I love ranting. I love writing. I love reading. So why not rant about writing and reading?
Welcome to I Love Fantasy Novels!
Welcome to my awesome imagination. Let’s see if my writing can express it. I’ll be sharing treats and teasers and tips. Don’t alliterate lists sound nice? This site is full of my fantastical ideas, and my blog, Writing Ranting, is exactly what it sounds like. It’s me ranting about my thoughts on writing and sharing…
The Mechanical Beast
Check out more from my Dreams of a Fantasist collection. This is silly and fun and based on something real that I’ve made fantastical because I see the fantastical in the most mundane things. Can you guess what it was based on? In the wild, I am the huntress. I prowl the black and grey…
Take Flight
Another story from Dreams of a Fantasist. The title was inspired by Lyndsey’s track, but the story is a Fantasist original. I run through the battlefield, dodging swinging swords as I go. My weapon long lost, the balance tips further in their favour. Blooded ground stretches out before me until it meets dark mountains beyond.…
Here are some of my rants. Also, check out my Reading Ranting for book reviews and thought son reading, or my Unravelling Writing Advice for… unravelling writing advice. Or check out all posts on my complete blog.
Book Review – Autumn of the Grimoire By J.L. Vamp – 2.5 stars
Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I was a bit disappointed with this book since it looked so good, but ultimately I just didn’t get into it. I read it all because I wanted to know the ending, but if it had been…
Book Review – A Game of Malice and Greed by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti – 4 stars
Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. If these two write a fantasy, I’ll devour it. If you’ve read their other books, forget them. This is a completely new world with new characters and is a dark Alladin retelling. Princess Austyn is a princess…
Reading Ranting – On the High Seas of Piracy
Honestly, this is one Hell of a rant today because I’m just furious over people’s ignorance and blatant disregard for others when it comes to piracy. Imagine you’ve worked for months on an important university project. It counts for half your final results and without it, you’d have to repeat the year. You spent hours…
Writing Ranting – Listening to Readers
One of the most important things I’ve learned as a writer is to listen to readers. I’ve talked about receiving feedback specifically related to your book throughout the revising and editing stages, but this advice applies to any point before and during. I’ve heard a ton of advice from writers who seemed to stick to…
Book Review – Supernova by Julie Hall – 5 stars
Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I didn’t think this series could get any better, but this was top tier tension between Nova and Thorn. Wow, just freaking wow. I liked Nova in the previous books, but when she leapt for Thorn… I…
Book Review – Belladonna by Adalyn Grace – 5 stars
I absolutely loved every pWarning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more.age of this book. What I liked… Signa is a fantastic character. I love how she’s a no nonsense young woman doing her best to fit into a world that fears her because they…
Book Review – Monthly TBR Update February 2023
Reading did not go to plan this month, but that’s okay. I got through some great stories, mostly indie authors, including a couple of ARCs. Books I read this month… Mini non-spoiler reviews… Gods and Mostes had such a great start but then fell away for me. And a lot of the writing and character…
Reading Ranting – We Just Love Books, Barry!
I want to preface this by stating that I’m a Xenial, meaning I’m on the cusp of Gen X and Millenials, so I grew up with very little technology, and social media wasn’t a thing until I was an adult. I can tell you it was nothing like the fast-paced multi-thematic platforms like Instagram and…
Book Review – Their Vicious Darling by Nikki St. Crowe – 5 stars
Warning: May contain minor spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I’m hooked (pun intended) on the series and this is the best book so far. What I liked… As usual, I love how Winnie finds and accepts her place in Neverland. I definitely feel like the characters…
Writing Ranting with Others!
Join my Discord group and rant about writing with others. @LoveFantasy#0367 Writing is scary. Sharing your writing is scary and confusing and chaotic sometimes. I have a small writing group…
Writing Ranting – How Realistic Are Your Characters? Part 2
Warning: Spoilers of Zodiac Academy, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and The Dark Artifices ahead. Disclaimer: I don’t read a lot of LGBTQ+ books purely because I don’t come…
Writing Ranting – How Realistic Are Your Characters? Part 1
I recently saw a few TikTok posts from the same account about portraying body size and characters of colour in books and related character art. I genuinely appreciated her pointing…
Writing Ranting – Stuck for Something to Write?
