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F.C. Malby

Goodreads Author

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

https://fcmalby.com

Twitter

fcmalby

Genre

Thriller, Crime, Short Stories

Influences

John Buchan, George Orwell, Franz Kafka, W.H. Auden, Hilary Mantel, Al ...more

Member Since

September 2012

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F.C. Malby writes novels, short stories, and poetry. Her debut novel, Take Me to the Castle, is set in the Czech Republic and won The People’s Book Awards. Her second novel, Dead Drop, set in Vienna, is a lyrical, daring thriller about the undercover world of art crime. Her debut short story collection, My Brother Was a Kangaroo, includes award-winning stories published in literary magazines and journals worldwide.

F. C. Malby's second collection of short stories, A Place of Unfinished Sentences, is intense, beautifully realised, and ice-sharp, and is forthcoming in 2024. She is a contributor to four print anthologies. The forth is forthcoming with Pens of the Earth in Oct 2024. Her poetry has appeared in various journals, magazines and pod ...more

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F.C. Malby’s books

Average rating: 3.59 · 54 ratings · 24 reviews · 12 distinct works

	Take Me to the Castle 3.26 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unthology 8 by Ashley Stokes (Goodreads Author) (editor), Robin Jones (Editor), Clare Fisher (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Red 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hearing Voices: The Litro Anthology of New Fiction by Eric Akoto (Editor), Dan Coxon (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Anthony Doerr (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Bench 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bird 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead Drop it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Skeleton Bunker it was ok 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Brother Was a Kangaroo 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Place of Unfinished Sentences: Short Stories 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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F.C. Malby's Blog

The Power of Character-Driven Stories

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked as a writer is, ‘do you focus on plot or character?’ I predominantly write thrillers, so character is particularly important and often drives the story line (the plot). Jana in Take Me to the Castle and Leisl in Dead Drop are strong female protagonists. Their thoughts, livesContinue reading "The Power of Character-Driven Stories" Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 01, 2026 11:12

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F.C. is Currently Reading

F.C. Malby is currently reading

Missing

by Alison Moore

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Jul 30, 2022 03:56AM

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F.C.’s Recent Updates

F.C. Malby wrote a new blog post Using Photographs as Writing Prompts for Short Fiction Lots of people ask me where I get my ideas from when writing fiction. The answer remains elusive. As a photographer, I find much inspiration from snip Read more of this blog post »
Jan 23, 2026 11:13AM · like

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Quotes by F.C. Malby (?)

“The sublime beauty was almost hidden withing the castle walls. She believed that the treasured things in life were often hard to find - a pearl in an oyster shell, a kind word in the heat of the moment.”
― F.C. Malby, Take Me to the Castle

tags: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

3 likes

“The lines in the corners of her eyes spoke of years of wisdom, as a tree with the number of rings increasing with each passing year. She was a small frame of a woman with piercing eyes that suggested that they knew you, understood you even.”
― F.C. Malby, Take Me to the Castle

tags: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

3 likes

“Don't ever let anyone tell you that things can't be changed, that things can't be done. The can and they will, if we are united in what we believe.”
― F.C. Malby, Take Me to the Castle

tags: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

2 likes

See all F.C. Malby's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Making Connections: 811. TAKE ME TO THE CASTLE by F.C. Malby	25	153	Aug 03, 2013 08:26AM
Making Connections: 3rd Quarterly Challenge - June 1st to September 30, 2013	28	167	Oct 17, 2013 12:59AM

F.C.’s Quotes

tags: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

3 likes

“Don't ever let anyone tell you that things can't be changed, that things can't be done. The can and they will, if we are united in what we believe.”
― F.C. Malby, Take Me to the Castle

tags: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

2 likes

tags: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

3 likes

“To Jana's mind everybody seemed happy to see BAbichka and resisted returning her, like a misplaced package sent to the wrong address. It was as if the recipient opened it up, knowing it should be returned, but wondering who long they could legitimately keep it before being changed with theft.”
― F.C. Malby, Take Me to the Castle

tags: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

1 likes

“The others moved in like a wake of vultures, ready to devour their prey. she had seen it on television once. 'Scavengers,' Tatinek called them. They swoop in and feed off the carcasses of animals that are too weak to escape - lots of them on battlefields. This looked the same, only the victim wasn't there, just his writing, his typewriter, and bits of dark paper.”
― F.C. Malby, Take Me to the Castle