So for my first review, I’ve chosen She Who became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan. Not perhaps the most obvious choice, but one I consciously decided on for several reasons: … Continue reading Book Review: She Who Became the Sun
Tag: Fantasy
The Stratus Cities
Sometimes ideas come in a trickle, or fits and starts. Today I had a waterfall of them tumble out of the depths of my mind, teasing, tantalising and exciting me. I felt exhilarated, energised and eager to scribble them down and hammer them onto my mind map. I want to share some of Viredia with you today, so that maybe you can share in my excitement, too.
So, I want to introduce you to the first of the Stratus Cities; immense city-islands floating high in the skies of Viredia and the seats of power for the Magisterium, the Lian Empire.
Imagine gleaming spires of metal, stone and precious metals; gold, silver, platinum. Connected by intricate arched walkways, meticulously kept gardens, bridges and waterways snaking around grand temples, stadiums for sport and entertainment – all resting beneath a glittering white palace thrusting high up from a titanic mountain and floating like a beacon of sophistication and elegance in the skies.
Welcome to Lia, capitol of the Lian Empire and home to the Imperial House Rhon.
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my imagination. I look forward to sharing more with you as time goes on!
Ciao
Nick
Alive and Kicking!
Well…it has been some time, hasn’t it? I confess I am surprised my blog has survived and not been culled into the zombie internet. However! That means I can crawl my way out of the digital shadows once more and poke myself into keeping my writing habit going.
Which brings me on to the main point, really! I’ve had ideas bubbling, seething and developing since I was 15 or 16 years old regarding a sci-fi/fantasy world. I even kicked it all off back then in an online roleplay game on a Final Fantasy fan forum with some proto-info on the world I was slowly drawing together! (Though let us not speak of the acrimony that eventually it all fell into – teens are moody buggers) So for years I had all these ideas and talked to friends and family about it and what I was going to do…but I never really got it anywhere.
Until I met Ray Feist (yes, THE Raymond E. Feist) and David Gemmell (the LEGEND) at their book signings in Southampton. David was wonderful and said “I would like to see that, some day!” when I word vomited all about how I was an aspiring author and wanted to write my own books. Sadly, I never got the opportunity to show him as he passed away before I got the chance. But Ray (I feel I should call him Mr. Feist…), he gave me solid, if honestly blunt advice:
“You aren’t a writer unless you are writing. Until then, you’re a dreamer.” Ouch.
I’ve met him twice at different signings since then and pathologically have avoided mentioning it to him each time. Probably because I still hadn’t gotten my novels off of the ground at those points. Still dreaming, apparently!
But I don’t want to dream any more. I want to live the dream and actually do something about it. Not least because I have two kids to whom I want to be able to say: “You don’t have to just dream. You can live your dream.”
So. Writing! Two chapters and 13,103 words in and I am writing! Huzzah! I even have some short story ideas puttering around set in the same universe (or ‘world?’ not sure what the right way to put it is there…) to give more depth to it. Some of you (if anyone actually reads this) may be wondering what it is that I am writing about. Possibly. Maybe. It’s a bit like showing a newborn to the world, you want to protect it and keep it safe. But with a novel – or even (gasp!) a series of novels, you need to let people see, let them wonder. So, this is me letting my fledging novel and its world blink sleepily at the light of day and for everyone to know about it.
I call my world Viredia. Be gentle, she’s still fragile.
Nick
The Chronicles of Viredia 