Sometimes the stars align perfectly—that happened for me a few weeks before I released my first novel, when I purchased my copy of The Fantasy Writer’s Handbook by Richie Billing. Timely? Absolutely! Struggling with my final re-write after my editors’ reviews, I needed to clean up a number of items before I released the book, and this manual was heaven sent. The first half of the work is dedicated to the craft of writing, any type of fiction writing, with examples and references to further investigations into the land of grammar and style. While I had read many of the referenced books, Richie’s folksy approach truly resonated with me at just the correct time, reminding me to flush out the passive voice in action sequences and focus on the premise throughout the work. Most important, Richie is an active author-coach who responds to inquiries and is genuinely interested in his readers and followers. His support has been appreciated during the launch phase of my new series.
The second half of the handbook is specifically dedicated to the writing of Fantasy works, especially clarifying some of the essentials of a medieval setting and the correct application of weaponry and battle techniques—this section was affirming as it simply ensured I had gotten the details correct.
The final chapters of the book are dedicated to the business of getting a publisher, finding advance copy reviewers and the busy work of building a brand and an audience. Richie has written an excellent reference manual and it should be on every budding author’s bookshelf. I highly recommend it and having it arrive just in time to provide me sage counsel and guidance was perfect. Thanks Richie, you’ve made me a better writer! Cheers!