Click here for the full, uncropped image! Usually I do this on Tuesdays, but this week I'm giving you a bonus as part of the release of my story Adraxis Alas Asmon, free to read on Aethereal Engines! I came across this piece of art by chance while I writing Adraxis Alas Asmon. It was... Continue Reading →
5 Cool Blogs and 25 Random Things about Me
So this morning Sessela, a reader and fellow blogger on her site anthropomagic.com, nominated Aethereal Engines for the “Creative Blogger Award”. I am touched and flattered that she would take the time to say that she enjoys reading my stuff and that it inspires her to keep writing and blogging. That was a great way... Continue Reading →
Gods and Men: Tackling Divinities in Burus and Gora
The topic of religion in fantasy settings is a vast one, and there are already many essays devoted to the subject for those that seek them. Rather than rehash what has already been said, I’m going to focus on what has been important to me as I have been crafting my recent fiction, and give... Continue Reading →
The Worldbuilding Dungeon and Other Perils of the Gaming Writer
I’m not afraid to admit it: I’ve been playing dice-and-paper role-playing games for most of my life. Starting with Dungeons & Dragons, I’ve been gaming and collecting RPGs since I was a kid in the 80s; It’s a great hobby that I love dearly, and it’s a pastime that has brought me long-standing friendships. The... Continue Reading →
Engineer’s Log: Bro, Do You Even Prologue?
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about prologues lately. Being on several writers groups has shown me that prologues are “a thing” for fantasy novel writers… But are they “a thing” because they are needed? Or are they “a thing” because “that’s the way the other guys do it and I want to be... Continue Reading →
Engineer’s Log: Twenty Fourteen
2014 was the year that I finally discovered the courage to reach for my dreams after decades of imprisoning them with fears and excuses. I had lied to myself for too long that I was content when I wasn’t. I had lied too long to others when I said that I was a writer, and... Continue Reading →
The Wall of White
My friend David asked me… I wish I could write. I sit down at my laptop and my brain is one big chaotic jumble… How do you get your thoughts in order and get those words down? This is a great question. Not just to me but to all writers in general. I’ll start by... Continue Reading →
The Creation of a Thing… In a Jar
Last week, I finished an involved reworking of the third and fourth chapters of my work in progress, revising them into a single entity. I start this week doing the same with the old fifth and sixth chapters to create a new chapter four. This has been trudging work when I have had both limited... Continue Reading →
Constructed Nouns in Fantasy: An Orc by Any Other Name Would Smell Just as Bad
Character and place names in fantasy fiction can be a headache. A friend of mine once quipped that the surefire way to write a great fantasy novel was “to have a dark-lord, a wizard and make every fifth word unpronounceable.” Sadly, it was J. R. R. Tolkien who got the ball rolling on this trend,... Continue Reading →
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