It’s the morning after a wonderfully busy weekend in Brighton, at World Fantasy Convention 2025. Big skies topped a windy and rainy sea shore coloured with a wintry Brighton Palace Pier, alongside the remains of a burnt-out west pier: history slicing the present. Tucked away from 70mph winds that battered the Sussex coast, in a seafront hotel overlooking a dramatic sea, story worlds unfolded with colour and magic, exploring the weird, the horror, and venturing into the furthest reaches.
It was an honour to be on the programme, to share readings, and to join in with panel discussions talking representation, personal influences, as well as how we approach writing outside of our personal experience. With my series incorporating several characters with disabilities, it was great to share in the reminder of the need for positive representation and how we go about that.
The fantasy ecology panel was also a highlight for me. Wildlife and the environment are backdrop themes through my series, Blood Gift Chronicles, the flora and fauna layered into the worldbuilding, and into main themes around exploitation of the natural world and its people. Backdrop wildlife is largely familiar, created with a recognisable science logic, until it ventures into magic and the fantastical, further illuming the colour. It’s interesting to consider the larger than life aspects that highlight the themes, revealing the shadows, providing platforms to inspect and reflect, creating possibility, venturing to the furthest reaches of imagination. There are inventive creatures inspired by the story, and there are those venturing into familiar territory, perhaps. Various kinds of dragons come with a unique flavour, some rooted in the magic system, some created through the lens of science, all following the lore of Blood Gift Chronicles.
And following inspiring, thought-provoking panels, a chance to read from The Warder, Blood Gift Chronicles Book 2, to share in my love for these characters, and the gifts and curses that connect them to each other, and to the multi-faceted world. As work progresses on the third instalment, it was great to spend time with my publishers as we look ahead for what’s next in the series. With plans for next year in progress, there’s lots to look forward to.
And so I start a new week inspired, as I sit at my desk and get back to work. For now I will leave you with a quote from author, Joanne Harris, best known for her novel, Chocolat, who opened the convention: ‘Fantasy is the secret language of the sub-conscious.’
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.
