As a writer of fantasy, I often find people turning up their noses when I say I write about dragons and magic. I feel it’s unwarranted. But how did it get to be this way?
Check out this great article I read on WIRED:
Why Are So Many People Snobby About Fantasy Fiction?
A friend of mine stumbled on this gem and I have to say, as a fantasy writer, I totally slipped up on at least two of these. Looks like I had better buy The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. More reading? Woe is me, what a terrible fate! Hehehe.
It seems a common thing to screw up on these ten details. Have a look-see! Perhaps you’re guilty too?
Author’s Note: Here’s a short story that I submitted to the Writers’ Circle this past weekend. It was pretty well received and I liked it enough to revise it and share for your reading enjoyment. This short is based in the same world as a novel I currently have on the backburner to work on when I don’t feel like tinkering with Blood of Midnight. Got to keep those writing muscles in shape and a change is as good as a rest! Hope you like it.
A Setup
“We don’t serve his kind in here,” the barkeep said, jabbing a stubby finger in Arkan’s direction.
Kierendros looked at his travelling companion and frowned. Ordinarily, he’d have exercised his right as prince of Endar to put the man in his place but their mission required secrecy. Without his crown and sigil, his word held no power, especially not here in Eastern Gar. Alder-Venian outposts littered the coast like clots of seaweed after a storm.
The dark elf blinked slowly, making no move aside from white lashes falling over cerulean eyes, but the inn quieted as though he’d drawn blades. The patrons nearby shifted their chairs away from him. Arkan stepped close to him and whispered in his ear.
“My Lord, all is well. I can wait outside.” Continue reading “A Setup – A Short Story”
I found a neato template for creating fantasy races. I might tweak it a little for personal use, particularly the “alignment” bit. Defining an entire race as good or evil seems a bit problematic to me, after all. And I’d like to expand the physical limitations section beyond simply speed and strength.
In other news, I continue to work on the short story with Casey and Staruff. The going has been a bit slow given that there is noisy construction upstairs that is making it hard for me to concentrate. Bleh.
Stay awesome y’all.
For centuries, legends of the ancient sorcerer known as the White Asp have been told.
But this demon is writing a new tale in the blood of the slaughtered, as cities and kingdoms fall to his relentless assault. In a desperate bid for survival, the Stonehart clan places its hopes on the shoulders of Damon, whose blood magic is the strongest of all of his kin. Thrust from childhood onto the battlefield, Damon must find a way to stop the sorcerer’s onslaught.
Born with only half of their magic, every Stonehart must seek out their Reflection to gain their full power. Damon’s match, Phoenix Solara, escaped the Asp’s holocaust but fell into a strange world where bird-men live underground and stew in madness, pining for a sun they cannot see. Separated from her mystical counterpart, Phoenix can only reach Damon in snatches of time when they are both dreaming.
Damon seeks the knowledge to save his people; Phoenix searches for the power to escape her prison. But even if they find a way to aid each other, will it be enough to repel their common foe, or will the world be crushed under the coils of the White Asp?
Sound like something you’d like to dive into? Hopefully yes! This is the blurb for my fantasy novel, Blood of Midnight: The Broken Prophecy. It’s currently scheduled to come out this winter.
As a status report: My manuscript is currently at the editor’s. A bout of illness prevented him from getting much done over the past month. Feel better soon Kal!
Next up, more great advice from authors written on their tools-of-the-trade: their hands.
This is the front cover of my book, coming out this winter. I’m very excited! It’s a fantasy novel in which a young man stumbles into adulthood on the battlefield and a young woman torn from the world she knows by disaster. Worlds apart, they must somehow help each other to survive before all is lost.
Art by Sarah Cloutier. Lettering and formatting by Kristy Laporte.
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