When talking to Gollancz’s Publishing Director, Gillian Redfearn, at Nine Worlds (you can listen to the full conversation here), I’ve been mulling over something she said. Gillian posited that we may have a gender default – where we automatically default ...
Read More »The fallacies of YA fiction
YA fiction has always bothered me, but not for the reasons you might suspect. Don’t worry, this isn’t about how adults should grow up and read real literature. I’m a YA fan, from The Hunger Games to Paper Towns. You’ll find ...
Read More »Netflix’s Easy: Does TV work as a series of vignettes?
Netflix has made a name for itself by taking risks, be they different kinds of stories or unusual formats. For that, I am very grateful, as the TV landscape had started to grow a little arid. One of Netflix’s most ...
Read More »The Red Shoes: Finding the fantastical in the mundane
Myths and fairytales were created as a means to explain the world around us, to warn children not to stray off the path, and to find meaning in tragic events. For instance, before science could provide answers to how the ...
Read More »What we know and what we want from Star Trek: Discovery
It’s been more than a decade since Star Trek graced TV screens in a new outing. And Enterprise left a bit of a sour taste in many fans’ mouths. It wasn’t all it could and should have been. Will the ...
Read More »10 storytelling lessons to learn from The Last Witch Hunter
I am currently on a mission to watch everything Joe Gilgun has ever appeared in. From Misfits to This is England to Pride to Preacher, he has quickly become one of my favourite actors of all time, while also being ...
Read More »Adapting Preacher for TV: How much change is too much?
As a big fan of the classic comic books series Preacher, I was excited by the prospect of a television adaptation, especially with such a stellar cast. But when the show aired, like many other die-hard fans, I couldn’t help notice ...
Read More »Paige Orwin on writing urban fantasy without vampires and werewolves
Guest post from Paige Orwin, whose debut novel, The Interminables, is out now, published by Angry Robot. Early on, I decided that I didn’t want any traditional fantasy creatures in The Interminables. No vampires, no werewolves, no figures taken from the mythology of ...
Read More »The X-Men Franchise: Milking that Cash Cow
The conclusion to our four-part series on the evolution of the X-Men film franchise. If you missed it, be sure to start from the beginning! By the present year of 2016, the blockbuster subgenre that X-Men began has become a ...
Read More »Breaking the Glass Slipper: Interview with Janine Ashbless/Keris McDonald
This week, Charlotte talks to erotica and horror (as Keris McDonald) author Janine Ashbless. No topic is off limits with this wordsmith. They discuss pornography vs erotica, what frightens a horror writer, and pacing stories as a kind of ‘teasing’. If you ...
Read More »