“Fantasy doesn’t have to be fantastic. American writers in particular find this much harder to grasp. You need to have your feet on the ground as much as your head in the clouds. The cute dragon that sits on your shoulder also craps all down your back, but this makes it more interesting because it gives it an added dimension.” –Terry Pratchett
It’s absolutely no secret that I’m a huge fan of Terry Pratchett; I find him to be absolutely brilliant in a very subtle way. He’s amusing if you read him casually, but he’s genius if you start really paying attention. His Discworld series is a penultimate example of what he talks about in this solid an encouraging quote. Discworld is fantasy satire, but with a real world strength that makes it poignant, realistic, and relatable. And I love that.
Of course, for a lot of people, fantasy is supposed to be an escape, especially into the fantastic, into worlds that are so beyond our own, where you feel transported into a world of heroes and dragons, where good always triumphs over evil. I think there’s a good place in the world for that kind of fantasy, but, I have to admit, I’m not a big fan. I like my fantasy to feel real. I want to suspend my disbelief very little, to feel like I’m in a world that mine could easily become. The most effective fantasy, if you ask me, is fantasy that’s rooted in reality, and that’s the type of fantasy I hope to write, and that I hope people will enjoy reading from me.
To go along with that, there’s only a few days left for Roane Publishing‘s Portals fantasy anthology. I’m hard at work finishing up my entry; anyone else plan on giving it a go? All I have to say is that it’s a good thing they’re accepting entries up to 10k. This may be a long one, indeed…
L.S. Engler 