David T. Allen's Blog, page 5

The End of a Bridge

How does a community celebrate a bridge’s impending implosion?

In Greenfield, they throw a party.

The most interesting part was you could enter a raffle for $10/ticket to “push the button” that brings the bridge down this December.

Here’s looking at you, bridge.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

A book hasn’t reached off the shelf and grabbed me like The Library at Mount Char in years. The cover, the blurb, the first page—it hooked me and reeled me in, leaving me up hours past my bedtime a few nights in a row.

A missing God.

A library with the secrets to the universe.

A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away.

I adore how this book gets right down to business. Other authors might be tempted to explain the bizarre world that Carolyn inhabits, but Hawkins resists this trap....

Cirqus Voltaire Pinball Machine: Circus History

Normally, pinball machines tell you, “Don’t do drugs” and, “stay in school.” But, during our latest visit to Pinball Perfection, the Cirqus Voltaire machine had a little more to say.

Joining the circus is the objective of this game, which I thought fit nicely with Leisl in Dream Eater’s Carnival.

When I got home, I found the manual on the Internet Pinball Database and spotted the story on page 16. I spent a little time digging around on the machine’s web page, which was from 1997 (and referen...

The Belgariad by David Eddings

The Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in David Edding’s famous Belgariad series, was the first character-driven fantasy book that resonated with me. I was a mere middle-schooler at the time and, aside from classics like The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, was new to the world of fantasy.

I’ll admit that the first hundred pages didn’t quite enthrall me. It was mostly about Garion, a boy, living a normal life on a farm. His companions were average, but his aunt, Polgara, and a wizened old v...

Character-Driven Fantasy Stories

I love character-driven stories. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy an engaging, intriguing plot, but to be one of my favorite books, the characters have to be so dynamic, funny, and/or loveable that I’d happily watch them buy groceries. These are the books that I come back to every few years, because no matter how familiar I am with the story, the characters feel like old friends.

These are also the books that inspired me to write. If I can create characters that are half as funny as David Edding’s...

Day One at Big River Steampunk Festival

Labor Day weekend was a combination of quaint anachronisms and stunning performances at the Second Annual Big River Steampunk Festival in Hannibal, Missouri.

After countless hours spent planning, sewing, gluing, papier-mâchéing, and painting, our outfits were ready and so were we for the eleven hour drive from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the hometown of Mark Twain and Margaret Brown.

We were specifically drawn to this steampunk festival for the atmosphere. No hotel or convention ce...

Review of The Dungeoneers by Jeffery Russell

Jeffery Russell’s debut novel, The Dungeoneers, has a blend of humor that tickles my chuckle glands in a way that only Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series has done before.

I discovered this author in a critique group. From the moment I read his introduction, I knew this guy had a story worth following.

Durham, a city guard with low aspirations, has little to show for his life. He sees a golden opportunity when the king’s messengers asks him to escort the Dwarven Dungeoneers on an expeditio...

How DIY Should You Go?

In my last sprint article, I mentioned having multiple projects is demotivating because each project competes for your time. Whether you’re an indie author or traditionally published, writing a book is already many projects.

outlining writing editing critiquing reading proofreading formatting making cover art publishing marketing promoting blogging building a website listening to podcasts networking

…and probably a few others I can’t recall right now.

You can pay people to do these, but the...

Sprint 8: Breaking into August; Reflecting on July

This past month, Leslie completed 100% of her tasks for three weeks in a row, and we ran out of pins to put tasks on the board.

A New Milestone

I began sketching a new web site layout in the past month. I don’t sketch much, and for good reason—I once drew a stick figure of a flame-breathing goose that our friend Lana told me looked like it was spewing after a night of heavy drinking.

It’s the first design I’ve liked. Everything I’ve done up until now was about having a clean layout that was...

Treat Your Wrists Well

I’ve been less productive lately due to wrist pain. I was starting to worry; I build software for a living, write in the evenings and weekends, and play video games for entertainment. Luckily, the doctor gave me some good news.

I had tendonitis when I was younger, so I am familiar with that type of pain, and how to control it:

Take B6 and B12 daily Use wrist splints, especially while sleeping Reduce usage

This pain was different, though. I felt it mostly in my pinky, and in the knuckles nea...