Greg Hamerton | fantasy author

A writer’s review of Keeping It Real (by Justina Robson).

It starts on the front cover. Lila has a blend of sass, hardcore metal and intriguing curves. Damn, she’s the coolest cyborg ever. But why did I buy it in the first place? When it comes to actually BUYING a book, I want at least 500 pages for my money. I want to get lost in an intriguing fantasy world for DAYS. So at 279pages I already have major resistance with Keeping It Real. I turn it over. And the basic premise of the story gets me. [...]

I’m reading The Light Fantasic, a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. I’ve got to the point (fairly early on) where I don’t care what he does with the story, the plot can go nowhere and I’ll still be contented, because he has made me laugh. He’s poked a finger at things everyone has been foolish about (like the tooth fairy) and by making me see how ridiculous they are, I have been won over (what’s she live in, then, a castle made of teeth?) [...]

The inspiration of the Muse, and the challenges of bringing the vision back.

When I was thirteen, I went to the College of Magic, to learn all I could. It was kind of a Harry Potter school for stage magicians – there are rabbits coming out of hats, white doves flapping about and silk scarves that turned into ropes. I sat down eagerly to my first class, apprentice wizard that I was. I was told there is no magic. I was told it is all illusion, all trickery, all a sham. I couldn’t have been more disappointed. [...]

The hunger for magic is universal, most people have it in some way or another. It’s in our natures as creatives to see more than what is visible. The more creative you are, the more likely you believe in the possibility of magic, or even use it in your work. You may not even realise how much magic you use. [...]

When I read a fantasy novel, I want to have my reality replaced, redrawn. Reinvented. I want that sense of discovery. I want to become someone new. I set out to find the best among the fantasy greats like Terry Pratchett, Robin Hobb and Tolkien.

A question and answer session on what it’s like to write a fantasy novel. The Riddler’s Gift is the first tale in the Lifesong fantasy series by Greg Hamerton.

You’ve written a debut fantasy novel. You want someone to publish it. Let’s assume it’s well-written, as good as anything out there. To sell, the fantasy book needs to be long, most often double or triple the length of the common novel. That means it costs almost three times the amount to produce. Which is why fantasy is a genre wherein most books are produced by a very few (big) publishing houses in the UK and USA. [...]

Writing is a tricky business. These books will help you plot a course through the twists and turns of fate.

This interview was conducted in June 2007 by Something Wicked Magazine, when Viane Venter talked to Greg Hamerton about the imminent release of the fantasy novel The Riddler’s Gift (First Tale of the Lifesong).

How to reach for the world of visions. Reading fantasy fiction allows us to dream in a vivid way. Writing fantasy fiction takes the dreaming to another level. You are the dreamer who leads the dream, the creator of the dreamworld. [...]

Now that Second Sight has been released, it’s time to take Tabitha and her crew on a blog tour to find some interesting websites and have some fun. What better place to begin than Fantasy Book Critic, a mighty fantasy book review site in the States. They produce in-depth critiques of the books they read [...]

Writing the 600 page new epic fantasy novel is the short bit. Trying to build a writing career on that book can take years. Here’s some advice for first time fantasy authors on how to find a fantasy publisher.

Nerine Dorman of the Cape Times (part of the Independent News and Media group) interviews South African fantasy author Greg Hamerton about his new fantasy novel Second Sight, part of the fantasy series The Tale of the Lifesong.