I wrote a new collection of essays about love in the Lord of the Rings and I'm giving it away for free: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-quiet-...

I’ve got a brand new TikTok channel entirely dedicated to books, reading and writing! Check out my first video about Brandon Sanderson and Darth Maul: www.tiktok.com/@fatherroder... #booksky #books #bookreview #fantasybooks #amreading #indieauthor

In honor of Punxsutawney Phil, I wrote a short story about a groundhog who relives the same day over and over again until someone finally breaks the loop. 👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/nothings-s... It was inspired by the magnificent song by Oliver Richman (youtu.be/7MHKV3tEL4U?...)

This week, I’ve been working on a fun little non-fiction project that brings together #Tolkien and Saint #valentinesday. If you’re curious for a first look, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter. I’ll be sharing more about it in this week’s episode! 👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/subscribe

🇳🇱 De afgelopen dagen vertelde ik in de 'Heilige van de Dag' podcast de fascinerende verhalen van: 😇 Felix van Nola, patroon van de spinnen 😇 Arnold Janssen, de bescheiden wiskundeleraar met grenzeloze dromen 😇 Antonius Abt, die in de woestijn vocht met demonen Luister via de QR code!

Cato Frederiks’ life‑changing neck surgery is tomorrow. Many of you helped in December—thank you. Her recovery will be long, and she’s close to €40K of the €55K needed. If you can, please help her reach her goal. GoFundMe in the link: www.gofundme.com/f/een-nekfus...

🇬🇧Today in my Dutch podcast: Saint Hilary of Poitiers. 🇳🇱 Vandaag in de podcast 'Heilige van de dag': Hilarius van Poitiers (†367). Van welgestelde Romein tot bisschop in ballingschap. Hij stichtte het eerste klooster van Frankrijk en was de leermeester van Sint Maarten. 👉 npo.nl/luister/podc...

🇬🇧 Today on my Dutch podcast: Saint Marguerite Bourgeois, Canada's first female saint. 🇳🇱 Margaretha van Bourgeoys is de eerste vrouwelijke heilige van Canada. Ik vertel haar verhaal in de podcast 'Heilige van de Dag': npo.nl/luister/podc...

🇳🇱 De heilige Veerle is niet voor niets de patroonheilige van slachtoffers van mishandeling. Ik vertel haar verhaal in de podcast 'Heilige van de dag'. 🇬🇧 Saint Pharaildis is the patron saint of victims of abuse for a reason. I tell her story in my podcast 'Heilige van de dag'. 👉 link in bio

🇳🇱 Goedele wordt rond 650 bij Gent geboren. Een hardwerkend meisje, maar de duivel blaast steeds haar lantaarn uit. 🇬🇧 Hear Saint Gudula’s story in de podcast Heilige van de dag!

🎧 Podcast 'Heilige van de Dag' (link in bio): 🇳🇱 Vandaag: Sint Gerlach leefde in een holle boom en liep dagelijks naar Maastricht om te bidden. Op een dag ontmoette hij de duivel… 🇬🇧 Today: Saint Gerlach lived in a hollow tree and walked daily to Maastricht to pray. One day he met the devil…

Vandaag, op het feest van de Heilige Drie Koningen, is mijn nieuwe podcast 'Heilige van de Dag' van start gegaan! Zoek naar 'Heilige van de Dag' in je favoriete podcastapp en abonneer je om geen enkele aflevering te missen! www.instagram.com/reel/DTKIONb...

The penultimate chapter of Advent of Dragons is live. It’s about loss, trust, and loving something enough to let it go, without knowing what comes back. I wrote this chapter late into the night because it had to get this moment right... fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

A new chapter of Advent of Dragons is live. This one drifts into dreams, ink, and quiet insight—where understanding doesn’t arrive all at once, but takes shape in the dark. Only five chapters to go. fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Today’s chapter of 'Advent of Dragons' steps into the quiet after the celebration. The market lights have faded, the monastery settles, and the story pauses to let the weight of what just happened land. 👉 You can read the new chapter here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Today's Christmas Eve chapter of 'Advent of Dragons' is full of lanterns, pumpkin pies, sleigh rides, and a village gathering for carols and stories as evening falls. I wish you all a very merry Christmas! 👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-... Fr. Roderick Vonhögen

👉 New Advent of Dragons chapter is live! The Winter Market is coming to Elderglen—and the team has big plans. Lanterns, pies, sleighs… and maybe a few magical surprises. Read it here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-... #CozyFantasy #AdventOfDragons #WinterMagic

Today's chapter took me a little deeper than I expected. A small detail about Matthew’s dad and dementia came back—and brought my own memories with it. Cozy fantasy can hold more than warmth. Sometimes it lets grief and gentleness sit side by side. fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Today's chapter of my cozy fantasy book 'Advent of Dragons' takes us down into the monastery’s basement. Katie and her friends begin training one of the more stubborn magical creatures—and uncover something unexpected beneath the monastery. 👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Advent is almost over. I'm racing to finish my fantasy novel Advent of Dragons by Dec 31—writing a chapter a day! At the same time, I’m prepping a daily podcast about saints for 2026. Chaos? Yes. But holy chaos. Read the update: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-final-... #Advent #WritingLife

✨ Chapter 14 of Advent of Dragons is live! Katie’s recovering in the old monastery—but her bond with Spark may be burning too bright. Then a stranger arrives. He says he can help. But at what cost? 👉 Read it here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-... #CozyFantasy #AmWriting #AdventOfDragons

