Synesthesia and Other Sources of Inspiration

Last week I wrote about writing with/about altered perceptions. This week, in keeping with the same trend, I thought I’d write a little more about altered perceptions, and some of the sources of inspiration for my characters and stories. Having your perceptions altered in some way can be terrifying, and certainly makes things difficult, but […]

“Nocturne” by Kat Ross

Nocturne (The Fourth Talisman #1) Kat Ross A few months ago I got “The Midnight Sea,” the first book in this omni-series or mega-series or uber-series or whatever you want to call it, through a giveaway. It was definitely the stand-out of all the books I got through that particularly giveaway, and so I’ve been […]

Tripping Out: Writing About Altered Perceptions

I’m currently reading Jessica Taylor-Bearman’s A Girl Behind Dark Glasses, about her experience as a teenager with severe ME/CFS. I’m interested in her story not just because, as someone with a chronic illness, I’m interested in the stories of other people with chronic illnesses, but because, like most people in her situation, she has to try […]

“Tardy Bells and Witches’ Spells” by Sarina Dorie

Tardy Bells and Witches’ Spells: Womby’s School for Wayward Witches #1 Sarina Dorie Clarissa Lawrence is your typical nerdy teenager who loves magic in all its forms. But her mother has decided that it’s dangerous for her to believe in it and confiscates all her Harry Potter books, her Lord of the Rings books, and […]

Happy Memories, New Beginnings: Bardic Tales and Sage Advice Volume X

The first real fantasy story I wrote was called “Winter of the Gods.” In what was either a harbinger of future glory, or a cruel joke, it promptly won an award and was published in an anthology. Now, more than 10 years later, Bardic Tales and Sage Advice is bringing out a kind of “Greatest […]

Fantasy characters come to life! With music videos, sword dancing, and free books!

My characters are not only imaginary, they exist in an imaginary fantasy world. But they still have real-world prototypes or examples. Although I thought them up on my own, I’ve found some real-world examples of what they might look or be like. My main country in The Zemnian Trilogy is, of course, Zem’ (“Earth” or “Land”). But […]

“Matter of Time” by J.E. Nice

Matter of Time JE Nice In “Matter of Time,” dragons and humans co-exist in harmony–sort of. They live in the same city and work together, and the current king, chosen by humans and dragons alike, is a dragon, and everything seems great. Except for the screams and the disappearances. Something is definitely going on, but […]

What do you call a male ingenue, anyway?

Last week I wrote about how Valya, the heroine of my upcoming release The Dreaming Land, was a “bad girl,” both by the standards of her society and of ours. She’s a bit–well, more than a bit–of a femme fatale, at least in the minds of other people. In fact, I have an ad going right […]

Bad Girls: Writing a Sympathetic Anti-Heroine

When I conceived of Valya, the heroine of The Dreaming Land, I knew I wanted her to be…bad. You know, like a bad girl. And really bad, not just fake bad. But I also wanted her to be sympathetic, which created a challenge. You see, while there are plenty of literary tropes and lots of good […]

“Dragon Born” by Aaron Hodges

Dragon Born Aaron Hodges Enala doesn’t know why, but five years earlier her parents took her away from the city of Chole and have been raising her in Dragon Country ever since, her only friend a Golden dragon named Nerissa. But when an unauthorized adventure goes wrong, Enala decides to make a break for it […]