I've had this post in the wings for a while, trying to "strategerize" how best to communicate the message. Guest post? Breaking it up into smaller bits? New website? I figured it was worth getting something out there for now, and I may revisit the content in different forms later. This is primarily written for … Continue reading Shooting The Devil: Strategy, Tactics, and Tips For Crafting Compelling Combat in Your Novel
One of my favorite questions to wrestle with is identity. For men, this often takes form as: Am I enough? Can I come through? Beneath each of those questions is the foundation in our thinking of who we are. Are we self-made? Forged in fire? Or genuinely accepted in spite of anything we could do? … Continue reading Identity
But before we get into that, an uplifting moment. We've had unusually good weather the past week here in Maryland, and I've tried to take advantage of morning/evening walks when I could. This is a delightfully comfortable evening stroll in our neck of the woods. Great opportunity to decompress from the day and try to … Continue reading Donald Trump is the Best Thing to Happen to Authors
This week I've got a sneak peek at Exiles of Heaven, Book 2 in the Chronicles of Outremer series. I'm in the editing process so some of this may change in final form, but I thought it was a good segment to include. If you're a newsletter subscriber you saw this in my 1st quarter … Continue reading Exiles of Heaven: Sneak Peek
My wife and I watch TV. We're American, right? We've come to know the excitement of a new series, the heart-pangs of a long-running series ending, and the all-to-frequent sigh of "Well, that was a good season and we'll never see it again. Thanks for axing that one." We were fans of The Office. We … Continue reading Serial Goodness: Comparing Hit TV Now and Then
I've been a bad kid. Kind of. We ended up executing a slight change of plans last week that turned a family visit into more of a holiday, taking advantage of several opportunities that fell into our laps. As such, I did what every diligent writer does: take a break! During our stay in Orlando, … Continue reading A Boy and His Dragon: Inspiration in Florida and the Author Mindset by Steven Pressfield
While I have a general plan that keeps me tracking on my writing projects, sometimes the story just pulls you along. Steven Pressfield would probably call that The Muse. Many call it 'flow'. For me it was just joy. I have three major tasks set before me this season with Thorium Publishing: mature and grow … Continue reading Author at Play: Unplugging from the Machine & a 2nd Draft Update
I read a good deal of high fantasy, typically works containing elements similar to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and such. One of the fun parts of any fantasy novel is the map. Usually found just after the title pages, the map gives the reader context. It provides a framework to orient the story … Continue reading A Bloody Good Map: Cartography Related to the Chronicles of Outremer
Goodbye 2016; hello 2017. I want to take a few moments to let everyone know how the year went, and where it's going from here. The biggest event for Thorium Publishing and my authorship was simple: I started the marathon and hit "publish." 2016 was a year full of events: personal, professional, and in authorship. … Continue reading Thorium: Goodbye 2016; Hello 2017
December 24th opened with a silent roar. I woke from my bed, grabbed my phone from the nightstand, opened my inbox and saw what I had waited for: In my own way, I am now a published author. Someday there will be a box series, and more series and stories, and maybe a contract with … Continue reading Thank you
