Paul Bellow's Blog, page 113

Writing Dragons: The Epic, and The Letdown

New Guest Post by Aaron R. Holloway

We have all been a part of an RPG game or read a piece of writing where the DM or author has attempted to add dragons into the story because of their amazing and epic glory. We have all (hopefully) seen a situation where this worked wonderfully! Where everything from the clues, to the quest giving, to the final reveal and epic fight with the great dread wyrm was satisfying. We have all also been part of a situation (most likely) where this did not go over...

Author Interview with Phoenix Grey

Phoenix Grey is the super secret nerd pen name of a USA Today bestselling author. She currently lives in a secluded podunk town outside of San Antonio, Texas where she can hermit away while working on books and playing video games. When she’s not busy plotting her world domination, she can be found hosting game nights at the local comic book store or checking out the latest recommended anime. She loves hearing from and interacting with fans, so feel free to stalk her in the following ways:...

Our 7 Most Recommended Homebrew Rules for a Dungeons & Dragons Game

Guest Post by Ted, Chief Adventurer at SkullSplitter Dice

Some campaigns prefer to use the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition rules exactly as printed. But every campaign is different. And for many campaigns, creating “house rules” can allow the game to be more fun and more interesting. Below, we’ve compiled the most popular “homebrewed rules” used by Dungeons and Dragons players and DMs. If you’re looking for optional rules to make your adventures a little more interesting, try some of these....

RPG Perfection? The d20 Role-Playing Game System

There are have been many gaming systems throughout the years. If you started to play around the year 2000, there’s one that stands out more than others. The d20 system was introduced alongside the third edition of Dungeons and Dragons, but it quickly came to dominate the shelves of gaming stores across the road. Taking a look at how this system came to be – and where it eventually went – is a good way to begin to understand how the gaming industry evolved into its current state.

What is the...

History of the d20 Role-Playing Game System

There are have been many gaming systems throughout the years. If you started to play around the year 2000, there’s one that stands out more than others. The d20 system was introduced alongside the third edition of Dungeons and Dragons, but it quickly came to dominate the shelves of gaming stores across the road. Taking a look at how this system came to be – and where it eventually went – is a good way to begin to understand how the gaming industry evolved into its current state.

What is the...

A Look at Sexism in LitRPG

Guest post by Conor Kostick, author of Epic and commissioning editor at Level Up Publishing .

The question of sexism in LitRPG is one that keeps coming up in Facebook threads, Reddit threads and reviews. The subject doesn’t really lend itself to discussion in those formats because the valid, insightful points get lost in heated exchanges and because it’s a complex issue. When I thought about my views on this topic, I realized that I couldn’t express what I wanted to say in a short comment, so...

Author Interview with Crissy Moss

Crissy Moss was born in northern California. Country girl at heart, she spent a lot of time in the great out doors, and the rest inside the library reading every book available. From mythology and fantasy to science and astronomy books, she wanted to read about everything. She currently lives in Texas with her significant other, an armor smith. He makes the armor and she writes about it.

When did you first start writing fiction?

I’ve  been writing for as long as I can remember. In second gr...

Author Interview with Lucas Flint

Lucas Flint is the pen name of Timothy L. Cerepaka, who writes superhero fiction under it. The Lucas Flint pen name is also published under the Secret Identity Books imprint of Annulus Publishing, an imprint devoted to publishing superhero fiction. Timothy L. Cerepaka was born in Austin, Texas, although he was raised in the small town of Cherokee Texas, where he was homeschooled by his parents and where he still lives today.

As a young boy growing up building LEGO sets, reading books from ma...

Author Interview with Ryan DeBruyn

Next up, we have an interview with Ryan DeBruyn. He wrote the tremendously popular Equalize recently for Mountaindale Press. Ryan is a new author from Canada and is currently a student studying Electrical Engineering. He is six months away from graduation and leads a very busy life. I’d like to thank him for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. Without any further ado, here’s the next LitRPG author interview!

When did you first start writing fiction?

I started writing fiction wh...

Author Interview with Paul Bellow

We’ve done a couple dozen author interviews over the last year or so, and I thought it was finally time for me to step out from behind the curtain for a bit to answer some questions of my own Ramon Meija style! As an ex-romance author who discovered LitRPG around 2016, my only regret is not moving into the genre earlier. Keep reading to learn more about me, Paul Bellow.

When did you first start writing fiction?

My first real memory of being a writer is from my time as a fourth grader. I was y...