Stormy weather: Rusalki, Vodyaniye, and other forms of water magic in modern fantasy

In my last post I talked about how I incorporated the story of Gray Wolf into my books. With Hurricane Florence currently playing will-she-won’t-she with my part of North Carolina, today seemed like a good time to talk about how I worked various forms of magical water creatures into my stories, along with some good […]

Thrown to the Wolves: Writing Russian Fairy Tales into Contemporary Fantasy

Last time I talked about how I incorporated the character of Baba Yaga into my novels. But she is hardly the only Russian fairy tale character I have repurposed for my own ends. The one who appears in all three of the mini-series that comprise The Zemnian Series, and who was one of my favorite as […]

Was Baba Yaga Really So Bad, Anyway?

Before I jump into the meat of this post, I have a request! One that should be pretty simple and easy to fulfill. The official release date of The Dreaming Land isn’t until September 22, AKA the equinox, but I’ve already published the paperback of Book 1 so that people can start posting reviews. So if you […]

Whose overcoat have we come out from under, anyway? Some of the sources for my novels

Last week I talked about synesthesia and other sources of inspiration. As part of that I touched on some of the literary, as opposed to personal, sources of inspiration for my novels. This time around I thought I’d delve into that topic a bit more deeply. No doubt there will be more posts on it […]

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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

“Skip” by Perrin Briar

Skip Perrin Briar Jera just wants to see the world. Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for. Soon she’s on the run and skipping around not just in space, but in time. And she may be called upon to save the fabric of the universe itself… “Skip” is a sort of mashup of […]

E. P. Clark: Author, Book Reviewer, and All-Around Literary Handiwoman

Instafreebie