The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed – Details, episodes & analysis

Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of the biggest authors in the world right now. A #1 NYT Bestseller, as well as a #1 International Bestseller, Jennifer has penned over 70 books in a range of genres and for all different audiences.

In this episode, we talk all about Jennifer's journey into writing and how it all led to the release of her brand new book, Born Of Blood And Ash, which hit the shelves on 13.08.2024 (link below).

We take a deep dive into Born Of Blood And Ash, exploring the writing side and how it felt to bring together the final book in the Flesh And Fire series.

We also dive into worldbuilding, character creation, and plotting, and Jennifer shares her best tips for writers.

It's truly an insightful interview with one of the best writers in the world. You're bound to learn something new.

JOIN OUR DISCORD COMMUNITY

⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠

ABOUT JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT

⁠https://jenniferlarmentrout.com/

GET BORN OF BLOOD AND ASH

Get exlusive editions and signed copies here - https://jenniferlarmentrout.com/books/born-of-blood-and-ash/

GET IN TOUCH

thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com

⁠⁠www.richiebilling.com⁠⁠

RESOURCES

Discover more ⁠⁠writing tips⁠ and guides⁠ here

And learn more about ⁠⁠writing fantasy⁠⁠ here

In this episode, I'm delighted to welcome bestselling author, Sarah Arthur.

Sarah's debut YA fantasy novel, Once A Queen has recently hit the shelves courtesy of Penguin Random House.

We chat all about writing a YA fantasy novel, creating characters, transitioning from writing non-fiction to fiction, creating a magic portal-based system, and building a fantasy world within our real world.

We also explore writing Young Adult fiction (YA) and how it's become its own genre that deals with issue-driven stories. Sarah shares some brilliant insights into how to connect with and reach a younger audience here.

JOIN OUR DISCORD COMMUNITY

⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠

ABOUT SARAH ARTHUR

⁠https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2216828/sarah-arthur/

www.saraharthur.com

ONCE A QUEEN

⁠https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707440/once-a-queen-by-sarah-arthur/

GET IN TOUCH

thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com

⁠www.richiebilling.com⁠

RESOURCES

Discover more ⁠writing tips⁠ and guides here

And learn more about ⁠writing fantasy⁠ here

Michael R Miller is an indie author who's forged a tremendously successful career in the world of writing.

Off the back of the launch of his new book, DEFIANT, Michael and Richie talk all about writing, the process, and how Michael's found success as an indie author.

It's essential listening for anyone who wants to go down the indie route.

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

GET A TOOLSHED TSHIRT

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/ToolshedTshirt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ page - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

ABOUT MICHAEL R MILLER

https://www.michaelrmiller.co.uk/

As you may have heard, I have an audiobook coming out soon—in a few weeks in fact (called Pariah's Lament for anyone interested)
I don't know much about audiobooks, so I decided to speak to someone who does—professional voice-over artist for movies, TV and audiobooks, Rachanee Lumayno.
In our chat, we talk all about why audiobooks are so popular and why they're worth exploring as authors, how you can go about it, where to find narrators, how to do it yourself, the costs involved and much, much more. 
You're guaranteed to learn something new!

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

GET A TOOLSHED TSHIRT

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/ToolshedTshirt⁠⁠⁠⁠

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠⁠⁠⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ page - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

ABOUT RACHANEE LUMAYNO

https://www.rachanee.net/

Book marketing is a thorn in many a writer's side, but here with a fine set ot tweezers is marketing whiz, Nicky Pecone.
Nicky is the founder of Iron Age Marketing, a marketing agency that specialises in helping writers promote their books and build their brand.
In our chat, we talk about the fundamentals of book marketing—what it is, what it involves, and what writers can do to start building their name and selling books. 

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at ⁠⁠⁠thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠

GET A TOOLSHED TSHIRT

⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/ToolshedTshirt⁠⁠⁠

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠⁠⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠ page - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠⁠⁠ 

ABOUT NICKY AND IRON AGE MARKETING

https://nickpecone.com/iron-age-media-marketing/

For our latest community panel, we had the pleasure of welcoming award-winning literary fantasy author Karen Healuer as our special guest.
The topic centred all on characters—creating them, getting to know them, and how to grow them. 
We looked at specific strategies for character creation, discussed ways to understand what our characters want, the role of side characters in stories, and looked at different approaches for growing and developing our fictional people.

