Fae. Romance. Shenanigans.
Fantasy-of-manners is a subgenre of fantasy where the societal setting lends itself to intimate, complicated social interactions and (you guessed it) manners. Think ballrooms and manor houses rather than battlefields. The name draws from ‘comedy of manners’, and while fantasy-of-manners books aren't always humorous, they often do have a whimsical / tongue-in-cheek tone.
This is my write-up of the notes I took during a session on Productivity & Balance given by Nalini Singh at the Romance Writers of New Zealand 2021 conference in Wellington. As such, her actual words have been paraphrased and filtered through the chaos labyrinth of my own brain, so you should attribute all the… Continue reading Productivity and Balance: Conference notes
Whew, what a whirlwind of a weekend! The short version: Two events, a drink that was ON FIRE, and a trophy! The long version: This weekend was the annual Romance Writers of New Zealand conference for 2021. This was my second RWNZ conference (I wrote about my first time here), and because of our closed… Continue reading Two events and an award
So, The King of Faerie is the last book in my Stariel Quartet. Well, only mostly, as it turns out. Whilst The King of Faerie (Stariel #4) indeed wraps up Hetta and Wyn’s story and the main series arc, I found in writing it that there was another character whose story needed a bit more… Continue reading The not-quite end of the Stariel Quartet / An announcement
So. 2020. That happened. How do you reflect on a year where reality became stranger than fiction? Even from the small and personal perspective of my own indie career, the task is daunting. To make some sort of sense of a year that felt a thousand years and simultaneously only five minutes long, I’ve split… Continue reading Writerly reflections 2020: A year in four parts
If you are a New Zealand library or bookstore If you are a NZ library or bookstore, my books are available through Wheelers. If you are overseas This isn't an exhaustive list, but here are some to get you started. Free international shipping to most countries: bookdepositoryNew Zealand - MightyApeAustralia - BooktopiaUnited Kingdom - alibris.co.uk… Continue reading Where can I buy a Stariel paperback book? (other than Amazon)
I have sat on this cover for far too long, and since book 4 is finally, finally feeling like it's taking a proper shape, I've decided to let it out of the bag. Isn't it just gorgeous? Once again, Jenny at Seedlings Design Studio has outdone herself. I love all my covers so much, but I think… Continue reading Stariel #4: The King of Faerie Cover Reveal
In 2013, a friend dragged me along to the national NZ science fiction and fantasy convention, which that year was held in Wellington. My only knowledge of conventions up to that point came from American TV shows and movies; these had not prepared me for the NZ experience, which is much, much smaller (think around… Continue reading CoNZealand: My first Worldcon experience
This is a special year for New Zealand's speculative fiction awards, the Sir Julius Vogel (SJV) awards. Never heard of the SJVs or Sir Julius Vogel? Fear not, I'm here to meet all your long-winded explanation needs! I only became aware of the SJVs when I started getting into New Zealand's publishing / writing scene,… Continue reading The 2020 Sir Julius Vogel Awards – the whats, whys, and my own eligibility
AJ Lancaster 