Meanwhile, in Russia

Meanwhile, in Russia

I’ve been gone for a while. Sorry about that. But hey, duty calls. I saw this today. And it made me want to write, which is always a good thing. Apparently, this is happening. Because Russia: This is fantastic. Especially the shield-bashing, the kicks, the...
Master Class: Desert Warfare

Master Class: Desert Warfare

A writer buddy of mine asked for some advice on desert warfare. Namely, “How could a newly united horde of camel-herders from the desert pose a threat to four empires?” Wait, wait, I know this one. This is a long one, so go get some coffee. To whip four...
Master Class: Armor

Master Class: Armor

So. Armor. Because if I get asked “What kind of armor would my character wear?” one more time I’m going to beat my brains in on my laptop keyboard. I’m going to talk about medieval European armor. Mostly. All this tech that we’re about to discuss can be transposed...
They Have a Word for That?

They Have a Word for That?

I want to talk languages in fantasy. I should probably start this by saying that the language barrier is the single biggest problem with the portal fantasy genre. Every writer has to cough up a solution; it’s a rite of passage. Most solutions are simple...
Badasssery 101: On World-Saving

Badasssery 101: On World-Saving

So a huge part of writing is reading. A huge part of contemplating self-publishing is determining the competition. Holy shit, I had no idea there were so many portal fantasies out there. A couple of nights on Goodreads and Smashwords and poking around blogs and...