Welcome!

In 2010, I started writing a book.

To be more accurate, in 2010 I started outlining a book. I spent about a year worldbuilding and outlining. I decided it would be four, maybe five books, following a Hero on a Quest to get four special artifacts in order to make a magic sword with which he could kill the demon-summoning wizard who murdered his sister. The first thing I actually made was my world map. Other maps followed, and sketches of different characters and races. I fleshed out cultures, locations, and special items.

I got through roughly three-quarters of the series outline, and decided this was not the story I wanted to write.

In 2011 I decided to tell the story that would have come after — 1000 years after. I came up with new characters. I imagined what would have happened in the world in the millennia since Ebryn would have forged the Crystal Light Blade. I didn’t outline like I did for the first novel; instead I had a handful of scenes I knew I wanted to occur and a loose understanding of the overall arcs for the characters and the plot. I made it my NaNoWriMo project, and wrote around 14,000 words. Then I stopped again, exhausted by the pace I had set and certain elements of the writing.

It sat until 2020.

Over those nine years, a lot happened for the world of fantasy storytelling — among which was the Game of Thrones debut on HBO. I had read the first three books in the series and found I didn’t much care for it. Grimdark has never really resonated with me (yes, I know there’s debate as to whether or not ASOFAI is really “grimdark”, but it definitely has some of those elements). But I saw how the effect of a dark, “realistic” take on fantasy slowly seeped out into mainstream fantasy media, and it made me sad. For me, fantasy has always been an escape from that sort of thing. And so, for nine years, my own fantasy world grew in the back of my mind. Magic systems were fleshed out. Characters grew. I never really left them behind, even though I stopped writing. They lived with me, and their stories evolved. I knew my story was a trilogy, but with the potential for many other stories to blossom in its world.

Then came 2020. Everyone was staying at home. A friend of mine brought up a book she had been writing some time ago, and I mentioned mine. We decided to give them both another go, offering critique and support to each other as we went.

And this time, I successfully wrote Lost Blades. And then Broken Blades. I wrote the short story “Violet”. And finally, this year, I started Blades Reforged.

It’s been a wild ride. Now that I’m working on Book 3, I’ve begun the publishing process. I’m excited for where this can go, and I welcome everyone to join me on the journey.

Welcome to Gaia.