Before I begin, I need to give a few disclaimers. I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for honest feedback, and I went into the book with a negative perception because the book was labelled as being perfect for readers who loved Fourth Wing. I did not like Fourth Wing, to the extent that…
For someone with a master’s degree in fantasy, a blog themed around fantasy, and a major writing project focused on fantasy, I really haven’t talked about fantasy at all here, have I? Well, we can change that here. I received a free ARC in exchange for honest feedback, and I’m excited about this one. It’s…
This is the fourth post in this series in which we work through the expanded setting creation process for the Genesys TTRPG, as published in the Expanded Player’s Guide (1, 2, 3) and the associated setting worksheet. This week, we’re going to do both steps four and step five. Step four is less relevant for…
In this military space opera thriller, we follow a genetically and cybernetically enhanced super soldier after he was discharged, imprisoned, and then rescued to join a crew to pull off one last big job. Lackan VanDunn, nicknamed Lax, was sold by his parents to the Paragon government and their Divinity corporate backers, as a child…
If you’re visiting for the first time, this is the third post (1, 2) discussing my Iron Horizons setting, which is a dieselpunk space opera, and continues on from the two post series trying to define dieselpunk (part 1, part 2). At this point, we can get our hands dirty and start worldbuilding our RPG…
So, we’ve discussed a minimum viable project and what it looks like for the Genesys tabletop role-playing game. Now, let’s take a close look at their expanded setting sheet from the Expanded Player’s Guide. We’ll only focus on the overview and first two steps this time: tropes & themes, and technology levels. I briefly discussed…
(I received a free copy in exchange for honest feedback to the publisher) Kitemaster is, pardon the pun, a breath of fresh air in plot, worldbuilding, and style. It starts out with our protagonist-narrator, Niall, trying to finish the spirit kite for her deceased husband after the traditional year of mourning. That alone creates a…
I am a worldbuilder. I cannot help myself. It’s simply so easy to be sucked into a new writing project and lose myself in the possibilities of a new setting. That is very fun, but it causes problems. Getting lost in the worldbuilding is the writer’s equivalent of getting lost in the weeds. You think…
I have a fondness for aviation and naval stories, especially in dieselpunk. So when I saw a cover of a World War II B-17 shredding a German ME-262 while approached by two World War I biplanes, I was intrigued. In many ways, I’d call this an aviation-focused version of The Final Countdown. A B-17 crew…
Welcome back to the third part of my discussion and thoughts on dieselpunk. I have no specific plans for the length of this series, as it’s probably going to be an ongoing conversation as I find new things or have new thoughts. Today, focusing in on my dieselpunk project- Iron Horizons. If you’ve seen my…