What’s Happening? Summer is sizzling away here in Washington State. I’m getting a nice harvest of green beans and cucumbers. Tomatoes will be ripening soon. My second favorite time of year!
What I’m Working On. Just yesterday, I wrote a quick fantasy short story and submitted it for an anthology. But my main focus still is on The Warlock’s Army. Another main character is going to arrive soon. That will keep my muse occupied for the rest of the summer break.
What’s Next? “Project X” is beginning to appear on my distant horizon. It will be a twofer type of book, two short stories in one volume. I haven’t decided about a title yet, though. More on that as it develops.
Where I’ll be. It’s just a couple of weeks until Worldcon in Seattle. I did manage to wangle one appearance, running a meet-up for Dragon Age fans. I’m also going to be volunteering in their Green Room. In addition, I have a few friends who are coming to attend, and we hope to get together at some point during the weekend.
Fun and Games. I’m currently playing Animal Crossing and Dragon Age: Veilguard. Also doing jigsaw puzzles between books. As for current reads, I just finished Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao. That book is pretty dark, so my next read will be Starter Villain, by John Scalzi.
Enjoy the summer weather, everyone!
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
This is a fun repeat of a post from way back in August of 2016. Enjoy!
Here we are in what are traditionally called the “dog days of summer.” From this we all imagine sweltering weather with both people and dogs flopped in the shade.
The phrase comes to us from Roman times, when the bright star Sirius rose along with the sun. Sirius was part of the constellation Canis Major and was known as the Dog Star. Thus the rising of Sirius became associated with the hottest days of the summer in late July and early August.
So the Dog Days and their constellation made me think about the constellation Draco. If we had “dragon days,” what would they be?
1) Ironically, this really sounds like a sales event to me. Can’t you just see some auto showroom decked out for a Dragon Days Clearance Sale?
2) Draco is a fixed constellation in the northern sky. It doesn’t rise or set the way Canis Major does, so you couldn’t base anything on that. However, there is a meteor shower that appears to originate with Draco. Dragon Days could be held to honor the Draconid meteor shower, in early to mid-October.
3) Chinese New Year, a.k.a. the Lunar New Year, occurs in late January. Certainly there could be a Dragon Days associated with this world-wide festival.
4) An international competition of fire dancers or pyrotechnicians could be designated as Dragon Days.
5) In a fantasy setting, where dragons were real, Dragon Days might be the season when their eggs hatch. People might offer food for the hungry babies in hopes of keeping them from raiding family herds.
Well, what do you think? What should Dragon Days be about?
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
WorldCon is coming to Seattle next month. My husband and I are going. It’s a full day’s drive for us, but worth it. We go to a couple of SF conventions in our region each year but this will give us a chance to see authors from all over the world that we usually miss out on. We’re looking forward to it!
Earlier in the month I mentioned that I hoped to take part in programming. I wasn’t accepted to do any panels, but I did get permission to lead a meet-up for friends of the Dragon Age series. That will be fun. I also got approved to volunteer in the Green Room.
Currently I’m going over WorldCon’s schedule, which was posted on Sunday (7/13/25). I’m looking for times in between panels to do my volunteering. There’s a friend I’d like to meet for coffee at some point, and since it’s Seattle we might even sneak out to see a couple of the sights. The schedule is pretty incredible, and I’m not spotting too many dead zones! But it’s a long convention and I’m sure I’ll fit it all together.
Something for me to look forward to, anyhow.
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
That’s the tentative title of my latest masterpiece. I’ve settled into my summer routines and the work is going well. The setting is a fun one, a large lake with giant crawdads living in the depths. The characters are developing, and the plot is forking off in all sorts of neat ways.
Like a lot of my stories, the focus here is on family. It’s a big family, arbitrarily divided by its patriarch, the warlock Revel Breed. He kept all the boys to train them as fighters, but sent all the girls away to live with adopted families. Breed is an outsized figure, wealthy and with magical powers. With his wealth and reputation, he controls Revelary Lake and the small towns around it. Everyone, from the town elders to the youngest child, is terrified of his moods. Breed can be incredibly generous, or paranoid, or caught in a trance. Creating this character without making him a cartoonish figure is one of my challenges for this book.
The other challenge is with the girls Breed gave away. Witches and warlocks are visibly different from other people. Although Breed persuaded different families to take the girls in, not all of them are open to this witchery thing. Some view their witch daughters as valued assets, while others try to make the girls suppress their magic. Yet each set of parents is doing their best to be a good parent.
On the boys’ side of things, the oldest son struggles with his identity, too. With a dominating and mercurial father, he’s the one the younger boys look to as their leader. Breed considered the girls so unimportant that he never told his sons that they had sisters. When they find out, they are driven to locate the girls — but without angering Breed.
