🔖 Fascinating read. I had no idea, despite having loved and read these books dozens of times as a kid. Time for a reread, methinks. – How does L. Frank Baum portray feminist ideologies through the construction of characters in the book The Wizard of Oz 📚

You can read my new short story, Treasures and Trinkets, for free by subscribing to my author newsletter before it’s release for Kindle. 🐉🧜‍♀️📚

Every writer puts their heart and soul into every story; they chip away at the idea, plot, or characters, polishing each in turn until the end result is as good as they can make it, but it rarely ever shines as brightly on the page as it did in their imagination. Every writer longs for those rare occasions when, against all odds, they capture lightning in a bottle–when the story and its characters carries them off so completely that they forget they’re telling a story at all.

I’ve rarely loved anything I’ve written as much as I love this story, and I hope you’ll read it, whether or not you’re familiar with my other work.

Before she was a prisoner in Marianne’s crystal mines or just another face among the multitudes in the city of Seven Skies, Maddy had a different name and everything she could want—governesses, gowns, and gold to fill her pockets. And though she wasn’t the son her father had wanted, it was inevitable that one day she would inherit his title.

But Maddy’s predictable world is turned upside down when an extraordinary servant girl challenges everything she’s ever known; there’s a wider world beyond the comfortable confines of her castle, full of wonder and magic, and Maddy finds that the one thing she doesn’t have is the only thing she really needs.

Treasures and Trinkets is available for pre-order on Amazon, or you can read it right now—for free—if you subscribe to my author newsletter. You can also find it on GoodReads.

Thank you, as always, for reading. 💜

The best feeling for a writer is when a reader has a comment that says, essentially, “I get this, and I love it.” I just got one of those. 💜📚

I’m excited to be one of the fantasy authors contributing to this ridiculous project. Our Outrageous Fantasy is a chaotic, comedic web serial, in which each chapter is written by a different author, and only the previous chapter is guaranteed to be canon. It’s a bit like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, except with more talking cows.

The project is being organized by the folks over at The Fantasy Inn. I hope you’ll check it out! The first three chapters have been released, and they’re a hoot.

Entering the final phase before release of a new story is both the best and the worst. The excitement and anticipation is awesome; ironing out all the technical bits and pieces is tedious. The upcoming release is one of my favorite things I’ve written. Can’t wait to share! ✍🏼📚

One of the most difficult things to deal with as a blind author is book cover design. Entrusting the “face” of your work to someone and never entirely knowing whether the final product fits within the theme inside your head is frustrating and stressful. ✍🏼📚

That moment when your mind goes blank, and literally the only thing you can remember about Bulgaria is that it’s the home of Quidditch star Viktor Krum. No? Just me? #HarryPotter 📚

I’ve just finished the second draft of a Dragon’s Brood short story that I’m probably prouder of than anything I’ve ever written. That’s kind of a scary place to be, though. ✍🏼😱📚

I don’t read memoirs or biographies very often. Most of the time, there might be one every year or two that I pick up and enjoy, but frequently not even that many. I’m a novel reader for the most part, but every now and then, a great bio comes along that changes everything.

Except in the month of October 2019, there were three of them, all extremely different from one another. I wanted to highlight them here, in the hopes that my readers may check them out as well.

WHAM!, George and Me

Andrew Ridgeley has long been known as “that other guy in WHAM!” To fans like me, though, he was a bit more than that. I grew up a tremendous fan of WHAM! and George Michael, and Andrew’s memoir of his time with George in WHAM! is a fun trip down memory lane. As a mega-fan, I knew a lot of the stories here already, having lived through them at the time, but there were some new gems as well, and some things I’d damn near forgotten about. For fans of George Michael’s incalculable talent or even just of 80s culture in general, this is a fun romp.

Side note: Like so many inexplicable decisions made surrounding George Michael’s music releases in the United States, the book is entitled WHAM!, George Michael and Me for us yanks.

Me: Elton John Official Autobiography

What can I say? Elton John rocks, and this is a must-read for any fan. It’ll have you laughing and crying, sometimes at nearly the same moment, and it gives remarkable insight into his life, career, and creative process.

I was born just a little too late to have lived through Elton’s 70s era, but I was a big fan of his body of work throughout my life. It was a ton of fun to read about the first quarter or so of his career that I missed experiencing first-hand.

Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church

Megan Phelps-Roper is a remarkable woman. This memoir chronicles her life inside the toxic Westboro Baptist Church, her realizations about what they were doing, and her subsequent escape. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read—and certainly the best memoir. If you only read one memoir this year, this is the one. It’s an emotional ride that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it.

