Delvan Miners of the Old West

When I first had ideas for writing a magical fantasy set in the Old West, I considered several options for how far to go with the fantasy elements. I could add wizards to the social fabric and call it good, or I could add fantasy races and creatures as well. I decided to do it […]

Golden Dragons of the American Southwest

My grandfather was a huge fan of the westerns “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza.” I sat with him and watched those television shows many times while visiting my grandparents as a young boy. I didn’t experience the joy of books set in the Old West until I was in high school and discovered The Sacketts by Louis […]

The Werewolves of North Idaho

Given some of the stories I’ve written, anyone would think I have a fascination for werewolves. If that’s true, I’m certainly not alone. The number of movies and books featuring werewolves is mind boggling, and their continued popularity attests to a widespread public interest. As a dedicated fantasist, I’ll admit that I enjoy a good […]

Creature Feature: The Spirits of Mundia

This creature feature started out as a brainstorming session on what form religion would take in the Vaetra Chronicles world of Mundia. I could have adapted a pantheon from human history, made up my own gods, or (unusual in fantasy) gone for the mono-theistic approach that has evolved in our own world history. But I […]

The Arbolenx Fan Club

Arbolenx in Treeby Maddie Sheriff Baby Arbolenxby Maddie Sheriff Not long ago, I wrote a Creature Feature on the arbolenx, a feline, sentient creature that inhabits Mundia, the story world of my Vaetra Chronicles series. In Vaetra Unveiled, the first book of the series, a male arbolenx named Ru-Rahl plays a brief and minor role […]

Creature Feature – Arbolenx

This Creature Feature describes arbolenx, which are sentient, tree-dwelling felines in the world of Mundia. Mercenary soldier Jaylan Forester and Sword Sorceress Sulana Delano encounter arbolenx during their adventures in the Vaetra Chronicles. Physical Characteristics Arbolenx are feline in appearance and about the size of a chimpanzee. They have dextrous front and rear paws that […]

Creature Feature – Trolls

Welcome to Mundia. Visitors from Earth might initially find the landscape and the inhabitants familiar in appearance, but beneath that impression of familiarity lies a very different world. The presence of vaetra, a manipulable force generated by all living things and stored within the bones of the world, has shaped the flora and fauna of […]

Thar Be Dragons!

I was talking with my brother a couple of months ago about the fantasy book I’m writing when he asked me a loaded question: “Does it have dragons?” He didn’t know it was a loaded question, but the truth is that I had thought long and hard about what kind of creatures I was going […]