There are many miles to go, or perhaps I should say, many pages to write. But it should be an interesting voyage around Revelary Lake!
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
I’m back from Queen Titania’s Court! It’s always such a fun ride, and for those who took part, I can’t thank you enough. Now I’m back to my usual blog routine, which includes reviewing books I enjoyed. In this case, It’s Kate Elliott’s The Witch Roads.
Elliott is known for star-spanning epics, but in recent years she’s turned to fantasy. Socially subversive fantasy, at that. One of her novellas featured labor organizing (The Keeper’s Six), while another took on the concept of monarchy solving anyone’s problems (The Servant Mage). There’s always deep world building and lore, but with a quirky bit of humor. In The Servant Mage, demons are infiltrating the human world, but cows have supernatural power against them. So whenever a portal is identified, the people immediately put a cow pasture around it, even in the midst of a city.
The Witch Roads introduces us to a complicated world, clearly based in Chinese history. The Tranquil Empire is very stratified, with elaborate court rituals governing all aspects of every person’s life. There is no tolerance for difference or dissent. You either submit or die. Yet, this society itself is riven and divided by a mysterious and terrible substance that manifests as Pall and Spore. Even the slightest contact means instant corruption into horribly mutated forms. Whole areas are blanketed in the poisonous white mist, and everyone has to be on guard against Spore trying to spread the corruption. The Tranquil Empire is only able to flourish on higher ground between rivers of Pall.
The witch roads of the title are magical pathways, allegedly made with the bones of priests, where it is safe to travel — if you’re careful. This is all revealed through the eyes of Elen, a courier who is authorized to carry messages across the dangerous ground between outposts. She has a cheerful disposition, which the stricter folk interpret as being overly bold and insolent. Elen also has some special attributes, in the form of a mysterious “viper” that lives inside her. The viper can detect and destroy Spore, yet if anyone finds out about it, she would be executed.
In Elen we see an ordinary person trying to get through life in the stifling hierarchy. All she wants is to live peacefully and protect her sole remaining family, her nephew Kem. Kem is approaching a ceremony where he must “declare” his intended future profession and he doesn’t know what he wants. Or, he knows but he’s afraid to tell Elen. With Kem is where we get into the social subversion of The Witch Roads; Kem is a trans character who legally declared to change his gender from female to male. Then someone shows up claiming to be his father, and refusing to recognize Kem’s transition and accusing Elen of murder.
But a few other people show up before then. There’s a mysterious Haunt, dwelling in the Spires, who tries to convince Elen to let it possess Kem, “just for a while.” And there’s a powerful prince, Gevulin, who turns up with a huge retinue and a mission that overrides everything else. Elen is spared the executioner’s sword because she knows the area and can guide Gevulin’s party around a landslide that blocks the witch road. And Kem is spared being dragged off by his father to be a princess, when he leaps out and declares to join Gevulin’s faction of Wardens who safeguard against Spawn. And the Haunt is still at the Spires, waiting for the curious and unwary to venture near.
Elliott does a fine job of drawing out Elen’s darker past, allowing the characters to expand while showing how carefully they all must navigate all the rituals that make up life in the Tranquil Empire. It’s a rich tapestry of character and culture, highly recommended for readers who can enjoy a complicated and nuanced tale.
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
What’s Happening? Technically it isn’t July yet. Yes, I know. But it’s only two more days, so what the heck! Queen Titania’s Court is wrapping up on my blog, Wyrmflight. The featured author yesterday was none other than Lucy D. Ford. Take a look!
What I’m Working On.The Warlock’s Army is my summer writing project. I’m heading into Chapter 3 with a group of magical kids starting to realize all the things they haven’t been told.
What’s Next? In addition to writing, I have some garden projects begging for my attention. We’ll see which of them I get to before August.
Where I’ll be. Worldcon is in Seattle, a day’s drive from me. I plan to be there! Sadly, I was not chosen to speak on any panels, but you know me. I might just be enough of a rebel to throw a pop-up reading.
Fun and Games. I’m enjoying Animal Crossing and the classic rpg, Oblivion. Also doing jigsaw puzzles when my controller hand starts to feel a bit stiff. My current read is Recollections of My Non-Existence by Rebecca Solnit.
And now to the garden — away!
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
Today is a story share — or more specifically, a poetry share. One of my online friends, Charles Yallowitz, posted his original poem, “Rushing to the Reaper.” The link will take you to his web site.
I think we all can recognize the sentiment, that the world seems determined for us to rush through everything, or to be more productive, or whatever. So here’s your chance to slow down and savor a poetry moment.
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
Queen Titania’s Court is going on at my blog, Wyrmflight. Today it features the work of Joyce Reynolds-Ward in her complex agripunk series, The Cost of Power. If you don’t know what agripunk is, maybe you’d like to click that link and learn more.
