Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Several years ago I was actually invited to dinner in Beijing with a writer I really enjoy - Lawrence Watt-Evans. I read his Lure of the Basalisk when I was a teen, back in the eighties. Part of me wanted so badly to go to this dinner, but I chickened out. I figured I would only have the same old bo...

Perhaps try the Percy Jackson books. My kids love the Wimpy Kid books, but the ones they keep re-reading over and over again are these Percy Jackson books. I haven't read them myself...

For short but good, I would go with the Earthsea books and McKiernan's Iron Tower trilogy and Silver Call duology. The McKiernan books are only for those who actually like and want more Tolkienish/D&D-type books, like myself.

I use mainly non-contractions in prose and mostly contractions in dialogue. There are times when I feel the character will not use a contraction due to the specific emphasis they are using, but I feel that contractions are more realistic for dialogue.

I'm a Colts fan, so I am disconsolate at Jim Caldwell's decision to throw the game to the Jets. That was pathetic. They are wrong to think we would crucify him if a player got injured because he played to win. Most of us fans right now cared more about trying for a perfect season than for winning an...

I have tried many Christmas albums and been disappointed with most. I like some of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The two albums I love the most are: 1. The first Carpenters Christmas album (definately not the second) 2. The John Denver with the muppets Christmas album There are a few individual songs...

I honestly can't understand why agents keep listing fantasy limits at 125,000 or so words. I can't recall many fantasy books I have read that are that short, except the Earthsea books. When I go to the bookstore looking for fantasy, I look specifically for long books, because that is what I like in ...

I never buy hardcovers. They are too expensive, and since I move a lot they are also too heavy.

Personally, if boys are not reading enough, I think it is on the parents. My boys read voraciously, and I think it is because my wife and I read constantly, including reading to them. Even now that they are 9 and 11, and read a ton on their own, I still enjoy reading to them at bedtime. My younger s...

I write within my favorite genres, sci-fi and fantasy, but I read quite a lot in other genres within which I have no interest in writing, such as historical fiction, history, horror, and others.

I've been looking for an online support group (has to be online - I live in Cairo) so I can get help fine tuning and refining a novel I have written. However, I've not been able to find anything. I have this same issue, as I live overseas and therefore can only find friends and relatives to read my...