The Fiction Factory Blog

In this latest BenCast, I go through my 1-star reviews. Yep. You read that right. I go toe to toe with the lowest of the low ratings. From my debut The Written to the newest book The Heart of Stone, here’s why people don’t like my stories or my writing. You can’t win them all I think it’s always useful to look at both good and bad reviews. Sometimes they’re constructive and useful, so never wise to dismiss just out of hand. I found it quite entertaining to dig these up and look through.If you

Get a look at the new Chasing Graves cover if you haven’t already seen it in all its raw, dark fantastical beauty. I’m beyond pleased with what artists Shawn King and Chris Cold have produced. I’m also really pleased to say that the book is now available to pre-order on Amazon Kindle before the December 7th launch! For more info and the pre-order links, watch this BenCast or go to my site.I also show you what I’ve been up to with my mother visiting me here on Vancouver Island, which includes my

The second map for Chasing Graves has finally been finished! I’ve put together a time-lapse of how I created the second Chasing Graves map – the city map of Araxes, the City of Countless Souls. This was a tough project due to the amount of detail involved, taking far longer than the previous world map, but I’m incredibly pleased with how it finally turned out. It took far more digital jiggery pokery than usual, which meant I learnt some new skills along the way. Now it’s done, I think it’ll go

The Chasing Graves December launch is hurtling towards us. I’ve been working hard this month, and now that the writing is done, the cover art is almost ready, and the release date has been set, it’s time to get the maps done.There’ll be two maps in each book of the Chasing Graves Trilogy, one for the overall world and one for the city of Araxes, which I’ll be tackling next week. I’m going for a Medieval meets Egyptian style, and hopefully I’ve pulled it off.I’ve always drawn my own maps, and

Feast your eyes on the highlights of the Terrible Ten Con! Here’s what a fantastic group of authors and I got up to last weekend down in Luray, Virginia. I was thrilled to finally meet these people face to face after years of purely online interaction. Stories, tips, masterclasses, banter, arrows, and barrels of scotch were shared.Featuring – Michael J. Sullivan, Robin Sullivan, Phil Tucker, Dyrk Ashton, Daniel Potter, T L Greylock, AC Cobble, Matt Moss, Jeramy Goble, and Bryce O’Connor.Hope you

It’s been a little while since the last BenCast. As I’ve been squirrelled away in my writing cave, turning my first drafts of the Chasing Graves into second and third drafts, I thought I’d give you an update on my progress. If you want to know the RELEASE DATE for the Chasing Graves Trilogy and more about the next EMANESKA SERIES, then watch away. I also let you know a bit more about my Patreon Page and the rewards you can get there for becoming a Patron. For instance, I’ll be releasing Chasing

The latest BenCast is up! This time I take to the high seas to get a break away from the editing saga of the new trilogy I’m working on – Chasing Graves. Me and a few other pirates enjoy the sunshine, I realise I want to live on a boat, and we meet the sea police. Enjoy!For more frequent updates follow me on Twitter @BenGalley or on Facebook and Instagram @BenGalleyAuthor.(Music by LP, Elk Road, and Blakroc feat Nicole Ray and NOE.)

And here it is! Finally an update on where I’m at with the Chasing Graves Trilogy, the Heart of Stone audiobook, two anthologies and a video all about my Costa Rica adventures. I was lucky enough to see some fantastic wildlife such as iguanas, crocodiles and monkeys. Hope you enjoy.If you want to know more, you can follow me on Twitter @BenGalley or on Facebook and Instagram @BenGalleyAuthor. Or, head to my site for a free book: www.bengalley.com

As we’re hurtling towards the end of another year, and 2018 is prowling around the Christmas fires, I thought I’d round up all the personal highlights of this year, and let you know what books I’ll be releasing in 2018.I want to also say thank you for all your support, views, shares, and of course, for reading my books. It means a lot, and as such I’ll be working even harder next year, creating more vlogs and books.Keep your eyes peeled on Twitter (@BenGalley) and Facebook (@BenGalleyAuthor) for

The latest BenCast is up In this new vlog, I talk about the current drawing competition I’m running where you can win 3 SIGNED, DOODLED and DATED copies of The Heart of Stone. I also let you know about the new crowdfunding page I’ve launched on Patreon. Unlike Kickstarter, where you back a single, one-off project, on Patreon you can support creatives monthly, in return for rewards and Patron-only content. I’ve put together some great and exclusive bundles that you can get your hands on. Watch

Here’s the latest BenCast, this time about my little birthday holiday in the snowy wonderland that is Whistler, Canada. I check out a big zipline tour through the mountains, a bobsled track, as well as a hot tub at -8 degrees C.Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter and Youtube @BenGalley and on Facebook and Instagram @BenGalleyAuthor. Or, sign up to the mailing list for a free copy of Bloodrush, voted the Bloggers’ Favourite in the inaugural SPFBO.Music by me and Ryan Little.

