Tales From the Grimdark Side… 😈
To airt or not to airt: Some thoughts
As someone who has spent thousands and thousands of dollars to commission art surrounding and inspired by my novels, I’m deeply committed to human artists. Caterina Kalymniou, J-P Mavinga, and Epic Made have all produced some amazing commissions for me.…
Next in the ongoing saga… Art reveal!
Last January, I commissioned my friend and super-talented artist, J-P Mavinga, to create a piece of art for the Raven Queen, Arise Kickstarter. The “Thunderbird and the Priestess” was inspired by a sequence of the story that didn’t make it…
Tentacles, Yeah, but Beware the Bite
As heroines go, Askari isn’t the most lovable—she’s downright antisocial sometimes. But in a world where megafauna rule the day AND the night, humans have to stick together. Even when they don’t like each other much. Zero sexy times in…
Something a little different: My favorite reverse harem (so far)
The author, Naiya Bladesinger, has inverted and subverted the reverse harem cosmos and its tropes as we know them in a delightful and satisfying way. (Be warned! It’s not my normal grimdark fare. This book might make you laugh out…
It’s always Wednesday. In my heart.
My love for Wednesday surprises no one. Yet…it should. For all its neu-retro gothic vibe, the Netflix series—like its source material—isn’t grim or dark. Not really. While its humor might be, but the superb writing, the lovely cinematography, and the…
Smackdown: Grimdark vs Horror–Is There a Difference?
“Ernest Hemmingway once said: ‘The world is a good place, and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.” William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) in Se7en The last line of this horror movie, in my humble opinion, can sum up…
Pregnancy in the Grimdark
Like a lot of writers, I have tons of random interests and a head full of useless facts. One of those is Egyptology. It’s given me a lot of fodder for the grimdark stories I weave, from priesthoods and monarchies…
Viva La Resistance in the Grimdark
Resistance and rebellions in the grimdark aren’t an episode of Star Wars. There may be plucky teenagers who blow up important military bases, and those bases might be able to destroy whole planets, but unlike the Rebels in Star Wars,…
Why People Read Dark Fantasy
What do you read when you’re tired of all the bright, happy stuff? When you’re tired of everything going as it should for the chosen one, the hero saving the day, and everything rainbows and butterflies and unicorns? What do…
Women in the Grimdark: Surviving a Cruel World
In a world where might makes right, you’d expect the protagonist to survive if he’s brawny, muscular, and can outfight and out-Machiavelli his opponents. But … what if the protagonist isn’t a brawny beefcake that can cleave anyone in twain…
Daddy Issues in the Grimdark
Merry Paternal Unit’s Day weekend! Get your dad a pen and a tie or bake him that cake he demands every year, or else… Anyhoo, today’s a great time to talk about fathers in the grimdark. There’s a plethora of…
Weird Real, Grimdark Schools
If you like to escape by jumping headfirst into a dark fantasy read, you’ll know that your trip to faraway lands is always too short. Far sooner than you’d like, you’re back to the prosaic reality of dishes in the…
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Terrible things always happen in between heartbeats.
Love is never dead if you’re a necromancer.