Steph Huddleston

Verspertine by Margaret Rogerson Book review

With an exciting premise, and unique worldbuilding there’s much to love from Margaret Rogerson’s latest novel, Vespertine. But if you’re looking for the usual Rogerson romance, this isn’t quite it.

What Makes a Good Retelling? Marvel 1602 book review

What makes a retelling good? I recently read Neil Gaiman’s Marvel 1602 and found myself asking this question. This post uses this comic series and other examples of retellings as a case study for a better understanding of the topic of retellings in fiction.

How Do Coauthors Write A Book? Interview with Lauren Sevier and Abbie Smith

Guns & Smoke was written by coauthors, Lauren Sevier and Abbie Smith. In this post, I’m delighted to interview them about their journey to publication and ask them your burning questions about all things coauthoring.

What Is Your Ideal Writing Set Up? Desk chair edition

I get a lot of questions about my writing and office set-up. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve likely seen my desk and laptop at some stage. This blog is usually focused on the craft of writing, but today we’ll chat about some of my essentials for a good writing set-up.

7 Tips To Make Character Descriptions More Interesting

All writers seem to know that characters need to be described in a way that’s interesting. Readers want to be captivated, intrigued and entertained by the fictional (or real) people they encounter on the page. But the actual how to make character descriptions interesting is harder to define.

Can A Book Have More Than One Main Character? Thursday Murder Club Book Review

Let’s take a look at The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. I read this book recently and loved it! I also think there’re some excellent principles about multiple character stories which can be seen in action, throughout the book.

The controversy of cliffhangers: does your story need one?

In this post, we’ll be talking all about cliffhangers! Both their strengths and shortcomings. If you want to learn how to harness them to your story’s advantage, read on!

Maintaining Tension In A Sequel: Bound By Firelight Book Review

Bound By Firelight by Dana Swift is an excellent sequel. I loved this book and thought it did a great job of following up Cast In Firelight. In this post, I’ll be reviewing the series and using the series as a case study for maintaining tension across a series of books.

Do you have Writer’s Block or Imposter Syndrome?

ost writers (if not all), have faced these challenges and doubts in some form or another. But I have noticed that while there’s a common discussion about Writer’s Block, its cousin, Imposter Syndrome, doesn’t get enough attention.

How to get better at Worldbuilding: Howl’s Moving Castle book review

Today, we’re tackling one of the most challenging writing topics for writers, but especially those working in fantasy and sci-fi; worldbuilding. To illustrate some of the points in this post, I’ll be talking about Dianna Wynne Jone’s book, Howl’s Moving Castle.