Publishing
L.J. Stanton
READERS WANTED

Advance Review (or sometimes called Reader) Copies are books released to reviewers ahead of publication. These reviewers then post their honest opinions about the book on release day across multiple platforms (like Amazon and GoodReads). Whether it’s a 5 or a 1 star, an honest review is worth it’s weight in gold—which is one of the reasons ARC editions are free to the reviewer.

READERS WANTED
Book Club
L.J. Stanton
Book Club: FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

Our first read is FOURTH WING, by Rebecca Yarros! Book club starts today, but if you're seeing this after Sept. 1 2023 don't worry: you have until the end of October to join and finish the book!

Book Club: FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros
Other, Patreon, Book Club
L.J. Stanton
Introducing: The Sword & Board Book Club

Life has been a little all over the place for the past couple months. I had surgery, my sister had surgery, my husband was let go from Twitch, and now we're in the middle of moving! So with all that excitement, the newsletter and Book of the Month went to the wayside. 

I want a way to continue Book of the Month, but in a way that lets me get to know you all better, and lets you see what an author looks for when analyzing and learning from a novel. That means, Book Club Time!

HOW TO JOIN

1. Sign up for a Fable.co Account
2. Join the Sword & Board Discord  
3. Click on the Fable Link pinned in #Book-Club
4. Follow the Fable instructions on how to pick up the book. 

Introducing: The Sword & Board Book Club
Media Critiques, Writing Advice, World Building
L.J. Stanton
Sexual Violence in Speculative Fiction

As an author, my mantra is to tell challenging stories and minimize harm. The major failing I see with sexual violence in many media forms is where the point of view and gaze fall. Particularly in western media, that gaze is often heterosexual masculine. That means sexual violence comes from that same perspective, and makes grotesque GoT Sansa scenes where her rape is all about the men (either perpetrator or witness). The violence is there to horrify and titillate the viewer. We should be horrified. We should never be titillated. Respect for the survivor is missing in these situations. I could break down where this failing is in a lot of media, but I don’t think that is the most important conversation to have. I think the more important questions are: 1) should sexual violence be included in stories for shock value, and 2) how can sexual violence be written.

Sexual Violence in Speculative Fiction
MoA Short Stories, Patreon
L.J. Stanton
The Gods Chronicle Anthology eBook Sampler

If you’re looking at this before May 1, 2022, we’re currently running a special promotion on our Patreon where when you sign up at any tier, you receive the patron-only Gods Chronicle Anthology, volume 1. It is an alpha read edition that gives a great deal of backstory for characters within The Dying Sun, such as Merikh, Loralee, and Nikias. It also gives perspective to oft talked about characters Mansur and Rajiya.

Below are snippets from each of the shorts within the anthology. If you’d like to read them in full, please consider becoming a patron. Tiers start at $5/month. Thank you!

The Gods Chronicle Anthology eBook Sampler

Media Critiques

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Expeditionary Force: A Lesson in Inclusivity

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Expeditionary Force: A Lesson in Inclusivity

Speculative fiction struggles with how to handle disabilities, which is reflective of our society at large. Whether due to age, health, accidents, or other life happenstance, almost everyone will end up struggling with disability at some point in their life (or see it happen in someone they care about). The absence of this within our media only creates stigma around disabilities and chronic illness. Removing disabilities and chronic illness through handwaving, “superior technology” or magic, creates an unrealistic emphasis on wholeness as a moral or correct way of living/existing. Disabilities change as societies evolve, which means they’ll never be gotten rid of. Same with chronic illnesses. DNA will never replicate perfectly. Genetic disorders will always exist without eugenic interference.

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Sexual Violence in Speculative Fiction

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Sexual Violence in Speculative Fiction

As an author, my mantra is to tell challenging stories and minimize harm. The major failing I see with sexual violence in many media forms is where the point of view and gaze fall. Particularly in western media, that gaze is often heterosexual masculine. That means sexual violence comes from that same perspective, and makes grotesque GoT Sansa scenes where her rape is all about the men (either perpetrator or witness). The violence is there to horrify and titillate the viewer. We should be horrified. We should never be titillated. Respect for the survivor is missing in these situations. I could break down where this failing is in a lot of media, but I don’t think that is the most important conversation to have. I think the more important questions are: 1) should sexual violence be included in stories for shock value, and 2) how can sexual violence be written.

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No Mustache Twirlers Here: A Guide to Interesting Villainy

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No Mustache Twirlers Here: A Guide to Interesting Villainy

A book I’ve been excited for, by an author I enjoy and respect, was just released. I’ve been listening to the audiobook edition with my sister and at one point I had to stop it. I could not listen to another repeated line from the villains. It didn’t help that the sound design for the voice was grating, but even if it had been the most melodious of voices I would have hated it. These one-liner villains were what the series had been building up to as part of the Big Bad’s Master Plan. They simply don’t feel adequate to face off against the rather brilliant protagonist. Therefore, this is the perfect time to discuss what makes an enjoyable villain?

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"Just gotta have a little faith," Character Review: Let's talk Dutch. Let's talk Red Dead Redemption 2.

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"Just gotta have a little faith," Character Review: Let's talk Dutch. Let's talk Red Dead Redemption 2.

Worldbuilding isn’t just about building the settings or the cultures of the world you’re populating. Character histories are important, and your character is going to have preexisting relationships prior to the start of your story. Those relationships shape your protagonist and therefore impact the plot, especially so in character-driven stories. Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2)is a character-driven plot (I would argue that most good narrative games are character-driven) that focuses on the player character, Arthur, and his relationship with the gang’s leader Dutch.

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Fantasy V.S. Mythology: What's the difference and why does it matter?

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Fantasy V.S. Mythology: What's the difference and why does it matter?

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Hades and Persephone. Beowulf. One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. What do they have in common?

Now consider:

The Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter. The Chronicles of Narnia. A Song of Ice and Fire. What do they have in common?

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Variety In Reading: Why You Should Read Outside Your Comfort Zone

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Variety In Reading: Why You Should Read Outside Your Comfort Zone

When I taught horseback riding lessons I was extremely fond of education and mathematic analogies. It works well when you’re trying to teach someone that the reason their horse doesn’t want to do x thing is because the horse is in elementary school and you’re trying to teach it calculus. Analogies and metaphor are fantastic ways to communicate with an audience (despite what the great J.R.R. Tolkien believed).

Today, I’m going to use food to explain why you should read far outside your comfort zone even if you only read for leisure.

Artistic Representation: The Fine Line Between Representation and Indulgence.

Artistic Representation: The Fine Line Between Representation and Indulgence.

If you follow my Instagram, you’ll have seen a story where I asked for help with PTSD representation in book 2. Thank you to everyone who responded and let me pick your brain. It was incredibly helpful in writing both the character and the scene involving a PTSD episode. Writing the scene and taking notes about PTSD brought me to the delicate subject of “When does the pursuit of realism devolve into indulgence?”

Critiquing Art: A Failure of Character

Normally, I try to avoid writing about Game of Thrones. There are numerous controversies around the show, but it’s a show I tend to sit back and learn something from as a writer. Sometimes (often), it’s something good. Sometimes, it’s an example of ‘How Not To Do The Thing’.

S8E4 was a stunning, sloppy example from start to finish of ‘How To Invalidate Your Characters Developmental Arcs’ (it’s firmly in the ‘How Not To Do The Thing’ category). After the credits rolled, my friend turned and asked me “Write a blog post about this. Help me understand why I’m so angry about this mess.”