Here is my third post on fantasy miniatures. Again, I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures, but these are digital photos, of paper photos, of the minatures I painted many years ago.
This first one is a Red Dragon (Pretty obvious really). I like to think of this one as a nephew of Smaug. A fraction of the size, but just as mean.
This one is a Cave Giant. You probably can’t appreciate the size of him because there is no reference to gauge it against, but it is probably about 3 times the size of a human figure.
And here we have a Minotaur, fearsome guardian of the labyrinth. The strange thing about this one is he has one clawed hand and one human hand. Still a scary Mo-Fo if you ask me and I’m guessing his breath isn’t too good, but I’m sure never getting close enough to one to find out!
I like to browse through the figures in store to choose the ones I like, but you can find a great selection of miniatures and the gear you need to paint them online.
I reckon I’ve got enough photos left for one or two more posts, we’ll see. Either way, I hope you’ve enjoyed them so far and that they have kicked your imagination into gear.
Happy Reading!
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.
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On the back of my last post I have a few more fantasy miniatures to share with you. These can make good writing prompts if you’re a writer and if you like fantasy I think you’ll appreciate them too.
Here is a Black Dragon and the Sorceress that is controlling it.
A graveyard of undead rising up to grow their army,
And a Balrog, possibly a cousin of the one Gandalf slayed, who’s come looking for his vengeance.
Looking for your own dragon to paint? You can find some fearsome creatures online.
I hope these inspire you, whether it is a prompt for your writing or a piece of art, motivation to watch a good movie, or inspiration to pick up your next great book.
Happy Reading!
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.
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I thought I would do something a little different today, yet still fantasy related. A short time ago I mentioned that I used to paint miniatures and had some photos of a few buried in the back of a cupboard somewhere that I would try to dig out. Well, I found them!
The photos are not professional and these are photos of photos (Yep… the originals are the old fashioned paper kind) so please forgive the poor quality, but they are clear enough. If you are a writer you could use these images as writing prompts, and if you’re a reader, well I hope they stimulate your imagination. So for your enjoyment (I hope…), here are a few:
The first one (as shown above) is a Serpentine Dragon.
This one is a Centaur rocking a punk-rock mohawk and travelling with a band of dwarves. I’m not sure if things have changed, but when I bought these they tended to come with plain black plastic stands like the ones in the photo above.
And I believe this one was labelled as a goblin rider on boar back (but I think it looks more like an orc rider). I went the extra step with this one and made a more ornate stand. It wasn’t hard, I used a model railway tree that I stuck some green stuff on it, glued some tea leaves on the base and painted them greenish brown, then popped a home made mushroom in the background.
If you’re interested in miniatures but don’t know where to lay your hands on any, Games Workshop have a great range to choose from. You can even get whole packs to start your collection.
I hope you enjoyed these photos, I will post a few more over the coming days. Until then, Happy Reading!
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.
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It’s no secret that my favourite fantasy author is Joe Abercrombie. I’ve said it before and no doubt I will say it again. I just love his writing style, the way he crafts his characters, the way he plots, do I need to go on? I could but I will save you from my ravings. The point is I thought I would throw the question out to you and see what comes back. So, here it is. Who is your favourite fantasy or horror author? You can let me know in the comments below.
I’ve always liked to think of myself as a bit of a cool kid. I’ve earned a black belt in a martial art, flown a plane, flown a helicopter, drifted a lotus around a skidpan, ridden in a tank, and much more. And as strange as it may seem, I was never interested in reading when I was younger either. Having said this, I’ve been having a think about the things that have influenced my writing, and the more I think about it, the more I feel like I’m actually a bit of a nerd.
When I was around 10 or 11, I’d secretly stay up late watching shows like Hammer House of Horror, Tales of the Unexpected, and The Twilight Zone. I think it’s safe to say that this was my introduction to horror. It gave me a good insight into the genre and scared the pants off me.
In secondary school I discovered I had friends who played D&D. I was blown away by the die cast figures that they had bought to use in their games. While I never really got into playing the game, I was soon spending many nights glazy eyed painting a goblin or a dwarf or some other awesome creature. I’ve always been a bit of an artist, taking pleasure in painting and drawing over the years, and I found it an easy transition to painting figures. I have some old photos of them somewhere, I’ll try to dig them out and add them to a later post.
I watched a lot of cartoons when I was young too, I still enjoy them to be honest. Tom and Jerry, Danger Mouse, Dungeons and Dragons, Arabian Nights, etc. I think it all these factors came together and led me into graphic novels.
