Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

  • Do You Outline Your Novels Before You Write?

    Notice that the title of today’s blog post does not say: “Should you outline your novels before you write?” I don’t think there is a correct answer to the “should you outline” question. From what… Read more

  • Update on Current Book Projects

    It’s been a while since I provided an update on the current writing projects, so this seems like a good time. John and I are still hard at work on our latest fantasy novel Prophecy’s… Read more

  • Writing and RPGs

    Think back to the year 1977. It was a great year to be a science-fiction/fantasy fan in San Diego. The original Star Wars opened in May 1977. The Silmarillion was finally published. The Star Trek… Read more

  • Writing, Marathons, and Mountains

    November is National Novel Writing Month, a time in which many talented people produce thousands of written words in a single month. They are probably drafting the upcoming New York Times bestsellers, even as I… Read more

  • Five Fantasy Authors Who Influenced My Early Writing

    Back in the 1970’s and 80’s when I was in high school and college, fantasy was still a fairly new genre. Authors such as Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs had been writing speculative fiction… Read more

  • What’s in a Domain Name?

    For the last seven months, I’ve been splashing around the shallow end of self-publishing. My writing hasn’t made much money, but I haven’t put any real money into it, so it’s kind of a wash.… Read more

  • Dictation vs. Typing

    “No! Don’t hurt my fingers! I’m a writer.” Two weeks ago, I had minor surgery on one of my fingers. The surgery was very minor and the cut is healing up nicely now, so no… Read more

  • The Other Side of Writing Critiques

    Last Friday, I talked about the importance of finding good critics to help evaluate your manuscripts before you publish. This week, I want to discuss the other side of that issue. How can you be… Read more

  • The Importance of Critics

    At our Emerald Cove writer’s group meeting last week, I was reminded once again of how important it is for authors, particularly Indy authors, to have trusted people critique their writing. Reviewers see the mistakes… Read more

  • One Method to Overcome Writing Malaise

    Why is it hard for many of us to write fiction during this pandemic? Several of my author friends have expressed difficulty getting motivated right now. One friend, who is normally a prolific writer, told… Read more

Welcome to Susan’s Monthly Blog!

On the first Friday of every month, Susan writes a short post about our books, the craft of writing, upcoming projects, travel, writing inspiration, and similar topics that strike her fancy. We hope you enjoy reading them.

Feel free to leave a comment. Susan loves hearing from readers!