Story Published!

I’m posting this a bit belatedly, but earlier this month, I had a piece published at Daily Science Fiction. I’ve sent them tons of pieces over the years and the e-zine had kind of become a white whale for me, so I’m ecstatic I placed a story with them.

You can read my story “In the Minotaur’s Labyrinth” at https://dailysciencefiction.com/hither-and-yon/alternative-history/will-shadbolt/in-the-minotaurs-labyrinth

The Broken Earth trilogy revisited

The Nebula awards, one of the most prestigious prizes in fantasy and science fiction, were announced this past weekend. N.K. Jemisin won best novel for The Stone Sky, the final novel in her Broken Earth trilogy (before this, not only had she never won a Nebula, but she was nearing having the most Nebula nominations without a win).

A few years ago, I wrote a brief review of The Fifth Season, the first work in the sequence, and I thought it would be a good time to revisit it:

 

Book Review: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

 

It’s…rather brief, but I stand by the philosophy behind that, namely, going in cold, knowing as little as possible is the best way to experience the book. The world Jemisin crafts is unlike almost every other in popular fantasy, and part of the joy is slowing uncovering bits of it.

The first book is still the best, in my opinion, with The Obelisk Gate (number two) suffering from middle book syndrome but still being an overall great read. The Stone Sky happily brings things to an electrifying conclusion. If you haven’t started the trilogy yet, try to avoid plot info online and just pick them up as soon as you can.

A Young Brandon Sanderson

I used to have a series on here about writers’ early years, when they were still starting out and facing mountains of rejections, for motivational purposes. I’m planning on still posting a few of these, and to start out, here’s one about Brandon Sanderson.

Mr. Sanderson went into the details of his struggles trying to break out into the fantasy publishing world almost 10 years ago in a blog post:

https://brandonsanderson.com/euology-my-history-as-a-writer/

I usually write these things out myself, but I figure no one can tell Sanderson’s story as well as Sanderson. Enjoy! And stay motivated!

Back from Hiatus!

Over a year ago I stopped updating this blog. I hadn’t lost interest or anything, but I had to write marketing blogs for clients at my day job, and, well, that made blogging the last thing I wanted to come home to. Now, I’ve moved out of that role and find myself both with time and motivation to keep this updated.

Look for more posts in the coming weeks.