As I moved into my late teens I started watching a lot of martial art movies (think Snake in the Eagles Shadow, Drunken Master, Crystal Fist, etc.) and one day I stumbled onto the animated movie Ninja Scroll. I loved it! I’d say this steered me towards Anime.
Some years later my brother introduced me to Magic the Gathering. I love this game and I played it daily for many years. When I moved to Australia I stopped for a while as I couldn’t find anyone else who played it. It was pure chance that about a year later I saw a few guys playing it in the canteen of the organisation I was working for. Needless to say, I introduced myself, started playing Magic with them, and we became good mates.
It was many years later that I became interested in writing and it was only natural that I leaned towards horror and fantasy. While I had read one or two novels over the years, it was actually my writing that pushed me into reading. In other words… the reason I took up reading was to improve my skills in the craft of writing. I once read a quote by J.K. Rowling that went something like this – “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” I’d take this a step further and say that if you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right author, and it was only a matter of time before I found Joe Abercrombie and the world of Grimdark/Dark Fantasy.
We open many doors on our journey through life, but I can’t say if it was the things I’ve experienced that have led me towards fantasy and horror, or if my interest in fantasy and horror led me towards my experiences. Maybe it is a bit of both, whichever way, I will always have an interest for the scary, the magical, and the mythical. It seems to me that as my writing progresses I may find my fantasy and horror writing blending together and sending me on the path towards Grimdark. Who knows? Only time will tell. Why not stick around and we’ll see how the journey unfolds.
It’s been a while since I posted anything more than a quote or a book review, truth is I’ve been side-tracked. After being made redundant, I took a little break overseas, I’ve dived into a double diploma, and I have been searching for a new job. Fortunately, I think the break has done me good, I’ve made a bit of a dent in my diplomas, and I have just scored a new job. So, hopefully I will be able to get back into a routine of some sort now.
As far as my writing goes, I’ve got a few short stories waiting for me to publish them. I plan to wrap these up in an anthology together with my currently published short stories. I need to get the new stories edited and find a cover for the book first though.
I’m also trying to read more. More authors – trying to find another that hits the spot like my favourite one, but that’s a tough gig – and more books on the craft of writing. The most recent craft book I’ve read was on scene and structure and I’m about to get stuck into one on building characters. I hope these will help me improve my writing and give me the inspiration to get back into writing some of the novels I’ve put aside to stew.
March is upon us. And with the new month, comes a new giveaway. That’s right. I have teamed up with even more authors for this Series Starter Giveaway. All the books here will introduce you to a new series that may turn out to be by your new favourite author. So why not check them out by clicking the image above or following this link.
I’ve done a couple of posts about free books this month and I’ve had a great response, so I thought I would do one more. If you want to grab yourself some more free fantasy reads this month, just head over to the February Fantasy Promo by clicking on the image above.
Following on from my ‘Do you like to read?’ – free book sites post yesterday, I thought I would share a ‘February Fantasy Promo’ with you. If you like to read fantasy you can pick up some great fantasy books for free just by clicking on the image below.
For those of you who love to read (which I’d say is most, if not all, of you who are reading this), there are plenty of books out there that the authors want you to pick up for free. Amazon, Kobo, Apple, etc… they all have them. Just search on ‘Free’ on you should find a heap. But there are other places too that you might not be so familiar with.
There are arguments in the writing world both for and against free books. Some feel that authors should not be giving away the work they have laboured over. Others feel that providing free books helps an author to be discovered and build a fanbase that will go on to purchase backlist and future books. I can see both sides of the argument and I am not here to judge. I think it should be the author’s decision whether or not they make their books free. Personally, I don’t mind giving away some freebies to help readers discover my writing, nor do I mind receiving them in the search for new authors for me to discover. As a reader myself, if I have obtained a free book and enjoyed it, I feel I should pay back the author by rating their book and/or providing a review. But, once again this is a personal choice.
So today I’m going to share a few links with you that are home to free books.
Bookworms Discover provides free books from Indie authors on the 1st Thursday of each month. You can find them at https://www.bookwormsdiscover.com/
Prolific Works (previously known as Instafreebie) is a platform that provides exclusive access to sneak peeks, advance previews, and special giveaways. You can find them at https://www.prolificworks.com/about/
These are not affiliate links; I do not receive any kickbacks if you visit these sites from the links provided. I just wanted to share the details of a few of the sites that I have used in case you find them useful, and in the hope it helps other great authors get discovered. And if you haven’t done so already, you can even pick up freebies from the home page on this site.
How about you? Do you know any good sites for Free Books? I’d love to hear of them if you do, especially if they are specific to the fantasy genre. Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Happy Reading!
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.
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