R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War starts as a typical coming-of-age fantasy about a girl from humble beginnings who discovers she has special powers. Despite a cliched beginning, the first chapter had me hooked, as it's probably the best bit of writing in the novel --- not surprising given the knock-them-dead-from-page-one nature of publishing today. The... Continue Reading →
Station Eleven Review
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (what a name!) centers around an apocalyptic, end-of-the-world scenario involving a super-flu that wipes out most of humanity. It's a more concise and grounded version of Stephen King's The Stand, and was of particular interest to me given our post-COVID world. Mandel weaves a complex narrative with multiple... Continue Reading →
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 →
Cloud Cuckoo Land is a Masterpiece
It's been a long time since I've read a book this good, and I couldn't be more thrilled. This book restores my faith in fiction and reminds me why I wanted to become a writer in the first place. It's a story that, quite frankly, I wish I could have written. Silly as the title... Continue Reading →
I’m done; it’s all a scam
Amazon ads? Scam. Bookbub? Allauthor? Awesomegang? Scam. Scam. Scam! What about review sites like Goodreads? IndieReader? Kirkus? All scams. I have spent the past several years trying to game the indie scene, but it simply does NOT work. Having wasted God knows how much money, I've had to rationalize these expenditures, telling myself it's a long-term... Continue Reading →
The Sorry State of Indie Publishing
The indie publishing industry is an embattled landscape of scams, schemers, dashed dreams, and desperation. Thanks to Amazon and the advent of POD printing, we are inundated with dreck novels by would-be authors, while the truly rare, standout storyteller often goes unnoticed.
MAIL GRAB!
In today's lighthearted episode of the Story Matters podcast, I read some of the ridiculous, absurd, frustrating, enlightening, and inspiring mail I've received over the past month. A guy who can't spell the word "you" wants to be a published author. Another person tells me he's going to write fan fiction based on Aenya, and... Continue Reading →
Sunshine State Book Festival Interview!
Guess what, fellow fans? I have been invited to showcase the books in the Aenya Series at the annual Sunshine State Book Festival on Friday, January 27th, and Saturday the 28th. So if you want to meet me in person, to talk about Aenya or storytelling in general, and if you'd like to pick up... Continue Reading →
The Wind Through King’s Mouth Hole
Finally!!! My pal Heather returns from her long hiatus in the Phantom Zone to talk to me about Stephen King's final (let's hope) book in his The Dark Tower series, The Wind Through the Keyhole. We then veer into a bunch of crazy tangents (as is par for the course) with subjects ranging from AI... Continue Reading →
The Feral Girl: Gamer Edition is NOW!
Hey, Aenya fans! The long wait is over . . . The Feral Girl: Gamer Edition for your Kindle-enabled device is finally HERE. What you get: Included in The Feral Girl: Gamer Edition for Kindle, you get Thelana's heart-wrenching origin story and prequel to Ages of Aenya, over 30 beautiful illustrations with many new, full-color art... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
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