A Girl Called Wolf by Stephen Swartz

In today's exciting podcast, I sit down with Stephen Swartz to discuss his semi-biographical novel, A Girl Called Wolf. It's the harrowing true survival tale of an Inuit girl named Anuka (a fan and friend I've known for many years through Facebook) and the rare indie book deserving more attention. Then in true Story Matters... Continue Reading →

Noora’s Song

Noora's song features prominently in The Princess of Aenya. When Radia goes on the run, disguised as a serving girl named Noora, she sings her song in the Cosmos Theater, only to have the wilting flowers on the tables bloom. She sings it once more near the end of the story, before her gruesome confrontation... Continue Reading →

Hadestown: Storytelling at its Best

Sometimes, the best forms of storytelling come from the most unexpected places. After months of reading books and watching shows that have left me feeling cold and empty, it's great to be reminded of what powerful writing can do. But in this case, the story was delivered through the medium of a broadway musical. I... Continue Reading →

Aenya Lore: Queen Lumina and the Unicorn

The World of Aenya is vast and varied. Its geography encompasses disparate landscapes, city-states, races, cultures, histories, and myths. For 2022, I am introducing a new series, Aenya Lore, to showcase the tales that exist within the larger narrative of the Aenya Series, some of which, you may remember, come straight from the novels. While... Continue Reading →

Circe Review

Imagine if, in The Force Awakens, everyone was either cruel, evil, or a bumbling idiot, except for Rey. Then imagine a Star Wars sequel where Rey isn't just a Mary Sue, but doesn't actually do anything to move the story forward, where she just waits on her planet for people to show up and tell... Continue Reading →

THE AENYA BESTIARY: NEREID

  The hippocampus, nereid, or "water horse," as it is colloquially known, is an aquatic mammal resembling a dolphin and a horse. It makes its home in and around The One Sea, along rocky shorelines, where it dines on crustaceans hiding in the reefs. The species is few in number, bordering on extinction, and is very... Continue Reading →

Aenya Newsletter 9/01/2017

Greetings, fans! The question I am most asked about Aenya is the most obvious one: when the heck is the book coming out? All I can say is, be patient. I admit to being a bit slow, but it's only because I abhor the thought of releasing anything but the very best possible work. I'd... Continue Reading →

THE AENYA BESTIARY: AVIAN

  The avian or "bird man" is a human subspecies, and can best be described as a cross between a human and a bird. HISTORY: The origin of the avian race is unique to Aenya in that their development from proto-human into a winged/feathered species is due largely, in part, to culture, in an example of 'controlled evolution.'... Continue Reading →

The Nomad: A Love Story DLC

The Nomad is a love story, a mythical tale of heroism and enduring faith, parts Odyssey, parts The Arabian Nights.  Like the Greek hero, Odysseus, Dynotus is twenty years from his homeland, searching the desert for Sali---the woman he loves---who has been taken as a slave. It is rife with fantastic locales, mythical monsters, and epic bloodshed, all set against the endless sands of the Sahara.... Continue Reading →

The Lightning Thief

So, I've been having this problem with fiction lately. The last eight books I've read have been about philosophy, religion and physics. It's gotten to the point that my wife told me last night I should have been a physicist (really, I'd be clueless). But whenever I pick up a novel, I can't get into the... Continue Reading →

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