The Fantasy Writer’s Dictionary

Words are magic! They are the spell components authors use to build their worlds. Do you know these 81 words? Any good writer should! I made this handy dictionary of arcane nouns and verbs, with a few adjectives thrown in, to help give my writing that extra polish. If you're an English geek like I... Continue Reading →

5E D&D Race: Ilmar

The Art of Storytelling

ThelanainNorthendellThe ILMAR are a primitive human culture native to Aenya distinguished by their absence of clothing. Due to their rejection of social norms, and prehistoric ways of living, the civilized races of Aenya consider them a lesser subspecies. They are called savages, wild humans, feral children, or barbarians (despite their class). Ilmar are shunned where people gather, which forces them to live alone or in small bands of no more than a dozen individuals far from cities and villages, in forests, swamps, and grasslands. The prejudiced view towards the Ilmar is perpetuated by what little is known of their culture. Having lost their ancestral land to famine and changing climate, Ilmar who have not gone into hiding are often forced into service as soldiers and slaves, or end up as beggars on city streets. A small number of them adopt local customs, learning to wear clothes while keeping secret their…

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Who is Kalima?

Who is Kalima and how does she relate to the Aenya Series? Well, she started out as my wife's D&D character, a grumpy but endearing female dwarf, and is now being featured in my daughter's YouTube animated series, 2D&D. We've been playing 5th edition for five years now, in a campaign that started out in... Continue Reading →

The Witcher: Baptism of Fire

I felt pressured into reading The Witcher after the series was turned into a Netflix original starring Henry Cavill, and a trilogy of video games for PC, PS4, and Xbox. Even my nephew, who abhors reading anything more than a JRPG dialogue box, told me he had read the first book, so I figured I... Continue Reading →

How to be a Dungeon Master

It's probably no secret by now that I love Dungeons & Dragons. I've been playing for about thirty years, since 1985~86, and it's been like kerosene for the flame of my imagination. Before D&D exploded in popularity, I was embarrassed to tell people I played, as if no serious author could harbor so much love... Continue Reading →

Kirkus, Desperation, and Amazon’s Dino Porn

My thirty-year journey toward literary greatness has been fraught with enough obstacles to wear down the hardiest of adventurers. I've struggled with apathetic friends, a disapproving family, a host of ban-hammering moderators, gangs of internet trolls, and my own demons of doubt and despair, all while clambering over mountains of indie writers competing for attention.... Continue Reading →

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