Blog: In Defence of Saladin Ahmed

This is the first in what I’m going to call my ‘blogging series’. I’m aware that I run a blog, so technically every post is ‘blogging’. However, most of my posts tend to be less about me and my opinions and more about topics. They’re more magazine-y in style, because that’s the type of content I enjoy reading.

So, from time to time, I’ll write a true ‘blog post’ which I’ll use to discuss myself and issues that I want to talk about and share my opinion on. Hopefully you guys will read them and enjoy them just as much as my other content.

Today I want to talk about a certain fantasy author called Saladin Ahmed who broke onto the scene in 2012 with Throne of the Crescent Moon. It was a fantastic book and I even reviewed it for this blog. So late last year I decided to go looking for the sequel (assuming there was one). Much to my disappointment I found nothing on Amazon and nothing in my local bookshop either. I decided to check out Mr. Ahmed’s website in December last year and I finally found answers.

Fantasy In Motion Returns! (And An Update)

That’s right, I’m wading back into the fray and taking up the blogging reins once more. I did a brief stint on a new blog, Epically Written, and then decided to focus on another hobby of mine: fantasy mapmaking. Just last year I got a few commissions from various folks which was fantastic. If you’re interested in maps at all, you can check out my work on DeviantArt.

Anyway, I’ve resolved to fling myself back into blogging and stick at it this time. This blog has gained a huge following since I established it. I get Twitter messages praising the blog and asking me to update it. My posts get mentioned and linked to fairly often. And most importantly, I’m proud of the content I’ve written for the blog.

What I intend to do with Fantasy In Motion from now on is focus on three “pillars”:

1. Writing Discussion – This is the foundation that this blog was built on, so I’ll continue to blog about the process of writing. I want to move away from “advice” articles, though. I’m not a published author, so I would feel uncomfortable advising others how to write. My posts on writing will discuss my own experiences with the craft and try to share nuggets of wisdom here and there.
2. Fantasy Fiction – I’m going to be bringing fiction itself to the fore, by which I mean novels, those who write them and those who publish them. I want to talk about books more, because fantasy books are a great passion of mine. Heck, I want to publish my own someday!
3. SFF Genre – By this I mean the sci-fi/fantasy genre as a whole. Anything and everything goes.

So this was just a quick post to let you all know I’m back and ready to get stuck in again. I gave the blog a little makeover too, so I hope you like the new look. I’ll be posting up the first “proper” article very soon, so stay tuned!