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A new fantasy series that will weave music through your soul


There is a song that drifts on the breeze through all the world. Its rhythyms are echoed in our breath, the music is caught in our laughter, hidden in our language, woven through our life. Singers reach for the melody, but it is too delicate to hold and too elusive to remember. As the Ages pass, so the Lifesong retreats under the sounds of our time, its potent beauty and danger ever more a mystery.
Epic fantasy novel The Riddler's Gift READ A SAMPLE New fantasy novel Second Sight READ A SAMPLE
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"A highly recommended fantasy novel ... enormous fun to read"
FANTASY BOOK REVIEW

In conversation with author Nerine Dorman

14 Aug

On shadows, dens of iniquity, magic, and the influence of South Africa

Tea with Nerine Dorman

Nerine Dorman is a South African author, sub-editor and fiction editor. She débuted with the dark horror series of Khepera Rising and Khepera Redeemed, but has many strings to her bow – travel writing, young adult fantasy and erotic fiction. How she keeps this caleidoscope of creativity going while working a full-time job with a national South African newspaper is beyond me. I got to know her during one of her projects last year: giving an editorial polish to my fantasy novel Second Sight.

1. Can you give us a glimpse of what writing projects you have bubbling in your pot?

Right now, writing as Therése von Willegen, I’m completing another work of contemporary erotic fiction involving a young lass’s entanglement with a bad-boy celebrity. I am, however, very excited about the next dark fantasy I’ll be releasing under my real name after I’ve completed the revisions. The story follows a botanist turned reluctant vampire who has an unfortunate habit of being shipwrecked. After that I’ll be rebooting a YA urban fantasy for the adult market. Not to give too much away, the story features a carnival-style travelling circus, which I’m really looking forward to as I’ll be consulting with a friend of mine who is a performance artist. In the meanwhile I’ve been researching the old freak shows that were so popular years ago. Yes, there’s a vampire, but another favourite character of mine is a 1948 Hudson Commodore called Rose, who may be a little more sentient than people expect. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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A dark and gothic South African fantasy

13 Aug

South African fantasy novel Khepera Rising by Nerine DormanKhepera Rising by Nerine Dorman was published by Lyrical Press in December 2009. The sequel, Khepera Redeemed was released in June 2010. Published as urban fantasy, it would more aptly be classified as horror.

It is an incendiary work of black magic that will leave kindergoths wide-eyed.

Occultist James Edward Guillaume enjoys living up to his reputation as South Africa’s wickedest man, but in so doing, he becomes a target for those who believe his esoteric arts and alternative lifestyle are the work of the devil and should be punished.

The author displays an accomplished style that gives me confidence to follow her into the dark. The protagonist, Jamie, offers a distinctive shock-rocker view of the world with a unique perspective on our so-ordinary lives. The story is an introduction to a ragged slice of Goth culture in Cape Town. The detailing is convincing – references to esoteric texts, drug culture and rituals that speak of experience or such good research that it is indistinguishable from it. But the book comes with a warning: M/M and M/F sexual content, occult, violence, gore. You’d best avoid it if you find smears of prejudice, graphic violence and conversations peppered with vile expletives offensive. I’d never have expected a woman to have written this … but I suspect that she is more fire and demon, with an undeniable knack for finding soft places with her claws.

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Posted in Fantasy Book Reviews

 

Fantasy books and viral marketing

12 Aug

Because I’m actively involved in promoting my own titles, I’m always on the lookout for clever ways to find new readers. Well here’s a very very clever viral marketing campaign designed by Orbit for the new fantasy novel The Black Prism by Brent Weeks. Because it’s viral, when it works, it infects you with enthusiasm for the book. So now that I’ve caught it, I’m passing it on to you!

I’m a superviolet magic drafter!

Made of wavelengths shorter than most human eyes can see, superviolet luxin is invisible except to superviolet drafters–and those only when they concentrate. Solid, but not as strong as blue or green, superviolet is the subtlest luxin. Used for cryptography, creating invisible walls and traps, and marking targets on the battlefield, superviolets tend to have a removed outlook. They appreciate irony and sarcasm and are sometimes cold.

Take the quiz at Brent Weeks.com

Go on, find out what colour your magic is…

 
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A masterpiece of fantasy

12 Aug

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint - a masterwork of fantasy writingMemory and Dream by Charles de Lint

This story had a deep impact on me. It opens with an innocent sketch in a town square; it soon becomes a deeply engaging study of the act of creation and the mind of an artist.

