NEWS AND BLOG

February 01, 2024

Dragonfired released in ebook format last summer, heralding much rejoicing and many enthusiastic ...

December 29, 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, it’s a good time to sit back, reflect on the year we just had, feel gra...

Dragonfired is Coming, and a KU Update

June 25, 2023

I think we can all agree that in today’s lightning-fast, interconnected world, one site stands ap...

March 04, 2021

For a little while now people have been pinging me to say “Did you see the Orconomics board game?...

December 01, 2019

I have good news and bad news, readers. The bad news first: that blur that just buzzed past your ...

October 11, 2019

This month is the most Orcish on the calendar- Orctober! And what’s more, this particular Orctobe...

A special Orctober “thank you” to my patrons

September 28, 2019

A while back I set up a Patreon page to connect with people willing to help support my writing ca...

Granitecon 2019

September 12, 2019

Interested in meeting me in person? I’ll be at the 2019 Granite State Comic Convention in Manches...

July 17, 2019

Have you ever thought to yourself, "gosh, is there a way to express to passersby how much I love ...

Orconomics Wins SPFBO 4

June 01, 2019

The die is cast. The battle is over. The 4th Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off has ended. And even ...

SPFBO Update: Orconomics is a Finalist

December 05, 2018

Orconomics is a finalist in the 2018 Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off. You can read the full annou...

New Book: A Song of Three Spirits

December 01, 2018

Happy Mordo Ogg’s Day! The biggest holiday of the year is upon us! I am, of course, referring to...

August 11, 2018

I'm going on a virtual book tour! If you're wondering what that is, think of it as a book tour wi...

June 25, 2018

A lot’s been going on lately, and I wanted to take a little time to round up what I’ve been worki...

June 22, 2018

Son of a Liche is now live in all formats! You can grab it in ebook, print, and audio formats all...

May 01, 2018

The wait is almost over! Son of a Liche is now available for pre-order, and will be launching on...

April 22, 2018

I revealed the cover for Son of a Liche on Facebook Live yesterday. If you dig the video, please...

March 27, 2018

So way back in November, I wrote an email saying that I’d pushed my date for launching Son of a L...

September 24, 2017

Douglas Adams once said, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” ...

May 07, 2017

Let’s talk about progress. The one question I get asked more than any other is “when will Son of ...

Orconomics is Now An Audiobook

December 28, 2016

Have you ever thought to yourself "I wish I could listen to fine financial fantasy when driving t...

The Leading Ladies Fantasy Bundle

November 23, 2016

Please note: The Leading Ladies Fantasy Bundle is no longer available. But hey! You can still che...

October 30, 2016

It's been about four months since my last post, which legally qualifies as Blog Abuse. Before I'm...

May 07, 2016

The National Indie Excellence Awards recently announced the winners of the 10th Annual Awards, an...

April 23, 2016

I am shocked to report that April is winding down already, and taking my blog tour with it. This ...

April 09, 2016

The first stretch of my blog tour is behind us, and it's been a lot of fun so far. If you've miss...

October 04, 2015

October is my favorite month for a number of reasons: I was born during it, it's the time of year...

December 03, 2014

Good news, everyone! Orconomics: A Satire is now available in paperback. You can pick it up on Am...

October 04, 2014

I'm happy to announce that my first full-length novel Orconomics: A Satire is now available. You...

10 Ways to Support Authors You Love

January 25, 2021

I was on r/fantasy this morning when I came across a question I get asked a lot: “what’s the best...

June 30, 2019

Five years ago today, I hit the “Publish” button on my first novel, shook my head, swore at mysel...

April 10, 2019

This week, the finalists of 2018’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off are taking a moment to highlig...

SPFBO 2018: An Open Letter from the Finalists

April 07, 2019

An open letter to fantasy fans everywhere We are the finalists of the 2018 Self Published Fantasy...

The Fall of Optimism

October 14, 2018

Every summer, I make the same mistake. I start to get really optimistic. I don’t mean in general;...

July 11, 2018

Let’s talk about the Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog Off. For the fourth time in as many years, Fant...

June 20, 2018

I put a lot of work into maintaining my little website. I spruce things up here and there. I twe...

June 02, 2018

Last month I launched the second book of The Dark Profit Saga, and I’m really excited about the ...

Send Better Emails with MailChimp Interest Groups

June 12, 2017

If you’re an independent author, you fall into one of two categories: You have a mailing list yo...

March 31, 2017

In our last exciting episode, I detailed my first, not-so-successful foray into ACX, the audioboo...

February 25, 2017

In case you missed me screaming it into the black void of internet despair that is Twitter, Orcon...

5 Tips for Part-Time Authors

January 31, 2017

Let's be frank: at this point, I haven't been had enough success to tell anyone else how to be a ...

My 2017 Author Wish List for Goodreads

January 06, 2017

I think Goodreads is, by any measure, a boon to independent authors. The reading network makes it...

Leading Ladies and Personal Growth

December 07, 2016

Please note: The Leading Ladies Fantasy Bundle is no longer available. But hey! You can still che...

Are blog tours worth it?

June 25, 2016

If you looked at this space in April, you likely noticed that I ran a blog tour. That's like a bo...

February 09, 2016

Otto von Bismark famously said, "laws are like sausages, it's better not to see them being made."...

January 30, 2016

I'm a gamer at heart. I inevitably gravitate towards RPGs, board games, MMOs, and their ilk. Unfo...

December 30, 2015

If you're writing fantasy or science-fiction, it's quite possible that one or more unique languag...

November 11, 2015

A while back (okay, a long while back), I wrote about the value of outlining your novel. It's a g...

