My Road to Writing Fantasy
“Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life” – Stephen King Hitting the Road: My journey to writing fantasy began at a young age when a relative of mine gifted me a Rupert Bear annual for Christmas. Rupert is an anthropomorphized—or humanlike—young bear who lives with his parents in a house in a fictional…Read More
Food in Fantasy Fiction
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” — Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin February has brought a cold snap to Switzerland, and my winter stomach has been craving meals that are hearty and comforting. Food is like that: it’s an essential part of life, and it provides more than mere nourishment. Food…Read More
Fairy Tales: The Moral of the Story
“Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” – Neil Gaiman Fairy tales — we can’t get enough of them. New movie and book versions are released every year. Whether a classic retelling or an adaptation with a…Read More
Shape-shifting: Fantastic Metamorphoses
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” ― Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis All Change Imagine you could change your shape—or even better—become someone or something else. Though it may sound incredible, this happens to countless creatures that transform their body parts into…Read More
Why Fantasy Matters
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” — Albert Einstein Storytelling People love a good story. Since time began, stories have created magic and a sense of wonder at the world….Read More
Sense of Wonder: Evoking the Numinous
“Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” — Marcus Aurelius Numinous is an adjective derived from the Latin word Numen, meaning divine will. In a more secular context, things that are numinous have an otherworldly quality that arouses a sense of wonder in magic or the supernatural. The Other The fun of fantasy…Read More