In this new BenCast, I give you the low-down on what I’ve been up to since Dubai. First and foremost, as you may have heard, my latest novel—The Heart of Stone—is up for Best Self-Published Novel in the Booknest Fantasy Awards! (You can vote in the awards right here: http://booknest.eu/component/k2/blog/867-2017-booknest-fantasy-awards-shortlist)I’m also onto Book 3 of the new Chasing Graves Series, and I’ve just submitted two short stories for anthologies due for 2018. Oh, and I’m plotting out

Part two is here! Here’s the second instalment of my adventures in Dubai. I finally get my hands on a camel (or two), go sand boarding, and find out more about the world’s tallest building. It was so inspiring for the new books, and it’s been great adding much more realism and detail to my desert world after seeing the Middle East up close (instead of Google Earth or Images).If you’re enjoying these videos, you can subscribe on YouTube at www.youtube.com/bengalley, or click the tab on the left.

My Dubai blog is here! It took a while to edit this one with so much footage taken while I was there. So much in fact, it’s in two parts. Here’s part one, with the second part coming this Wednesday. Hope you enjoy my antics in the Middle East. In this instalment, I arrive in Dubai, check out the largest mall in the world, and head out into the desert for some sunset adventures.If you want to know more, you can follow me on Twitter @BenGalley and on Facebook and Instagram @BenGalleyAuthor. Or,

In the latest BenCast, I report on the progress of The Heart of Stone in Mark Lawrence’s SPFBO 2017, and also talk about some exciting news – for the first two weeks of September, I’ll be running a big sale of The Heart of Stone.As of today, you can get an ebook copy for just 0.99p/c across Kindle, Kobo, Google Play and iBooks. If you’ve yet to read my epic standalone, you can now bag yourself a cheap copy.Head to Task’s page for more info: www.bengalley,.com/heart-of-stone.As usual, you can

Here’s the brand new BenCast! If you want to find out about my new books – The Chasing Graves trilogy – I spill the titles, tell you what progress has been made, and share some of the premise behind the books. I also put together a quick roundup from my most recent adventure further up Vancouver Island. Including my very peaceful run-in with a bear…Subscribe to the channel for regular updates!If you want to know more follow me on Twitter @BenGalley and on Facebook and Instagram

This one’s a little late, but here’s a new BenCast – a recap of my time exploring Knoxville and going to the excellent Bonnaroo Festival. It’s inspired me to take the next Scarlet Star story south of the Mason-Dixon Line! Have a look, and feel free to subscribe.For updates on my adventures, follow me on Twitter @BenGalley and on Facebook and Instagram @BenGalleyAuthor. (Music by Ryan Little and the mighty John Williams)

Meet my new writing cave in this latest BenCast. I’ve managed to secure an apartment in downtown Victoria, and today’s moving day. It’s a blank canvas, which is very exciting, and I’m looking forward to filling it with writery stuff.You’ll be seeing this place a lot more, as it’ll be featuring in a many future BenCasts, that’s for sure.Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter @BenGalley and on Facebook and Instagram @BenGalleyAuthor.Music by Mike B Fort

My Canadian adventure continues! I’ve got two vlogs coming this week, and here’s the first – myself and the other Brits join forces with a few Canadians to go and investigate a lake near Victoria. It’s called Lake Thetis, and it’s goddamn beautiful. A day out like this seems so easy to have here, and something that would be hard to find back home. Instead, we’d probably find ourselves at the pub, to be honest!For more updates on my time exploring Canada, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter

This time explore the waters around Vancouver Island. I’d like to say I pilfered a boat to head out and rule the seven seas, but in truth I simply rented a powerboat and went out fishing. I wish we’d caught sight of some whales, but there’s plenty more time for that later this year, as the whale season is only just starting. Instead, we caught some actual fish… very interesting look fish.Catch all my updates on Twitter @BenGalley and on Facebook and Instagram @BenGalleyAuthor.Music by that top