Featured posts and uber popular posts.
I’m not such a dedicated Debbie Downer that I’m going to argue that fine literature will disappear in 2019, but I do believe we are at the cusp of creating an environment where fine literature will become dusty fodder for...
Don’t Overthink Whatever you say is up to you. Fans regularly ask what they should say in a book review. Most of the time, they are overthinking the process. They see fancy reviews dissecting books into particulate blocks of thematic...
I’ve wanted to spotlight Jason Chan for many months – he’s one of my absolute favorite living artists – but something keeps coming up that is more pressing so for now, enjoy his Servant of the Panther Queen as the...
Long before Shelley’s Frankenstein, we were sharing stories about changelings, transmutations, and various forms of magic that create new forms of life. As real science has contemplated the possibilities of real life Frankenstein breakthroughs, various transhumanist experiments in 2015 more than humbly suggested...
Hollywood (and book publishing) are possibly the only industries where an 80% failure rate qualifies you to be an unchallengeable authority. Then again, maybe that’s all in the accounting. Jabs aside, I’m happy to see more strong female characters climbing the...
Jetman Dubai recently released a jet pack that has been lauded as the modern day Iron Man suit … and while that’s only marketing hyperbole at this point in time, there is little doubt that the real Iron Man suit...
Today’s inspiration comes from Svetlin Velinov who envisions an omnivorous hydra (are those teeth really plant worthy? Perhaps omnivorous means something more nefariously cache…). I found this piece inspiring because Velinov’s imagination pulled him far afield from the traditional dragon...
As soon as an idea inspires myriads of people, thousands of aspiring artists throw their hand at it until the very idea becomes trite or overdone. Mermaids are like that. A quick google search for mermaid images offers hundreds of unpolished...
Have you ever wondered why countless fantasy books offer little more than bland descriptions of a “dense forest” for elves to dwell in? If you’re lucky, the author may throw an extra bone into the pot by describing a...
Singing harmony by yourself is admittedly an exotic talent but Anna Maria Hefele can make it both exotic and … beautiful. Tuvan throat singing has been an Inuit (Mongolian) tradition for … who knows how long (not even Wikipedia knows). Even...
Most mythological creatures have very interesting real life counterparts, whether they be cyclops, unicorns, giants, or anything else. I’ve seen a number of real “dragons” in my life: winged lizards from Borneo, 1,000 pound alligators, komodo dragons, uber cool and supposedly real spine...
At FantasyCon, I heard a quote from Einstein that every fantasy author should know: “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than...
There are lots of fantasy swords out there. Many of them are so over the top that it is difficult to find them very inspiring. Others are cool looking but upon closer inspection, you have to feel a little disappointed....
I subscribe to David Farland’s blog “A Kick in the Pants.” It is dedicated to helping aspiring writers hone their writing skills but I read his articles for ulterior motives: occasionally, he cites interesting studies about reading and writing and...