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Writing Again (and I'm done with themed anthologies)

Following a minor bout of cancer (featuring surgeries and 6 months of chemotherapy), I'm writing again! Having spent some time reviewing my writing career to date, I note with a degree of dismay that while I've had some material published, I'm not super happy with all of it. In the past I've pandered to the whims of the industry in order to get stories out. Well, I'm done with that. Now I'm writing what I want to write. No more < 5,000 word stories about "blue aliens on exoplanets", simply because a publisher somewhere decided that's what they wanted for their next anthology. I know it may seem a little hypocritical, given that I helped come up with the theme of A Hand of Knaves (and I stand by it), but I'm allowed to be hypocritical if the mood takes me. And the mood does take me.  From now on I'm writing whatever the hell I want. It might not get published, but it'll be mine and I think I'll be a lot happier with that.  Let...
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The Science of Fantasy Mapmaking

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Aurealis #99 is out and it features a discussion between a geologist and a geographer (aka yours truly and the incredible Russell Kirkpatrick) about maps in fantasy novels. I really enjoyed writing this article with Russell for several reasons: first, I love maps and used do produce them as part of my job. Second, I like Russell and respect his work, and third, it's a super-interesting topic What I didn't realise when I first spoke to Russell about doing a piece together, was the depth of Russell's understanding of the politics and social infrastructure behind the act of creating a map. My experience of mapmaking has been limited to: 1) reproducing my favourite faux-medieval maps from movies and/or books via a combination of pain-staking precision and ad-hoc half-assery; and 2) the production of geological, geophysical and geochemical maps designed to aid in the discovery of economically viable mineral deposits. The two don't naturally go hand-in-ha...
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