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Rebecca Alasdair
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  • on reading

    Ten of my favourite fictional battles

    Rebecca Alasdair / 23 April 2019 / No Comments

    With Anzac Day coming up later this week, I thought I’d take the opportunity to reflect on some of my all-time favourite battles in fiction. I LOVE fight sequences, but the following ten made a particular impression on me. What are your favourite fictional battles? →

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  • fantasy fridays

    Playing God: Establishing your WIP world’s geography

    Rebecca Alasdair / 12 April 2019 / No Comments

    When conducting world-building for your fantasy WIP, it is absolutely essential that you understand the world’s geography. It’s different from ours, after all! In today’s Playing God post, I explore the reasons for establishing geographical features, some important considerations, and give a sneak peek at the geography in my own fantasy world! →

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  • updates

    That’s a wrap! March 2019

    Rebecca Alasdair / 31 March 2019 / No Comments

    Can you believe we’re already a quarter of the way through the year?! I had a moderately productive month this March, despite how busy I was. Read on for the details on my writing progress and all the books I read! →

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  • fantasy fridays

    Playing God: Developing a magic system

    Rebecca Alasdair / 22 March 2019 / No Comments

    Magic is one of the key elements in fantasy fiction, and developing an interesting yet consistent system is a vital step in world-building for any fantasy novel involving magic. In today’s Playing God post, I explore the main types of magic, some important considerations, and give a sneak peek at the system in my own WIP! →

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  • on writing

    5 tricks to cutting your WIP’s word count

    Rebecca Alasdair / 12 March 2019 / No Comments

    Cutting words out of a story can be a writer’s worst nightmare, but sometimes you just have to do it. Recently, I managed to cut the manuscript of my WIP from 103k words to 84k, and here I share five of the most useful tricks I discovered along the way! →

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  • updates

    That’s a wrap! February 2019

    Rebecca Alasdair / 28 February 2019 / No Comments

    February has been one of those months for me. In addition to juggling work, uni preparation, and my reading and writing goals, I had to say goodbye to a beloved friend. Read on for all the details…and some pictures of the most beautiful dog in the world. →

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  • holding up the sky

    A call for beta readers!

    Rebecca Alasdair / 25 February 2019 / No Comments

    **NOW CLOSED** I am OFFICIALLY looking for beta readers! Set in Melbourne, Australia, “Holding Up the Sky” is an 84,000 word contemporary YA novel about love, loss and the dangers of not being true to yourself. Keep reading for details on how to apply! →

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  • fantasy fridays

    How to make a fantasy city map with Illustrator

    Rebecca Alasdair / 8 February 2019 / No Comments

    Drawing maps is a key part of many fantasy writers’ process, but it can be hard to find the right program to get your ideas down on paper. I recently created a city map using Adobe Illustrator, and wish to share how you can too. →

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  • updates

    That’s a wrap! January 2019

    Rebecca Alasdair / 31 January 2019 / No Comments

    One month down, eleven to go! January has blown past, but I managed to make some decent writing progress as well as read 8 books. Read on for all the juicy details in my first wrap-up post for 2019! →

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  • fantasy fridays

    Playing God: Incorporating religion into your fantasy world

    Rebecca Alasdair / 25 January 2019 / No Comments

    Religion plays an integral role in shaping history and society, and is therefore an essential consideration when it comes to world-building for a fantasy novel. In this Playing God post, I explore the key types of belief system, some interesting religious themes, and give a sneak peek at the religion in my own WIP! →

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Welcome! I'm Rebecca Alasdair, an Australian indie author whose one true love is fantasy—the more epic, the better.

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ARCs for my upcoming epic fantasy novel have start ARCs for my upcoming epic fantasy novel have started going out, but there is still time to apply for a copy! Just head to the link in my bio and complete the form! 😀

Much has been lost, but blood does not forget. And while the Old Blood remembers, what once was may yet be again...

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#arcreaderswanted #arcreader #fantasybooks #fantasyseries #gracebornseries
How do the KDP and IngramSpark versions of my pape How do the KDP and IngramSpark versions of my paperback compare?

𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Both have a matte cover, and the artwork and colours look awesome. The cover on the KDP version does curl quite a bit at the moment, but hopefully it will settle over time?

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗮𝗽. Ugh. The KDP version has been coming out 3mm thinner than their specs say...which is still within their enormous "acceptable" error margin of 3.2mm. This throws out the cover wrap so some of the spine ends up on the cover. The IngramSpark version is PERFECT.

