Mathew Reuther's Blog: Goodreads Excerpts, page 10

Geekssential #17: Sports

There’s a kind of myth which permeates some circles which I’ve always found at odds with my experiences in life. This weekend provided such an amazing opportunity to analyze it that I pushed this week’s Geekssential all the way back from Wednesday to Monday. (Which means yes, you get TWO entries this week.) The myth I’m going after this week is simple. It’s the idea that certain things are beneath the intellectual, the reader, and the avid thinker.

The myth is thatSports are bad, lowbrow, and...

Guest: Marsha A. Moore on How to Channel Astral Energy into Magical Powers

Today’s guest entry (busy week, huh?) is coming from fellow MAT author Marsha A. Moore, who was last on the blog talking about Staurolite. She’s back with an article on channeling astral energy related to her newest release, Quintessence, and has included an excerpt from the novel as well.

How to Channel Astral Energy into Magical Powers
by Marsha A. Moore

Centuries ago, magical power in Dragonspeir was balanced between the good Alliance and evil Dark Realm. The Alliance used a device called the...

Geekssential #16: Blade Runner

The beauty of science fiction is often found in the subtle effects of technology on humanity. The writings of the esteemed (sadly, more posthumously than during his career) Philip K. Dick have been translated into numerous other formats. For my money, there’s been no more interesting translation than that of his shortDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep to feature film. I’m speaking, of course, about Ridley Scott’s third film: Blade Runner…

A Dark Future

The film opens with a statement which enc...

Guest: Kristen S. Walker on Types of Female Warriors in Fantasy

Here we are with another guest entry (January is a busy month for releases, apparently) and this time I’m hosting MAT author Kristen S. Walker, who is currently promoting her A Flight of Marewings novel. I have to admit, I’m a fan of what Kristen is serving up today. Not just because female warriors are groovy, but because she refers to TV Tropes constantly in this article. If you don’t know why that’s a good thing, shame on you, and start going down that rabbit hole immediately. (Make sure t...

Casual *ism

I was struck today while watching the fallout from Seattle Seahawks Cornerback Richard Sherman’s sideline interview by the ready appearance of casual racism among many of the folks who weighed in on the drama. This ate at me throughout the day, but it all kind of came to a head in a private Facebook comment thread. And it made me re-examine my own weakest casual *ism: casual homophobia.

Anyone who has read this blog or my status updates should already be clear on me being big on equality, but...

Guest: Juli D. Revezzo on Bringing a Mythic Battle into Reality

Today I’ve got a guest on the blog! Juli D. Revezzo, whose Passion’s Sacred Dance came out just last month, has contributed a piece about the challenges of bringing mythological strife to life in the pages of a novel.

I enjoy modern retellings of old myths, so this kind of thing is right up my alley. Have a read!

Bringing a Mythic Battle into Reality
by Juli Revezzo

Fairy tales and mythology have been with us since the dawn of time. In modern day, from time to time an author will try to recreate...

Geekssential #15: The Wheel of Time

This is going to be a strange, strange entry in the series. Why’s that? Because I’m writing about a book series that is complete, yet I have not completely read…but I still think is absolutely essential to have a look at. (Huh?) Today I’m going to talk about the damn near four and a half million word long Epic Fantasy series that managed to outlive its author (may he rest easy knowing a shining young penman took on the task and completed the journey) … The Wheel of Time.

Cover art from the edi...

Becoming a Better (More Reliable) Writer

The blogging schedule in 2014 includes a minimum of one monthly post on the topic of writing. Not my writing and what I am doing so much as the craft of writing in general. Yes, often using specifics from my own career, but these posts are aimed at issues important to writers more than at readers in general. (For the readers, skip to the end if you’d prefer to only see what’s relevant to my 2014 release schedule.)

This month I’m going to be talking about reliability. About consistency. Not in...

Geekssential #14: Magic: The Gathering

Many, many moons ago I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this little card game put out by a local company that had been making the rounds in the Pacific Northwest looking for investors who believed in their quest to create some awesome new games. That game, which had come out as an “Alpha” at GenCon, would go on to spawn an entire new genre, and propel that little company to dizzying heights in the gaming industry. I’m referring, of course to Magic: The Gathering…

So…Many…Cards…

Since its be...

Guest: Jade Kerrion with an Excerpt from Eternal Night

Today I’ve got another guest post from Jade Kerrion. She’s provided an excerpt from her latest: Eternal Night.

“What makes Kerrion’s writing so compelling is the beautifully flawed characters that find themselves in unexpected relationships…these kind of character level conflicts make Kerrion’s writing so deliciously addictive.”—Noor A Jahangir, Author of The Changeling King

“Everything you want in a great story. Love, intrigue, action, betrayal, and understanding.”—Ch’kara Silverwolf, Author o...