It’s perfectly normal to get stuck writing slumps or writer’s block. And it’s okay to take a break from writing or certain projects to focus on other things in life.…
Writing Ranting – Pushing Boundaries Part 2
TRIGGER WARNING: This post mentions traumatic situations. Last week I talked about pushing personal boundaries in how far you were willing to go in your writing. Today, I’m going to…
Writing Ranting – Pushing Boundaries part 1
TRIGGER WARNING: This post mentions traumatic situations. Pushing boundaries in writing can mean pushing your personal boundaries or pushing your story’s boundaries. This means different things to different writers, but…
Writing Ranting – Helping Other Writers! Part 2
Writing may come naturally in some ways, but not necessarily in others. One writer might have the ideas for a fun story with a good structure. Another might have a…
Writing Update – Out of Ashes, My Debut Novel!
I’m so excited to be publishing this book after almost 3 years. It’s taken this long because I wanted to get it right. It’s been critiqued, had beta readers, been…
Writing Ranting – Helping Other Writers! Part 1
There are lots of ways writers can support one another. Sharing WIPs for feedbackBrainstormingHelping through writer’s block and imposter syndromeSharing about their books on social mediaReviewing published books (ARCs) I…
Writing Ranting – Why am I not published yet?
This isn’t a rant about how I should be published by now, even though I really should be🤣. It’s an explanation as to why I’m not published already. I also…
Writing and Reading Ranting – Don’t Feel Bad for Not Having Enough Time!
Lately life has been getting to me, and I haven’t had much time or brainpower to write or read. It happens to all of us. I meant to post this…
Writing Ranting – Backup Your Work FFS!
I don’t know why, in this day and age, people can’t wrap their heads around backing up their work. This is another rant prompted by a forum discussion I saw…
Writing and Reading Ranting – What’s the Point if You Don’t Follow Through?
A writing and reading rant today since this both annoyed me as a reader but made me think about how I could avoid this as a writer. I’m going to…
Writing Ranting – Why Do I Write? Part Two!
In my previous post, I mentioned a forum post on a writing website where a struggling writer was overwhelmed with their writing projects and hated their job. Firstly, I get…
Writing Ranting – Why Do I Write? Part One!
Because I can’t imagine not writing, and if you ask yourself this too off, then something isn’t right.That doesn’t mean you should stop writing. But maybe it’s time to evaluate…
Writing a Series!
Writing a series can boggle a writer’s mind before you get things figured out. If you plan to write multiple standalones with overlapping characters and world-building, then you have more…
Writing Is a Business!
Writing is a business, especially if you plan to self-publish. You need to start thinking like a business owner as well as a writer. Make time for the various writing…
Reading and Writing Ranting Advent Calendar!
Oops, I forgot to post these. The past couple of months have been super busy with more hours and responsibilities at work, a new writing project that I got to…
Work/Life/Writing Balance!
It’s ironic that my last post was about how writing is the same as running a small business, and then I go and do almost nothing writing related this month.…
Unravelling Writing Advice – Every Scene Must Move the Story Forward
I completely agree with this. But there’s often some misunderstandings as to what elements are capable of moving a story forward. Most people think of plot movement, which is like…
Unravelling Writing Advice – He Said, She Said.
Another installment from Unravelling Writing Advice series. I find there’s a huge divide when it comes to using said/asked as a dialogue tag and when to use a synonym. I’ve…
Unravelling Writing Advice – 1st POV Isn’t Automatically Closer Than 3rd.
Another installment from Unravelling Writing Advice series. This is something that bugs me when so-called “experienced” writers claim that 1st POV is more effective emotionally than 3rd. Well, yes… but…
Unravelling Writing Advice – When to Hire and Editor!
Another installment from Unravelling Writing Advice series. I’ve never hired an editor, and there’s a reason for that. Let me explain… When it comes to hiring editors, I’ve discovered there…
Unravelling Writing Advice – Show Don’t Tell!
Another installment from Unravelling Writing Advice series. Firstly, what is “tell” and what is “show?” Telling – He was tired. Showing – His limbs became heavy, and his eyelids fluttered.…
Unravelling Writing Advice – How Often To Write!
Introducing my new series Unravelling Writing Advice where I explain how the advice works and adapts for every writer. Most of the advice I’ve seen talks about weekly goals and…
Therapeutic Writing!
As it’s mental health month, I thought that now is as good a time as any to talk about how writing can be therapeutic. Living with a mental illness sucks,…
Love Fantasy Novels 