This morning at breakfast, I was unreasonably pleased to see a thin stack of stapled paper across the table from me. The top sheet was titled “Vaetra Untrained, Part 1.” My wife’s thin scribbles decorated the margin down the page with her reactions and comments. You see, my wife is my “alpha” reader. Not even […]
Defending the Integrity of the Book Review System
My little corner of the Internet has been awash lately with news and opinions related to a few famous authors who have been “busted” for using reviews questionably. The commentary has ranged in tone from outraged to unconcerned. What happened is that a few authors have admitted to, or were proven to be, engaging in […]
It might be time to try something new
The Magic Appreciation Tour has a new feature called Magic Appreciation Blog Tours (MABT), and I’m pleased to be the first author to host a blog post for it. Today’s guest post is from Cynthia Ravinski who I met when she joined the MA Tour in July. As fate would have it, I had just […]
Location Lore: The Portal Keep
Vaetra Unveiled introduces an unusual location known as the Portal Keep. The Portal Keep came about when I decided that I needed a method for long distance travel. Allowing sorcerers to teleport (or “apparate” for Harry Potter fans) just didn’t feel right for my vision for how vaetra (life-force magic) works in the Vaetra Chronicles. […]
I’m not a faster writer yet
I came to a hard realization this week: Vaetra Untrained is definitely not going to be released on my intended schedule of “Mid 2012.” As it turns out, Vaetra Untrained (Vaetra Chronicles, #2) is taking as long to write as Vaetra Unveiled (Vaetra Chronicles, #1), so it will be published in about the same time […]
A World within a World – Guest Post by Will English
I’m pleased to be hosting a guest post by fellow fantasy author Will English this week. We exchanged posts as part of the Summer 2012 Magic Appreciation Tour. Will has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Magic Appreciation Tour, for which I’m grateful. In his guest post, Will explores ways that video games can help […]
Magic Appreciation Tour Flash Fiction – "Final Exam"
The Magic Appreciation Tour is running a flash fiction contest through the end of this month, and I promised my fellow authors that I would write an entry of my own. Since I’m running the contest, my entry doesn’t count for winning the prize, but it was fun to write anyway. The rules are pretty […]
Summer Solstice Free Fantasy – June 20-21, 2012
Tomorrow is your big chance to get some great summer reading for a price that can’t be beat: FREE! I’ve joined with 23 other fantasy authors who are offering our books for free on June 20 and 21. The event is appropriately called Summer Solstice Free Fantasy. Vaetra Unveiled is one of 29 fantasy titles […]