This is the Salon at Elfland. Here, in the French country estate of my dreams, I share my Adventures in Storytelling, review how-to-write books, muse on Sacred Scripture and Archetypes, and make book recommendations that I believe make us all better writers.
If these topics are of interest, feel free to join me for tea, sherry, and sparkling conversation. If you’d like to know more about me and what I write, check out my Who I Am page. Want to know what I’ve published and where you can buy it? Check out my Where You Can Read Me page and follow me on Twitter/X.
Updates monthly. More like “when I have something worthwhile to say.”
An Update No One Asked For
But, boy, writing it was cathartic. When I set out to work on this blog, I had hoped to be consistent in my updates. That thought was quickly thrown out the window when I realized that I didn’t have much of anything to say and in trying to practice what I preach, I decided to…
Conan Confronts Christ
What hath Cimmeria to do with Jerusalem? This is a weird one, I’m going to have to ask you to just go along with this…meditation? I say meditation because I’m not sure it’s a complete thought. I’m certainly not going to stake anything on it, or consider it some great piece of theology. It’s…
Get Ready for Cirsova Spring 2025!
My short story, Machine Dreams for Wired People along with many other delicious pulp offerings, are now available for preorder for Amazon Kindle, and Lulu Hardcover. A softcover version will also be made available. The magazine is scheduled for release on March 19th, 2025. Here’s the blurb for Machine Dreams for Wired People, from Cirsova…
Shoot the Devil
My short story, Gloryhound, is now available on Amazon Kindle as part of the anthology, Shoot the Devil Militia of Martyrs! Get it here. Gloryhound: A beast stalks the woods of France, devouring men, women, and children with the cold, cruel efficiency of a man. Hundreds have hunted the Beast of the Gévaudan, but none…
Dragon Age the Veilguard: I waited ten years for this?
I love the Dragon Age games—I own all the novels, comics, and the cookbook. I am a sucker for this series. I will defend DA2 out of loyalty. I’ve gotten thousands of hours of enjoyment out of the Dragon Age games and I will get thousands more in the future. In preparation for Veilgaurd, I…
Review: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini and I go way back. Growing up I loved the Inheritance Cycle—or rather, I loved the first two books. Eagon was a fun ride for what it was although it took me a second reading really to appreciate Eldest. Unfortunately, by the time I reached high school I had, for the most part,…
Petals from my Florilegium: Meditations on the Tarot, Anonymous
I keep a commonplace book where I collect phrases, proverbs, sentences, or ideas like a haphazard bouquet of wildflowers. I pick them as they come to me, with no curation save what I share on this blog. In this series, I’ll offer a quote and meditate on why it deserved to be preserved in my…
Studying Classic Poetic Forms
For the past few weeks I have been studying classic poetic forms. I’m doing this because I want to be a better writer, but also because I’ve written a character who is a poet, yet he never writes any poetry. I want him to be a believable poet, so I need to become familiar with…
Writers Must Read…April Blood by Lauro Martines
He was seventeen years old and already wore the red. Cardinal Raffaele Sansoni Riario was the grand-nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. Although still studying canon law in Pisa, he had been invested by the Holy Father with the diplomatic powers of a Papal Legate. It was under the Pope’s authority that he was in Florence.…
Petals from my Florilegium: C.S. Lewis, letter to Jane Gaskill 09/02/1957
I keep a commonplace book where I collect phrases, proverbs, sentences, or ideas like a haphazard bouquet of wildflowers. I pick them as they come to me, with no curation save what I share on this blog. In this series, I’ll offer a quote and meditate on why it deserved to be preserved in my…
Petals from my Florilegium: William Gibson, Virtual Light
I keep a commonplace book where I collect phrases, proverbs, sentences, or ideas like a haphazard bouquet of wildflowers. I pick them as they come to me, with no curation save what I share on this blog. In this series, I’ll offer a quote and meditate on why it deserved to be preserved in my…
A Gentle Introduction to Conan the Cimmerian
Conan casts a mighty shadow over the swords and sorcery genre. You might even say, Conan is the genre. At the very least, he is the gold standard and all sword and sorcery fare is measured against the Cimmerian, regardless of the fairness of it. The half-clad, sword-wielding barbarian is the trope de jour in…
Anvil Magazine #4 Pre-Orders live on Indiegogo!
