Mercury, Sulfur, & Salt is Free!

Hello everyone! I know it has been a while since I posted, and I apologize. I’ve just been so busy, but that’s a good thing, even for you! Since I’ve been so busy working on Transmuted, I’m getting near a point where I feel confident that the book will be publishable in a soon-ish amount … Continue reading →

All Stories End

Characters grow tired. Plots lines resolve. Stories must have an end. If they do not, they stagnate. Plot lines become convenient. Characters become contrived. Overall, things just degrade. In a manner of speaking, the story of this blog is going to end, but like a phoenix, it will rise again. Transformed, dare I say transmuted, … Continue reading →

Have Ye no Faith?

Last week I had a panic attack. It was the first panic attack I can remember having since college. I was sitting at work reading a book on self editing for fiction writers, and the book just wasn’t really doing it for me. The authors wrote in a tone that came off as dismissive and … Continue reading →

When Does it Get too Real?

Here’s your warning, I’m about to talk about some high level details and concepts of a scene in my book. If you think that’ll spoil something for you (I don’t think it will) stop reading now. If you’re still with me, gimme a high five and I’ll see what I can do to run you … Continue reading →

Across Space and Time

“So I put it to the team: ‘Who is our main character?’ And no one said anything. So out of frustration I’m like, ‘Well, I guess he walks a lot, so we’ll call him Walker.’ I forced the point, thinking that someone would come back with something better. No response. So Walker went down, and … Continue reading →

Book Review: First Lord’s Fury

TL;DR: First Lord’s Fury is the sixth, and final, installment in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera. I considered this book to easily be the least enjoyable book in the series. The entire book felt like a too-long build up to an over-wrought, predictable ending; I couldn’t avoid feeling like Butcher had grown tired of the series … Continue reading →

Book Review: Princep’s Fury

TL;DR: Princep’s Fury, the fifth book in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series, is arguably the worst written but most interesting story within the series so far. Butcher’s strange choices in syntax and diction are more prevalent than ever in this book, and Butcher regularly chooses to ignore previously established lore in order to progress and … Continue reading →

Book Review: Captain’s Fury

TL;DR: Captain’s Fury is the fourth book in Jim Butcher’s series, The Codex Alera. If there is one thing I’ve learned about Butcher’s writing after reading four of his books back to back, it’s that he’s fairly consistent — consistent with the things he does well, and consistent with the things he does poorly. The … Continue reading →

Book Review: Cursor’s Fury

TL;DR: Jim Butcher’s Cursor’s Fury is the third installment in his series, The Codex Alera. It’s another fairly standard-but-fun adventure through a wonderfully crafted fantasy world. Butcher presents the reader with a well told and compelling story that suffers a little from poor pacing and overworked writing techniques. Being the third book in the series, … Continue reading →

Book Review: Academ’s Fury

TL;DR: Academ’s Fury, by Jim Butcher, is the second installment in his Codex Alera series, and it is a clear improvement over his first novel in the series, Furies of Calderon. With a predictable but strong story and harder, better, faster writing, I found this novel to be more enjoyable than the first after I … Continue reading →