When the villain decides that a Rusty Nail (with extra Drambuie) is his drink of choice, that can mean only one thing: afternoon cocktail at the author's keyboard. I don't do this because I want to, I do it because I HAVE to. It's how Genuine Modern Fantasy gets created. As a side note: the writing process for Ascending Mage 3: Buried Truth has officially commenced. Our Alpha Team members will receive the first chapter for their review, shortly. … Click to Read More »
Latest Journal Entries
FraeLea Conversations #10 – Cover Reveal(s)
Watch as we reveal the cover art for the first five novels in our Ascending Mage series! And as always, we are flawless in our delivery. Right? Transcript for FraeLea Conversations #10: F: Hi, and welcome to FraeLea Conversations. I’m Frank and this is RaeLea. Today we’re going to do a cover reveal. R: Actually, five! F: Five covers revealed. Cover reveals? R: Covers revealed? F: Cover reveals? Let’s go with cover reveals. Alright, we’re going to do five cover reveals. R: We’re writers. F: Let’s go with that, then. It’s for our Ascending Mage series which we’ve been … Click to Read More »
Advice for Creatives from Ira Glass
I get stuck in a gloomy creative rut sometimes. Often it's because I'm just not happy with the quality of my prose. I'll edit and revise and re-edit ad nauseum, knowing that I'm not measuring up to my own standards. It's a deeply frustrating place to be, that rut. Talking with some of my creative friends, it turns out that's not so unusual. We know in our heads what the scene looks like, but translating that to the written word takes a great deal of effort. I like to think of it is a sort of alchemy; transmuting ideas into books. Alchemy doesn't always come easily. In fact, it rarely … Click to Read More »
FraeLea Conversations #9 – Gratitude and Fan Art
We're so lucky to have such great friends supporting our storytelling. I think these two pieces constitute our very first fan art! Find them online at Vigilante Woodworks and USB Micro. Transcript for FraeLea Conversations #9: RaeLea: Hi, welcome to FraeLea Conversations. I’m RaeLea and this is Frank. We’d like to do a short video to express some gratitude for our fans. Frank: Yeah, just a short appreciation video. We are so blessed to have friends, family and fans; people that we never even met, that have been helping us spread the word about our burgeoning authoring career. … Click to Read More »
FraeLea Conversations #8 – The Marmite Experience
As authors, we're all about authenticity. Being the stalwart troupers that we are, we're here today to sample the infamous British delicacy of Marmite. We did this because we thought it would be great to have our protagonist love the stuff (she's English). Kids, don't try this at home. Transcript for FraeLea Conversations #8: Frank: Hi, and welcome to FraeLea Conversations. I’m Frank and this is RaeLea. And, what are we doing today? RaeLea: We are doing our unboxing of Marmite. Frank: Of Marmite. And why are we doing that? RaeLea: Because, we have to make it authentic. Our … Click to Read More »
FraeLea Conversations #7 – Writing Experiment Success
In our previous FraeLea Conversations video, we talked about our writing experiment: to write and edit a full novel in one month. Fast forward, and Spark of Justice is finished! That's a full-length novel of 81,000 words written and edited in about 30 days. This experiment was an absolute success. Some discoveries (some were expected, most were pleasant surprises): Being held accountable made ALL the difference for motivation. Knowing we had a small group of people waiting to read a new chapter each morning lit a fire under our butts. A much shorter feedback loop meant more agile … Click to Read More »
PDF Version of “Fog Over Mandaree” now available
By popular demand (and some recurring nudges from an ever-so-patient fan), a PDF version of our first novel, Fog Over Mandaree, is now available for download. In addition to ebook versions in Kindle, iBook, and Nook formats, this PDF version is another option. All are downloadable for free by subscribing to our mailing list (you can unsubscribe at any time, though we hope you'll stay!): Click here to download your free book now! … Click to Read More »
FraeLea Conversations #6 – Our Writing Experiment
We are taking too long to get our next novel edited. We think we’ve figured out a solution, but we need your help! If you are interested and are willing to indulge us with this experiment for the next 34 days, you'll be formally credited in the published book, and you might even have a character named after you. Above all, you will have our gratitude and that's pretty priceless, right? Watch this video for details, and contact us if you’d like to help. Click here to read the Chapter 1 preview mentioned in the video. Click here to read the preview mentioned in the video for … Click to Read More »
Preview: Spark of Justice Chapter 1
Enjoy this preview of Chapter 1 from our work-in-progress novel, Spark of Justice: Chapter 1 “Don’t lose him! The Transmute Spell is nearly worn off.” Ember wordlessly obeyed the directive from her new partner and kept running as fast as her short legs could carry her. She feared losing the suspect they pursued—or maybe worse, catching up to him after the spell wore off. She tried to will the rush of adrenaline to give her lungs greater capacity, her legs greater span—even as a small part of her mind screamed at her, warned her of the menace she knowingly ran towards. Bloody … Click to Read More »
Poll: What Should We Call Non-Magic Humans?
We want your opinion! What should we call non-magic humans in our upcoming modern fantasy series? In the new modern fantasy series we are writing (Magic City Chronicles), the people who have developed the ability to use magic refer to themselves as Druw (a reference to their druid ancestors). We need a term to refer to "normal" or non-magic humans (I've heard that the term "Muggles" is apparently already taken by an obscure writer from the UK ;) Please help us decide by casting your vote. Loading... … Click to Read More »