People who can both draw and write are just so incredible.

Day 3 #DecemberWorldbuilders By and large, Anuran chemistry works the same as ours. Alchemy, meanwhile, involves the combination of herbal, animal, or mineral components to achieve arcane effects. Like all Watchers, Arlise learned alchemy, but she’s pretty bad at it!

Day 2 #DecemberWorldbuilders Nobody knows, not even me! Most Anuran cultures have a creationist view, but many of them don’t get into the details, so there’s room for theistic evolution. Some scholars have suggested abiogenesis, but this stance isn’t widespread.

Day 2 #FantasyIndiesDecember “Seven Tears on the Tide” features Menodora, which commemorates the sacrificial execution of the Prophetess Elissa with vows of silence from sunrise to sunset and feasting after dark. This month, I’m hoping to create more Elissene holidays.

Day 1 #FantasyIndiesDecember Hey all! I’m an author of fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and more, and this month, I’ll be working on: -Finishing “The Throne of Ptalis” -Outlining stories for the collection -Launching the standalone edition of “The Skull in the Tree”

Day 30 #FantasyIndiesNovember Skipping to the Monthly Wrap-Up: November was really eventful! I finished “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” at last, found a publisher for “The Goatskin Codex”, and launched “The Gale at Quiet Cove”. Maybe my best month of 2025?

Day 29 #NovemberWorldbuilders Draconets! Little cat-sized dragons seemed like a fun idea, so I threw them into “He Who Sows” as sacred beasts of Yarhib, the Tyrian sky god. Unlike true dragons, draconets live in flocks and lack elemental breath.

Day 28 #NovemberWorldbuilders A few things from the two decades before “Seven Tears on the Tide”: -End of Rauch’s Rebellion -The entire Livonan War -A coup and civic disorder in Riso -Advances in metallurgy, printing, and optics

Day 28 #FantasyIndiesNovember Free Friday: I didn’t do a lot of writing related stuff this week, but I did release the new standalone edition of “The Gale at Quiet Cove” today!

11/27 #QueerPrompts By the time of “The Skull in the Tree” and “Rekindling”, Arlise is thankful for the love she’s found with Earc, their daughter Maira, her friends and comrades in the Order, and the life of service she’s built as a Watcher.

Day 27 #NovemberWorldbuilders The simultaneous eclipse of the sun by the moons Mona and Qamara is shrouded in legend, compounded by the fact it coincided with (and maybe caused) fundamental shifts in the laws of magic and the collapse of the Old Tyrian Dominion.

Day 27 #FantasyIndiesNovember Just about everything: family, friends, a roof over my head, all my professional achievements this year, the love of a wonderful woman, and life itself. What more could a man ask for? 🍂Happy Thanksgiving🦃

Day 26 #FantasyIndiesNovember I try to connect my titles to one of the core characters, themes, or a striking image from the story. “The Skull in the Tree” is a good example of the latter. Still, titles are tough, so there’s no uniform process for me.

Day 25 #NovemberWorldbuilders Corhiel started the Livonan War to secure unlimited access to steelheart wood and coryphium mines in the Vyspan Isles. Livona I of Corhiel won the war in a few months thanks to her sleek new fleet and forced a humiliating treaty on Vyspa.

Day 25 #FantasyIndiesNovember I’ve been fortunate to work with some awesome artists over the last couple years. @tori_goggin over on Twitter and @bonsquiggle.bsky.social did a fantastic job bringing Arlise and Tanis (respectively) to life!

Day 24 #NovemberWorldbuilders I don’t have a name for them yet, but Arlise has an ancestor who rode with the Prophet Torsten when he led the Holy Host against the Tyrian Dominion. In fact, they allegedly wielded her sword Ferde, though it’s been reforged since then.

Day 24 #FantasyIndiesNovember Not as often as I used to, since my laptop doesn’t have a disk drive, but I do sometimes listen to soundtracks while writing. They’re great for helping me focus!

Day 23 #NovemberWorldbuilders In the vacuum left behind after the Dominion lost the Vyspan Isles, Garnoc Blaidd unified the clans one after another and fended off a Tyrian attempt to reconquer Vyspa. He’s considered a national hero, and Caer Blaidd is named for him.

Day 23 #FantasyIndiesNovember Haha, if you ever find out, let me know😅 Achievements like seeing a story published can beat it back, but if you’re not that far along yet? Or in a rut? Not a real solution.

11/22 #QueerPrompts Well, Arlise has already taken a vow of poverty as part of joining the Order of Watchers, so it’s no choice at all. Her wits and her will are all she needs, and there isn’t an evil bone in her body.

Day 22 #NovemberWorldbuilders Khosalla was a matriarchal magocracy destroyed in ancient times by the Tyrians. Little else is known of them, as the carnomantic ritual responsible for their destruction sunk vast swathes of the nation and taints what ruins endure.

Time for an art reveal! @bonsquiggle.bsky.social did a fantastic job with this sketch of Tanis, main character of my saucy sword & sorcery heist “He Who Sows” (from @jmanfredweichsel.bsky.social’s anthology Sword & Scandal) You may see more of Tanis. I intend to reprint “He Who Sows” in 2026!

Day 21 #FantasyIndiesNovember Free Friday: it’s been an awesome week! “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” is finally done, “The Skull in the Tree” is available for preorder, and “The Gale at Quiet Cove” continues to march toward release on Black Friday Oh, and there’s art to reveal👀

11/20 #QueerPrompts Sometime, I need to work my way back to “Dreadnought” by April Daniels. More superhero novels, please!

