When we find a great teacher, we prize them not only because what we learn improves our lives but also because good learning can be one of the most exhilirating things we experience. Unfortunately, a lot of teaching stinks. It’s boring, rambling, forgettable. I’ve made a study of teaching. I’ve had to. For almost 20 years I’ve taught and
... Continue Reading ...
Mark your calendars!! The free, 2009 Life, the Universe, and Everything symposium at BYU will run Thursday – Saturday, February 19 – 21. The speical guests are Tracy & Laura Hickman (Dragonlance authors) and James C. Christensen (yes, the amazing fantasy artist). But there will be more than a dozen other authors there, including: L.E.
... Continue Reading ...
I love listening to writing excuses because I get to hear three smart and funny authors discuss interesting topics that get me thinking. This week’s writing excuse was on building non-humans in SF&F. Here’s my take. An alien race, if done right, can be a huge draw to a story. For example, Brandon Sanderson’s Kandra point of
... Continue Reading ...
Why I didn’t read Humphrey Carpenter’s J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography long ago is a mystery. I owned the book when I was a teen (and stupidly gave it away in my 20’s). But maybe the long wait was inevitable. Back then I wanted more hobbits and sweeping saga, not biography. Luckily, that’s not the case today. Folks, this is a
... Continue Reading ...
This just in from Ken Scholes. “In his debut novel, Servant of a Dark God, John Brown adds his voice to epic fantasy with a world I can see and smell and taste and believe in…and characters I can cheer for, travel with, and want to see again.” –Ken Scholes, author of Lamentation
... Continue Reading ...
Receive my exciting dispatches from the front
