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A Bit About Me

I write because I have stories inside me that need to get out. I know I have more stories than I'll ever have time to read, even if we could find a way to get rid of that pesky need for sleep. More than that, reading has always helped me see the world and the people in it from new perspectives. It's helped make me a more thoughtful, open-minded person, and I hope that my writing will do the same for others.

I write Epic Fantasy, though that at time stretches into the territories of Romance stories, Thrillers, Science Fantasy, and even Space Opera, with my debut series, Awakening the Lightforged, though in my head, it's still just Epic Fantasy with other elements. Within this genre, I write about characters, cultures and topics that interest me, or that I want to learn more about. I find the process of getting into a character’s head (especially if they are nothing like me) fascinating, and I love researching history, language, and different cultures to draw from in my writing.

When writing, I don't (usually) try to do anything fancy. I try to be as deep in the character’s head as I can, without diving into first person. Though I do aim to give my prose beauty in certain spots, I tend to write in a very simplistic, straightforward manner. My goal is to be accessible and to effectively convey what is going on to the reader, and though more flowery prose has its place, I often find that it gets in the way, especially if, for example, I wanted to highlight just how gruesome certain aspects of war or even isolated violence can be.

Though I love it, research is often the biggest obstacle I face as an author (aside from waking up early enough to write). I want to make sure that whether I am drawing from a particular culture, or writing about specific social issues or a type of mental illness, I don’t want the end result to be surface-level or reduced to a stereotype.

The Three Most Memorable Things
I've Been Told About My Work (So Far):

From my Wife:

From my Editor:

From my Editor:

“You can’t make this free.”

I was writing a companion novella (at least, it was supposed to be a novella) to my debut trilogy Awakening the Lightforged, to give to my mailing-list for free as an exclusive “Thank you” for signing up. My wife is wonderful enough to help me with my initial review process when writing, and at a few different points while reading it, she told me it was too good to give away for free. By that point, it was long enough to be considered a novel, so I agreed with her.

“Awakening the Lightforged…is reminiscent of the works of Brandon Sanderson in its well realised magic system and well-structured worldbuilding.”

 

Brandon Sanderson just happens to be one of my favorite authors, so any comparison to him is incredible.

“The sensitivity with which you handle the same-sex relationship…is a credit to your story. That the same-sex relationships are as strong as any of the heterosexual relationships we encounter…show a depth of understanding and a desire to have wider representation within fiction itself.”

I didn't know many (openly) LGBT individuals when growing up, but one of my first really impactful memories relating to that community was when watching the series finale to The Legend of Korra. (Spoilers) At the end, Korra and Asami, two women, walk off into the sunset (spirit world) holding hands. It was heavily implied, and later confirmed in comics, that the moment was romantic rather than just platonic. I didn't think much of it at the time, but when I later looked at the online forums related to the show, I was astounded at how many people felt validated and accepted by seeing something like that in a show that meant so much to them. The outpouring of joy from those individuals was something I hadn't realized a simple scene like that could accomplished, and it sparked a desire to do my best to ensure that representation would become a part of my writing. Because if I can make a reader as happy with one of my books as those people were over Korrasami, just by including someone like them, then I've done something right as a writer.

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