Jennifer M. Baldwin's Blog, page 5

It Came from the Game Closet: Hobbit Tales from the Green Dragon Inn

I teased this ages ago, but it’s finally here. The first installment of what I hope to be a regular series on the blog: “It Came from the Game Closet.” We have this closet, you see. It is in our living room, and it is quite tall, and it is filled with games. Stuffed. Bursting. […]

Input Update 7/7/2024

Reading: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt Also Reading: Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake Also Also Reading: Dragon Wing (the Death Gate Cycle vol. 1) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Also Also Also Reading: Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky Drinking: Coffee out of a Mesiree mug

Dear Mom, the mother in the story is not you (but maybe…)

Avalon Summer is somewhat based on my real childhood, especially in the details of the setting, which is basically my grandparents’ home in Michigan. And yes, the main character, Sarah, is similar to ten-year-old me. And yes, there are other characters who have some basis in real people from my childhood. But no, it’s not […]

Killing Critical Voice: A Re-watch

Last November I took the WMG Publishing workshop called “Killing the Critical Voice” with author Dean Wesley Smith. At the end of the workshop, he told us to put a reminder in our calendars to re-watch the workshop in six months. That reminder popped up for me the other day, so I’m going to attempt […]

Isabel Stories

“Once upon a time there was an owl named Isabel, and she lived in a willow tree in the backyard of a little girl named Natalie.” opening line of every isabel story I don’t remember when I started telling Isabel stories to my daughter. She was little, maybe two or three. We got the name […]

Summer Solstice Sale 2024

All three of my novels (ebooks) are on sale for $0.99 to celebrate the solstice and the official beginning of summer! All three are pretty summer-y books, perfect for beach reading. For less than three bucks, you’ll have plenty of fantasy to enjoy! The Thirteen Treasures of Britain Avalon Summer Gates to Illvelion

People Are More Important Than Things (but things still have deep meaning)

Re-watching Pixar’s Up (first time watching it with my kids). I was struck by the moment towards the end of the movie when Carl has to throw everything out of his house so it will be light enough to lift off the ground. The things of his life — all the things that represent the […]

Goal: Finish Norse City Limits

My top writing goal for 2024 is to finish my novel, Norse City Limits. Inspired by both my love for Icelandic sagas and my love for film noir, NCL mixes elements from Grettir’s Saga and Norse mythology with some of my favorite noir tropes. I started out writing it late last summer and made a […]

A Ridiculous Amount of Goals (that I probably won’t achieve)

This might be another one of those “I’m gonna blog everyday” type of promises that I make and never fulfill. But you know what? Having an ambitious goal that I don’t achieve often turns out better than weaksauce goals or no goals at all. Why? Because even if I don’t achieve my lofty ambitions, I […]

Creative Writing: Week 7

Unbelievably, the term is almost over. Two more weeks to go. This is the time of the school year when I become incredibly self-critical. All the things I could’ve done! All the lessons I should’ve changed! All the feedback I wish I’d given! All the ideas I never tried! I am heavy with regrets. Every […]