At this slower pace the journey took a couple of days, and I fought off a few minor threats along the way --griffins, carnivorous plants, giant serpents, hostile centaurs, that sort of thing, purely routine --and I was beginning to get bored when at last the dusky towers of Castle Roogna hove into view.

Terry Pratchett's right up my alley ... give him a try!

No novel is a clone of any preceding one, though with a background cast of characters and things that has grown to thousands, there are many familiar aspects.

Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done—that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward.

SF is the literature of the theoretically possible, and F is the literature of the impossible.

...the sweetest temptation could be that which was known to be the most foolish.

If every editor turns you down, maybe you should take a second look at your text, however, just in case.