JOURNAL

FROM THE WRITING DESK

Writing Journey
Featured

Why I Write Dark Fantasy in an Age of Easy Heroes

May 02, 2026

There is a particular kind of comfort in stories where good wins cleanly. I have never trusted it. The stories that stayed with me were the ones that bled.

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Book Reviews
Book Reviews

Re-reading The First Law: How Abercrombie Earns His Cynicism

Apr 24, 2026

Joe Abercrombie's trilogy is often praised for its grit, but the real craft is in how he makes hope feel like the cruelest weapon a character can carry.

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Power & Story
Power & Story

Power, Poverty, and the People Caught Between

Apr 11, 2026

Every fantasy world is a political world. The question is not whether power shapes your story — it is whether you let your readers see the price.

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Craft & Style
Craft & Style

Six Things My First Draft Taught Me About Voice

Mar 28, 2026

I thought voice was a thing I would discover after the plot was solved. It turned out voice was the only thing that ever solved the plot.

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Book Reviews
Book Reviews

Kings on the Throne, Beggars at the Door: A Reading List

Mar 15, 2026

Five novels that refuse to flinch from what crowns actually cost — and what the people beneath them are forced to pay.

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Writing Journey
Writing Journey

Notes from the Debut Novel: Year Two of the Manuscript

Mar 02, 2026

Two years in, the book has rewritten me as much as I have rewritten it. Here is what I know now that I refused to believe at the start.

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