I have a Bachelor of Arts in History and Creative Writing. That BA in History taught me a lot about doing research and how to pick good sources. I’ve always had a love of research, from the time I was the kid who couldn’t get her hands on enough books…
I am of the fervent belief that speculative fiction is the literature of hope. Successful grimdark authors like G.R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie and popular dystopian sagas like The Hunger Games notwithstanding, I believe that the main function of speculative fiction is to imagine a better world that could exist,…
Strong Female Character is a term we’ve heard a lot in the past few years. A lot of people seem to think a Strong Female Character is a girl who kicks ass and takes names, doesn’t need anyone, and likes weapons and black leather. I have a slightly different definition…
I recently had a Twitter conversation with Nat Russo and Jackson Dean Chase about Campaign Cartographer 3, which reminded me that I’ve been meaning to post maps of Amethir and other countries in my Storms in Amethir series. (I’ve been meaning to do that since Laura VanArendonk Baugh and I had a mapping…
I was a double major in college. One of my majors was English–Creative Writing, which probably surprises no one. The other major was History. Not History Education, because I had no idea that was a thing until my senior year, by which time I was just good and ready to…
I know some very talented people who write and also draw or paint. Some of my favorite writers even write, draw, and sing (Maggie Stiefvater, I’m looking at you!). And some of them seem to only require about four hours of sleep per night. (Laura VanArendonk Baugh, I’m looking at…
I’m almost 20,000 words into my epic fantasy novel revision, and I’m finally beating my head against a subject I have long dreaded. Calendars. Seems like an innocent enough idea, until you think about how in epic fantasy novels, the world is usually not our own. Okay, Middle-Earth was our…
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