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Rebecca Alasdair
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  • BOOKS
    • HOLDING UP THE SKY
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  • fantasy fridays

    Playing God: Music, art & literature in the world of your WIP

    Rebecca Alasdair / 7 August 2020 / No Comments

    Music, art and literature are three of the “cultural universals” found in every society, so they ought to be considered when world-building for a fantasy WIP. In today’s Playing God post, I explore each of these aspects in some detail, and give a sneak peek at the music, art and literature in my own fantasy world!! →

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  • on writing

    A non-exhaustive list of character terminology

    Rebecca Alasdair / 17 June 2020 / No Comments

    Characters are the lens through which a reader is guided through a narrative. There are many different types of characters that exist within a story, and the terminology of these can be confusing. So here is a summary of the most common character terms and definitions!! →

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  • fantasy fridays

    Playing God: The language of your fantasy world

    Rebecca Alasdair / 12 June 2020 / No Comments

    Language is how we communicate, an inextricable part of our everyday lives, and an important consideration when creating a fantasy world. In today’s Playing God post, I explore the significance of language, how to shape vernacular and new phrases, and give a sneak peek at the language in my own fantasy WIP!! →

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  • fantasy fridays

    Playing God: Shaping race and culture in your fantasy WIP

    Rebecca Alasdair / 24 April 2020 / No Comments

    Race and culture have a vital role in shaping society and human identity, so in turn they deserve careful shaping when world-building for a fantasy WIP. In today’s Playing God post, I explore the definitions and significance of race and culture, some important considerations, and give a sneak peek at these concepts in my own fantasy world! →

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  • on writing

    Conceptualising a story idea with the 5W1H method

    Rebecca Alasdair / 11 March 2020 / No Comments

    There are many different ways in which a writer may conceptualise a story idea, and half the time we don’t even realise we’re doing it. But in this post I share one method of bringing order to the chaos…by asking yourself six key questions about your story concept! →

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  • on reading

    Anticipated book releases of 2020

    Rebecca Alasdair / 14 February 2020 / No Comments

    New year, new book releases, and I couldn’t be more excited! Like bookworms around the world, I have been eagerly scanning the lists of books set to be published in 2020, and today I am sharing the new books I am anticipating most. What books are YOU looking forward to this year? →

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  • on reading

    My top ten reads of 2019

    Rebecca Alasdair / 21 December 2019 / No Comments

    There is still a little over a week left in 2019, but to date I have read a total of 74 books, and the time has come to announce my TOP TEN reads of the year! Bookworms, come forth, and let’s discuss our favourite books that we read in 2019!! →

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  • graceborn

    A call for beta readers!

    Rebecca Alasdair / 12 December 2019 / No Comments

    *NOW CLOSED* I am OFFICIALLY looking for beta readers for the first book in my WIP fantasy series! Blood of Old (Graceborn #1) is a 195,000-word novel about two brothers, one a healer and the other a troublemaker, thrown into an ancient conflict where they both have a role to play. Keep reading for more information and details on how…

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  • excerpts,  graceborn

    GRACEBORN: NaNoWriMo + next steps + book 2 reveal!

    Rebecca Alasdair / 3 December 2019 / No Comments

    Did you participate in NaNoWriMo 2019? I did, and I finally finished the draft of the first book in my fantasy series Graceborn! Woohoo! Come and check out the details, featuring some exciting SNIPPETS from the book, what I plan to do next, and the reveal of the title and mock cover for book two!! →

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  • on reading

    Ten of my favourite opening lines

    Rebecca Alasdair / 10 November 2019 / No Comments

    The first few sentences of a book are arguably the most important. They are the first exposure the reader has to the story, and have to be interesting enough to “hook” them into reading more!! In this post, I share some of my all-time favourite opening lines from fiction novels. What are yours? →

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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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The information on this website / blog is authentic to the best of my knowledge, and as such, it may contain errors or be absent some key information. Any opinions expressed are my own. Content is generated for entertainment and informative purposes, and is not to be perceived as professional advice. I am not responsible for the comments made by visitors to this site, and will act quickly to remove any inappropriate comments. Abuse and harassment may be reported and the perpetrator’s personal information disclosed in accordance with my Privacy Policy.

Serious question: What day of the week do you thin Serious question: What day of the week do you think is the best day to publish/release a book? And why? 🤔

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#indieauthor #indiepublishing #writeralife #authorlife #writersofig
"I'm not afraid of you, Tora," he said quietly. H "I'm not afraid of you, Tora," he said quietly.

Her face twisted. "You think that makes it easier? Kael, that makes it worse!"

I can't wait for everyone to meet these two later this year! They had my beta readers TORN! 😁

🎨 Art by @sophielouisedraws

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#indieauthor #fantasyauthor #fantasybooks #epicfantasy #gracebornseries
The author. The first page. The book. I'm usually The author. The first page. The book.

I'm usually far too late jumping on trends, but I think I've made it this time! 

No, I don't show my real author face online, and no, I don't have a final cover for this book yet, but "Blood of Old", first in the #GracebornSeries, is coming later this year!! 😱

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#authorsofig #indieauthor #fantasyauthor #epicfantasy
Here are some sound bites from my incredible beta Here are some sound bites from my incredible beta reading team! ☺️

Seriously, every time I start to doubt myself and whether my upcoming fantasy saga is worth seeing the light of day, I have to dig these out. They help me remember that most of those who have read book 1 so far have loved it. You guys are legends!!

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#betareading #fantasybooks #epicfantasy #fantasyauthor #gracebornseries
What do my characters think about each other or th What do my characters think about each other or themselves?

And who are YOU most interested to meet when book 1 in the #GracebornSeries comes out?

🎨 Art by @sophielouisedraws

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#fantasyauthor #fantasybooks #epicfantasy #characterart
U is for Uylesia! 👇 I'm back with another post in U is for Uylesia! 👇

I'm back with another post in the A to Z of worldbuilding in the #GracebornSeries, and we're getting towards the pointy end. Quite literally, today, as I wanted to talk about magic weapons.

I LOVE seeing magical weapons in fantasy, so of course my world has a few. They're not common, but they do play an important role in the series.

An example is the Circle of Swords, a set of eight blades capable of combating the Shadow. One such blade, the Sword of Harmony, is the feature of this post. I can't wait to see my readers discover the many mysteries of this weapon! 😀

What's your favourite magical weapon/s from a fantasy book or show?

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#worldbuilding #fantasybooks #fantasyseries #fantasyauthor
What are your goals for 2026? I didn't achieve ma What are your goals for 2026?

I didn't achieve many of my goals last year, so a lot of them have been carried over to this year. I'm trying to embrace the unexpected, but I do like having an ambitious plan to strive for! 😅

This will be a big year for my epic fantasy series. I plan to publish book 1, finish the first draft of book 3 and send it to my alpha readers, and start working on the third draft of book 2 after receiving reader feedback.

I also hope to create a new reader magnet for my author newsletter—maybe even more than one!—and get back into the habit of reading. We'll see how we go! 😀

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#authorgoals #writinggoals #goalsetting #goals2026 #writerslife
A little snapshot of what it looks like to work on A little snapshot of what it looks like to work on multiple books in a series at the same time...

Why do I do this, you might ask? It takes me a loooong time to write these epic fantasy books, so I want to make sure I've got the first three partway there before I start publishing. Also, this first half of the series has more scope to change things in response to feedback, so I didn't want to jump the gun!

Do you think this approach will pay off? 😅

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#fantasybooks #fantasyseries #epicfantasy #fantasywriter #fantasyauthor #indieauthor #writersofinstagram #gracebornseries

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