__________________________Dear reader,It's time to cast your votes. Which is better, HARD magic systems or SOFT magic systems?This has been a fairly common debate among fantasy readers lately, but in case you're unfamiliar with the terms, let me give...
_______________________Dear reader,Why does the main character always suck? Okay, maybe SUCK is a bit harsh, but you know what I'm talking about, right?The main character never seems to be the one I remember, or the one I get really attached to. Main...
__________________Dear reader,You know about the "Hero's Journey", right? It's sometimes called the "Hero Cycle" or the "Monomyth", but it's all the same thing. If not, forgive me, but I'm about to pop on my English teacher hat for a sec.A few years...
_______________________________________________________Dear reader,I know this is a little different from my usual emails, but I want to take a moment to be real with you guys. I hope you'll humor me.As a high school teacher, I've had the great honor...
________________________Dear reader,The longer I write stories, the more I realize that each individual aspect of writing is its own unique skill. Talent in world-building doesn't transfer to talent in writing dialogue. Good plotting doesn't equal go...
___________________________Dear reader,Once upon a time, our dear Grandpa Tolkien wrote a series so spectacular, so genre-defining, that it set the gold standard for fantasy world building. A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time, even Dungeons and...
_______________________________________________________Dear reader,The more involved I get in various fantasy communities, the more I realize that we each have our own (often rigid) preferences of how we like to consume books.I, for example, love the...
_______________________________________________________Dear reader,I love libraries. Like, a lot. In fact I love them so much that I often go to my local library to write. It's a place of tranquility, you know? Serenity. A place where creativity can...
_______________________________________________________Dear reader,Last night I had a plan. A good plan. A noble plan.I got both my boys to bed early, set my alarm to 3 AM, popped a melatonin, and slipped into the sheets at 8 PM. You see, I was going...
_______________________________________________________Dear reader,Waning Haven, book 4 of The Sum of Ages, is coming along nicely! Currently sitting at 135K words of an estimated 160K. I'm really excited for this one, and planning on a launch first...