If I took out my editor’s pencil, I’d only be able to mark one paragraph in the entire book, where a minor character is granted a bit too much page space to rant about his over-intellectualised opinions of art. It is in character though. And that’s it. The single tiny flaw I was aware of, if flaw it is. I mention it only to show that I attempted to be critical, but could not really find fault. The story is mostly flawless, and breathtaking.

There is a twist that throws a new light on the whole story, right at the end, which as a reader is an absolute delight. As my mind recapitulates the tale I get a new version and insight into what I’ve already learned. This is so satisfying, it’s as if I get two stories for the price of one, this deepening of the experience is something I intend to incorporate into my own writing. I shall read more of Charles de Lint’s work. He is a master of his art. He deserves study. Maybe, even, demands it.

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An interview with Toad

03 Aug

The internet is stranger than a fantasy novel. I’ve been working hard to publicise the release of Second Sight, digging under the surface of fantasy book review sites, turning over fantasy/sci-fi blogs to  see what’s underneath, blinking into the bright lights of international obscurity on YouTube. I remember a pizza with mushrooms, I remember a glass of red wine …  I woke up today, and found that I had been interviewed… by Toad.

TOAD: When did you know you had it in you to be a writer?

Many, many years ago, I wrote a letter to Richard Bach, praising his work but also insisting that his ideas seemed to come from my head. He wrote back, full of wise understanding, telling me that only I could write the stories I needed to write to my people and my time.

TOAD: What’s the most difficult aspect of your craft?

Not owning that villa overlooking the sea with all those minions and endless celebrations in champagne-Jacuzzis. If I worked at any other profession for this long I’d have earned all that, by now. They tell us we get royalties, so if it’s any consolation to aspiring writers, it’s a noble profession. No really, I’m not that shallow, I’m happy with my cosy life. What’s really hard, with writing, is holding on to the singular vision of your story world, as the demands of the real world try to intrude. Hold on, I’ve got to go make a cup of coffee…

Read the full interview in Toad’s corner >

 
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Posted in Greg Hamerton

 

Magic and make-believe … on Fantasy Book Critic

02 Aug

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 and they’re not afraid to slate the books they don’t like. I follow their reviews on Goodreads to keep up to date with the latest developments in fantasy.

The fantasy author Greg Hamerton developing second sight

Developing second sight, with one eye on reality and one eye on ... somewhere else

After completing their book review of Second Sight, they kindly invited me to be a guest author on their website, so I posted something today about the value of creative writing, how the search for magic affects my writing method, and what I’m looking for in the fantasy novels that I read.

You’re going to read another fantasy novel? But it’s not true. What’s the point? By this dictum, fantasy novels fail spectacularly. Not only are the people invented; the whole world is. There will often be magic. Magic? Didn’t we emerge from that darkness when Davy turned on the light bulb?

But what if it was true?

Read the rest of this article here >

 
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Posted in Greg Hamerton, Writing Fantasy

 

Come to the book launch party for Second Sight!

30 Jul

The Tale of the LIFESONG groupCome and join me for a bit of release day fun. At 5pm (GMT) on 1 August 2010 there’s a launch party for Second Sight on Facebook and you’re welcome. This is a virtual party … just wander over to the Tale of the Lifesong group page then post whatever you like on the wall.

Bring an image from Eyri … a sprite, a mote, the last photo your friend took on his phone when he tried to raise a morgloth. Come surprise us with the image post, scratch a secret you stole from the Shadowcasters on the wall or simply hang out and enjoy the essence.

Dress code: Oldenworld style … so dress up your avatar (that’s your profile photo, dummy) Come fan the flames or just cause some Chaos.

You’ll be instantly famous! Your name will be sung in worship songs for years to come. You may even end up written into the future books as something memorable, like a mote … there’s three of ‘em, all huddled together.

Welcome to The CrowbarThen the afterparty starts at 6pm over at The Crowbar (it will appear, as if by magic, on the homepage of greghamerton.com) I’ll be having a live chat there for as long as the party goes on for! Come terrify the guests.

