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Author Archives: Felicity Banks Books
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An immersive story experience
Canberra Bookings Sydney Bookings words, words, words
Surprise!
It’s been a long, long time since I added any new content to my other blog, but since I mainly use blogging to talk to myself (just ask my 2.1 followers) I decided the blog needed to be separated from my vaguely professional-looking online store and (coming soon) Escape Room booking sessions, so the wholeContinue reading “Surprise!”
Who do you call good?
The title is a quote from the Bible, when someone calls Jesus “Good Teacher” (or something like that) and Jesus says, “No one is good but God alone.” Which from him has a multitude of layers. But it’s also interesting, given how much Westerners like to think of ourselves as “a good person”. I thinkContinue reading “Who do you call good?”
IF Comp: Roads Not Taken
I only did one play-through of this story, which took 40 minutes. “Slice of life” is a good description because it feels autobiographical*—both because of the detailed storytelling (good storytelling) and because it has the rambling uncertainty of real life. A lot of hyperlinks add detail, and the writing is good enough that they’re worthContinue reading “IF Comp: Roads Not Taken”
IF Comp: Dull Grey
Okay, so the title is very off-putting. Gonna play it anyway. I’m enjoying the simple but layered visuals, even if they don’t technically count towards my score (it’s all about the words). But it shows the writer has spent time on making an involving and professional story. Mostly, in my mind, because it means they’veContinue reading “IF Comp: Dull Grey”
IF Comp: Arram’s Tomb
Link to all the games is here. This looks so perfectly D & D. The cover looks amateurish, but it conveys genre and style perfectly. It is 100% consistent with the writing, which is deliberately cliched. Heh. It took me five minutes to die on my first go. Ooh, I think I died even fasterContinue reading “IF Comp: Arram’s Tomb”
IF Comp: Lucerne
The first pic is not showing up. Possibly because I’m using Safari? Gorgeous cover. Atmospheric and intriguing. Screams “dark fantasy/adventure” which is right on. You can play it by clicking through to the full list of games here. And, I know I said I’d skip the 15 minute ones. I just… didn’t find many thatContinue reading “IF Comp: Lucerne”
IF Comp: Valand/The Island
How long it actually took me to play: 15 minutes (the author estimated half an hour but I’m a very fast reader) The opening of this story was really intriguing: The main character (a child—their gender is never specified) comes to consciousness having washed up on a beach, where they immediately meet a magical creatureContinue reading “IF Comp: Valand/The Island”
IF Comp
I looked forward to entering IF Comp all of this year, as my reward for finishing an unexpectedly difficult story (due at the end of August). I’d done a bit of research and written the opening. The first week of September I did barely anything. I was utterly exhausted—and besides, I had two months toContinue reading “IF Comp”
Death at the Rectory
It’s been a long, long time but I finally have another ChoiceScript interactive story. DEATH AT THE RECTORY (iOS, Google Play, Amazon, etc) is a cozy crime mystery (with magic) which was very much inspired by the real-life rectory of St John’s Anglican in Gundagai. Here are some pics from the actual rectory: And here’s aContinue reading “Death at the Rectory”
Editing a ChoiceScript Game
The interactive fiction community is a wonderful, welcoming space. It is common practice to share a book (aka a game) with other people before officially publishing it. Those first readers spot all manner of errors and are extremely generous and helpful. But with THE FLOATING CITY, I needed a Sensitivity Reader to check I wasn’tContinue reading “Editing a ChoiceScript Game”
The income of the full-time author
Many years ago, I learned that the average full-time writer in Australia earns $12,000 per year (that is, considerably less than minimum wage). Here’s what I earned over the last three years: $20,000. -$10,000. $5000. Soooo…. this year was better than last year. Yay? The main reason I lost so much money last financial yearContinue reading “The income of the full-time author”
About My Boy
I have a son. I still remember how odd it felt, when pregnant, to be carrying a boy. Obviously, boys are born all the time—but it felt instinctively strange to me to go through such an intensely female experience to produce something masculine. (When we were told Louisette was a girl—again, at the 20 weekContinue reading “About My Boy”
Do your legs stop working when it rains?
I got pissy today, and wrote this piece for the school newsletter. When I googled how much the fine was I stumbled across some stuff I didn’t know, so I thought it was worth a blog post. Dropping and fetching kids is a hassle in winter, but remember… don’t park in disabled spots even whenContinue reading “Do your legs stop working when it rains?”
Things I should be doing right now
Most importantly, I should be writing my quota for the day: 1000 words. And gluing some stuff back together. And tidying the living room. And sorting three loads of washing; washing two loads including cleaning up an epic blood nose from last night (by TJ). And sorting out the ominously paper-filled sections of several “IContinue reading “Things I should be doing right now”
Talking to myself about abortion
So this happened.
Bits and Bobs from “Brass”
I spent last weekend at Nimmitabel’s Steampunk @ Altitude festival, and the weekend before that at IronFest in Lithgow, so it’s been a wild steam-powered ride for the last couple of weeks. But a few old pics related to HEART OF BRASS just came to my attention, so I’m posting them here before they returnContinue reading “Bits and Bobs from “Brass””
Guest Post: What doesn’t kill me. . .
Hello and welcome to Karen J Carlisle! Karen J Carlisle is a writer and illustrator of steampunk, Victorian mysteries and fantasy. She was short-listed in Australian Literature Review’s 2013 Murder/Mystery Short Story Competition. Her first novella, Doctor Jack & Other Tales, was published in 2015 and her short stories have featured in the 2016 AdelaideContinue reading “Guest Post: What doesn’t kill me. . .”