So! The geography! I had just come off of two years of writing and researching Norse Mythology when I was looking over a map of Norway and Sweden. I was trying to imagine myself in the climate when I stumbled upon a Wikipedia Article entitled “Alfheim (Region)” and not “Alfheim (Mythology).” Alfheim (Old Norse: Álfheimr, […]
From Norway to Fantasy Part #3
I lied! I am not covering Geography just yet. First, I want to cover Norse Myth. I had studied Greek/Roman and Egyptian Mythology as early as eleven years old when I read my Encyclopedia set for fun. I would not branch away from those myths for another fifteen years. So when I began Dolor and […]
From Norway to Fantasy Part #2
I started Tales of the Drui in November of 2008. In 2010, I found a collection of videos that helped with my research…okay…kind of helped. Norway For Noobs by Chris Nikopol. Chris, if ever you see this. Thank you! I am a huge fan here in New York! I couldn’t stop laughing for a week! […]
From Norway to Fantasy Part #1
I could not have chosen a better land to inspire my writing than Norway. Just in thought, she takes my breath away. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “I want to write about Norway!” Nor did I research her and say, “Oooh! This is a beautiful country (and it is)! I have an […]
Welcome to my world of Fantasy
A Note to you dear reader I have spent much of my time these last few months blogging less and less about fantasy and more and more about psychology, Domestic Violence Awareness, and BPD, PTSD, and bipolar. I have much guilt over this as the primary reason for my readers being here is to […]
History vs. Fantasy
When I wrote Dolor and Shadow I wanted a Fantasy that started here on Earth…in Norway to be exact—the culture who gave us elves—and expanded into the myth from whence the elves were birthed. That drew me to Norse mythology. With Dolor and Shadow toggling between the fantasy and reality, I had to watch where […]
Pacing
Pacing makes or breaks a story. No matter how good the story is, or how well the author rights, if the pacing is off, the story will die. Go too slow and the reader will put down the book and ne’er return. Go too fast and the reader will get frustrated, confused, and feel cheated. […]
The Magic System
Please pardon our pixels. This page is currently under construction. Check back soon and view the final results. The Magic My two favorite things about Fantasy are the worlds we enter, and the magic we find there. The three branches of Seidr: Internal Seidr – This is the Seidr within. The Seidr that is first […]
Kallan’s World
There still is magic in this world and I have found it. Below the roots of Yggdrasil, beyond the depths of Under Earth it is there… if only you dare to see. Making Kallan’s World Real Tales of the Drui: Lorlenalin’s Lies was finished at 250,000 words. Because the book was so long, I had […]
Something Different: Dolor and Shadow
Today, I am shamelessly talking about Dolor and Shadow. But I’m taking an approach I haven’t really done before. I’m directly telling you why Dolor and Shadow is so different than any other high fantasy available today. Everything posted here is an accumulation of reports from beta-readers, reviewers, and readers. Any hard-core fantasy reader will […]