Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

Category: Uncategorized

  • Opening the Doorway to Magic

    With the publication of The Grand Door, the third and final book of our Doorway to Magic trilogy, coming up on March 16, this seems like a fine time to reminisce a little about the twisted path we took to get there. It all started in a Fuddrucker’s restaurant. Back…

  • Writing in the Rain

    Writing in the Rain. It sounds like song lyrics: “I’m writing in the rain. Just writing in the rain. What a glorious feeling…” In truth, I am not actually writing this blog post in the rain. Which is to say, I’m inside my house and my computer is not getting…

  • A Summer Walk in January

    The pleasant breeze from the ocean softened the heat of the January sun. Flowers bloomed in planter boxes along the city streets, and fountains sparkled beneath the blue skies. Eucalyptus trees, palms, and a host of other plants filled the city parks and squares. I was engaged in one of…

  • Welcome to Travels, Walks, and Tales

    What’s more difficult than hiking up a mountain? Trying to find a good title for a literary work that hasn’t been used before. I’ve done both. I find the former much easier and more satisfying. When I published my first author blog post back on May 1, 2020, I had…

  • A 50-Year Dream Fulfilled

    When I was young, there was an adventurer/archaeologist whose stories of daring and discovery captured my imagination. I watched him on the big screen and read about him in books. And, in case you are wondering, his name was not Indiana Jones. Yes, I think Dr. Jones is great. But…

  • And…It’s Done!

    The first draft of the 3rd book in The Doorway to Magic trilogy is finally complete. At the moment, it is about 106,000 words long, but that is likely to change in the second draft. As I finished the manuscript, I was reminded, once again, of the importance of having…

  • The Road Accidentally Taken

    As a fantasy author, I love to write sweeping adventure stories full of danger and perilous magic. When I am a traveler in real life, however, I prefer my adventures a lot more safe and sedate. As Bilbo Baggins once said about adventures: “Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late…

  • Is That Where They Got the Idea?

    “Don’t those rocks look familiar?” John and I were on a road trip passing through the Dixie National Forest in Utah on our way to Bryce Canyon. Suddenly, we found ourselves driving beside the spectacular rock formations of Red Canyon. Huge red-orange stones, shaped by nature into towering monuments, rose…

  • Walking Through Someone Else’s Writing Inspiration

    The two pictures sat next to each other on the page in front of us. One was a photograph of Switzerland’s beautiful Lauterbrunnen Valley. The other was artwork done by J.R.R. Tolkien depicting the valley of Rivendell from his fantasy books. The similarities between the two pictures were striking. We…

  • A Few Thoughts on Writing Prequel Stories

    John and I have been busy writing a new short-story in our fantasy series. We’re hoping to give it out as a thank-you gift to our newsletter subscribers. It takes place earlier in the timeline than the other things we’ve written for that universe so far. While we were drafting…