contrived and yet this is why it can be so satisfying - in a fictional world the good guys usually win, and the bad guys get punished.  I think this is especially important to someone like me who doesn't believe there is a puppet-master in the sky pulling the strings to create justice in real life. 

I'd be interested in hearing from other readers/fans of Fantasy and of magic realism, as well as writers. 

Some of my favourite books and movies include traditional Fantasy and sword & sorcery, like Tolkien.  But my very favourite genre is stories set in the real world but with magical elements - this could range from movies like The Illusionist to Matt Haig's novel _The Midnight Library_.

I have written several books. Fiction.

A post with links to three of them.

When it comes to reading fantasy, my favorite series is The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind due to the social-political nature of the content.

I’ve never written fiction, but as far as fantasy goes, I’m a huge fan of LOTR, as well as of the pulp writers of the 20s and 30s (Howard, Moore, Lovecraft, etc).

Boru

(March 3, 2024 at 7:34 pm)Foxaèr Wrote: I have written several books. Fiction.

A post with links to three of them.

When it comes to reading fantasy, my favorite series is The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind due to the social-political nature of the content.

Interesting - thanks. Will check out your books

(March 3, 2024 at 7:47 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: I’ve never written fiction, but as far as fantasy goes, I’m a huge fan of LOTR, as well as of the pulp writers of the 20s and 30s (Howard, Moore, Lovecraft, etc).

Boru

Yeah LOTR is amazing. Have you ever tried Urban Fantasy (with vampires and werewolves etc)? I'm a huge fan of Charlaine Harris who wrote the books that the TV series _True Blood_ was based on (I found the show really uneven but some seasons were great). I also really enjoy Jim Butcher and some of Laurell K. Hamilton.

I write a little. Reality-based fiction, or the occasional essay, mainly. A little poetry here and there. It's a hobby.

(March 3, 2024 at 8:37 pm)Jillybean Wrote:

(March 3, 2024 at 7:34 pm)Foxaèr Wrote: I have written several books. Fiction.

A post with links to three of them.

When it comes to reading fantasy, my favorite series is The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind due to the social-political nature of the content.

Interesting - thanks. Will check out your books

(March 3, 2024 at 7:47 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: I’ve never written fiction, but as far as fantasy goes, I’m a huge fan of LOTR, as well as of the pulp writers of the 20s and 30s (Howard, Moore, Lovecraft, etc).

Boru

Yeah LOTR is amazing.  Have you ever tried Urban Fantasy (with vampires and werewolves etc)?  I'm a huge fan of Charlaine Harris who wrote the books that the TV series _True Blood_ was based on (I found the show really uneven but some seasons were great).  I also really enjoy Jim Butcher and some of Laurell K. Hamilton.

Not my thing. The closest I ever got to urban fantasy (admittedly not very close at all) was Strieber’s The Wolfen, which I quite liked.

Boru

(March 3, 2024 at 8:37 pm)Jillybean Wrote:

(March 3, 2024 at 7:34 pm)Foxaèr Wrote: I have written several books. Fiction.

A post with links to three of them.

When it comes to reading fantasy, my favorite series is The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind due to the social-political nature of the content.

Interesting - thanks. Will check out your books

(March 3, 2024 at 7:47 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: I’ve never written fiction, but as far as fantasy goes, I’m a huge fan of LOTR, as well as of the pulp writers of the 20s and 30s (Howard, Moore, Lovecraft, etc).

Boru

Yeah LOTR is amazing. Have you ever tried Urban Fantasy (with vampires and werewolves etc)? I'm a huge fan of Charlaine Harris who wrote the books that the TV series _True Blood_ was based on (I found the show really uneven but some seasons were great). I also really enjoy Jim Butcher and some of Laurell K. Hamilton.

I have some Laurell K. Hamilton books.

They were quite good until her character started banging someone new every other chapter.

(March 4, 2024 at 11:42 am)The Valkyrie Wrote:

(March 3, 2024 at 8:37 pm)Jillybean Wrote: Interesting - thanks. Will check out your books


Yeah LOTR is amazing.  Have you ever tried Urban Fantasy (with vampires and werewolves etc)?  I'm a huge fan of Charlaine Harris who wrote the books that the TV series _True Blood_ was based on (I found the show really uneven but some seasons were great).  I also really enjoy Jim Butcher and some of Laurell K. Hamilton.

I have some Laurell K. Hamilton books.

They were quite good until her character started banging someone new every other chapter.

*frantically googling ‘Laura K. Hamilton books’*

Boru

As far as supernatural fiction, I only ever got into Anne Rice.

(March 4, 2024 at 11:42 am)The Valkyrie Wrote:

(March 4, 2024 at 11:57 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: [quote='The Valkyrie' pid='2191775' dateline='1709566968']

I have some Laurell K. Hamilton books.

They were quite good until her character started banging someone new every other chapter.

*frantically googling ‘Laura K. Hamilton books’*

Boru

LOL - yes, there is a lot of sex in her later books and although some of it is good, she actually managed to make a lot of it tedious and boring. For anyone interested in the Fantasy/Erotica combo, I do recommend her Fey books starting with _A Stroke of Midnight_.