Meanwhile, I’m gathering momentum for my summer writing project, The Warlock’s Army. It’s still at that awkward stage where I’m doing more world building than actual writing. The map is pretty well set, with locations along the shore and on a large island in the center of Revelary Lake. I’m still working out who lives where, and particularly naming key characters. It bugs me when I have to stop in the middle of writing in order to figure out someone’s name.
Despite that, I surprised myself by completing the first chapter. With just one and a half days of school left this year, I look forward to focusing more on this new novel. And working in my garden, which is also where I do a bit of the thinking part.
Happy June, everyone!
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
Over on my blog, Wyrmflight, it’s Queen Titania’s Court! Here’s the latest installment.
Shonn is arriving today, from the depths of Fang Marsh. He’s from The Tale of the Drakanox, the finale of my high fantasy series, Minstrels of Skaythe.
“What is this?” Shonn braced his pole to slow his raft as it glided through the channels of Fang Marsh. Sparkling lights, cheerful voices and glittering music drifted to him through the screen of mangrove branches.
He was probing the marsh, looking for a break in the ice walls Meven had put up. It looked like he had finally found one. Cautiously he pushed forward until his raft nosed through the vegetation. He crouched to study the scene.
A great hall was there, seemingly woven of grass trees and mangroves. Dazzling lights drifted over the heads of a crowd of revelers. They were a strange lot, some with wings or beast heads, all dressed in the strangest clothes.
Were they mages? This was dangerous! Yet his deeper drive compelled him. Meven was a mage, too. She might somewhere be in the throng. He couldn’t lose her again.
Character Questions
Have you ever kissed the wrong person? It seems so. I spent weeks wooing a girl named Addith, who lived with her foundling in the depths of Fang Marsh. But she was never who she said she was. Her real name was Meven, and she was an ice witch.
Do you trust your country’s leaders? Absolutely not! Mages are in control of everything. They take what they want, and kill without a reason. Anyone with sense is scared of them. That’s whyit was so terrible to find out Meven was one of them.
Author Questions
Chosen Ones, yes or no? I’m not a fan of this trope. There always seems to be someone perfectly competent around, who’s doing their best to keep things together, and they get shoved aside by a “chosen one.” That just rankles.
What inspires you to create your work? It’s often something I read or watch that sparks an idea. Some small idea or aspect that the author might not think important can catch my attention, and I explore that. This is why it’s important to not stop reading books or blogs, watching the news, etc. Even if writing time is precious, you still need to leave room for new ideas.
It was just an old story. There couldn’t really be a lost civilization based on trust and equality. Not when the Wizard-King Dar-Gothull rules Skaythe through cruelty and terror.
But when Ar-Thea told the story of the Shining Ones to her six magelings, the legend took root in their hearts. For years, they traveled the land as Minstrels. Through stories and song, they offered light and hope in dark times. Now their secrets have been laid bare. The Minstrels flee as the regime gathers its forces to crush them.
Yet there is hope. Deep in the cursed Hornwood, there is an incredible power that only the Monstrels can use. It is guarded by a terrible beast — the drakanox! The Minstrels must call on every ally and avoid every enemy if they hope to recover what has long been lost.
Available in ebook formats or paperback through Books2Read.
Deby Fredericks has been a writer all her life, but thought of it as just a fun hobby until the late Nineties. Since then she has published twenty fantasy novels, novellas and novelettes, either with small presses or independently. Her short fiction has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, selected anthologies, and small magazines.
Since 2018, her significant work has been the Minstrels of Skaytheseries, about a group of pacifist mages who seek hope in a world ruled by darkness.
In addition, Fredericks writes for children as Lucy D. Ford. Her children’s stories and poems have appeared in magazines such as Boys’ Life, Babybug, Ladybug, and Spider. In the past, she served as Regional Advisor for the Inland Northwest Region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, International (SCBWI).
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
What’s Happening? June is here, and the end of the school year is nigh. I’m looking forward to relaxing on my own schedule and enjoying the early summer weather.
What I’m Working On.Queen Titania’s Court is just starting on my blog, Wyrmflight. It’s a special blog event for indy fantasy authors. This blog will continue with other topics. If you want to see all of Queen Titania’s Court, check out the first post here!
What’s Next? My summer writing project will be The Warlock’s Army. After focusing intensely on Queen Titania’s Court, I’m slowly getting into the book, discovering characters and all that.
Where I’ll be. I have no appearances planned, but always open to invitations. (Hint hint!)
Fun and Games. I’m enjoying the classic rpg, Oblivion. It hit me in the feels, just as it ever did. In Animal Crossing, I reached a huge milestone: I completed the whole museum! Bugs, fish, fossils, and now the art collection. My current read is The Tale of the Drakanox by Deby Fredericks. (Who?)
I hope your summer will be warm and welcoming!
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.
Welcome to the Magical Worlds 