 
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Posted in Lifesong, Second Sight

 

Fantasy Book Critic review of Second Sight

30 Jul

Another 5 star review, this time from Liviu Suciu of Fantasy Book Critic, Fantasy Book Critica seasoned reviewer in the US who reads more fantasy novels than anyone I know. If you enjoy deep insight into the latest fantasy novels, I highly recommend checking out the website by clicking on the image.

Liviu wrote: “Second Sight” is the second Tale of the Lifesong following the author’s debut “The Riddler’s Gift”. While quite a traditional fantasy tale – the destined girl, the magical artifact, the mentor of the title, the nasty and tricky villains, the pseudo-medieval setting – “The Riddler’s Gift” enchanted me from the first pages with its beautiful and lyrical style and I followed the adventures of Tabitha Serannon and the assorted cast of characters to the superb and complete ending of the novel’s main thread.

However the big picture remained in the background with only hints and snippets given and indeed “Second Sight” picks up where “The Riddler’s Gift” ends and deals with the monumental – the creation and destruction of worlds, the relationship between Order and Chaos or Dark and Light – all embodied in the eons long conflict between Wizards of Order, Sorcerers of Chaos and Gods and Goddeses of Creation and Destruction.

Very high magic and big-words stuff, but despite my general avoidance of such, the beautiful writing and the great characters, especially Tabitha and The Riddler, compelled me to read and greatly enjoy this tale too.

Continue the review here >

 
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Posted in Lifesong, Reviews of my fantasy novels, Second Sight

 

First review for Second Sight

26 Jul

Second SightSecond Sight just got a 5 star review!

A few advance reading copies of the new fantasy novel Second Sight went out last week. The first review has just come in from Samantha Shove:

“This book continues the promise of the epic fantasy laid down by Riddler’s Gift and follows the story with all the dry wit, humour, tenderness, magic, mystery and mayhem (actually there’s a hell of a lot more mayhem in this one, unsurprisingly considering where they’re travelling through) found in the first tale. Once again Hamerton’s writing pulls you deep into the story so you feel everything as they experience it, every victory and defeat, every moment of honesty and kindness, treachery and deceit, love and hate and most of all every moment of battle between Order and Chaos and of course the power of the Lifesong. Hamerton has definitely created a world and story to rival Tolkien’s LOTR (although this will always be the original and the best of the fantasy world) in all aspects of story-telling, character creation, other world creation and sheer epic-ness (not a real word, I know, nothing else would do). The only question left is…when oh when is the third instalment, so subtly alluded to by Twardy, going to be out?” > Read the full review on Goodreads
 
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Posted in Lifesong, Reviews of my fantasy novels, Second Sight

 

Developing creative consciousness for fantasy writing

25 Jul

Reading fantasy fiction allows us to dream in a very vivid way. Writing fantasy fiction takes the dreaming to another level. You are the dreamer who leads the dream, the creator of the dreamworld. It is the most powerful kind of meditation, an experience of controlled psychosis that results in a prolonged experience of altered consciousness. In this article I will examine ways in which you can induce the receptive state, how you can deepen the intensity of the dream, and how to hold onto the vision for a more profound writing experience.

1. Hearing the music of the mind
Consider music. It is a patterned structure of sounds which you follow in your mind. You find pleasure and enlightenment by following the composer’s creation. The further the musical piece takes you outside of your body, beyond the mundane world, the greater the enjoyment. A masterpiece lingers in your mind leaving you with an altered sense of reality, if only for a while. You believe wonderful things are possible. You are inspired.

Fiction is very similar. Critics who insist on moral instruction, political messages or historical fact miss the musical aspect of writing altogether. A novel is a composition, a concert of ideas, a melody of story played within an orchestra of dreams. It is woven in a particular way by the author to bring about the mental crescendo and ecstacy. Some scornfully label it escapism, as if that means it is less worthy of literary merit than a stuffy book of factual realistic torment. I see escapism differently. If a book is capable of transporting me to escape my reality, then it is a mighty success. In a good novel you get to experience things beyond your world and in some delightful way your power of imagination can be challenged, you can be gripped by raw emotion, and you can find release.

As a writer, the deeper you can sink into the dream you are creating, the more powerfully this music of the mind comes through. Listening for it often means forgetting what you are trying to write (the plot) and to become swept away by the visions (the passion).

As you try to record your visions, you can enhance this receptive mental state by following the principles mentioned below.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Writing Fantasy

 
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