The summer after Sapphire and I got together, I had no place to live. The plan was to pick up more hours at Pizza Hut and make that work somehow. But out of nowhere came Burg with a plan. He was living in Columbia and going to college at MU. He wanted a change of… Continue reading Aftermath New Girl 4: Grand and Grant

In 2010, I dedicated myself to writing books. I wrote every day. Well, five times a week, and I got in the habit. You can get in the habit of anything—anything. I got in the habit of creating. At the time, I had dedicated myself to rough drafts. I was trying to teach myself how… Continue reading The Darkness Between

Thirty-seven Years Before The Escape A bolt of lightning struck nearby and the sky danced with bright flame. Angry, bitter rain had cursed the day. It hated all those traveling and all those righteous. Frank stopped to camp along the ruined road, raising thanks to Cor-lyn-ber when the rain subsided. Timothy pulled dry wood from… Continue reading Chaste Prologue

In a world of reason and rational thought, where logic and planning rule over every inch of ground, there has to be a badlands, a place where things stop making sense, a realm where the only authority is the witchdoctor who consults the spirits as to the path before you. That is where I live.… Continue reading From Fire and Smoke

I’m not going to tell you how to reach writing success. I’m not a guru. I’ve dug through the crypts of failed writers and stared up at the monoliths of the wildly successful. I’ve heard the words of the prophets who tell me how to write, what to write, how to speak, and who to… Continue reading Crypts and Monoliths

I was thinking about the differences between my work and the work of other writers, about what sets me apart in working habits and style. I started thinking about the hardest working musicians in the world (my mind wanders, stick with me). I got caught on an idea. When I write, I have no plan.… Continue reading Deadheads

Liefdom has been talked about quite a bit in the last three weeks. I have been working on it for ten years. It’s about a fairy named Mandrake. It takes place in my own unique world. These facts and many others about this book have been going around for days. But you’re not being told… Continue reading 10 Things You’re Not Being Told About Liefdom

My Great Uncle Johnny was a genius. He had little in the way of education, as he was a country boy that spent his school days working on his father’s farm. He had little in the way of books to read or conversations to learn from. But everyone is a genius somehow, and with Johnny,… Continue reading Cogs and Springs

  The four of them stood watching the figure, black against the night sky, swooping down to meet them. They knew not all of them could survive, not all of them could stay and fight. It soared with enormous bat wings, illuminated by the moons behind, showing thin membrane and thick veins. Gondik Ironspine laughed.… Continue reading Prologue to Deria

2,700. It doesn’t sound like a lot. Well, if your talking dollars then opinions vary. Not a lot for a car, too much for a hotel room. Not that bad for a trip to some far distant country. Way too much for a trip to St. Louis. But when you’re talking pages, it doesn’t sound… Continue reading Waiting to Begin