Literary Alchemist: Phillipa Ballantine

Literary Alchemist: Phillipa Ballantine
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By Dave Robison Literary Alchemists April 1, 2012
Literary Alchemist: Philippa Ballantine
Literary Alchemist: Philippa Ballantine

 

Showcase Episode: 20 Minutes with Phillipa Ballentine

Workshop Episode: Workshop Episode 6

Website/Blog: http://www.pjballantine.com/

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/pjballantine/

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Philippa has always had her head in a book. For this she blames her father who thought Lord of the Rings was suitable bedtime reading for an eight year old. At the age of thirteen she began writing fantasy stories for herself.

She first earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Political Science and then a Bachelor of Applied Science in Library and Information Science. So soon enough she found herself working in the magical world of libraries where she stayed for over a decade.

Her first professional sale was in 1997, and since then she has gone on to produce mostly novel length fiction. In 2006 she became New Zealand’s first podcast novelist, and she has voiced and produced Weaver’s Web, Chasing the Bard, Weather Child and Digital Magic as podiobooks. Her podcasts have been short listed for the Parsec Awards, and won a Sir Julius Vogel award.

Philippa is the author of the Books of the Order series with Ace- Geist and Spectyr out now, and Wrayth (2012) and Harbinger to follow. She is also the co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series with Tee Morris. Phoenix Rising debuted in May 2011 and The Janus Affair will be out in May 2012. She also has the Shifted World series with Pyr Books, with the first book Hunter and Fox coming in June 2012.

When not writing or podcasting, Philippa loves reading, gardening, and whenever possible traveling. With her husband Tee and her daughter, she is looked after by a mighty clowder of five cats.

Works of note…

Books of the Order: Geist , Spectyr, and Wrayth (201
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising , The Janus Affair
The Shifted World series: Hunter and Fox

 

Favorites

Authors: CJ Cherryh, David Gemmell,
Movies: Aliens, Hugo, Labyrinth,
TV: Grimm, An Idiot Abroad, BSG, Doctor Whos

 

Recent Accidents…

“Accidentally turned into a semi-cat lady”

Dave Robison / About Author
Dave Robison has indulged in creative pursuits his entire life. His CV includes writing Curious George fan-fiction at the age of eight, improv theater at age ten, playing trumpet at age twelve, as well as a theater degree, creating magazine cover art, writing audio scripts, designing websites, creating board games, hosting mythological roundtables and generally savoring the sweet drought of expression in all its forms. His years of exploration give him a unique, informed, and eloquent perspective on the art of storytelling.
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