I’ve been asked several times how my stories move from idea to polished story. Every author’s writing process is a little different. Often, every book’s process is different! However, the overall process tends to follow the same patterns, even if the details differ from book to book. Inspiration and Pre-writing A story can be inspired by nearly anything. Generally, my stories start with a scene. Sometimes it’s a conversation between characters, or a critical decision being made, or even just an impression. I’ll write out the scene, and no matter how it turns out, I’ll have questions. Who are these characters? […]
Yearly Archives: 2013
50 posts
I admit it. I’m a Scarlet Pimpernel fan and have been since high school. I first saw the 1982 movie (link to IMDB) (link to Amazon) starring Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy (absolutely brilliant!), Jane Seymour as Marguerite, and Ian McKellan as Chauvelin. I was hooked, and hunted down all the books I could find. The movie condenses a number of the novels, so if you read The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, you may be a little… surprised? In any case, you don’t get the same final conclusion at the end of the novel as you do at […]
Puddleglum is a marsh-wiggle from C. S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair, part of the Chronicles of Narnia (more info on Wikipedia). He enters the story as a pessimistic wet blanket of a character (somewhat like Eeyore, actually, whom I also love!). I love his pessimistic side, even though he notes that he is uncommonly cheerful for a marsh-wiggle (one wonders what the others are like!). As Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum search for Prince Rilian, who disappeared a decade before, they enter the Underland, the realm of the Emerald Witch. Despite the fact that Puddleglum is not particularly courageous, talented, charming, or fierce, […]
Tor.com has a post titled “Fantasy, Reading, and Escapism.” Fiction reading, particularly fantasy and science fiction, are sometimes derided as “escapist” and somehow less worthwhile than other forms of literature. Escapism isn’t a bad thing. How else am I going to be an amazing swordsman, a slave, a Roman soldier, or an aristocrat? Much less all in the same day? But I think there’s more to fantasy than just escapism. Sure, there’s plenty of bad fantasy out there (perhaps more than some other genres). But fantasy is also a, pardon the word, fantastic way of exploring the full range of […]
Iola Goulton recently posted a nice review of The King’s Sword on her blog ChristianReads. I especially liked the fact that the story was character-driven, as this meant the author managed to tell the story without descending into violence and abuse (I haven’t read Game of Thrones, but found the TV series far too dark and violent for my tastes). I don’t need a thrust-by-thrust description of the sword fight – I want to know what happened and how it affects the characters, and The King’s Sword managed this well. …(re: being written in first person:) Personally, I found that he had […]
I’m working on the formatting for The King’s Sword paperback version and I’d really appreciate your feedback! I’ve come up with a few different options below. Please check them out and let me know which you like the best. Do you like the body font? Any comments in general?
Lindsay Buroker was kind enough to publish a guest post I wrote titled Choosing Cover Art for Your Indie Book. One of the great things about indie publishing is that you retain so much creative control. And one of the terrible things about indie publishing is that you retain so much creative control! Choosing cover art can be a nerve-wracking experience. Lindsay writes The Emperor’s Edge series, which I’ve been enjoying lately. Check it out! If you’re considering indie publishing, please feel free to contact me with any questions. Lindsay’s blog also has a lot of helpful information about indie publishing and […]
FantasyBookCritic was kind enough to publish a guest post I wrote about The King’s Sword called The Different Facets of Fantasy. I don’t really consider the book epic fantasy. To me, epic fantasy is concerned with world-shaking events, the titanic struggle of good and evil, generally with huge armies on each side. This story was more personal, about two men and the choices they make. You can find their main page at http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com. If you’ve read The King’s Sword, how would you classify it? High Fantasy? Epic Fantasy? Character-driven fantasy? I’m not really sure myself. What other genre-crossing books have you enjoyed? […]
A Cold Wind is in final formatting for publication next week. I’m really excited about the book – I’ve had some great reactions from my early readers. The story is special to me, and I hope you love it as much as I do. I’m also working on Book3 in the Erdemen Honor series, as yet untitled. Please check out the Kickstarter project here. The rewards include options for ebooks and signed paperback versions of all three books – The King’s Sword, A Cold Wind, and Book3 when it’s finished – as well as three short stories set in the same […]
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, New Years, and holiday season! I’m excited to begin this new year This is a first scene from a short series of extras I’m working on set in the world of Erdemen Honor. It’s not a complete story or anything, just a little snippet. I’m also making good progress on Book3 and the new urban fantasy novel, tentatively titled Invisible. You can check out the Kickstarter project for Book3 here. School Days Chavo ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He’d arrived only the night before, barely in […]