Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

  • 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… Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • 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.… Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • 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.… Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • 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… 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!