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,…
That Dreadful Back Street
In every city, it seems there is that dreadful backstreet. That's true of Western Angels, in the City of Fernwall, we well. It's well known for its old, narrow, winding streets and back alleys as, it is for the ubiquitous "brownstone" for which the city…
From the Walls of the Mighty Fortress
You know, I don't even remember where I took this photo; but it may as well be from from the walls of the mighty fortress of Par-Isen, which many Guardian Paladins came to call "The Fortress" during the Great War. Located at the southern end of the…
The Archmage of Brechtmal
Here's another fantasy fiction short: In this little piece we meet the evil Archmage of Brechtmal, one of the powerful leaders of the Confederation in The Great War. The orc to her left hit her in the back with his pole axe, dropping her to her knees…
Middle Class Life in Fernwall — Part I
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, which we're titling "Middle Class Life in Fernwall" we go back in time to Barbara's preparations to…
For Writers: Zen and the Art of the Story Arc
Every story has a story arc; it's a way of fitting more narrative in between two points which would be short and relatively uninteresting, otherwise. The goal of a writer is to start at the beginning point, then describe that arc so that it's so…
New from NBM Publishing: “Colette” Coming to Theaters in September
This week, we learned that one installment in NBM Graphic Novels‘ biography series “The Provocative Colette” has been made into a feature film starring Keira Knightly and is to premiere in theaters on September 21st. Congratulations to…
In Uncertain Times
I don’t know how else to put this. If you didn’t know it, you may want or need to know it, so I’m just going to write it straight-up: Michael and I have found ourselves in uncertain times. We’ve spent most of 2018 dealing with the…