When I was writing The Ashen Touch Trilogy, I realized very early on that I was dealing with the part of the Infiniverse most entrenched in imagery and myth. The use of imagery during The Ashen Touch Trilogy is what makes it not only one of my most complex works, but also my most contrasting. The imagery of classic myth, epic battles, and life or death choices are set against a heady mix of tunes ranging from The Beegees to Marvin Gaye, with a side helping of Candy Crush and The Furies wondering what the fuck to make of a Chicken McNugget. All in all, bringing classical and religious imagery into this series was essential, but also refreshing as I got to make it my own.

I thought, given the importance of the imagery throughout Sephy’s story, as well as the fact I did a crap ton of research going into this series, that I would explore some of the images and themes in the story, how I attached or subverted them when it came to particular scenes or characters, and how I decided to twist or use classic imagery to my storytelling advantage.

Prompt my pen is a super fun feature I run whereby my reader group THE TIDAL TELLTAILS suggest visual prompts and i pick my favourite to write a flash fiction, poem, or short story each week.

This Week’s Flash Fiction takes an age old myth and looks at the insidious side of The Tooth Fairy.

I think by far the hardest part of my job as a writer, an author, a blogger, a graphic designer, and all around tiny midget unicorn in general, is creative self-doubt. I’ve always been self -conscious about my work, but ever since I got diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and my sense of identity and purpose was rattled to the very core, I realised it was becoming a real problem for me…

get asked a lot by readers, who are slowly turning toward becoming writers and published authors, about how I build my locations. With the worlds in The Kristy Nicolle Fantasy Infiniverse being so large, and interconnecting, this kind of world building needs a specific type of finesse and care that other genres such as mystery or satire might not require.

So, I decided to give you the top five considerations I make when creating the worlds that so many readers have enjoyed swimming/flying/running through.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Editing is what editors are for, right?

Wrong.

Any writer worth their salt must have some self-editing skills, and i’m here to show you the tools that make this process easier and more effective.

Outlining is the cornerstone of many writer’s creative processes, mine included. And while some people like to wing it (to any pantsers out there, I salute you) I have been a plotter, and always will be, especially when you consider the scale of the project I’m working on. Outlining for me is crucial, and if I do it right, it saves me a shit ton of work and brain power down the line when I’m trying to focus on an individual scene. So, let’s have a look at the parts of my outlining process and how I have managed to craft the stories which you guys praise so highly.

Few of my female heroines have received as enthusiastic reception as one Miss Sephy Sinclair, and the way she occurred to me wasn’t entirely usual for me process wise at all. So, I thought today we’d take a look at how exactly she came about and what makes Sephy the character readers of the Ashen Touch Trilogy know and love.

As a writer of first person fiction, I am often complimented on how I place the reader into the story, and I can think of no other way for a new writer to do this more successfully than to make full use of all five senses.

A five-star read for sure, and one that any author would be proud to call their own. Take note writers, this is pure literary gold!

When people start plotting for the first time, they always ask how, but from my point of view, and especially in the case of fantasy fiction, the key question isn’t how, but why.