October 14, 2015

Patrick Rothfuss famously said: The problem with a lot of people who read only literary fiction ...

September 27, 2015

In Business Behaving Badly I call out real world examples of businesses acting like fantasy villa...

August 10, 2015

One of the key themes in Orconomics: a Satire is that when business fails to adhere to ethical st...

April 11, 2015

It's widely accepted in the indie publishing world (and beyond) that reviewers on the social read...

April 05, 2015

The Library Police is a fantastic podcast, and if you're a reader I highly encourage you to start...

February 27, 2015

Let me be upfront: I am biased. I hate February. February is the month when snow loses its charm,...

November 25, 2014

I've met a lot of authors with incredible passion for writing, but I've talked to relatively few ...

September 30, 2014

So if you're a Hearthstone fan with some extra dust lying around, you may be wondering what to cr...

September 25, 2014

I'm happy to Announce that Losing It! is an official selection of the New Hampshire Film Festival...

August 31, 2014

When the cyclical rhythm of my weight swings from "overweight" back up to "planetoid," I usually...

An Appreciation for Mike Shel’s Iconoclasts Trilogy

February 21, 2022

I have had the privilege of spending time in Mike Shel’s company. We spent a couple of days gamin...

Review: Mid-Lich Crisis

May 30, 2021

Anybody who writes books with liches in them—and I feel I am qualified to make this statement— kn...

Review: Bloody Rose

May 18, 2021

Did you love Kings of the Wyld? You need to read Bloody Rose. Was Kings of the Wyld not necessari...

July 10, 2019

What's the difference between a band of heroes and a band of musical superstars? Not much in King...

Review: Here Be Dragons

March 15, 2019

I picked up Here Be Dragons for a few reasons: it’s a fellow SPFBO04 contestant; author David P. ...

December 29, 2018

If you like books, chances are you are familiar with the daunting slopes of Mount TBR (pronounced...

Review: The Fisherman

October 17, 2018

Every fall, I get an urge to read a good horror story. Preferably nothing gory, but rife with hor...

Review: The Lost Temple of Ssis’sythyss

April 17, 2018

Ever wonder why characters in fantasy games would only take a half dozen adventurers on critical ...

Review: That Which Should Not Be

July 06, 2017

It’s no secret that I’m a Mythos Fan. Which, it may surprise you to learn, is a very different t...

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

June 25, 2017

I’m not the best video game reviewer out there. For one, I’m pretty bad at video games compared ...

June 14, 2017

I’m beginning to develop a trend of reviewing things so late that everyone already has a firm opi...

June 12, 2016

I went to the World of Warcraft movie with my old guildmates today, and the fact that I planned t...

March 24, 2016

There is a paradox in being an adult geek. On the one hand, the modern nerd is perpetually compla...

February 27, 2015

I have a few bad habits, and one of them is buying things that don’t exist or work yet. That take...

December 28, 2014

Chirstopher Kellen’s fantasy novels are set in a dark world with a lot of corrupted magic and pre...

October 20, 2014

I backed the Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter a couple of years ago, and I confess that I was a disa...

Aching God: Collector's Edition Going Fast

August 19, 2024

Mike Shel’s Aching God is getting a special edition on Kickstarter. You may already know that Ach...

Midlife Plot Twist

August 12, 2024

I think I can now officially welcome you to my midlife crisis. I'm cruising through the middle of...

Arth Lore: The Bannermen

July 21, 2018

Maintaining the peace is harder on Arth than in many other worlds. Most of the work involving pro...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Love

February 04, 2024

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

August 28, 2019

Since the launch of Son of a Liche last year, the one item that keeps coming up in questions and ...

Arth's Pantheon: The Minor Gods

June 17, 2019

This is part of a series examining the gods and powers that shape life on Arth. If you're new to ...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Fire

June 03, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Water

May 20, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Light

May 06, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Trade

April 15, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Air

April 01, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Night

March 18, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Earth

March 04, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of War

February 18, 2019

This is part of a series examining the gods and powers that shape life on Arth. If you’re new to ...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Beasts

January 21, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Dominion

January 07, 2019

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Gods of Hearth

December 17, 2018

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: Mordo Ogg

December 03, 2018

This is part of a series on Arth’s Pantheon. Twice a month we’re taking a look at life on Arth an...

Arth’s Pantheon: The Creation of Arth

November 19, 2018

This is part of a series examining the gods and powers that shape life on Arth. If you’re new to ...

Arth’s Pantheon: An Overview

November 05, 2018

  One of the most frequent requests for Arth lore that I get is for more detail on the deities th...

Gnow Your Gnomes: Dwerrow

June 12, 2018

The Gnomes of Clan Erdin, or Hill Gnomes, are often mistaken for Dwarves. They’re just a head sho...

Arth Lore: Dwarves – An Overview of the Underfolk

May 30, 2017

Dwarves are said by the other races of Men to be just as cold and hard as the mountains they hail...

Gnow Your Gnomes: Tinderkin

January 11, 2017

It’s hard to define the Gnomes of Arth; they’re said to take as many shapes and sizes as the clou...

December 27, 2016

Have you ever been reading The Dark Profit Saga and wondered what all of those funny dates mean? ...

November 30, 2016

It’s hard to define the Gnomes of Arth; they’re said to take as many shapes and sizes as the clou...

January 16, 2016

It’s hard to define the Gnomes of Arth; they're said to take as many shapes and sizes as the clou...

November 21, 2015

One of the things readers enjoy most about The Dark Profit Saga is the extensive worldbuilding be...