Anvil Iron Age Magazine Issue #4 is now funding on Indiegogo or can be pre-ordered on the IronAge Media website. My short story, Homefront, will be featured in this issue alongside other fantastic pulp offerings, including a story by Blaine Pardoe! Here’s the blurb for Homefront! A housewife’s work is never done. She must get…
Album Review: First Strike
Am I qualified to talk about music? Probably not, I haven’t read a lick of sheet music since I was in High School; the last instrument I played was for my Junior High String’s band. That said, I know what I like and I have a deep appreciation for music. It has always been a…
On Keeping a Commonplace Book
I love notebooks—I think every writer loves notebooks. There’s something about a virgin piece of paper and the unbent binding that beckons the writer onto some adventure. It becomes a new companion. A friend, a lover. Someone to whom we pour out a best and silliest ideas. Some of it is useful, some of it…
Tripping over Easter Eggs
It probably started with the Marvel movies. Not references themselves, but the relentless, in your face, Easter eggs that constitute a meaningless dog whistling. “Hey fellow nerds,” this little pop culture reference seems to say, “remember this cool thing? Only serious fans remember this obscure piece of ephemera!” With Disney’s permission via example, pop culture…
Anvil #4 – Pre-orders are Live!
Read me in Anvil Issue #4 I’ve hammered out another short story for Anvil. Pre-orders for issue 4 are currently live on IronAgeMedia. The guys at IronAgeMedia are always great to work with and I can’t wait for you guys to get your hands on this issue! More details to come. While you’re checking out…
Adventures in Storytelling 6
Entry 6, gathering brushwood. There was a time in my life when I didn’t write short stories. And by that, I mean that I had this youthful, naïve belief that I was a “novelist” and would never write a short story. It was really just an excuse for the simple fact that I didn’t know…
I made a Twitter/X
I’ll probably regret it. The New Year is always a fascinating time. The few short, almost ethereal days between Christmas and New Years always demands a moment of introspection. I have a lot to be grateful for. This is the first year I published anything, now to have three works under my belt…I’ve achieved a…
Writer’s Review: Buffy and the Art of Story
When I purchased Buffy and the Art of Story I had a very different notion of what I was ordering verses what I got. It was an impulse buy, I admit. I love Buffy—okay, I love the first three season of Buffy with some select episodes from the other four. The book promises that I’ll…
The Archetypes of Scripture: The Sword Shall Not Depart
A Long but Necessary Introduction From the beginning, my goal for the Archetypes of Scripture series has been to expand my (and my readers) understanding of tropes and archetypes while also exploring the various stories found in Sacred Scripture. While I’m not using this series to evangelize, I know that its impossible to speak about…
Fantastic School Staff
My short story, Extra Credit, is available for purchase on Amazon. Fantastic School Staff features many great authors and is edited by Christopher G. Nuttall and L. Jagi Lamplighter. Here’s the pitch: Only enchanted treasure could drag a pair of master thieves back to school. Hired on as teachers, Pricilla and Chase must once again…
Writers Must Read…the Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli’s the Prince Someone once told me that Machiavelli’s little treatise, the Prince, was “baby’s first political theory.” It was a lame attempt to convince me not to read it, in leu of what, I never found out. Ultimately, I’m glad I disregarded such ignorant advice. The Prince is probably one of the most…
Adventures in Storytelling 5
Entry 4, Carpe editorem, occide, part 3. Now that I’ve confirmed what we already know, that writing is work worth doing; every correction, setback, and mistake makes you a better writer. We can talk about the tricky subject of taste. I don’t like this is a delicate situation every writer will inevitably come up…
Archetypes of Scripture, Fated Meetings at the Well
The trope is called “meet-cute.” I hate the name of this trope. I can’t really tell you why I don’t like the name, maybe it’s because I really just think it’s romance lampshading under a different name? Either way, I prefer the Chinese/Japanese concept of the red string of fate. However, I’m not going to…
Adventures in Storytelling: Interview w/ Richard of IronAge Media
For this entry in Adventures in Storytelling, I’m doing something a little different. Instead of focusing on myself and my journey, I want to turn our attention onto a less well-known part of Storytelling, namely, publishing. Richard Wilson is the founder of IronAge Media. Recently, his new magazine ANVIL: An IronAge Magazine was crowdfunded and…
Writer’s Review: How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method
If you’re familiar with my Adventures in Storytelling series, you’ll know that I’ve mentioned my preferred method of outlining. I started writing as a hardcore organic or “pantser” type. And while that method worked for me, I’d often find myself quickly losing control of the process and flying off into all sorts of interesting directions.…
Adventures in Storytelling 4
Entry 4, Carpe editorem, occide…continued. In my last entry I outlined four points that needed addressing in P1. I left off in the middle of my second round of editing and highlighted that I use my own tools to help identify my strengths and weaknesses. I made a list and focused on the nuts…
Four Letter Words
The following contains profanity. Let me start this off by stating that I have no problem with curse words. I curse—too much, actually—but I’m not interested in shaming anyone. I am interested in the efficacy of profanity as it pertains to writing. A long time ago I picked up a book on writing prose. I…
Writer’s Review: The Secrets to Creating Character Arcs
Before I began writing these reviews, I had a simple criterion for selecting a how-to-write book: I judged the cover. The cliché “never judge a book by its cover” is more like an aspiration, sort of like “reach for the stars.” No one is actually going to reach up and grab a star and no…
The Salon at Elfland 