My Ukrainian Friend: Alexey Lipatov

Ukrainian robotIf only Ukraine had giant robots

So far so good, thank the gods, my friend Alexey is OK! And, believe it or not, he is STILL working, still producing art, some of which is clearly inspired by the awful situation in his country. I have been continuing my correspondence with him over at his DeviantArt page, but he has also started a Patreon. If you want to support this great Ukrainian artist with a little more than comments, please check it out!

https://www.patreon.com/lipatov/posts

City Service

The Art of Storytelling

The last thing I want is for this post to come off as exploitative. Right now, my thoughts are for the people of Ukraine only. What’s happening there is not just tragic, but the kind of thing that makes you question whether we’re living in a storybook. It’s like Trump and the January 6th insurrection. You keep asking yourself, “Is this really happening?”

Let’s break it down, shall we? President Vladimir Putin isn’t some misunderstood villain, he isn’t a complex, 3-dimensional character—he’s a cliche, every generic bad guy from every book/movie/show you’ve ever seen. He’s Cobra Commander, he’s Darth Vader, he’s Sauron. If this were a Tom Clancy novel, the publisher would say Putin is too unoriginal. He wants Ukraine. That’s it. And he’ll murder every man, woman, and child to get what he wants. On the flip side of this unreal coin, we have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, playing…

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My Ukrainian Friend: Alexey Lipatov

The last thing I want is for this post to come off as exploitative. Right now, my thoughts are for the people of Ukraine only. What's happening there is not just tragic, but the kind of thing that makes you question whether we're living in a storybook. It's like Trump and the January 6th insurrection.... Continue Reading →

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Why MAUS Matters

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about MAUS, Art Spiegelman's moving holocaust graphic novel, now recently banned by the Tennessee School Board. Schools in Tennessee are run by ninnies, apparently, because all seven members voted to keep the book from the hands of middle schoolers owing to the book's depiction of... Continue Reading →

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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 →

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Ecthros: The Archer with Bad Aim

Ecthros, or "Ecks", as he is called by his friends, first appeared in The Princess of Aenya and is set to appear in my forthcoming novel, The Children of Aenya. Unlike your typical fictional archer (looking at you: Robin Hood, Legolas, Green Arrow, Hawkeye, Katniss, Merida), Ecthros isn't very good at shooting things with his... Continue Reading →

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The Nine Types of Writers

Three times this week, I've had the same dumb conversation about becoming a writer. One person queried me through my author site, asking simply, "how can I get published?" A second person told me he didn't actually have any experience, but had a good idea for a book and wanted me to write it for... Continue Reading →

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