Sophie E Tallis - Author/Illustrator

Author. Illustrator. Artist. Nerd. Mistress of Wolves. Lover of Wild Places and the Written Word. Spinner of Tales.

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And the next Bond is..?

And the next Bond is..?

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And the next Bond is..?

And the next Bond is..?

This light-hearted post is my way of shaking off the dreadful Covid malaise that has settled over so many of us for the last 18 months. So I’m not talking about mental health, illness, depression, heavy life stuff, art or writing, I’m talking about something entirely daft and wonderfully trivial…who will be the next James Bond? Barbara Broccoli take note! Daniel Craig – for many, the definitive…

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Meh - Dealing with Despondency.

Meh – Dealing with Despondency.

How you do you deal with those flat moments? Times when you’re just not feeling it, when you’ve lost or misplaced your mojo, find yourself in a rut or a creative desert, drained of energy, ideas or just dealing with extreme prolonged fatigue.

Those blank moments you find yourself struggling in, like wading through tar, can really test your mettle. Creative endeavours regardless of whether it’s…

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Organising your arse and getting serious about your business!

Organising your arse and getting serious about your business!

Being a creative nerd I’ve never had a head for business or even considered anything I do as being a business and I know I’m not alone in that thinking.

Last year I took a deep breath and followed Lady Gaga and “jumped in at the deep end” by opening my first Etsy Shop – Sophie’s Artisan Arts. It was terrifying and exhilarating, and while I haven’t exactly set the world alight, I have had a solid…

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Reality Bites - A Year of Art, Wolf Problems and Hard Decisions

Reality Bites – A Year of Art, Wolf Problems and Hard Decisions

2018 has, for many people I know myself included, been a really tough year. In terms of family, we’ve been through a lot of hard times, worst than most, and survived it, though it’s fair to say that my family now is considerably smaller. That means that close family friends we’ve had for years, and in some cases my entire life, really do mean the world to us! ❤

I learnt years ago that family is…

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Frantic Fun at FantasyCon and BristolCon!

Frantic Fun at FantasyCon and BristolCon!

The last two weeks have been a manic blur of fun, meeting friends, train frustration, award nominees, artwork, dizzyness and desperately trying to get something to dry! 😀

This year I was humbled and honoured to be shortlisted as Best Artist in the 2018 British Fantasy Awards, held on the last day of FantasyConin what is always a fun awards ceremony. This year it was held in Chester, a town…

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It’s About Time for Sophie E Tallis The lovely and talented Gemma Beynon, a fellow artist I met last year, was kind enough to interview me over the summer and here's the interview! 😀 If you haven't checked out Gemma's blog please do, it's full of advice gems about creativity and life! 😉

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Living in Trumpland

Living in Trumpland

  Spectral shadows cloud my eyes,

Infinite distance to horizon’s demise.

We mindless children always at war,

Tearing into each other – the loudest voice gains the floor.

Hatred rises in peaks of crimson hue,

Death, mistrust, intolerance…nothing new.

Will sanity’s lessons ever be learned,

As this ravaged Earth is destroyed and we burn?

  From nothing to nothing – particles…

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Shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award! Eeeek!

Shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award! Eeeek!

It’s taken a couple of weeks to sink in, hence the delay, but I’m thrilled to say that I’ve been shortlisted for the 2018 British Fantasy Awards in the Best Artist category!!! Yay!!!!

Can’t quite believe it but seeing my name listed as a shortlist nominee is surreal and a little overwhelming, but in a good way! 🙂 I’ve been nominated in the Best Artist category for the two hand drawn pen & ink…

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"Illumination" Shortlisted for Best Short Story at BFS Awards!

“Illumination” Shortlisted for Best Short Story at BFS Awards!

SO thrilled for the gorgeous and wildly talented Joanne Hall, a fellow British Fantasy Award shortlisted nominee. VERY well deserved for her excellent short story, ‘Illumination’. If you haven’t read it yet…what are you waiting for!!! 🙂

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The Art of...Art. Diversify or Die!

The Art of…Art. Diversify or Die!

The creative arts, particularly writers and artists, are littered with those who have failed to reach their own expectations, potential, dreams and goals. We all want to excel in our chosen path, all want to achieve the aim of making a living from what we love to do.

The harsh truth is that the majority of us will fail. We’ll have our lofty ideas and will fall short after a few exhaustive years…

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Being Cocky in the Social Media Age

Being Cocky in the Social Media Age

Oh the danger of author egos! A brilliant reflection here on the whole controversy surrounding ‘cocky-gate’, seriously you couldn’t make this stuff up! Thank you to the fabulous Tricia for your wonderful and insightful musings on the subject. 😉

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Avengers: Infinity War Review - Spoilers!

Avengers: Infinity War Review – Spoilers!

Spoiler Alert! – Seriously, if you haven’t seen the film yet then what the hell are you doing? Get out of here!!!! 😀

Avengers: Infinity War has been out worldwide for a few days now so I feel I’m safe doing a review with my thoughts and why such an enormous CGI filled visual superhero feast has a strange personal resonance for me, oh and yes, while I will not discuss the fates of the characters,…

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Mistress of Wolves - the pleasures and pains of having wolfies!

Mistress of Wolves – the pleasures and pains of having wolfies!

I’ll be writing a blog post about making a living as an artist and my glacial progress on the writing front, but this really is a post for all of you who have fur babies, those four legged members of the family who are so much more than ‘just a pet’, and the emotional challenges that brings.

This will also, hopefully, be an informative post for those who are dealing with the dreaded degenerative…

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When time is the enemy - manically juggling!

When time is the enemy – manically juggling!

Well it’s true to say that I started 2018 on the ground running – it’s been an utterly manic year already and we’re only a few months in!

As with most people, I find myself constantly juggling. For me, working part time in a library, means juggling that with working full time as an illustrator, trying to find some time for writing and personal artwork, as well as home responsibilities, personal…

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Increasing Discoverability - The 2018 Challenge

Increasing Discoverability – The 2018 Challenge

My awesome writer friend, Joanne Hall, who is not only a fantastic writer herself but is a great advocate for new writers and promoting diversity and new talent in SFF. Definitely some names to check out here!

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2017 - A Year of Art and Climbing Everest!!!

2017 – A Year of Art and Climbing Everest!!!

2017 has been a strange year and on more than one occasion I’ve heard myself saying “This can’t be reality?”, as if I’d slipped into some dream state without my knowing…I mean come on, we’re now living in an odd dystopian universe where an unhinged, dangerously narcissistic, orange, sexual offending, racist twat is the American President with his short fat fingers on the nuclear button!

Yeap,…

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