occupation nicholas stuart gray
A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography . A country may be an independent ___MASK49___ state or one that is occupied by another state , as a non - ___MASK49___ or formerly ___MASK49___ political division , or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics . Regardless of the physical geography , in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945 , a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction . Speculative fiction is a broad umbrella genre denoting any narrative fiction with supernatural or futuristic elements ; this encompasses the genres of ___MASK77___ fiction , fantasy , horror , alternative history , ___MASK58___ realism , and ___MASK9___ fiction , as well as combinations of the previous genres . It typically strays strongly from reality and so may feature fictional types of beings like mythical creatures and supernatural entities , technologies that do not exist in real life like time machines and interstellar spaceships , or magical or otherwise scientifically inexplicable elements . The term ' s popularity is sometimes attributed to Robert Heinlein , who referenced it in 1947 in an editorial essay , although there are prior mentions of speculative fiction , or its variant " speculative literature ". ___MASK77___ fiction ( often shortened to SF , sci - fi or scifi ) is a genre of speculative fiction , typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic ___MASK77___ and technology , space ___MASK6___ , time ___MASK6___ , faster than light ___MASK6___ , parallel universes , and extraterrestrial life . ___MASK77___ fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations , and has been called a " literature of ideas ." It usually avoids the supernatural , and unlike the related genre of fantasy , historically ___MASK77___ fiction stories were intended to have a grounding in ___MASK77___ - based fact or theory at the time the story was created , but this connection is now limited to hard ___MASK77___ fiction . Charlotte - Rose de Caumont de La Force or Mademoiselle de La Force ( 1654  1724 ) was a French ___MASK41___ and ___MASK72___ . Her best - known work was her 1698 fairy tale " Persinette " which was adapted by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 as the story " Rapunzel ". A graphic novel is a ___MASK3___ made up of comics content . Although the word " novel " normally refers to long fictional works , the term " graphic novel " is applied broadly and includes fiction , non - fiction , and anthologized work . It is distinguished from the term " ___MASK90___ ", which is used for comics periodicals . Hilari Bell ( born 1958 ) is an American ___MASK8___ . She is the author of several science - fiction and fantasy novels including the critically acclaimed " Farsala Trilogy ". The Graveyard ___MASK3___ is a children ' s fantasy novel by the English ___MASK36___ Neil Gaiman , simultaneously published in Britain and America during 2008 . " The Graveyard ___MASK3___ " traces the story of the boy Nobody " Bod " Owens who is adopted and raised by the supernatural occupants of a graveyard after his family is brutally murdered . Cassandra [ Mia ] Golds ( born 1962 ) is an Australian children ' s ___MASK36___ . Wales is a country that is part of the ___MASK38___ and the island of Great Britain . It is bordered by England to the east , the Irish Sea to the north and west , and the Bristol Channel to the south . It had a population in 2011 of 3 , 063 , 456 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous , with its higher peaks in the north and central areas , including Snowdon , its highest summit . The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable , maritime climate . American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award - winning novel by English ___MASK36___ Neil Gaiman . The novel is a blend of Americana , fantasy , and various strands of ancient and modern mythology , all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow . Several of the themes touched upon in the book were previously glimpsed in " The Sandman " ___MASK90___ series . The Isles of Scilly ( or "") are an archipelago off the south western tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain . It is the southernmost location in England and the ___MASK38___ , as well as the most westerly in England . " Rapunzel " is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm , and first published in 1812 as part of " Children ' s and Household Tales ". The Grimm Brothers ' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale " Rapunzel " by Friedrich Schulz published in 1790 . The Schulz version is based on " Persinette " by Charlotte - Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698 which in turn was influenced by an even earlier tale , " Petrosinella " by Giambattista Basile , published in 1634 . Its plot has been used and parodied in various media and its best known line (" Rapunzel , Rapunzel , let down your hair ") is an idiom of popular culture . In volume I of the 1812 annotations ( Anhang ), it is listed as coming from Friedrich Schulz Kleine Romane , ___MASK3___ 5 , pp . 269  288 , published in Leipzig 1790 . Fiction is the classification for any story or universe derived from imagination  in other words , not based strictly on history or fact . Fiction can be expressed in a variety of formats , including writings , live performances , films , ___MASK44___ programs , animations , video games , and role - playing games , though the term originally and most commonly refers to the narrative forms of literature ( see " ___MASK5___ " fiction ), including the novel , novella , short story , and play . Fiction constitutes an act of creative invention , so that faithfulness to reality is not typically assumed ; in other words , fiction is not expected to present only characters who are actual people or descriptions that are factually true . The context of fiction is generally open to interpretation , due to fiction ' s freedom from any necessary embedding in reality ; however , some fictional works are claimed to be , or marketed as , historically or factually accurate , complicating the traditional distinction between fiction and non - fiction . Fiction is a classification or category , rather than a specific mode or genre , unless used in a narrower sense as a synonym for a particular ___MASK5___ fiction form . The Bitterbynde is a fantasy trilogy written by Australian ___MASK80___ Cecilia Dart - Thornton . It comprises " The Ill - Made Mute ", " The Lady of the Sorrows ", and " The Battle of Evernight ". Scotland ( Scots : ) is a country that is part of the ___MASK38___ and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain . It shares a border with England to the south , and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to the east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south - west . In addition to the mainland , the country is made up of more than 790 islands , including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides . Nicholas Stuart Gray ( 23 October 1922 , Scotland - 17 March 1981 ) was a British actor and playwright , perhaps best known for his work in children ' s theatre in England . He was also an ___MASK36___ of children ' s fantasy ; he wrote a number of novels , a dozen plays , and many short stories . Neil Gaiman has written that Gray `` is one of those authors I loved as a boy who holds up even better on rereading as an adult '' . Many other modern fantasy authors , such as Hilari Bell , Cecilia Dart - Thornton , Kate Forsyth , Cassandra Golds , Katherine Langrish , Sophie Masson , and Garth Nix , cite Gray ' s work as something they enjoyed as children . Perhaps his best - known books are The Seventh Swan and Grimbold ' s Other World . Gray often produced adaptations or continuations of traditional fairy tales and fantasy works , as in his Further Adventures of Puss in Boots . His The Stone Cage is a re - telling of Rapunzel from a cat ' s point of view . Over the Hills to Fabylon is about a city whose king has the ability to make it fly off across the mountains if he feels it is in danger . Gray maintained a long - term collaborative relationship with set designer and illustrator Joan Jefferson Farjeon ( niece of Eleanor Farjeon and Harry Farjeon ) ; she supplied the costume and scenic designs for many of the theatrical productions of his plays , as well as the illustrations for most of his printed plays and for the novel version of The Seventh Swan . Coraline is a dark fantasy children ' s novella by British ___MASK36___ Neil Gaiman , published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins . It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella , the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella , and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers . It has been compared to Lewis Carroll ' s " Alice ' s Adventures in Wonderland " and was adapted into a 2009 stop - motion film directed by Henry Selick . The ___MASK38___ of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the ___MASK38___ ( UK ) or Britain , is a ___MASK49___ country in western Europe . Lying off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country ), the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another ___MASK49___ statethe Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest ___MASK49___ state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous country , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union . Borders are geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions , such as governments , ___MASK49___ states , federated states , and other subnational entities . Some borders  such as a state ' s internal administrative border , or inter - state borders within the Schengen Area  are often open and completely unguarded . Other borders are partially or fully controlled , and may be crossed legally only at designated border checkpoints and border zones may be controlled . Mostly contentious , borders may even foster the setting up of buffer zones . A difference has also been established in academic scholarship between border and frontier , the latter denoting a state of mind rather than state boundaries . The supernatural ( Medieval Latin : " superntrlis ": " supra " " above " + " naturalis " " natural ", first used : 1520  1530 AD ) includes all that cannot be explained by ___MASK77___ or the laws of nature , including things characteristic of or relating to ghosts , gods , or other supernatural beings , or to things beyond nature . The Celtic Sea (; ) is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by ___MASK67___ George ' s Channel ; other limits include the Bristol Channel , the English Channel , and the Bay of Biscay , as well as adjacent portions of Wales , Cornwall , Devon , and Brittany . The southern and western boundaries are delimited by the continental shelf , which drops away sharply . The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of small islands in the sea . Sophie Masson is a French - Australian fantasy and children ' s ___MASK36___ . Kate Forsyth is an Australian ___MASK36___ . She is best known for her historical novel " Bitter Greens ", which interweaves a retelling of the " Rapunzel " fairy tale with the true life story of the woman who first told the tale , the 17th century French ___MASK80___ Charlotte - Rose de Caumont de La Force . Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe , often but not always without any locations , events , or people from the real world . Most fantasy uses ___MASK58___ or other supernatural elements as a main plot element , theme , or setting . ___MASK58___ and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds . Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes , respectively , though there is a great deal of overlap between the three , all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction . Garth Richard Nix ( born 19 July 1963 ) is an Australian ___MASK80___ who specialises in children ' s and young adult fantasy novels , notably the " Old Kingdom ", " Seventh Tower " and " Keys to the Kingdom " series . He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym , to which he has responded , " I guess people ask me because it sounds like the perfect name for a ___MASK80___ of fantasy . However , it is my real name ." Cecilia Dart - Thornton is an Australian ___MASK36___ of fantasy novels , notably the " Bitterbynde " Trilogy . England is a country that is part of the ___MASK38___ . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest . England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight . Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman ( born Neil Richard Gaiman , 10 November 1960 ) is an English ___MASK36___ of short fiction , novels , comic books , graphic novels , audio theatre , and films . His notable works include the ___MASK90___ series " The Sandman " and novels " Stardust ", " American Gods ", " Coraline ", and " The Graveyard Book ". He has won numerous awards , including the Hugo , Nebula , and Bram Stoker awards , as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals . He is the first ___MASK36___ to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work , " The Graveyard Book " ( 2008 ). In 2013 , " The Ocean at the End of the Lane " was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards .