The Realm of Katherine Vick

It’s a strange thing, to spend a long time on your own. I’ll be frank – as a socially awkward introvert, it’s something I actually enjoy in normal life. I’m a nervous ball of performance anxiety in the company of other humans. When I do find the courage to speak, my ability to insert my foot into my mouth and wiggle it around is fairly legendary amongst those who know me and when I’m by myself, I can say or do whatever stupid thing I like and keep the embarrassment personal instead of public. It takes the pressure off. And I like being at home. It’s my comfortable place, where I can relax surrounded by things I love and take a deep breath away from the outside world. My home is my little me cocoon where I can curl up and shut everything out for a while. It’s where I hibernate from life. But the key words there are – for a while . Because it’s ever so odd that so often in life I’ve wanted nothing more than to be left alone to wallow contentedly in my own space indefinitely...

First rule of fantasy writing – always start with a map. Now, I admit that may seem a bit of an odd concept given the nature of the book I’ve written and the fact that the landscape of my world is, by its very nature, of no fixed abode.   But the fact of the matter is, that rule still has to apply for one simple reason – I wouldn’t have a clue where my characters were or needed to go without one. And if I’m confused – what chance does any reader stand? The above began life as a pencil scribble on a handy piece of A4 paper, created quite messily and on the hop as the story developed. The fact it looks so shiny today is entirely due to the efforts of my good friend Kerry, who kindly applied her skills in Paint to said scribble and made it look thus. I love a good map. I grew up around them, did a degree that heavily involved them and I take an absurd amount of pleasure inventing my own. I openly admit I’d be rubbish at creating a real one ala the good old Ordnan...

The Disposable by Katherine Vick, now available to purchase in paperback and e-book form from all good Amazon websites. :) For the paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1951471024/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1951471024/ For the e-book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0854QDX5D https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0854QDX5D The Narrative Must Be Obeyed Everyone in the Taskmaster’s Realm knows how the story goes: the boy of destiny goes on a quest, defeats the dark lord, and gets the swooning princess. It’s a great story, if you happen to be a knight or a wizard or a hero. But it’s pretty odious if you’re Ordinary: a barmaid who has to inflate her bosom and have her backside pinched, a homely prince who can’t buckle his swash because his face doesn’t fit, or a soldier who gets killed over and over and over again just to progress the plot. Fodder of Humble Village is one of those soldiers, and, frankly, he’s sick and tired of getting speared, decapitated, and disembowelled tw...

In honour of publication day - a little insight into my main character. Though do forgive him, he's not very verbose... ;p 1. What was your life like growing up in Humble Village? Well... it was Ordinary. I did my bit as an Urchin, scampered about In Narrative when it needed me, messed about with my mates like Flirt and Shoulders when it didn’t. And then I joined the Disposables. It was what it was. Nothing bad but nothing special – just as it was supposed to be. 2. Tell us about the event that started the rebellion, from your point of view. That’s a tricky one, really. It was hard to define, I’d just... had enough. I don’t even know where that feeling came from, it just kind of crept up on me. I was angry at life in a way I’d never really been before. And then suddenly I was free and doing things I shouldn’t have been able to. Something just...changed. 3. If you had the choice, what kind of character would you want to play? Ah, you see, that’s just it. I’m n...