For the Fandom of Fantasy World Maps
This is an essay about a lifelong love affair with fantasy world maps. I could have written it; so could my husband have, and any of several of my friends for that matter. We who are fans of maps just generally can be inordinately fond of fantasy maps,…
Middle Class Life in Fernwall, Part II — Of Deals & Uniforms
Police Inspector Barbara Cole first appears in Raven's Tears and her story continues throughout the Raven & the Iris Series. In this series of shorts we go back in time to Barbara's preparations to become a police detective, and take a peek at what…
North Across the Caspian
This photo might have been taken from a riverboat traveling north across the Caspian River. The picture looks north to the hills that separate the Caspian Valley from the highlands of Nothern Cascadia. On the left hand side, where the meadow meets the…
Thinky Thoughts
Michael had some thinky thoughts for you last week, and started a post, but computer troubles are delaying his ability to complete it. The working title I saw was “The Cost of Everything,” and I took away from our discussion that it involves…
The Price of Everything
One of the things that used to drive me crazy was finding, or figuring out, believable prices for stuff. If you're a scifi/fantasy author, gamer, or game designer, you can probably sympathize. Whether it's the price of everything, or the prince of…
A Little More About That Raven Wing
Let’s talk a little more about that “raven wing”. From the wiki: The Raven Wing If you’ve read Dead Man’s Trigger, you already know how Raven got his name. If you were curious to know more about the device called the Raven…
Raven’s Tears: Sir Eric Wilkinson-Foster, a Romantasy Writer’s Dream
Eric Wilkinson-Foster is a supporting character introduced in the romantasy novel Raven's Tears as a potential love interest for Lady Angelique Blakesly.
The Back Alleys of Old Castle
If you've looked at our map of Fernwall, you'll see that at the far south end of the city are the back alleys of Old Castle, which are in the district of Old Castle. It was once the proud City of Fernwall. In those days, Merchants Island was was still a…
For Your Action-Packed Weekend: Is Writer’s Block Real?
A link to a roundup of quotes from published authors, who have opinions about the question: Is writer's block real?
Reason, and Magic — Philip Pullman
“The universe of magic is a large place. It contains phenomena ranging from simple good luck charms to complicated systems of belief and practice such as astrology and alchemy, and it comes to us from prehistory, and from every part of the world,…