The Priory of the Orange Tree Review by Chris Joynson

Some books you just know you’re going to love the moment you hear about them. For me The Priory of the Orange Tree is one of those books. First off, dragons, lots of dragons, that’s already a pretty big tick in the ‘Yes’ column for me. Plus that magnificent cover, just look at it, it’s utterly gorgeous. Most importantly though it’s written by Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone Season and one of my favourite authors since her books were recommended to me a few years back. So, if you’re after a rich, deep fantasy world full of dragons, myths, legends, some courtly intrigue and characters that will make you scream with both frustration and joy, then do I have a book to recommend to you.

5 Sci-fi/Fantasy Books by Black Authors – A post by Chris Joynson

I wish the world was different. I wish we all lived in a time and place where every single human being is treated fairly and equally, I mean that just makes sense doesn’t it? People are people, why should anyone be treated any differently for something like their skin colour? Yet I look at the news each day and I wonder if we’ve even made any progress at all. I know I’m speaking from a position of privilege, I’m a twenty-something cisgender white dude, I sit squarely in the middle of the privilege venn diagram, I have no idea what it’s truly like to be discriminated against. I also have no idea how I can truly help or change the system. Sitting by and doing nothing certainly isn’t going to accomplish anything though and I can do so much better than that, so, the decision I’ve come to is to fight hate with love. As such, completely off the top of my head, here are 5 sci-fi/fantasy books by black authors. There are many, many more out there in bookshops and across the Internet, so if you’ve got a favourite drop it in the comments, let’s celebrate a little!

Tips for Writing a Fight Scene by Chris Joynson

Fight scenes are hard. I think that's a statement most writers will agree with, fights are an incredibly visual and visceral thing and translating that into the written word can be difficult. It doesn't help that there's so many films and TV shows packed with HUGE blockbuster action sequences (I'm writing this the day after watching the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and my heart hasn't stopped pounding from the siege of Mandalore arc). Action set pieces are not a strength of the written word, but that doesn't mean they can't be good, you just have to know what you're doing. 

It’s All Part of the Routine! By Chris Joynson

If there's anything I've learnt over the past month, it's that having a routine is important. I consider myself a typical writer and as such I'm used to long periods of isolation, day after day as I work on one project or another. I entered this never-ending Lockdown of ours with an air of cockiness, it has to be said, it'll be easy I told myself, no problem. I couldn't have been more wrong. 

Escape from Reality! The Power of Fantasy and Science-Fiction by Chris Joynson

Okay, I know we're all worried and stressed to the nth degree at the moment (I pretty much had my own private meltdown a couple of days ago), but I just want to say that we're all going to get through this. You want to know how I know that? Because it's what we always do, to paraphrase one of my favourite Doctors, "we're indomitable."