An Undying Romance: Vampires in Fiction

May 14, 2018 / Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 8 Comments

Section from Book Cover: Dreams of Ice and Shadow

Book Cover: Dreams of Ice and Shadow by Kathryn Troy

This week I’m pleased to welcome Kathryn Troy back to the blog – last year Kathryn shared her thoughts on what it means to be Lovecraftian. Now she’s launching the second book in her gothic fantasy series and stopping by to take a look at the enduring appeal of vampires and how she uses them in her work:

Bram Stoker was certainly not the first person to craft a vampire story. Serialized tales like Varney the Vampire and Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla were written decades before Stoker published his novel in 1897. Polidori’s The Vampyre was published in 1819, almost a century before. As serials and penny-dreadfuls, vampire stories had gained a modicum of popularity, which created a climate that was ready to accept Dracula. But it was Stoker who propelled and solidified the genre into the veritable beast it has become. Continue reading →

The Dark Corners of Fiction: Lovecraft’s Effect

June 6, 2017 / Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 20 Comments

What does it really mean to be Lovecraftian? This week I’m delighted to host a guest post by historian-turned-novelist Kathryn Troy, who has just released her dark romantic fantasy novel A Vision in Crimson. Her historical expertise in the supernatural and the Gothic informs her fiction at every turn, and she’s stopping by on her blog tour to take a look at the influence of Lovecraft on speculative fiction:

Howard Phillips Lovecraft is one of the most influential authors in American literature. His craft, his universe, his subject matter and underlying themes are so pervasive in speculative fiction—fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and everything in between—that his impact is seen and heard the world over, even when it isn’t recognized as such.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a speculative fiction author today who doesn’t know who Lovecraft is, or doesn’t attribute him with having at least a modicum of influence over their own writing. But what does it really mean to be Lovecraftian? Continue reading →

17 Common Fantasy Sub-Genres

December 7, 2015January 12, 2023 / Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 73 Comments

The fantasy genre is rich with a myriad of sub-genres, and each has its own conventions and trends. With the different terms floating around out there it can be easy to confuse or overlook key sub-genres. Finding a succinct list of the most notable ones – particularly a list with definitions and examples – is not always straightforward. So I thought I’d put my reading and researching to use and assemble one. Continue reading →

5 Ways Weddings Are Used in Fantasy Novels

October 19, 2015July 28, 2016 / Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 6 Comments

Photo by Joel Bedford (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

So I’ve been a bit quiet on the blog front for a few months, namely because I got married and moved countries. Needless to say, both endeavours took up a decent amount of my time, so I’m going to shamelessly use them as my excuse!

All that wedding planning, however, inspired me to start up again with a wedding-themed post: how are nuptials usually handled in fantasy novels? Continue reading →

Resolving Sexual Tension in a Paranormal or Fantasy Romance Series

March 23, 2015July 28, 2016 / Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 18 Comments

Photo by Emi via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

I’m having a dilemma at the moment. I’m working on a manuscript, and while I’m nearing the end of it, I can already see that it is too long. And not just a little too long. It’s more than 100,000 words too long. The prospect of editing it down to a reasonable size is nothing short of terrifying.

When I mentioned this to a friend they said, “why don’t you just make it two books?” Continue reading →

Sex Scenes in Fantasy Novels: When Do They Work?

November 3, 2014July 28, 2016 / Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 8 Comments

Orchid at the Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens, 2011. Photo by Nicola Alter (CC BY SA 4.0)

Growing up, most of the fantasy novels I read didn’t have sex scenes. Perhaps they had a little romance, maybe some kissing, but nothing I would classify as a proper sex scene, or even an illusion to a sex scene. A few, of course, did have scenes that were a little raunchy… but I remember finding those awkward and out of place. Continue reading →

Public Declarations of Love: Fantasy Romance vs Romantic Comedy

October 13, 2014 / Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 11 Comments

So I just got back from Germany last week – a trip home that unfortunately involved about 22 hours in a plane. Most of those hours were spent in an awkward half-sleep fostering a sizeable collection of neck cramps. The rest were spent bingeing on movies.

On flights, I usually find myself watching one of three things: romantic comedies, Bollywood epics, or YA fantasy films… because these are things I enjoy, but also simply because my boyfriend point-blank refuses to watch them with me. Those hours of solitary viewing are a chance for an uninterrupted dose of romance, melodrama, and teenage heartbreak, without any judgemental eyes looking on.

Continue reading →