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Writing Advice from Samatha Bryant: There is no magic feather, Dumbo.
Writing, magic, and a little mayhem proceed apace with today's writing advice guest.
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Advice for Aspiring Writers Part II: The Janus Effect
Is it good? Is it bad? It's both! Now that we're thoroughly confused, let's get started.
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Advice for Aspiring Writers Part I: A Few Unkind Truths
Well, what the hell do I know about writing, anyway? At least more than I did ten years ago. So here we go.
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Bounding into the 2020s
This is the time of year where we begin to take stock of our accomplishments, our growth, and our reflections when it comes to our adventures as creative human beings.
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Godlings in the Lake and Londinium
Deep breaths: we've got this.
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A Little Literature Love Part One: Fran Wilde and Rivers Solomon
The books that helped me endure 2018. A few years ago I made a very deliberate decision to read more. This was rather difficult because adding time to my calendar wasn’t an option. Oddly enough, the space-time continuum just wasn’t answering my calls. Finding any peace and quiet was almost impossible given the two kids I have (and the one with ASD who tends to, against the stereotype, be quite loud). That meant changing my approach, much in the same way I had to change my writing approach once my job meant more work and more travel. Not writing is just as horrid as not reading. If there’s one “trick” that’s worked for…
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The Frost & Filigree Cycle is Finished!
That's 160,000 when it becomes an omnibus. I guess I have been busy.
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Introducing the Zegedine!
What’s that? Well, a zegedine is a drinking cup. But it’s also my (mostly) weekly newsletter. Hello, Natania. Is this 2001? No, clearly it’s not. So why would I bother with a newsletter? A couple of reasons. These days I have a lot more time to post bobbles and bits together than I do to write long, rambling posts about how to write. Lord knows I’ve done enough of those in the ten-odd years I’ve been blogging. The truth is I know how my writing career has gone, and while some of those posts might be helpful, I’m not so sure it’s my best focus. Secondly, well, I’m a many-armed…
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Where Hath April Fled?
April has a certain literary weight to it, doesn’t it? Regardless of what Chaucer or Eliot thought, one thing is clear: April has come and gone too fast for my liking. This in-between month has lived up to its reputation here in North Carolina, however, and we’ve had lots of rain and a very cool spring. The skies finally cleared today and it’s been a bright afternoon, crisp and blue-skied, with the promise of more to come. My first cosmo bloomed. I’ve been cataloguing wildflowers in the forest. Writing has been going well. A few weeks ago I finished the first draft of Glassmere. For those who might not remember, it’s…
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2017 Publications!
2017 was a pretty big year around these parts. I saw the publication of two novellas and two short stories — all of which I hold quite dear. First, there came Wothwood, a heroic fantasy novella (yes, you read that right… it’s short and it’s fantasy) about the “wood where the world is broken.” While there’s a good deal of action and adventure, it’s at its heart about inheritance and revenge, and who you decide to be as a hero. I anticipate a sequel to this, but it may be a bit longer than a novella. I’m also planning on Aoda’s further adventures. Then came “Two Moons and Red Bread” which…
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Masks and Malevolence Cover Reveal, and Some Notes
The sequel to Frost & Filigree is officially off to the editor, and I am so excited, y’all. You may or may not have noticed, but this fall has been really, truly difficult for our family. A bunch of things fell off the rails, not the least of which was the writing schedule. But I’m happy to report that Masks & Malevolence is finally written. It’s a big little novel or just a big novella, depending on how you look at it. The story takes off where the last book ended, and our heroes are now in Cairo, ten years later, chasing clues to find out where their missing companion has gone.…
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Traveling While Standing Still – Monsters of Cairo
I have been doing a great deal of traveling this year. I’ve seen the Swiss Alps, cruised down through the Swedish fjords, and strolled down my favorite city streets in London. I love to travel. I always have. I am a very lucky person. But in fiction, it’s a little harder. Sure, I get glimpses of times gone by. But I don’t get the whole picture, no matter how many miles I fly. I’m currently working on Masks & Malevolence, the followup to Frost & Filigree, and it takes place in Cairo in 1924. So much has changed in that great city, that it’s pretty easy to get lost in the weeds…
