Yep, time for a “from the backlist” post — and this quote from a 2012 post on (then) genre site SF Signal still feels evergreen.

Now no more, alas…

The subject, as per the title, centered on why I write Fantasy (as opposed to any other class of fiction) in general and epic fantasy in particular. It went something like this:

“The reason I want to celebrate epic fantasy is fairly straightforward: I love the genre…I love big, sweeping, adventurous stories where there’s a lot at stake and what’s at stake matters. I love stories of heroism, and friendships that endure in the face of darkness and despair — but sometimes fail, too. I love sword fights, and glorious charges, and forlorn hopes, and “bands of brothers” holding together through the “thick and thin.” I love magic, too, and if comes with a thread of darkness, danger, and the surreal, then all the better. World building is also really important to me, and not just landscapes but cultures as well: I want the world and the societies to be real for me when I’m reading and that’s what I strive for in my own writing. And I like a bit of romance — not big R romance which has it’s own genre, but what I call “little r” romance, which is integral to all our lives and definitely has its place in big book epic. [My books]…may be about magic and danger, roof top pursuits and forced marches by night, tourneys and battles, bands of brothers — and sisters — but [they’re] also about love…So there you have it: epic and adventure and magic, battles and flights, world building and emotional power, friendship and love. If you enjoy any or all of these things in your reading, then you may just find something in…[my storytelling]…that you will like.”

And since many of you who visit here have liked, and have already waited far too long for the series’ conclusion, that’s all from me for today. Otherwise I’ll never get my outpass from the current (metaphorical) writing abode, as pictured below. 😀

“Ten leagues beyond the wide world’s end”;
art by Peter Fitzpatrick