Worldbuilding is the process of creating a novel’s exotic setting — its history, geography, cultures, religions, etc. For the purposes of this post, I’m referring to made-up worlds in science-fiction and fantasy novels. So which is better to create first: the world or the story? Well it’s different for every writer and every story. For […]
Read MoreWhen book bloggers hit the wall
Tobias Buckell writes about a book blogger who struggles with how to keep his reviews original after reading huge volumes of books. I write reviews for The New Podler Review of Books, so Buckell’s piece hit home for me. 1) When you get to a point where you’ve read an amazing number of books, you […]
Read MoreAmWriting: Research is writing, too!
It helps that I love all things ancient Rome; I’ve spent almost as much time researching my MUSES OF ROMA series as I have writing it. From books to web sites to pod casts to multiple viewings of the HBO series Rome (both seasons), I’ve covered a lot. Obviously I’ve barely scratched the surface of […]
Read MoreAmWriting: Three goals for my new blog series
My goal is to write a post each week about my experiences writing my current work-in-progress, the third book in my MUSES OF ROMA sci-fi/alt-history epic. Â I’m going to call this series “AmWriting,” after the popular Twitter hashtag of the same name. What do I hope to accomplish with these posts? Well… Goal #1: I […]
Read MoreZERVAKAN – Published!
It’s been a long time coming, but my latest fantasy novel, ZERVAKAN, is now published. Â It’s a story about faith versus science: Are they mutually exclusive, or two sides of the same coin? Here’s the summary: Reason and science gave the Recindian Compact wonders like steam engines, telegraphs, and gunpowder. The world had order. It […]
Read MoreBook Review: Forged in Death by Jim Melvin
Forged in Death, the first of six books in Jim Melvin’s Death Wizard Chronicles, starts out with a scene from a claustrophobic’s nightmare – Torg, the Death-Knower and king of the Tugars, is imprisoned by the evil wizard Invictus at the bottom of a cold, dark pit bored hundreds of feet into a mountain. He […]
Read MoreZERVAKAN – Chapters 49 and 50 – FINAL CHAPTERS
Cover by TJ Lomas. So here we go with the final two chapters in my fantasy novel ZERVAKAN. I can’t begin to convey my appreciation for all the comments you sent me and typos you fixed. Thank you, thank you! My goal is to publish the book sometime in January 2013. The chapters will remain […]
Read MoreZERVAKAN – Free Fantasy Novel – Chapter 48
Cover by TJ Lomas. I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me […]
Read MoreZERVAKAN – Free Fantasy Novel – Chapter 47
Cover by TJ Lomas. I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me […]
Read MoreZERVAKAN – Free Fantasy Novel – Chapter 46
Cover by TJ Lomas. I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me […]
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