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲. The IngramSpark version uses groundwood paper, which makes the book lighter and is closer to trad pub paper. The KDP version has nice smooth cream paper, which is denser. This makes the book heavier, but I don't find it TOO heavy.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿. The KDP version has very crisp text on the cream paper. Because the groundwood paper is more textured, the ink in the IngramSpark version sinks in a bit more and makes the text a bit softer. Still looks good though.

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁. I like the IngramSpark version better. It is better quality and feels more professional; this is the version that will be available everywhere except Amazon. The KDP version is still pretty damn good though, and will probably be cheaper (even though I'll set the same price) for those who want to buy through Amazon.

"Blood of Old" will be out on 01 December 2026, and I hope to have preorders up next month!!

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#paperbackbook #fantasybooks #indieauthor #selfpublishing #gracebornseries
What do you like to see in a mentor character? Th What do you like to see in a mentor character?

Three of the key secondary characters in "Blood of Old" act as mentors for the MCs, and I just LOVED writing their relationships. We have...

Myrrine, the former princess who knows a lot about governing a nation (or so she thinks) and has her own plans for MC Asa.

Tora, the snarky warrior who doesn't approve of Myrrine's interference and gets lumped with Asa's "unteachable" brother, Kael.

Endrid, the struggling Weaver who just wants everyone to get along and could do with a nice long nap.

Can't wait for you to meet them all at the start of December!

🎨 Art by @sophielouisedraws

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#characterart #fantasybooks #fantasyseries #epicfantasy #gracebornseries
Who is the traitor sowing dissent in the ancient c Who is the traitor sowing dissent in the ancient city-state of Asphodel?

I love a good betrayal arc, so of course I had to include one in my fantasy series! It's a bit of a slow-burn subplot, and I hope to keep people guessing who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

What is the best betrayal arc you've come across in a fantasy series before?

🗺 Map by @cartographybird 

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#fantasymap #fantasybooks #fantasyauthor #indieauthor #gracebornseries
Is it completely shameless of me to capitalise on Is it completely shameless of me to capitalise on this?? 🤭

Social media has been melting down over the last few days following the title and cover reveals for ACOTAR 6 and 7. I had a chuckle to myself when I saw one of the tag lines is "What was lost will be reclaimed", since that's a key line of a prophecy in my own fantasy series!

Now, the #GracebornSeries is not the same sub-genre as ACOTAR, being epic fantasy rather than romantasy. But it really does go to show how similar themes and elements can occur across a broad variety of fantasy books.

If you're looking for a way to pass the time while waiting for ACOTAR 6, would you like an eARC of "Blood of Old"? See link in my bio for details 😊

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#fantasybooks #fantasyseries #fantasyauthor #indieauthor
Kael O'Dair is not the type of MMC everyone likes Kael O'Dair is not the type of MMC everyone likes to fawn over...

There's no quiet brooding, no cunning plans masterfully executed, no sauve confidence and posse of loyal followers.

This guy is a prickly, whiny risk-taker who would love to kill you if only someone would teach him how. His bark might be worse than his bite, yet chaos always trails in his wake.

Request an eARC of "Blood of Old" now through the link in my bio!!

🎨 Art by @sophielouisedraws

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#indieauthor #fantasyseries #fantasybooks #epicfantasy #gracebornseries
Z is for Zamkhulis! 👇 We have finally made it to Z is for Zamkhulis! 👇

We have finally made it to the very last post of my A to Z of worldbuilding elements in the #GracebornSeries! I can't believe it's been going for YEARS!

To celebrate, I thought I'd talk about...celebrations. There are two main celebrations that mark the calendar in the world of Graceborn:

🎉 Zamkhulis, which occurs at midsummer. The longest day, the shortest night, in the very middle of the year on the full moon of summer’s second lunation. It's a vibrant time for celebrating life and the Maker's blessings.

🎉 Zamtaris, which occurs at midwinter. The shortest day, the longest night, on the full moon of winter's second lunation. It is a quiet, reflective time, marking the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

What is the most interesting type of festival or celebration you've come across in fantasy fiction? 🤔

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#worldbuilding #fantasybooks #fantasyseries #fantasyauthor
Guess what I'm working on at the moment! That's r Guess what I'm working on at the moment!

That's right, formatting of the ebook for "Blood of Old" is well underway! I'd originally planned to use Atticus to produce my ebook this time but found it didn't let me get down to the nitty gritty as much as I wanted. So I'm back to using trusty old Calibre. Kindle Previewer is also great for seeing what it will look like on different screens.

In other ebook-related new, eARCs will be going out in only a few short weeks! If you'd like to register for one, head to the link in my bio for more info and to fill out the form. 😊

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#bookformatting #ebook #indieauthor #fantasybooks #freebooks

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