Category Archives: Guest Post

Aliette de Bodard – Favourite Media in a Pandemic Year

Hello and welcome to this guest post on Track of Words where I’m thrilled to welcome the fantastic Aliette de Bodard – author of The Red Scholar’s Wake and so much more – to the site, to talk about the games and TV shows that she’s been turning to over the last year. I recently read (and reviewed) The Red Scholar’s Wake and was blown away by its rich setting, brilliant characters and totally engrossing central romance; it’s space opera in a way I’ve not come across before, and I loved it! I was delighted when Aliette agreed to write this article – it’s always great to get an insight into what your favourite authors are enjoying, and I always appreciate some new recommendations for media to consume, love and be comforted by!

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Gav Thorpe – Coming Up For Air

Hello and welcome to this guest post here on Track of Words where I’m delighted to be joined by veteran Black Library (and Angry Robot) author Gav Thorpe, who’s written a fascinating article looking back at how things have changed over the course of his career, and how he’s approaching writing Warhammer fiction now in order to avoid burning out. For anyone with even a faint interest in Black Library and Warhammer, Gav really needs no introduction, having written so much and been involved from the very beginning! I can’t think of anyone better placed to write about the changing realities of life for a Black Library author over the years, and I think this article is going to be of interest to a lot of BL (and SFF in general) fans, and to other writers too.

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Shauna Lawless – The Rise of Historical Fantasy

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post where I’m delighted to hand the reins over to the fantastic Shauna Lawless – author of The Children of Gods and Fighting Men (Head of Zeus/Ad Astra, 2022) – to talk about historical fantasy, and some of the best recent examples of the genre. Featuring some fascinating insights into what historical fantasy actually is and why it appeals to us as readers, observations on what drew her to the genre as both a reader and a writer, and loads of recommendations for great historical fantasy novels – both recent releases and classics – this is a brilliant primer for a justifiably popular genre.

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Ren Hutchings – Why We Love Ragtag Crews

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where I’m joined by the fantastic author Ren Hutchings to talk about ragtag crews in fiction, and why they’re so popular. Ren’s brilliant novel Under Fortunate Stars is one of my absolute highlights of 2022 (you can read my review of it here), a gripping space opera full of great characters and exploring some really smart ideas, so I was delighted when she agreed to write this guest post. If you too like a good character-driven science fiction (or any fiction, really) novel then read on to explore some of the reasons why these sorts of character groupings are so much fun, check out the list of recommendations at the end for more books to look out for, and make sure you pick up a copy of Under Fortunate Stars!

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John French – New Stories, Old Truths

Hello and welcome to New Stories, Old Truths on Track of Words, where I’m handing the reins over to author John French to tell us a bit about some of the ways he’s using his website to build a new fictional world, and give readers something a little different to look forward to. I’m a huge fan of John’s Black Library fiction, with his Ahriman series being a particular favourite, so when I spotted some new original fiction showing up on John’s website, along with some really insightful articles, I had to find out what was happening! Whether you’re a Black Library fan or just interested in SFF and the craft of writing, I really recommend you check out John’s website to see what he’s up to.

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Amanda Bridgeman – 10 Lessons From 10 Years in Publishing

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where I’m joined by the excellent Amanda Bridgeman – author of books such as The Subjugate, The Sensation, and Pandemic: Patient Zero – to talk about some of the realities of life as a professional writer. As an avid reader and someone who’s fascinated by the publishing industry, I love hearing authors talk about what their careers are really like and what the challenges are, so I was delighted when Amanda kindly offered to share some of her own insights gathered over many years of experience as an author. Whether you’re a writer yourself or just a keen observer of the industry like me, there’s loads of interesting things to think about in this article!

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Kate Dylan – My Top 5 YA Sci-fi Books

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, kindly contributed by Kate Dylan – author of the fantastic Mindwalker (and, recently announced, the upcoming Mindbreaker – due in September 2023). I read Mindwalker earlier in 2022 and it’s one of my favourite books of the year, a brilliant example of how YA science fiction can be both tremendous fun and incredibly powerful, so when Kate offered to talk a bit about some of the other YA sci-fi novels that have been released recently I thought it was the perfect topic for a guest post! If you haven’t already picked up Mindwalker I would strongly suggest you grab a copy, and Kate’s recommendations below should give you plenty more to look forward to reading too.

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Cath Lauria – Marvels and Monsters

Welcome to Marvels and Monsters on Track of Words, a brilliant guest post written by the fantastic Cath Lauria. With not one but two novels from Aconyte Books coming out in early 2023, each in a different IP, I asked Cath if she would be interested in talking about what it’s like writing stories in multiple universes, and what the similarities and differences are. The resulting article offers a really interesting insight into the life of an SFF author and the experience of writing IP fiction, and a few hints about what to expect from Terror World and Silver Sable: Payback when they arrive in 2023. Cath’s writing is always full of energy and enthusiasm, and that comes through here in a real sense of hope and excitement for next year, which I love!

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Nicholas Binge – 12 SFF Books of Christmas

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where I’m delighted to be joined by author Nicholas Binge for a look both back at 2022 and ahead to 2023. Author of Professor Everywhere and the upcoming Ascension (coming in April from Harper Voyager), Nicholas has kindly curated a whole host of recommendations for brilliant SFF books, so if you’re on the lookout for a great book released this year, or something coming next year to look forward to, look no further than this article. I’ve read and can happily endorse a few of these recommendations too, but there’s loads here that I’m now really looking forward to getting hold of!

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Sci-fi in a Fantasy World – Kate Dylan Guest Post

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where I’m delighted to welcome author Kate Dylan with a fascinating article exploring some of the differences between science fiction and fantasy, the ways in which some stories work better as SF than F, and what those differences might mean for both writers and readers. If you’ve ever pondered questions like what the difference is between science and magic, or between a tech company and a coven of witches, or how an eight year-old child would end up with a computer implanted in her brain, then this article is going to be of interest!

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