This is a mini-prologue of sorts, a tidied-up version of a scene I originally wrote (and posted) years ago. Enjoy! *** The Vermilion Empire has endured for hundreds of years. But now, its neighbours grow restive, its servants corrupt. The emperor lies dying. He has no heir. There is one man, Governor Kho, acceptable to … Read more
I have posted a new worldbuilding piece (technically, a rewrite of a draft I originally posted three years ago; since then, there has been a lot of change). It concerns the magic system, so critical to the world of the Ascent, and you can find it here. Enjoy!
No great nation endures. In the end, wealth succumbs to famine; armies, to defeat; glory, to oblivion. For all of history, soldiers, rulers, and prophets have dreamed of breaking the cycle. For all of history, they have failed. Until now. Scholars and tinkerers are succeeding where the warlords could not; as they uncover nature’s secrets, … Read more
A new review of “The First Sacrifice” is up! Erica Woolridge at Sift Books has awarded it four stars out of five, writing: The First Sacrifice is a wonderfully written short story brimming with enough conspiracy and action to easily fill a full length fantasy novel. Head on over to check our her … Read more
Writing a blurb is harder than it looks! But, less than a week out from the start of NaNo, here it is: The world’s greatest empire is no more, its last champions cast adrift from all for which they’ve fought. But one woman amongst them could change the course of history. In service to … Read more
Working on my novel outline in preparation for NaNoWriMo, I discovered this gem of a site: FILM CRIT HULK. Don’t be fooled by the Hulk-speak — the actual content is deeply analytical, and the three posts I’ve read apply to writing in general, not just movies: “The Myth of the 3-Act Structure“; “Why We … Read more
As a bonus, here’s a singleton scene I wrote a little while back, set close to 1,000 years after “The First Sacrifice”. (If you’ve read “The First Sacrifice”, you’ll recognise one character who appears here.) One day, I hope to expand this, but for now, enjoy the snippet! *** Fiat justitia et pereat … Read more
It’s been a little over two weeks since “The First Sacrifice†went live, and in that time I’ve been promoting it through friends, family and social media. And I’ve been tremendously encouraged by the response so far. I already have my first Amazon review, which gave me four stars out of five. To my delight, … Read more
I’ve been writing fiction as a hobby for years, and like many other authors, I wanted my short stories to be published by an established magazine or website. For most of that time, to say self-/vanity publishing carried a stigma was an understatement. Sure, if you were a crank who claimed that Elvis revealed himself … Read more