Fantasy With a Hint of Asian Spices
The original lyrics of Misty Mountains, from The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien Far over the misty mountains coldTo dungeons deep and caverns oldWe must away ere break of dayTo seek the pale enchanted gold. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,While hammers fell like ringing bellsIn places deep, where dark things sleep,In hollow […]
Read More Tolkien Reading DayWork has started on this rewrite of something I wrote in my teen years. Initially, it was meant to be a padding out of the original with some more character work and plot. However, as these things go, it’s kind of become a full rewrite. The original was good for a teen project. I was […]
Read More Alauddin UpdateIts been a pretty good year for me. But for the world, It’s been a tumultuous and disturbing one. Humanity seems to be losing … to itself. Despite the best efforts of scientists and science fiction authors, we continually move towards self-destructive tendencies. Climate change, wars, human rights violations, famine. And Donald Trump is yet […]
Read More 2025 ProjectsIntroduction Fantasy fiction has long been linked to the mystical, the unknown, and the extraordinary. This genre contains a unique strand of storytelling. It draws from rich cultural and spiritual traditions. This is known as Muslim fantasy fiction. Combining elements of magic, faith, and folklore, these stories explore new dimensions of the fantastical through a […]
Read More Magic, Faith and FictionThe mind stills. The body relaxes. The spirit rises up, tethered to its mortal shell with a gossamer tendril. Free to wander the spiritual realm but tentatively connected to the physical world. The aim is to lose oneself in the awe of the Almighty. In my last post, I looked at the bestiary available to […]
Read More Hidden Realms of Muslim FantasyThe troll hefts its makeshift club and advances cautiously towards the glowing blue figure. He roars a challenge at the strange creature to show his dominance. But the blue figure is uncowed. She just smiles as she hovers above the ground and raises a single hand. The earth rumbles in response. In my last post, […]
Read More Clash of MythologiesWestern fantasy fiction is heavily influenced by Greco-Roman and Norse mythologies. From pantheons of fickle deities to mischievous fae folk, from great dragons to tunnel crawling wyrms. Over the decades, since fantasy’s emergence as a genre, more and more European folklore has made its way into fantasy fiction. Orcs, goblins, elves, dwarfs, etc., are well […]
Read More When Folk Tales CollideI wanted to test the mettle of AI, so as an experiment I fed Microsoft Copilot the blurb from my novel, The Changeling King. Here is the original prompt complete with the text of my blurb: Write me a chapter of a fantasy story using this blurb: At the height of the Age of the […]
Read More Ink and Algorithms: AI vs. Human WritingI’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now, but wanted to allow my thoughts on the matter to crystalise a little bit before committing words to digital paper. AI is here. Its been here for a while now but its finally becoming common place in the public domain. Understandably, its making some […]
Read More The Influence of AI on Writing: Current Trends and Future ImpactAn interesting piece by children’s author Katherine Rundell on recapturing some of the wonder of childhood through children’s fiction. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230711-why-adults-should-read-childrens-books
Read More BBC: Why adults should read children’s books