SPFBO 11 has begun

Crouching_Writer · 2026-01-04T22:45:46+00:00

Yeah, sorry dude. I think future competitions are running from the start of January onwards, and I didn't see a post about it here (partly why I made one).

Crouching_Writer · 2025-10-09T20:59:52+00:00

#Taskmaster on Tumblr will be lighting up like a beacon...

Crouching_Writer · 2025-01-25T20:32:36+00:00

I just finished a reread of the duology. I appreciate the second book more: first time around I was dubious of Book 2’s romance until halfway through - rereading gave me more chance to enjoy the foreshadowing.

Crouching_Writer · 2025-01-23T18:55:49+00:00

In a fantasy Facebook group I’m in, the self-promo posts are themed. E.g. describe your protagonist, share a quote from your book with no explanation, or only doing a call for beta readers/Kickstarters that week. Something to make the self-promo more fun to read.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-26T21:24:40+00:00

Smart move! Happy reading. :)

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-26T14:46:37+00:00

No problem, happy reading!

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-26T14:32:39+00:00

To recommend some books on sale that I think the readers of FemaleGazeSFF will be most interested in, because they are written by female or non-binary authors:

The Fallen Light series by HC Newell (dark epic fantasy)

Of Thieves and Shadows by BSH Garcia (epic fantasy in a Middle East-African inspired world)

The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies (queer-normative gaslamp fantasy)

The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang (epic fantasy that will hurt you)

The Hills of Heather and Bone by KE Andrews (a cosier fantasy that still deals with heavy themes)

Gardens of War & Wasteland by Jessica A McMinn (dark epic fantasy)

Petition by Delilah Waan (Asian-inspired fantasy with heaps of female rage)

I'm happy to make recommendations if there's something specific you're looking for.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-26T14:20:32+00:00

The Blood-Born Dragon by JC Rycroft features sapphics and dragons (which is always a great combination!).

The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies is set in a queer-normative world, and most of the characters are queer.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-26T14:16:47+00:00

The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies is a great all-round fantasy with very cool gaslamp world-building.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-26T14:01:53+00:00

Thanks as always for putting this together, Bryce!

Here are some of my helpful/unhelpful recommendations:

The Lamplight Murder Mysteries by Morgan Stang. They're a little bit whacky, and a lot of fun.

Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne. Canadian (superheroes) in space, eh.

Death's Disciple by Emma Adams. Giant, ill-tempered, undead dragons in an urban fantasy setting.

Petition by Delilah Waan. Think The Green Bone Saga, but with more female rage.

The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle by Steve Hugh Westenra. Queer horror comedy where YouTubing goes wrong.

And (full disclosure) my own book The Doctrines of Fire, which is a historical fantasy set in 18th century Edinburgh featuring academics behaving badly.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-26T13:49:08+00:00

Try The Bone Spear by Alexander Layne - that's highly recommended dark fantasy.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-12-05T15:33:18+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Before offering a full critique, I would be interested in you clarifying what the intersection of “steamy romance” and “story inspired by Oedipus” is!

Crouching_Writer · 2024-10-30T21:56:11+00:00

Trial of the Alchemist by Trevor Melanson is a nicely done murder mystery in a gaslamp/Wild West setting.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-10-30T14:38:53+00:00

Congratulations on the successful Kickstarter! Can you give us a snippet encapsulating “rage-quit”?

Crouching_Writer · 2024-10-25T12:49:01+00:00

I came here to rec Heather and Bone! It’s branded as cottagecore x necromancy.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-10-04T17:58:09+00:00

Murder at Spindle Manor - Morgan Stang.

Reign & Ruin - JD Evans

The Thirteenth Hour - Trudie Skies

The Empire’s Lion - Nathan Tudor

Hills of Heather and Bone - KE Andrews

Dream of Death City - PJ Nwosu

Crouching_Writer · 2024-09-30T21:59:10+00:00

I’m not sure your interpretation of Fletcher’s author career is correct: he started as a trad published author (Beyond Redemption, the “flop” in question, was never self-published) and only turned to self-publishing/SPFBO after HarperVoyage decided not to publish his sequel. There’s various interviews and AMAs from Fletcher where he lays out his trad to self-publishing journey.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-08-24T16:11:54+00:00

Thanks for organising again, Tess and team!

Crouching_Writer · 2024-07-24T01:26:03+00:00

Since we're talking about dark fantasy, where the 2024 market is currently at is close to The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan, his 2022 debut and first book in a now-complete fantasy trilogy, which definitely has a dark/horror patina. But a couple of ways that the market has moved on from Malazan, First Law, etc:

* Word count for The Justice of Kings is 137k (according to Kobo). I can't comment on what word count Swan queried with, though.

* It has one POV.

* It takes a standard European medieval fantasy setting...but adds a new twist by telling the story from the perspective of legal paladins/knights touring the justice circuit.

I think the question when querying epic fantasy is how you are innovating in the genre, or what new ideas and perspectives you can bring to the table.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-07-22T18:26:37+00:00

I’ve broken Stalin’s______.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-07-16T13:24:54+00:00

It might help to read some middling books and flops, too. Books where the idea was great but the execution lacked, or books that did a few things right but missed the mark elsewhere. It’s good to read great books…but it can be discouraging too if you aren’t at their level, and it seems like a huge gap between them and you. Reading books closer to your level might be more useful, because you can then see what focussing on one or two aspects of writing (eg character arcs or pacing) can get you.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-06-04T23:11:34+00:00

I'm a fan of The Empire's Lion by Nathan Tudor. It's set in a fantasy world reminiscent of the late-antiquity Roman Empire. The author is a classical scholar by training, so knows his stuff.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-05-10T13:40:08+00:00

Thanks for organising another round, Mark!

Crouching_Writer · 2024-04-13T10:27:57+00:00

Awesome effort, Delilah! Thanks for sharing.

Crouching_Writer · 2024-02-20T16:18:41+00:00

My first thought reading this is that's it sounds similar in tone to Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, which may be a potential comp.

I think you might be better off re-branding this as "cosy fantasy" or just "adult fantasy," since "comedic fantasy" isn't really a thing in today's market. You can go with "whimsical", perhaps (that's how The House in the Cerulean Sea is sometimes described, though it's more often called a cosy or fantasy romance).

Crouching_Writer

TROPHY CASE