A big thank you to our community members Joshua Parker and Isa Ottoni too!

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at ⁠thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com⁠

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our ⁠Patreon⁠ page - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠ 

OUR GUESTS

Karen Heuler - The Splendid City - ⁠https://angryrobotbooks.com/books/the-splendid-city/⁠ | More about Karen - ⁠https://www.karenheuler.com/

Isa Ottoni - https://www.instagram.com/isa.ottoni.writes/

Joshua Parker - https://ontheedgebusiness.wordpress.com/

RESOURCES

https://richiebilling.com/welcome/the-writers-toolshed/writing-tips/what-is-characterization

https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/character-plotting

https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/character-development

Editing is tough. There's so much to think about, so much to keep an eye out for, the whole process can just be exhausting. 

As a writer, it's probably the most important part of the writing process, yet so many of us despair at the thought.

When it comes to enlisting the help of editors to make our lives that bit easier, there can be even more hurdles to overcome.

Where do we look? How much is a fair price? And what type of editing do we need help with, because there's a bit of a range? 

It's for all of these reasons I was excited to take a deep dive into the topic with professional book editor Jennia D'Lima. 

In our chat, we explore the different types of editing, how to sharpen your editing skills, where to find trusted editors, and what price is fair to pay, plus much, much more.  If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at ⁠⁠thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com⁠⁠

GET A TOOLSHED TSHIRT

⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/ToolshedTshirt⁠⁠

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ page - ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠⁠ 

ABOUT JENNIA D'LIMA

https://jenniaedits.com/

Religion, belief systems and spirituality are huge topics in the fantasy genre. When we create our fictional worlds, so often they feature gods and goddesses or some kind of faith system. 
And in many tales, there are characters who are devout or devote themselves to their faith. 
Recreating these things in our fantasy worlds isn't easy. The religions we know are powerfully compelling and rich in detail and history. 
And honing in on the thoughts and feelings of someone so devout can be tough to achieve. 
That's why I'm delighted to welcome to the show Mark Weisman. A former Christian pastor turned Celtic and Norse shaman, Mark's life has been a spiritual journey and his insights into faith and belief and second-to-none. 
In our chat, we discuss everything from the philosophical side of faith to how we can create these powerful elements in our stories. 

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at ⁠thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com⁠

GET A TOOLSHED TSHIRT

⁠https://tinyurl.com/ToolshedTshirt⁠

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠

LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our ⁠Patreon⁠ page - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠ 

ABOUT MARK WEISMAN

https://akulfhednar.com/

Daniel Polansky is a Hugo-nominated author and writer of scores of acclaimed books, including his most recent: March's End (Angry Robot).

In this jovial interview, Daniel tells us how he wrote March's End, how he crafted its unique world and the gripping conflict between his characters.

And we discuss Daniel's writing journey and processes—how he comes up with ideas and how he handles the endless challenges, before finishing with some terrific advice and tips for writers.

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com

GET A TOOLSHED TSHIRT

https://tinyurl.com/ToolshedTshirt

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers

LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed 

ABOUT DANIEL POLANSKY

Website: http://www.danielpolansky.com/

March's End: https://amzn.to/3D9n4VU

RESOURCES

Try our passive voice converter tool - https://richiebilling.com/passive-voice-checker

Download a free worldbuilding template - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding

Learn how to create a fantasy map here - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing/how-to-make-a-fantasy-map

We're thrilled to welcome Laura Bennett as a special guest for our latest community panel discussion on working with literary agents and navigating the world of traditional publishing. With scores of questions asked and informatively answered, you're bound to learn something new about writing query letters, perfecting a blurb and synopsis, how to find a literary agent, and things to look out for. To keep up to date with our live community events, to join a critique group, to get help with beta reads and much more, just click below. JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY (DISCORD) https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed FOLLOW LAURA https://twitter.com/Losbennett ABOUT THE LIVERPOOL LITERARY AGENCY https://www.liverpool-literary.agency/ RESOURCES ON FINDING LITERARY AGENTS Cover letters - https://www.liverpool-literary.agency/news/guide-to-query-letters / https://www.mushens-entertainment.com/blog/the-perfect-cover-letter Publisher's Marketplace: https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ The Bookseller: https://www.thebookseller.com/home R/Pubtips: https://www.reddit.com/r/PubTips/ Jericho Writers: https://jerichowriters.com/ I AM in Print: https://www.iaminprint.co.uk/