Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

Tag: writing

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Writing Inspiration Destination: Delphi, Greece

    Greece is a wonderful place to visit and provides a constant source of writing inspiration for me (as you can tell by the number of times my blog posts have included locations from that country). In a land full of amazing things to see, Delphi still stands out as one…

  • Writing Inspiration Destination: Catalina Island, California

    On Valentine’s Day weekend in 1992, John and I went on our very first cruise together. It was a little 3-day jaunt. It sailed from Long Beach, California, to Catalina Island, to Ensenada, Mexico, and back to Long Beach. At the time, I considered it a test. Neither of us…

  • Writing Inspiration Destination: Bergen, Norway

    Bergen, Norway is a wonderful city. A beautiful waterfront, fascinating historical sites, and so many other things make it a great destination. John and I had the privilege of exploring the city during two different trips, the first time in 2013, and more recently during a cruise last summer. As…

  • Announcing Our Free Newsletter and Short Story!

    It’s official! John and I now have our own author newsletter/email list. Anyone who signs up will receive a free copy of our short story Reflections of Disdain, a fun little prequel to our full-length fantasy novel The Keyhole Wizard. If you’ve been following this blog for a while and…

  • Writing Inspiration Destination: Iceland

    With the world opening up once more, John and I finally got a chance to do some foreign travel this past summer. We took a cruise which included several stops in Iceland. We had never visited Iceland before, so I was excited to go there. The ruggedly beautiful countryside impressed…

  • Our Venture into Writing for Radio

    Every so often as a writer, you get to try something entirely new and fun. Recently, John and I had an opportunity to submit a script for a radio series. The series is called “Radio Story Hour” and our contribution is a one-hour fantasy episode called “Prince Kenneth in the…

  • Writing Inspiration While Walking

    When you’re a writer, ideas can come to you at odd times. Some authors get story ideas when they’re in the shower. In fact, you can buy a waterproof notepad to keep in the shower, so you don’t lose any precious words. Other writers get ideas at night. No doubt,…