Day 20 #NovemberWorldbuilders Almost all cities and notable towns in the Marches stand on the river. Most notable of them is Flussberg, which was built at the confluence of the Hafl and its main tributaries, a commanding geographic position.

Day 20 #FantasyIndiesNovember Everywhere! Books, movies, music, and games are common sources, but history, folklore, current events, and documentaries also offer lots of fodder. Some examples: the Pied Piper, Irish folk song “Bean Pháidín”, and the filk song “Threes”

Did you know issue #0 of @newedgeswordmag.bsky.social, cover art by @gileadart.bsky.social, is 🤩FREE🤩 in digital and priced at cost in soft & hardcover? 👉 newedgeswordandsorcery.com/product-cate...

Proud to announce the standalone re-release of my novelette "The Skull in the Tree" is now available for preorder on Kindle! #fantasy #darkfantasy #mystery

Day 19 #NovemberWorldbuilders Well, I mentioned the possibility of Marchers noodling for catfish in the Hafl; I’m definitely going with that idea now! Economically, a lot of trade flows down the Hafl and its tributaries, especially stuff like lumber, stone, and livestock.

Day 19 #FantasyIndiesNovember Emotion! Emotions are so hard to articulate, but the emotional journey of your characters (especially POV characters) is absolutely critical to most character arcs, so avoiding them isn’t on the table.

Out on 11/28: THE GALE AT QUIET COVE Fishermen claim the storm never ends. Selkies say shadows lurk in the waters around Ruby Isle. If she's to stave off a famine, Knight-Mother Arlise Dun must reckon with wild magic, an unknown monster, and the worst mistake she ever made. #fantasy 🔗 below:

11/18 #QueerPrompts Arlise made some waves as a gladiatrix under the stage name “Sunna the Savage” while in Tyria. She wasn’t especially famous, and her true identity was almost unknown, but she became a modest local celebrity.

Day 18 #NovemberWorldbuilders Being from the Marches, Arlise wasn’t around a lot of water as a child. She can swim, but not well, and she’s uncomfortable out on the ocean (and even with riverine travel).

Day 18 #FantasyIndiesNovember Favorite Characters: I’m most attached to Arlise Dun. She was my very first recurring character, and by far my most prolific. Tanis of Byrsa was very fun to write, and I’m tempted to write more of her, but idk if there’s a market for her niche.

We have picked all the stories for our 2026 sword and sorcery anthology and are getting it ready for publication. We will be posting the release date & title, the authors and their works that are included in the anthology, along with a cover reveal early in 2026! Got some great stories in this one!

11/17 #QueerPrompts This is an old one, but in my superhero stories, Rosa Coronil is a college student at the same time she’s active as the Kingfisher.

Day 17 #NovemberWorldbuilders Catfish are native to the Hafl River, which leads me to wonder whether noodling should be common in the Marches🤔

Day 17 #FantasyIndiesNovember Hobbies: I love amateur astronomy and astrophotography! I’m a bit of a novice at the latter, but I’ve taken some fantastic pics over the last couple years😍

11/16 #QueerPrompts More than once, Arlise has stared down lynch mobs to defend innocents, from the accursed to falsely accused carnomancers to young magi who’ve come into their powers…explosively. The latter in particular all too often draw violent backlash from local bigots

Day 16 #NovemberWorldbuilders Elissene belief holds the Mother caused the Hafl River to flood after Torsten retreated across it, allowing him to elude a large Tyrian expeditionary force and concentrate scattered nomadic armies into what became known as the Holy Host.

Day 16 #FantasyIndiesNovember “Plantser who leans toward Plotter” would best describe me. I almost always create outlines, but I don’t wed myself to them. If I come up with something better while writing, I’ll adjust accordingly.

11/15 #QueerPrompts Yeah, I tend to listen to soundtracks when I write, which are really helpful with focus. The Witcher 3, Mass Effect, Baldur’s Gate III…all games whose soundtracks I’ve used while writing.

Day 15 #NovemberWorldbuilders The Hafl River winds across the steppes, similar to the Mississippi, Missouri, and Platte on the Great Plains. Trade flows down it to Jevine, and almost all Helsan settlements stand on one bank or the other.

Day 14 #NovemberWorldbuilders As a rule, Anuran societies concern themselves with the sex lives of individuals *far* less than those on Earth. There are some exceptions, but consenting adults are generally left to their own devices by the law and others alike.

Day 14 #FantasyIndiesNovember Free Friday: Hard to believe we’re just two weeks out from release day for “The Gale at Quiet Cove”!

Day 13 #NovemberWorldbuilders Elissene morals emphasize universal love and compassion, freedom and free will, and the spiritual equality of all. All forms of creation, from the arts to crafts to having children, are revered as acts of worship in emulation of the divine.

Day 13 #FantasyIndiesNovember The better question would be where don’t I write😆 Mostly, I work at a small desk, but the advantage of laptops and tablets is you can write almost anywhere. If we take a broad definition of “write”, I’ve even done it in the shower!

Day 12 #NovemberWorldbuilders Arnen Rauch feels a blood descendant of Torsten and the Mother Incarnate must sit the throne of the Marches. Prince Markus is thus unfit to rule and must be overthrown by any means necessary, regardless of the cost in lives or human suffering.

11/11 #QueerPrompts “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” is all about war, since it follows a young Arlise in command at the final battle of a terrible civil war in the Marches. The battle is a formative experience for her.

Day 11 #NovemberWorldbuilders Arlise is all about defending the defenseless, selfless aid for those in need, and ensuring the wicked can’t harm others. All of those come with the territory as a Watcher and are firmly rooted in her values as a devout Elissene.