Under an orange sky choked by fumes, the din of battle died away over the Plains of Narth. Most of the bodies were human, but the little ones, with their bony frames and taut gray skin and cruel etched faces, were not. Vulture spiders roamed among them, their elongated legs picking among the carrion, carrying... Continue Reading →
"But why is she naked?"This is the most annoying question I get about Ages of Aenya, whenever I post a picture of the Ilmar on social media. While the vast majority of comments are positive, I will inevitably get roasted for lack of realism on Facebook fantasy groups that allow for artistic nudity. On these same... Continue Reading →
Don't get me wrong. I used to get excited about video games. My first system was an Atari 2600, followed by the Nintendo NES, Super Nintendo, GameCube, Wii, Wii U and the Switch. I've owned a Saturn, a Dreamcast, an X-Box, X-Box 360, a Playstation, a PS2 ... 3 ... 4, not to mention the... Continue Reading →
Who doesn't love airships? I know I do! The Cloud Breaker features prominently in my upcoming book, the second in the Aenya series, The Princess of Aenya. Again, I worked with my excellent Ukrainian artist, Alexey Lipatov, to help make the Cloud Breaker a reality. Unlike many other flying fantasy ships, I tried to add an element... Continue Reading →
Existenz. Existenz is a 1999 Sci-Fi flick about a virtual reality world much like the Matrix, which happens to have been released the same year as The Matrix. Every morning, I wake up with this word in my head. Existenz. I am not thinking about the movie, however, but the ideas the movie explores, the notion of existence... Continue Reading →
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 →
It's Ages of Aenya launch day everybody! Today, after ten years in the making, my book officially goes on sale on my new author site, nickalimonos.com! It's available on Amazon, but you can get it directly from me at a discounted price, with free full color maps of Aenya. You can also find exclusive Aenya-related... Continue Reading →
The 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 peoples of Aenya consider them a lesser race. They are called savages, wild humans, feral children, or barbarians (despite their class). Ilmar are shunned where... Continue Reading →
I feel that I owe J.K. an apology. I had always felt that her depiction of evil was a bit naive, 2-dimensional, "comic-booky." I had long taken the liberal stance that real evil doesn't exist, or if it does, it's very, very rare. People are genuinely good, I thought, and genuinely want to do good... Continue Reading →
Roleplaying games, and by that I mean "real" roleplaying games, the kind with dice and paper, can be a powerful resource for any writer of fantasy, a great source of ideas and inspiration. My most recent novel, The Princess of Aenya, was inspired by a one-day 4th edition D&D campaign. In the game, my wife... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
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