The Latest
Secrets of Suspense – Shadowed’s “Birdseed Scene”
“When your psychic senses are fading and the gangster's lair has the perfect defenses, how do you break in with birdseed and a rock?” That’s my...
Sources of Magic – Part Two
If you know where something comes from, it gives you a head start on guessing where it’s going, doesn’t it? So when you’re reading or writing...
A little Summer Reading
CONFESSIONS of SYLVA SLASHER by Ace Antonio Hall SPRING BREAK GETS WILD ON THE LIVELIEST CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC UNTIL THE UNDEAD CRASH THE PARTY. Eighteen-year-old...
Sources of Magic – Part One
Where does magic come from? It’s something I’ve noticed in more and more stories: some go further than others in explaining just how someone’s supernatural power...
Story – Find More and Dig Deeper
What makes a good story? But that’s a question anyone would answer differently… so it might be clearer written the other way around: what story counts...
Review: Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series
Can I write about the Codex Alera series and keep it out of the shadow of Jim Butcher’s signature Dresden Files books? It ought to be...
The High Road sample from Chapter Three
One of the pleasures of having a book on its final draft… yes, in spite of delays The High Road should be out this fall, and...
Review: Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners trilogy
When one of the short-list Best Fantasy Authors Out There writes a superhero series, pay attention. But since that author is Brandon Sanderson, the concept for...
Magic In Common interviews
Here are the collected Magic In Common interviews, where I talk with different authors about their understanding of magic, the paranormal, or other fantastic element in their storytelling. ...
Masquerade or Unmasqued? Hiding Urban Fantasy’s Magic
It’s one of the longest shadows cast over any story that places the fantastic in our own world: how much can it still be “our” world...
Magic In Common – Interview with Maurice Broaddus and more
Prepare yourself for a unique treat—a Magic In Common interview with the author who says my approach for it was that magic would stand in as...
Magic In Common – interview with J S Moran
What’s the best thing magic can add to a story? How many different meanings does the paranormal have for writers, and readers? This week I’m launching...