Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

Tag: fantasy novel

  • When Travel Influences Fantasy Literature

    A friend (who also loves to travel) suggested that it might be fun for me to blog about how I draw inspiration for my fantasy stories from the real-world places that I visit and photograph. It was a great suggestion, and really got me thinking about the ways in which…

  • Fortifications, Walls, and Battlements

    After I wrote the blog post about castles a few weeks ago, I started considering other types of structures that can be important in fantasy literature. One of the easiest to overlook (no pun intended) is the stone wall. Ranging from hastily constructed piles of rocks to elaborate edifices seen…

  • Keeping Honest with those Writer’s Resolutions

    We’re now half-way through 2021, and it seems like a good time to review your progress on all those writer’s New Year’s resolutions that you made. How is your writing coming? Are you satisfied with your progress? If not, are there things you can do to get back on track?…

  • Visiting the Stones that Speak

    Last week, my blog discussed ancient ruins and fantasy novels. Today, I want to write about a special subset of that topic: carvings and rock art. Humans have been communicating by leaving words and pictures on stone for thousands of years. As a fantasy writer, I find petroglyphs and rock…

  • The Literary Lure of Ancient Ruins

    “On the top they found, as Strider had said, a wide ring of ancient stone-work, now crumbling or covered with agelong grass.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring. Ancient ruins, both real and fictional, have always sparked my imagination as an author. They combine the mysteries of centuries…

  • Five Places to Inspire Writing

    Readers really seemed to enjoy the “Castles!” blog a couple of weeks ago, so I’ve decided to try a short series (maybe the next two or three Fridays) of places that can inspire writing and, in particular, fantasy novels. As I’ve mentioned in the past, travel can be a great…

  • Fighting Writing Procrastination

    When I told Danny Atwood, my good friend and fellow Emerald Cove author, that I wanted to brainstorm ideas with him about ways to combat writing procrastination, he said, “We should schedule a time to talk about that later.” Despite that inauspicious opening, we did eventually discuss the topic. Here…

  • Castles!

    Castles are amazing, mythic places that always inspire the fantasy novelist in me. Towers, barbicans, winding staircases, crenellation — the very words evoke magic and wonder. Of all the “standard” elements of fantasy stories and games (things like dragons, unicorns, and elves), castles are among my favorites because they exist…

  • Why is Self-Promoting a Book So Difficult?

    On January 1, 2021, I made several New Year’s resolutions relating to writing. In one of them, I resolved to “develop a marketing strategy before the next book is released to help improve its visibility and to attract potential readers.” Since then, I’ve been taking KDP classes related to book…

  • Meanwhile at Emerald Cove…

    It’s been a while since I provided an update on the Emerald Cove writers’ critique group, so this seems like a good time. The big news is that we may actually be able to start meeting again. Meeting for real. In person. Around a table. At our favorite Denny’s. Yay!!!…