Author | Joseph L. Selby

Category: genre

  • Wind Sprint: Serenity

    I tell Liz Poole all the time that I’m never going to write Urban Fantasy. But an opening line while I was driving from physical therapy gave me an idea for a character that turned an espionage thriller plot I had been ruminating on into a genuine urban fantasy. The original espionage was inspired by…

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  • Be Sure to Use the Appropriate Nasality

    It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I have a few drafts that I’ll probably never publish (that happens from time to time), but I have a really good reason why. I’ve been writing like Robert E. Howard. Not specifically in his style, but when he wrote Conan, he said that the barbarian himself stood…

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  • That’s Been Done Before

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    I’ve commented before that there are some parts of my beloved genre that just bore the shit out of me. “New” is really “The same but from a different persecptive.” How can you tell? Because our titles sound like they came out of a sausage maker. Fantasy in, delicious sausage out. One link looks much…

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  • Another Epic Fantasy Discussion

    What makes Epic fantasy Epic fantasy and not just traditional, urban, or any other sub-genre is a well-worn conversation. One that I’m kind of bored with, actually. It’s been discussed enough that the informed have come to a general consensus (scope of setting/cast/stakes, etc), the uninformed bumble in that general direction, and the hair splitters…

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  • The Other Side

    I don’t only read fantasy and science fiction. I think that’s a good thing, to read outside of one’s preferred genre. Keeps things fresh. Keeps things interesting. You get a view of how things are done elsewhere (setting doesn’t matter as much in some genres as it does in sff where many call it another…

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