Steven J. Pemberton

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Steven J. Pemberton

Goodreads Author


Born
The United Kingdom
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences

Member Since
September 2011

URL


Steven was born in England in 1970, the son of a librarian and a teacher. It was probably inevitable, therefore, that he would grow up loving books. For much of his childhood, he and his family lived in New Zealand, returning to England in 1981. He now lives in Lancashire with his partner, where he works as a software developer.

If you'd like to be the first to know about new releases, you can join Steven's mailing list at http://eepurl.com/_5EDX (Subscribers get an exclusive free short story!)
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Steven J. Pemberton Boring answer, I'm afraid... I don't think of myself as having any difficulties to overcome that are peculiar to me or to fantasy writers. I sometimes…moreBoring answer, I'm afraid... I don't think of myself as having any difficulties to overcome that are peculiar to me or to fantasy writers. I sometimes wish I could write faster, but I know that's mainly down to laziness on my part. More sales would be nice, of course, but that's a problem for any writer who isn't selling enough that they could afford to stop writing for a few years.

I think I'm fortunate that I can spend as much time writing as I do, without having to feel guilty about not spending the time on something else. I'm glad that I can self-publish and not have to worry about whether a book fits with the marketing department's idea of what will be popular in two years. Though I'm also glad it wasn't a viable option until a few years ago, because I would probably have jumped into it before I was ready.(less)
Steven J. Pemberton I normally struggle to answer this question, because often years pass between my getting the idea and starting to write the book. In that time, the id…moreI normally struggle to answer this question, because often years pass between my getting the idea and starting to write the book. In that time, the idea gets extended and modified so much that I often don't remember what it was to begin with.

But with my latest novel, The Mirrors of Elangir, I distinctly recall the inspiration as being a TV documentary about the early history of photography. It mentioned that daguerreotypes were once known as "mirrors with memories", because they were printed on silvered metal plates, so the parts that would be white in a modern photograph were reflective.

This set me wondering what a mirror with a memory would be like in a fantasy context. The "memory" part would presumably have to be something magical. I thought about the mirror functioning like a camera or a video recorder, but couldn't see how I could get a story out of that. Then I thought that instead of recording what was happening in front of it, a mirror could send that picture to another mirror. After some more brainstorming, I decided the mirrors would be made in matched pairs, so that each mirror could send pictures to only one other mirror. That means one mirror by itself is of little worth, but both mirrors of a pair, taken together, are quite valuable. This fitted well with the "treasure hunt" story I'd decided I wanted to tell.

Of course, there are all sorts of other aspects to the world, the plot and the characters, which had countless other inspirations, but that's where it all started.(less)
Average rating: 3.95 · 131 ratings · 19 reviews · 16 distinct works
Death & Magic (The Barefoot...

4.13 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions
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Plague & Poison (The Barefo...

4.18 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2011 — 5 editions
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The Accidental Dragonrider

3.35 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions
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Escape Velocity

3.12 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions
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The Mirrors of Elangir

3.56 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions
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Dust & Water (The Barefoot ...

3.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions
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Stone & Silence (The Barefo...

4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings5 editions
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The Reluctant Dragonrider

4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings3 editions
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Racing the Storm and Other ...

4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings3 editions
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The Barefoot Healer

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating2 editions
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January's Writing Progress

I was a bit optimistic about when I might be able to release the audio version of The Last Dragonrider. I finished recording it after 13 days (mostly 13 late nights, really), which is the fastest I've done something of that length. Not living next to a railway station helps. Editing it is taking longer, though. I'm halfway through chapter 22, which means I've done about 30% of it.

I think I'll have Read more of this blog post »
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Published on January 30, 2026 16:15 Tags: writing_progress
Death & Magic Plague & Poison Dust & Water Stone & Silence
(4 books)
by
4.11 avg rating — 54 ratings

The Accidental Dragonrider The Reluctant Dragonrider
(2 books)
by
3.48 avg rating — 23 ratings

The Mirrors of Elangir
(1 book)
by
3.56 avg rating — 9 ratings

Steven’s Recent Updates

Steven J. Pemberton wrote a new blog post

January's Writing Progress

I was a bit optimistic about when I might be able to release the audio version of The Last Dragonrider. I finished recording it after 13 days (mostly Read more of this blog post »
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An Officer and a Spy by Robert   Harris
An Officer and a Spy
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Blood, Plague and Smallpox by Tim Sandle
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Doubting River by Melissa C. Alexander
Doubting River
by Melissa C. Alexander (Goodreads Author)
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Enheduana by Sophus Helle
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Enheduana by Sophus Helle
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Mistrust and Treason by E.M. Swift-Hook
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Not to Be by E.M. Swift-Hook
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A Necessary End by E.M. Swift-Hook
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Bloggers Unite™ : Most Under Appreciated Indie Authors 5 23 Nov 27, 2011 01:29PM  
Fred Allen
“I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars.”
Fred Allen
tags: humor

Kate Chopin
“Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life.”
Kate Chopin, The Awakening, and Selected Stories

Evelyn Waugh
“Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.”
Evelyn Waugh

Frank Herbert
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
Frank Herbert, Dune

Samuel Beckett
“We are all born mad. Some remain so.”
Samuel Beckett

1147223 Almondie Book Club — 12 members — last activity Feb 10, 2026 09:34PM
We are a group of friends and colleagues who meet every other month to discuss a book that one of us has chosen. We read both fiction and non-fiction ...more
55643 Book Promotion Forum by Genre — 718 members — last activity Dec 19, 2025 08:59AM
Authors: An opportunity for authors to post descriptions and internal links to their books. Readers: A resource to find new books.
46156 Creative Reviews — 3848 members — last activity Feb 02, 2026 04:06PM
This group is a way to gather together people who like to write book reviews as well as advertise their book review blogs. With enough people we will ...more
25x33 Author Interviews at Tim Greaton Forum... — 85 members — last activity May 05, 2020 12:00AM
Every two or three days, I interview creative people (mostly authors) at www.TimGreatonForum.blogspot.com. This looks like a great place to discuss th ...more
74909 Free music for book trailers — 496 members — last activity Dec 13, 2018 04:13PM
Original compositions by Lee Fitzsimmons are now available for use in internet book trailers. Go to http://LeeFitzsimmons.com to download for free... ...more
93056 Help with Book Formatting — 167 members — last activity Sep 15, 2020 01:47AM
I have set-up this group for writers and authors who need help with formatting their books, either for paperback or eBook.
60696 Making Connections — 14810 members — last activity 10 hours, 26 min ago
Read, Review, and Make Connections
130808 New Adult Books — 131 members — last activity Feb 12, 2015 06:14AM
New Adult books feature characters ages 18-28. Most books labeled New Adult are contemporary romance, but a growing number of NA books coming out are ...more
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message 1: by Tom

Tom Blubaugh Hi Steven,

Thank you for joining my circle of friends.

Blessings,

Tom


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