Patricia Leslie

Urban fantasy is a type of speculative fiction set in “real worlds” with fantasy elements. You might prefer storyline and characters that flirt with the paranormal. Perhaps you're more interested in Science Fiction or magic realism. Whichever genre you prefer, urban fantasy writers have it covered. If you'd like to try your hand and at writing in this genre, simply follow these step by step instructions to get started with your first urban fantasy novel or short story. 1. Loc

I use a lot of traditional hearth magic in my stories. It's often recognised as witchcraft, but to an outsider who doesn't understand or who has differing beliefs, witchcraft is more an accusation hurled to belittle, alienate, and hurt. Looking around at various belief systems it seems that contemporary religious types often refer to pagan or indigenous practices as witchcraft: placing them on the primitive, or worse, ignorant superstition shelf. Primitive and tradition do no

I was asked by my publisher to provide some book club questions for all three of my novels. Interesting task. Especially for The Ouroboros Key, which I haven’t read since the day I signed off on the galleys, and which I haven’t written or talked about in a couple of years. Then there’s the realisation that my only experience with book clubs is watching the Jane Austen Book Club (a couple of times, in fact. What can I say. I’m a romantic at heart). Time to do some research. Di

I really wish I was a time traveller. There are so many things I want to know. Who were the Picts? What did their carvings mean? What about the Tuatha de Danann? And the Firbolgs and Formorians. Were they the precursors to the Milesians; the Celts? Tribes that superseded each other, their individual cultural practices and beliefs melding together into one big melting pot that in turn overflowed into neighbouring islands? Like the Annunaki, did they become the deities of myth