Today, NaNoWriMo starts in earnest for me. Good luck to everyone participating this year. I have several pieces in the works and coming soon. Thanks to all my readers for their continued support. 💜📚✍🏼

Thanks to Turning Another Page for their review of Haven Divided to round out the audiobook tour. The tour was a lot of fun to participate in. 📚

My thanks to Crossroad Reviews for this review of Haven Divided 🎉📚

I created a music playlist available on Apple Music or Spottify. Check out today’s stop. on The Dragon’s Brood Cycle audiobook tour for commentary on each selection. 📚🎵

I was asked to put together a list of my top ten favorite fantasy novels for today’s stop on The Dragon’s Brood Cycle audiobook tour. Spoiler: I cheated. Check it out on Jazzy Book Reviews 📚

My thanks to Valerie Ullmer for hosting week 2 of The Dragon’s Brood Cycle audiobook tour! I enjoyed writing this guest post for her blog about my literary inspirations. 📚

y thanks to Turning Another Page for their review of Haven Lost as part of The Dragon’s Brood Cycle audiobook tour! 📚

Question: How do you manage to write such vivid descriptions in your books as a blind author?

I’ve been asked that question so many times over the last few years that it seemed like I should write a blog post about it to point new inquiries to. It isn’t that I mind answering or find the question offensive or upsetting in any way; it’s only that the places where this question generally comes up (e.g. on Twitter) don’t lend themselves to thorough or satisfying responses. So, for the record, here is the best answer I can give.

First, I didn’t lose my vision until I was six-years-old, giving me a strong foundation of what the visual world is like. I won’t deny this has helped tremendously, but it is not the main or only reason I write the way I do. I think anyone can write compelling visual descriptions; some have more of a knack for it than others. Plenty of bestselling authors can spin great stories without being very good at visual descriptions at all—Robert J. Sawyer comes to mind. Other authors thrive on describing the world they are building in rich detail, like Anne Rice.

Second, you’ll notice that in the paragraph above I was very specific about visual descriptions. The fact is, descriptions should be wholly immersive for your reader. There are at least five senses you can pull from, and all should be used in your writing at appropriate times to “draw” a picture of the setting you’re creating. Many readers won’t even realize that you’re doing this if you’ve snared them with your story. A character noting the smell of a flower might conjure the image of a rose in your reader’s mind; the feel of the steam upon their face will make them “see” the rich dark brown of the coffee. The point is, don’t get hung up worrying about the visuals. They should be there, but play to your strengths when you need to.

I credit a lot of my style of descriptive prose to Anne Rice, who is often praised for her ability to place the reader into preternatural situations and making them feel like they’ve actually lived them. She is the master of exploiting all the senses and drawing pictures, not just with words, but with experiences.

Next, I’ve always been a particularly visual person in general. Everything I touch, hear, smell, or taste acquires a color, texture, or picture in my mind. When i use an app on a computing device, I build a visual map of its interface in my mind. This is something that happens naturally for me, but it’s also a technique that can be learned. Build “pictures” in your mind as you experience the world around you. If those pictures need to be more tactile than visual, that’s fine. Imagine the sun as a (very hot) basketball, or the moon as a buttery croissant. (Damn, now I’m hungry.)

Looking back at the initial question, I can’t help wondering if I really answered it. I certainly can point to signposts along the road that have led me to where I am as a writer, but, as many writers will tell you, we mostly don’t know how we do what we do. So much of the creative process feels like magic as it’s happening.

If you’re an aspiring author who happens to be visually impaired, the best advice I can give you is to read as much as you can and, most important of all, just keep writing.

I did an author interview for today’s stop on The Dragon’s Brood Cycle audiobook tour. It was fun! 📚

Today’s stop for The Dragon’s Brood Cycle tour included a review of Haven Lost by the Book Addicts Reviews. I’m so happy that so many readers are enjoying my books! 📚

Wow! I’m so flattered by this review of Haven Lost by Crossroad Reviews! 📚

I’d also like to thank Jazzy Book Reviews and the Book Junkie Reads for hosting the audiobook tour over the weekend! 📚

The audiobook tour for The Dragon’s Brood Cycle continues with another stop which, among othero things, includes character profiles of three of the series' protagonists! 📚

Day two of the audiobook tour for The Dragon’s Brood Cycle brings a Dream Cast if it was ever made into a TV series/film. This was fun! Who would your choices be? 📚

Here’s a fun little character interview with Emily Haven, hero of The Dragon’s Brood Cycle. It’s also appearing as part of the audiobook blog tour. 📚