Tor have posted an excerpt from the prologue of 'A Memory of Light'(the final Wheel of Time book for any heathens).
There was something powerful about crafting the spearhead. The simple act seemed to push back the gloom. There had been a shadow on Bayrd, and the rest of the camp, lately. As if...as if he couldn’t stand in the light no matter how he tried. The darkness was always there, weighing him down. He woke each morning feeling as if someone he’d loved had died the day before.
Helen Lowe the author of 'The Heir of Night' has a guest post on world building over on Kate Elliott's blog. Pretty boring but you can win some free books!
Jennifer Fallon lists "10 Tips for Writing a Fantasy Bestseller".
1. Leave no cliché unturned in your quest for literary greatness. A very influential acquisitions editor told me once if she saw another fantasy that starts with an unsuspecting goat-herder (fisherman, shepherd, whatever) coming home to find his village destroyed and then setting out on a quest to seek vengeance, she would have to kill herself. Pay no attention to this. The reason she was lamenting this particular plot device was because yet another very famous, internationally bestselling author had done it and made bucket-loads. Clichés sell.
That is all.
