I started blogging in 2011 because all the experts said that’s what authors should do. The journey has not been what I’ve expected, it never is, but I’ve come to enjoy it. Here are a few things I’ve learned. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others This is easier said than done. Even now, I struggle with…
I have a complicated relationship with black and white landscape photography. Nature has so many pretty colors. I get distracted by the colors and the scene that I sometimes forget about telling a story through my photos. Black and white landscape photos shouldn’t be an afterthought. Most times, I take a shot and decided if…
Fantasy worldbuilding can be as epic or a small as you need it to be. It’s both fun and challenging. Done right, it gives your readers a solid sense of place. Readers should feel like they can visit your world. This topic has been on my mind a lot recently because of my WIP. Book…
Outside of autumn, winter landscape photography is probably my favorite. Living in NY taught to me thoroughly dislike the snow, at first Now, I like it because it makes the landscape extra photogenic. I mentioned in the post Battling a Storm to Get Some Incredible Nature Photos that I’ve made a habit of going on…
I have a love/hate relationship with book formatting. I like that, with InDesign, I can get creative with the book’s layout. But, I’ve published 15 books and still haven’t streamlined the process. I mention in 9 Things I’ve Learned About Print Book Cover Design that I’m creating a hardback version of The Sciell. After formatting…
With the way things are, I’m unlikely to go on a hiking photography trip anytime soon. The last thing I want is to be on a train for 2+ hours with someone sitting next to me in the middle of a pandemic. On top of that, hiking has become way more popular. One of my…
Over the years, I’ve talked a lot about my love for diverse fantasy worlds. I particularly enjoy seeing black and brown people in non-stereotypical roles. In general, I love fantasy worlds where the main cast isn’t all white, het, cis, male. But, I’ve avoided writing a post about this topic because others have already talked…
I haven’t had a chance to get into the kind of waterfall photography of my dreams. Hudson Valley and upstate NY have the tall waterfalls I’ve been chasing but I can’t reach them without a car. That doesn’t mean I can’t practice on smaller, local ones. When you have running water, it’s super tempting to…
Creating fantasy races is probably one of my favorite parts of world-building. I talked a bit about this topic in the post Creating Unique Magical Fantasy Races. I love when authors deviate from the typical fantasy characters to create something new. If you’re using known fantasy races like elves, you can probably find books or…
My quest to capture nice photos of nature often sends me to the same locations. That’s the magic of nature photography. You can visit the same location repeatedly and take different photos of one subject. A beautiful boathouse sits on a lake at one of my favorite photography spots. This boathouse does almost everything except…
