Patricia Leslie

Strong relationships between mothers and daughters and sisters are a theme in much of my writing. I’ve been surrounded by strong women my entire life—mums, grandmothers, aunties, great aunties, sisters, daughters, and friends. Stories that are passed around these circles, traditions passed down the generations, make great story fodder for historical fantasy writers. Women’s talk, secret women’s business, is the core of many of the myths I explore and magic I draw upon. With M

I’ve been doing some reading into magic, myth, conceptual theming, and core character / personality realisation, encompassing the historical aspects of setting and external forces. Historical fantasy commands underlying currents and deep pools to supply the forces that not only propel the story forward, but also take the reader along with it. So this month, my round up is in someway indicative of future storytelling – the ongoing Crossing the Line series and beyond. First up

I have to admit that I don't have one favourite author. I have multiple all-time favourites! John Steinbeck, Stephen King, Stephen R Donaldson, Mary Stewart, Caiseal Mor, Camilla Blackberg, and Ann Cleeves are just a few of my favourite fiction authors. Non-fiction is a little different as it depends on what I'm researching at any given time. Authors that have proved pivotal to me though include Mary Daly (Outercourse), Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor (The Great Cosmic Mother) an

Not long ago I had a solid three days of writing and am now approximately half way through my manuscript. I say approximately, because I’m aiming at around the 80,000 word mark while quietly hoping for closer to 100,000. I’ve also given myself a deadline for completion of the first draft so I really need to get cracking and find more blocks of concentrated writing time. I’m sure my boss would prefer I didn’t have a 3-day weekend every week! While I had planned for this weeken

Felicity Banks is the author of the exciting new novel: Heart of Brass published by Odyssey Books. Steampunk is a speculative fiction genre inspired by the Victorian era. Writers, cosplayers, and makers gleefully wear their corsets on the outside, glue cogs onto their hats, and don brass goggles at all occasions. They celebrate giants of science and engineering like Tesla, Bazalgette, and Lovelace. They write about mad scientists, cross-dressing heiresses, and multi-talented