Writing is a system of choices. That sounds simple, almost mechanical, but when you are in the thick of it, the simplicity disappears. Every word is a crossroad. Every pause is a possibility. Every decision branches into another, until a forest of paths stretches out behind you. Some lead to brilliance. Some lead to ruin.Continue reading “Wrong Turns, Right Stories”
Tag Archives: horror
Koen arises!
The journey began on January 27, 2023. As I worked through the first three books of the Absolution of the Morning Star (AMS) series, I felt compelled to explore the three-year disappearance of Prince Koen the Gray, the father of Erikson Gray, the protagonist of the AMS series. I finished the first draft on AugustContinue reading “Koen arises!”
Chasing ghosts
I don’t believe in ghosts — not in the flickering, sheet-draped sense of spirits rattling chains in the night. My rational mind resists that. And it’s not as if I didn’t conduct my own tests to arrive at my conclusions. Throughout my teens, I searched. I wandered into places that must surely have been haunted:Continue reading “Chasing ghosts”
A Million Words in Lucardia
When I first set foot in Lucardia, I never imagined I would still be walking its shadowed roads a million words later. The very first scene I wrote was simple, almost innocent: a rainbow-barked tree within a cave, sparkling in the sunlight pouring through a fissure. At the time, I thought I was sketching theContinue reading “A Million Words in Lucardia”
Playing with Schrödinger’s cat
There’s a strange pattern in my life: whenever I say something with absolute confidence, I end up being wrong. Not just once or twice — consistently enough that my wife has noticed too. It’s become a running joke between us. I’ll declare something as fact, and the universe seems to grin and say, Oh, really?Continue reading “Playing with Schrödinger’s cat”
Alan Watts and Writing Fantasy
Alan Watts (1915–1973) was a philosopher, writer, and speaker who gained fame for introducing Eastern philosophy to Western culture. His lectures often blended humor with an almost mystical clarity, challenging the way we think about reality. One of his most haunting ideas was that human beings might be “the dreams of gods” — that whatContinue reading “Alan Watts and Writing Fantasy”
Sylvanus makes his entrance
The in-laws are back safe in China, and the house feels quiet again as my wife and I adjust to their absence. They didn’t stay quite as long as last year, but two and a half months is still a long time to share a life so closely. Saying goodbye is always bittersweet. On theContinue reading “Sylvanus makes his entrance”
Discipline, Passion, and the Molasses of Words
Lying in bed last night, I stumbled across a short interview between guitarist-virtuoso Steve Vai and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame. (It still feels strange to call Billy a legend, since I remember when their first album came out.) The clip was from Billy’s new show, The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan. It remindedContinue reading “Discipline, Passion, and the Molasses of Words”
Duke Rhime’s 10 Laws for Holding Power
The Westerly Kingdom of Lucardia is fractured — a realm of loyalists, opportunists, and a tyrant king. Rhime Battenborne doesn’t wish to conquer the realm with fire and blood alone. He will do it by obeying laws inscribed into his very being. Here are ten quiet, brutal truths that define how Duke Rhime rules EldenspireContinue reading “Duke Rhime’s 10 Laws for Holding Power”
The Silken Cord: Lysena’s Oath to the Spire
I felt I should give the opening chapter of Duke Rhime of the Spire some extra context and lore, in case you are interested. In the depths of the winter of 674 CLE, when the snows came early and the passes closed before the last herds were brought down from the high country, the bannersContinue reading “The Silken Cord: Lysena’s Oath to the Spire”
