Raven Oak's Blog, page 64

March 27, 2015

Flashback Friday: Hobbits, D&D, and King

This week’s Flashback Friday: Hobbits,D&D, and King.

I’m happy to have fantasy author, Erik Buchanan, here for a guest post on how The Hobbit, Dungeons & Dragons, andStephen King influenced him as a writer.

I started reading when I was two years old. And I read a lot. I did all the usual kid things–baseball, hockey, playing with my friends–but whenever I wasn’t doing that, I could be found curled up in a patch of sunlight with a book in my hands.

Now I was born well before YA was marketing tool,...

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Published on March 27, 2015 08:15

March 26, 2015

Book Cover Throwback: Childhood’s End

This week’s Book Cover Throwback: Childhood’s End by Aruthr C. Clarke.
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

What I Love about this Cover: There is a simplicity to everything being central on that cover, yet a complexity in what is on the cover. This is one of my favorite books as far as classic sci-fi goes.

What I Don’t Love about this Cover: I’m not a fan of the off-white Ecru looking background. I’d rather it was a black background.

Click here to view other Book Cover Throwbacks.

The post Book Cover Throwback: Childhood’s End app...

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Published on March 26, 2015 08:44

March 25, 2015

Interview on Writer 2.0 Podcast

Author and Podcaster, A. C. Fuller, interviewed me as a guest on his Writer 2.0 Podcast, episode #33, which went up today.

Writer 2.0 Podcast We talked about:

my transition to full-time writing;what people misunderstand about the rain in Seattle;how tobuild a world in a fantasy novel;how to find a publisher;my favorite new board games;the best writing conferences for sci-fi and fantasy writers;the pros and cons of NaNoWriMo(National Novel Writing Month);my epic fantasy, Amaskan’s Blood .

Check it the Interview on W...

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Published on March 25, 2015 13:42

March 24, 2015

A-Z Challenge & Theme

Yes, yes, my writing buddy Leetah Begallie managed to rope me into the A-Z Challenge for April (as if I didn’t have enough on my plate!). I figure I could use a little reflection amidst the chaos.

A-Z Challenge Theme Reveal

For my A-Z Challenge, you can expect a Hodge-Podge of Influences & Wayward Treks through the Fantastical.

In other words, what:

makes me me as a writerinfluences me in profound waysis beautiful in my worlddrives me crazy

I’m not going to list my entire A-Z list here, but some of what you can expect to s...

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Published on March 24, 2015 14:44

What I’m…Update

What I'm... UpdatesI recently updated the What I’m… pages, so if you’re curious, check out:

What I’m Currently Reading

What I’m Currently Watching

What I’m Currently Playing

What I’m Currently Writing

What are you currently up to?

The post What I’m…Update appeared first on Raven Oak.

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Published on March 24, 2015 09:43

March 23, 2015

Monday Night Gaming: Dragons of Tarkir

This week’s Monday Night Gaming: Dragons of Tarkir‘s release. This past weekend was the Magic: the Gathering Dragons of Tarkir Pre-Release. Due to my having a book event this weekend, I didn’t have time to play in the pre-release tournament, but we went for a short time to get the pre-release box.

magic the gathering dragons of tarkir descent of dragons

Couple this with Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund and my Dragon Tempest card and… :D

Back before this set was announced, I was already planning a 5-color EDH/Commander dragon deck. This release and that befor...

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Published on March 23, 2015 11:44

Book Event Wrap-Up

Here’s the Book Event Wrap-Up for those that missed it. If you missed the live Amaskan’s Blood event this past Saturday, you can watch the stream on YouTube. The event went fairly well, with the exception of a few networking issues because my 7-year-old laptop sucks. We had one glitch and one network drop, but I’ve edited the video and cut out the gaps. Sorry about that. (Buy more books so I can get my new laptop sooner?)

Some folks couldn’t figure out the Q&A portion, so if you had a question...

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Published on March 23, 2015 09:44

March 22, 2015

The Transition of Art

Amaskan's Blood Cover Art transitionI didn’t notice cover artist K. E. Clausen sneak this in on her Tumblr account, but she’s got an interesting bit of discussion on the evolution of Amaskan’s Blood‘s cover art from its drawn infancy to the final digit form. The transition of art is always fascinating to me!

Go check it out over at: Little Griffin Studios Tumblr

She also talks more about it here.

The post The Transition of Art appeared first on Raven Oak.

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Published on March 22, 2015 08:54

March 21, 2015

Book Event Reminder!

Amaskan's Blood Live Stream Poster Just a reminder about today’s book event!

WHO: Ooo! I know this one! Me! Me!

WHAT: It’s a virtual book event for those that couldn’t make the one in Seattle. I’ll be reading from my Amazon bestselling fantasy, Amaskan’s Blood, and my upcoming sci-fi novella, Class-M Exile. I will also do a Q&A so ready those questions!

WHEN: Saturday, March 21st at 6 PM PST

WHERE: Google+ and YouTube

More information is on the event page at:
https://plus.google.com/events/cm3ahtjoofor6cgqroub31ur0k8

Click one to vi...

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Published on March 21, 2015 08:07

March 20, 2015

Flashback Friday: Three Men

For this week’s Flashback Friday post, I’m happy to have fantasy author, Django Wexler, here for a guest post on how Isaac Asmiov, David Brin, and Neil Gaiman influenced him as a writer.

I started reading in the pre-Potter world, before J.K. Rowling‘s juggernaut convinced the publishing industry that kid’s books could be deep and fun at the same time and created modern YA. I like to joke that all I had growing up were Goosebumps and Newbery Award-winning books about dead dogs. While it’s not q...

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Published on March 20, 2015 08:15