Recently I developed a literary theory on short fiction. This wasn’t intentional. It was a result, rather, of my attempts to escape boredom without having to pay any money. I do aerobics. Aerobics have been described, not entirely unjustly, as “the ability to withstand enormous amounts of boredom”. I have tried to alleviate the boredom…
Category: Writing
In the Beginning …
This (nearly) past year saw the publication of my second novel The Valley of Decision – the culmination of a long process that began six years ago. At that time, I had finished the manuscript that became The Last Heir and I needed a new project. I had never written fantasy, had never planned or…
A Brief Fairy Tale
This brief fairy tale, originally written for the Prism Book Tour, is based on the story world of The Valley of Decision. One deep night, a mother of Alamir tells her child the story of another night, long, long ago … One more tale? All right, my love; just one. Long ago, the great father…
Odds and Ends
So is it time for a news-and-updates blog post, a I-didn’t-have-much-planned-and-this-is-easy post? Yes, I think so. At the end of May, I joined SpeculativeFaith as a regular contributor, posting every other Wednesday. In June I made my first two posts, and I’m scheduled to post my third this Wednesday. (Sneak preview: It will be about…
Sweet Green Paper
This weekend, Sweet Green Paper is on a Kindle Countdown sale. It will be 99 cents – 67% off its list price – through Sunday. Then it will go up to $1.99 for another three days, and finally will revert back to its list price on May 22. Sweet Green Paper is an Adventure of…
A Blog Tour and a Giveaway
With the release of The Valley of Decision less than four weeks away, I have two announcements regarding the book. Prism Book Tours will be doing a themed tour of The Valley of Decision June 16-29. It will have a story-book theme, journeying through the fantasy world of The Valley of Decision. I am creating…
Cover Art, Maps, and The Valley of Decision
I am pleased to announce that the cover of The Valley of Decision (due to be published May 31, 2014) has been completed. Some of the concept art centered around mountains, valleys, and the image of a soldier, but I’m glad we went with this one. The map is actually a map of the countries…
Character Profiles: The Long-Lost …
She felt like she was talking to a scared animal, and her heart went out to him, much as it had gone out to Nugget when she’d found him as a puppy. Something about his face looked familiar – a thought that had never occurred to her before. She’d seen him bouncing through town, but…
NoiseTrade and Other Ventures
Recently NoiseTrade – the site that has, for five years, connected musicians with their listeners – expanded into the book-sphere. Now NoiseTrade boasts an e-book library, all available for free download with an option to tip and an encouragement to share on social media. Reportedly NoiseTrade has been good for musicians; we’ll see how it…
CSFF Blog Tour: Dystopia
Today the CSFF blog tour begins its tour of Outcasts, the second book in Jill Williamson’s dystopian Safe Lands series. Dystopian is in now; you don’t need to look any further than The Hunger Games to know it, and if you look anyway, you’ll see Divergent. YA dystopian is especially in. This has naturally led…