I love how Critical Role shows the magic of friends building worlds together with dice, humor & heart. It inspired today’s chapter of my Advent of Dragons cozy fantasy novel: Katie and her friends stage a play to invite others into their world. 👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Today’s chapter of my cozy fantasy novel ‘Advent of Dragons’ marks a shift—both in the story and behind the scenes. I’ve been discovering the tale as I go, but now it’s time to start shaping the threads toward the ending. fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Chapter 9 of my cozy fantasy novel Advent of Dragons is live: The Sanctuary. Katie and her friends find a host of magical creatures hiding in an abandoned monastery. That's when the real adventure begins! Read it now: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Chapter 8 of my cozy fantasy novel Advent of Dragons is live: The Search for Spark! Katie and friends track missing creatures through snowy woods and broken paths—toward glowing birds, an overturned wagon, and a forgotten monastery. Read now 👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

My serialized Cozy Fantasy Book 'Advent of Dragons' continues with Chapter 5—where laughter, warmth, and wonder meet just a touch of chaos. Read it for free: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Chapter 4 of my cozy fantasy book is here: The Lantern Boy and the Tunnel Beast A missing rock monster. A mysterious tunnel. And a lantern-maker who sees more than he lets on. A wintery chapter with glowing creatures and glimmers of something more: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Looks like there’s another serious Cloudflare issue, lots of sites like Substack are down (including, ironically, Downdetector).

How #Pokémon helped me write today’s Cozy Fantasy chapter: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Read chapter 2 of my new cozy fantasy book 'Advent of Dragons' for free: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-... #CozyFantasy #FantasyWriters #BlueSkyBooks

I DID IT! In just 30 days, I finished my Irish medieval fantasy novel. 32 chapters, 105,025 words, plus an additional 11,631 words of scholarly appendices. That’s a grand total of 116,656 words! Follow my Substack for more updates! Link: fatherroderick.substack.com

It’s Saint Martin’s Day! In parts of the Netherlands, kids sing door to door for candy 🍬🎶 I made a short LEGO explainer video to share the tradition — check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycBl...

The final #Inktober story is here! Prompt: Award 🏆 Meet Miss Whistleblossom, a pixie with a dandelion hat and more wit than wingspan. She enters a harvest contest—against giants, squirrels, and too much pie. Read the tale 🍁 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/miss-whist...

Inktober Day 30 – “Vacant.” A couple seeks shelter in a remote Highland manor where one room is always vacant… and breakfast is always served. But some guests check in and never leave. 🎃 One of the spookiest stories I’ve written so far: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/one-vacant...

Still deep in my writing-and-drawing sprint to finish the #Inktober challenge. I loved creating this one, about a chronically ill young woman who writes to her favorite fantasy author, hoping to learn the language of his imagined world… fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-lesson

#Inktober Day 28: “Skeletal.” A tyrant builds a city of bones to rule even in death—until a child leads him to the shore, where the tide teaches him what must be buried… and what can be rebuilt. 🎃 A short story for Halloween: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-king-o...

#Inktober Day 27 – “Onion” 🧅 An actor’s tears made him a legend... until they stopped. To get them back, he had to peel back the layers of his own life. fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-onion

#Inktober Day 26: "Puzzling" The drawing was easy. The story? Not so much. Probably because it required inventing an entirely new magic system from scratch: 👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-puzzle...

#Inktober Day 25, "Inferno", inspired a drawing and a short story: Catabasis After a sudden death, a mischievous cat finds himself descending through the nine circles of Hell, where he has to relive his nine lives: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/catabasis-...

“Why fantasy?” they ask. “Why wizards and dragons when you could write about saints?” Because sometimes truth hides in unlikely places. In a Hobbit’s courage, an Elf’s sorrow, or even a fallen wizard’s pride. Fantasy can preach the Gospel without ever quoting it.

Day 22 of #Inktober began with a missing button. I didn’t know where it was going—just followed the thread. It led somewhere I didn’t expect: a quiet love story stitched with memory and loss. Read it here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-missin...

Day 21 of #Inktober2025: “Blast.” I set myself a challenge — write a story set in a galaxy far, far away… without using any names, trademarks, or crossing into fan fiction. Did it work? You tell me: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-blast-...

#Inktober Day 20, “Rivals.” Two gifted students. Three trials. One throne. In the dungeon’s heart, they face the cost of power—and the true purpose behind their school’s deadly game. 👉 Read the short story this prompt inspired: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/rivals-of-...

#Inktober, Day 24 – "Rowdy". He was bred for hellfire. Raised on biscuits. His name was Rowdy—and he was. But sometimes, the loudest bark hides the bravest heart. 👉 Read the story of Rowdy the Hellhound here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/rowdy-the-...

#Inktober Day 23’s prompt “Firefly” lit up memories of the beloved sci-fi series. I wrote a short story as an homage to its spirit, cast, and crew. A loving tribute for all the Browncoats still flying. 👉 Read the story here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-firefl...

Here is my drawing for Day 19 of #Inktober: “Arctic”. A man chases a myth through ice and grief, searching for what was lost. But in the shimmer of the polar lights, he finds a truth deeper than reason... 👉 Read my short story: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-guardi...

#Inktober Day 18: “Deal”: Three children walk into a tavern. They are hungry. The innkeeper feeds them. In return, they offer him a deal he can't refuse... Read the story here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-better...

I'm so excited to launch 'Dragon Patrol', my first serialized fantasy novel today at the LegendHaven Con! You can still get weekend tickets, they're only $10 (legendhaven.com)

My weekly newsletter is out! Read about a cathedral full of dragons and discover what I will be announcing at #LegendHaven this weekend. Read it here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/why-this-c...

#Inktober Day 16’s prompt was “Blunder.” So I drew… a blender. A playful twist on misheard words. Today, it spiraled into an unusual love story about saying the wrong thing and being understood anyway. Enjoy: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-girl-w...