3 Fantasy Series (and 1 Non-Fantasy Series) That Inspired the Runespells

There are a few series that directly inspired my writing of the Runespells series. Whether it was how the characters talked or the way the magic worked, the following series helped me develop what became Too Wyrd and the rest of the Runespells books.

1. The Dresden Files - This one is pretty obvious - I talk about it a lot. The truth is, the Dresden Files solidified a really vague concept in my mind by showing me what a good magic PI story looked like. While I didn't end up doing a magic PI story, that was the original idea, and I left a lot of the elements of that style in the series.
2. Stephanie Plum series - This may seem a bit out of place, but having a woman main character in a mystery/thriller series was a bit of a new thing when I was developing my concept (around 15 years ago). The first book of this series, especially, showed me a woman who didn't need to be the romantic interest to carry the story.
   
3. The Rowan Gant Investigations - MR Sellars did a spectacular job bringing in Pagan beliefs and magical realism for his paranormal PI series. The story arcs with the individual books, as well as the series arc, were so well done, I couldn't help but learn a bunch about plotting by looking closely at this series.
4. The "Dark" Carpathian series by Christine Feehan - Speaking of plotting, nothing has shown me the power of plotting series arcs like this series. It's a paranormal romance series with over 30 books, and the overall series plot is still rolling strong. Looking at how the hints in the beginning build into full plots in later books is a thing of authorial beauty. I've picked up a lot from reading this series, and I recommend it for a good series arc example.

Those are my selections for series that have inspired me. I will be posting more, focusing on individual books, and things that inspired other of my works.

"A Time & a Place" in Counterclockwise: A Time Travel Anthology Released

Counterclockwise is now available!

My story, A Time & a Place, is a prequel short for the M.A.G.U.S. Chronicles. I will be releasing the first of the series, Threadreader, early 2019.

Tianna is a Timesinker, a fae-blood magecrafter with the ability to travel through time. Her journey begins when she is caught in the cross-fire of a battle between magecrafters, but it doesn't end until she learns how easy it is for a timesinker to cause both the beginning... and the end. The enemy crosses her timeline more than once, but can she be on the winning side every time?

Grab this anthology to get a great assortment of stories, and to get your taste of the M.A.G.U.S. Chronicles!

New Challenge and Website Forum

I've begun a rather intense challenge. I've set up a schedule to make 13 publications in 24 months. That means writing around one novel or short story every 2 months for two years.

The good news? You can join me! Maybe just for a few months, or for the whole 24 - your choice. Post your updates, chat about hiccoughs and life stuff, and get a bit of accountability in my new website forum, Writing Talk!

Sign up today!