The world’s largest media conglomerate, the Walt Disney Company, became even larger in 2012 and 2019 when it acquired Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox, respectively. A number of huge franchises now came under the ‘Disney’ umbrella, including Indiana Jones, X-Men, Fantastic Four and, of course, Star Wars. In acquiring the Star Wars franchise Disney also acquired a lot of content, including the backlist of renowned Star Wars novelist, Alan Dean Foster. Foster has been writing novels in the Star Wars universe since the 1970s when he ghost-wrote the novelisation of Episode IV: A New Hope under Georg ..read more

I love second-hand bookshops – while any bookstore is basically a magic portal to countless worlds and dimensions, second-hand bookshops are even more magical since you truly never know what you’re going to find. As a frequent patron of my local second-hand bookshops (16% of the books I purchased in 2020 were bought from second-hand bookshops), I’ve found some true gems hidden away in corners of rickety bookshelves. Here are just a few of my favourite finds from second-hand bookshops! I adore these exquisite illustrated editions of some of my childhood favourites – reading these stories a ..read more

There are few things better than wandering around a bookstore, running one’s hands over the glossy new spines (pre-COVID times, naturally) and finding exciting debut authors who are going to become your new favourite author. There are few things better than cracking opening a new book, inhaling that new-book scent and diving headfirst into a brand-new world. Indeed, there are few things better than new books and bookstores, except for one thing. Secondhand books and bookstores. Secondhand bookstores, perhaps even more so than new bookstores, are treasure troves just waiting to be explored. I l ..read more

Happy Valentine’s Day! Literature is filled with romantic heroes, from the dark and broody to the lovable goofball. Some are as wholesome as your grandma’s cooking and others are the quintessential bad-boy. While some of the most popular ‘book boyfriends’ are more recent additions to the long list of literary loves, others have lasted the test of time, still setting hearts aflutter 200 years after they were first put to paper. Some of these older romantic ‘heroes’ don’t really stand up to our modern day understanding of healthy relationships. Heathcliff and Mr. Rochester, for example, are har ..read more

As readers, we tend to assume (and hope) that our favourite authors generally align with our own values and morals. If we consider ourselves to be, for instance, open-minded, accepting and progressive, we assume that the authors we gravitate towards to be the same. Realising that authors whose works we love have done things and believe things that we find morally reprehensible can be jarring and upsetting. After coming to terms with the fact that certain authors hold views that are deeply at odds with your own, you must then decide how to proceed. Do you continue reading their works? Do you t ..read more

Readers are really spoilt for choice in 2021 with what seems to be an endless list of incredible new releases. With so many exciting releases coming this year, I’ve had to whittle my list down to the 15 that I am the most excited for. Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long – expected publication date: 19 January 2021 A warrior priestess, banished by her goddess, prays for forgiveness on a mountainside in this epic fantasy. Old and new gods go to war as Hessa tries to secure herself a place in the afterlife. The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson – expected publication date: 19 January 2021 In thi ..read more

Happy New Year friends! With a new year comes renewed vigour and a reinvigorated sense of purpose, so I now want to share just a few of my reading and blogging goals for 2021! Read 55 books – in 2020, I wanted to read 75 books. I ended the year having only read 44 books so I’ve settled on a goal that is a little more realistic but still aspirational. Read more fiction – I read a lot of non-fiction over the past 12 months and while I do enjoy non-fiction, I’ve missed digging into a good, fictional story. Post more – ah, this is where I always seem to fall down when it comes to blogging. I have ..read more

To say that 2020 was a difficult year must be the understatement of the century. I won’t get into it too much as I’m sure we’re all tired of hearing about it as it continues to spread and evolve, seemingly unchecked by several major governments. The stress and anxiety of the past 12 months has prevented me from posting either here or on my Instagram. My focus was entirely on finishing my university degree and protecting myself and my family. Luckily, I have succeeded in both to reasonable satisfaction. But 2021 is now here and while, in many places, things don’t appear to be getting any better ..read more

I often find myself musing on the very concept of creativity: what compels us to create; how we take our experiences and our abstract thoughts and turn them into music, art and literature, among other things. Lately, I have been thinking about creativity more than ever. Being stuck inside all day will do that to you. But I have been particularly focusing on a metaphor that I’ve been playing with for some time. I think I have, in fact, mentioned this metaphor here on the blog before. I call it the ‘Factory of Creativity’. Not a very creative name, but it works. It is an inelegant metaphor – man ..read more

Welcome to the first post in my new series: THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WORLDBUILDING! Worldbuilding is one of my favourite parts of writing fantasy. The process of building an entire planet, continent or country and all the things that make up a ‘world’ is thrilling to me. I love getting stuck in to a new worldbuilding project and exploring all that a new world has to offer. But worldbuilding can also be confusing and overwhelming at times, especially if you have never attempted worldbuilding before. There are so many different processes, methods, resources and elements to be considered that it c ..read more