Creating a fantasy town doesn’t always mean several structures together in one location. I’ve created towns in one building, underground or a ship. I love that about fantasy. It’s fun, and a bit challenging, experimenting with different types of communities. Despite the kind of town you’re creating, there are 6 Read more…
All the advice said writing a fantasy series is better than several standalone books. Despite, that, when I first started thinking about publishing, I had no intention of writing a series. I don’t remember why exactly. I think up until that point, I’d only ever written standalone books and wasn’t Read more…
I’ve hiked the Cornish Trail in Hudson Highlands State Park a couple of times. It’s a pretty chill walk with a nice abandoned building about 1 mile in. I spotted something different over the weekend. Maybe it’s new. More likely, I hadn’t noticed it. The wooden gazebo sat atop the Read more…
Nothing like a new project to get your inspiration moving. After 13 books and life not turning out anywhere near the way I expected, I started to realize I was slowly giving up on writing. Not consciously, of course. Most days, I just didn’t feel like working on a story Read more…
The best and worst things about being a writer are the same: having countless stories to tell. My head is full of characters, scenes, magic, new places, new conflicts, and wild ideas that may never make it into a story. I’m always working on the next idea, whether it’s the Read more…
I read an article that said authors make a median of $6,000 a year. Not the first time I’ve heard something like this. Over the years, I’ve read plenty of posts saying authors make less than minimum wage. Can you make a living as an author? When you ask most Read more…
I don’t know what it is about paranormal stories that get me excited. Maybe it’s the language. Those atmospheric descriptions. Maybe it’s the scares. When done right, a haunted story can be so creepy it gives life-long horror lovers the willies. If you want to write a terrifying haunted location Read more…
You’re in a new place, exploring it, taking 100s of photos. At the end of the day, you look over the photo and delete ones that don’t work. World builders, you might want to think a bit before you delete those bad photos. It’s like when you’ve written a terrible Read more…
I didn’t start my writing path by building worlds and fantasy creatures. I started by writing monsters and haunted buildings. As my style evolved, I realized my tales didn’t look like regular horror stories. They were a mix of fantasy and horror. Before that, I 100% believed I was going to Read more…
I was reading a book where the first chapter was literally several pages of the character getting dressed to leave. Later, we got a detailed scene of the character getting into the car and buckling up. We even got Google Map directions as they drove to their destination, as in Read more…
