The mountain had been moving for three days. Lorielei Alterian knew because the bowls in the abbey kitchen trembled at dawn and dust sifted from the rafters, coating everything. The great black wall beyond her cell gave a low, patient groan beneath the stone. The other adherents called it the mountain’s prayer. Loriel called it … Continue reading The Murmuring Desert
This week, I thought about a story one of my writing group companions wrote about data centers. That rolled around in my head for a while after drawing a new prompt in which a woman, considered a conspiracy theorist, wants to defeat a trap that will destroy a glacial dam. A local scientist thinks he … Continue reading The Meltwater Trap
I spent last weekend learning how to write a better story. The second annual Grand Mesa Writer’s Symposium was again held at the foot of Colorado’s Grand Mesa in beautiful downtown Cedaredge, Colorado. I was eager to immerse myself in the writing community for the weekend and reconnect with the friends I made at the … Continue reading Grand Mesa Writer’s Symposium
When twins Elayna and Eliam Alterian land in Adaran after stumbling into a cave of crystal portals, a young halfling named Benji Orly helps them escape the troops that come to investigate the magical disturbance. As they move through the landscape, they stumble into a haunted swamp that leads into a dying glade of what … Continue reading The Dying Glade
In her younger years, Lorielei Alterian was a defiant young elf, determined to follow the shining path of her goddess. She learns of a cursed workshop and vows to eradicate it, and though she doesn’t know it when she begins her quest, she’ll do things that will put her life on a different path, squandering … Continue reading Echoes of the Past
This week, I read the cards and created a ‘scoundrel’ (a musically inclined rogue named Evyn Nightsong demanded my attention when I pulled that prompt) who wants to escape a broken hideout (destroyed by a rival gang while he was out delivering messages), but he must repair the damage he’s done. Although I drew a … Continue reading A Song of Resurgence
I recently received the Deck of Worlds (a Story Engine expansion) as a gift. So, I thought I’d combine a draw from my original cards (I received those a few years ago at a Free Comic Book Day) with a location from the new cards. Instead of having to figure out where my character has … Continue reading Finding Twilight
This week, I drew up a new fantasy story about a tyrant who wants a powerful quill, but to get it, they will owe something to someone they despise. This prompt brought two antagonists from my novel, Galimeel Redoak and Robin Tremain, into conflict—though not for the first time. ~~~Galimeel Redoak peered into the scrying … Continue reading Quill of Cleft Words
This week, I once again used the Story Engine deck to build a story prompt. I drew a set that had me wondering how and why my shapeshifter, Bix, chose Noxport as their base of operations. Until I began thinking about their origins, I didn’t know Bix’s true identity. Early in their life, they leave … Continue reading Harbor of New Beginnings
I've been using The Story Engine as a tool to write new fantasy stories. This week, I drew a set that had me thinking about a healer who wants to escape a shadowy church, but she will have to learn to trust again. As always, I set my fantasy stories in my world of Adaran, … Continue reading Ash Between the Bells
Dream ✨Imagine ✨ Believe
Books, games, music, and life — filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.
Tavern Tales
Poetry BLOG By Edge of Humanity Magazine
