What happens on a discovery call?

A discovery call is a thirty minute chat about what you need help with. It’s very informal, and is like having coffee with a friend.

What will we discuss on a coaching call?

We will talk about anything you like to do with your writing. I use my experience as a creative writing tutor to both offer possible solutions to issues, as well as coaching you to understand why you are experiencing the issue and how we can move forward. I also set tasks outside of our time together so that you can work toward your goals. All our conversations are confidential.

Can we meet in person?

During Covid I am happy to work with your time zone and meet you on Zoom.

writing fantasy – Rachel Grosvenor Author

My Top Five Humorous Fantasy Reads

After publishing my novel, The Finery, a joyful romp through a dystopian fantasy setting, I thought I would share my top five humorous fantasy reads.

Men at Arms By Terry Pratchett

Fantasy novels can be cosy, adventurous, exciting, and joyful — and it’s that last one that Pratchett really embraces in all of his Discworld novels. Whenever I want to slip on some comfortable shoes and visit the cobbled streets of Ankh-Morpork, it’s the path of Captain Sam Vines I follow. All of the city-watch stories have their own delightful tales of misadventure, but Men at Arms follows Captain Vines trying to recruit new staff, and his difficulty facing change, alongside Pratchett’s pearls of wisdom such as “Pride is all very well, but a sausage is a sausage,” makes this an enchanting fantastical read.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

You may have seen the classic cult movie, and though that is a delight, the book is much better. Goldman cleverly writes as though he is abridging an original work by a writer named Morgenstern, and his witty prose makes this book hard to put down. It’s a classic adventure full of sword fights, love, intrigue, and, most importantly, joy. I can’t recommend this enough to a fantasy fan who enjoys a slice of humour.

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S Dawson and Kevin Hearne

You know you’re looking at a humorous fantasy novel when the necromancer is called Steve. This story takes one of my favourite fantasy tropes (the chosen one) and adds a dash of hilarity to his journey. There’s an assassin who is afraid of chickens, and a trash-talking goat. So, if you’re looking for a light-hearted adventure, this is for you.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

This novel has the sort of cover that makes me cross a bookstore at speed, and it more than delivers once the book is opened. This story has a ton of humour and wit, and the magical setting is a real adventure for any fantasy fan.

The Finery by Rachel Grosvenor

When I started writing The Finery, I had a few points in mind. The first was that I had realised that the older I get, the more likely I am to have the ability to deliver the ring to Mount Doom (if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, see: Tolkien). Older women are badass, and when centenarian Professor Wendowleen Cripcot finds herself facing the power of an ever-growing government regime in the winter of her life, she doesn’t stand down. Sprinkled with humour, fantastical realism, and a wolf sidekick who will stop at nothing to get a good breakfast, The Finery is a lively mix of Pratchett and Orwell. Big Brother is watching you…but he probably needs glasses.

What would you add?

The Draw of Fantastical Fiction

According to sales statistics, fantasy book sales grew by over 45% in 2021 compared to 2020, and I’m not a bit surprised to hear it. As a reader, I’ve always drifted toward the fantasy section in a bookshop, and as a writer, it was the promise of adventure that sparked my writing career.

I began writing as a child after reading (you guessed it) The Lord of the Rings. As an elder millennial (I know, but I didn’t give myself that title), I was at that age when the movies started coming out just as I was allowed to go to the cinema to watch them with friends, alone. I had already read the books, and to see the characters come to life before me was thrilling. With Justified playing on my CD player, I would roll up my sleeves, stare for a while at my poster of Legolas, and begin writing fanfiction.

The internet was different back then. I would post on a site where other Tolkien lovers would write their own fiction. Our characters would interact in Middle Earth, and I created a complex backstory for my elven warrior and her horse, Tengwar. By day, I was a mild-mannered Brummy student, but by night, my bow was my greatest weapon.

I have always remembered the magic I felt at the keyboard of my family’s old-fashioned, loudly whirring computer. I would rush home excited to write, delighted to see updates from others, and I have striven to keep the same feeling.

This is what fantasy offers me as a writer – excitement. Anything can happen, the world can be moulded into the magical. The mountains near my home become promises, begging to be traversed on a life-changing mission. The alleyways in my town hold secrets, bricks that, when pushed, reveal hidden houses and private rooms where witches dwell.

As a reader, my favourite fantastical place to visit is Ankh-Morpork, the city of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I had a similar cityscape in mind when writing my debut novel, The Finery (Fly on the Wall Press). Corruption and intrigue abound, but there is beauty there too. My main character, Professor Cripcot, is facing a very real situation – eviction. It isn’t that she overcomes this with magic, assisted by the aid of swords or bows and arrows, but rather that she is supported by those around her. The fantastical elements lie within the norms of everyday life – the care wolves given to older people, the tarot cards that truly reveal the future, and the underground network that survives for generations without sunlight. My writing has gone full circle in this way; I no longer pull fantasy into my real life but rather write my real life into fantasy. Perhaps that’s why fantasy book sales have shot up recently, the stress of the pandemic driving a desire to escape into a fantastical world.

As I write with my own wolf (really, more of a standard poodle) beside me, I do two things my education in writing taught me: I write what I know, and I add a dash of magic. After all, it’s that magic that leads me to both the keyboard and the fantasy bookshelf, every time.

Want to read some fantasy? Check out this post:

Fifteen Fantasy Books to Read When You Need a Break From Fiction