Trope Tuesday: Neutral Evil

Have you ever encountered a villain who you just hated? One who only cares about himself (or herself), who has no real loyalties and will sell out his friends, or even his master?  One who treats people as means to an end, and will use whatever means necessary to achieve those ends?  Chances are, that… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Neutral Evil

Trope Tuesday: Chaotic Neutral

If you’ve ever read a space adventure with smugglers and pirates, or a sword & sorcery with rogue thieves and master-less swordsmen, or a western with gritty outlaws and mountain men, you know this character alignment.  If you’re a fan of any of these genres, chances are you love him, too. The Chaotic Neutral‘s one consistent… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Chaotic Neutral

Trope Tuesday: Neutral Good

Arguably the best of the good-aligned characters, the Neutral Good can always be counted on to do the right thing, whether that means working within the system or rebelling against it.  Whether young or old, soft or shrewd, nice or not so nice, these are the guys (and girls) most likely to save the world and defeat the enemy… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Neutral Good

Trope Tuesday: Lawful Evil

If the term “villain” applies to anyone, it applies to the Lawful Evil.  Whether the evil overlord, his trusted right-hand man, or one of his devoted minions, these characters are dedicated wholeheartedly to their cause, whether they believe it will lead to a better world or not.  Taking over the world is often a major obsession,… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Lawful Evil

Trope Tuesday: Lawful Good

Lawful Good is the character alignment that is the most unambiguously heroic.  These are the white hats, the caped crusaders, the knights in shining armor who fight for Truth, Justice, and the American way.  They might not always be smart, and they might not always be nice, but you can always count on them to do the… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Lawful Good

Random updates before leaving

I’m spending Thanksgiving with my parents this year, which means I’m leaving for Massachusetts tomorrow…by train.  Well, technically, Sunday morning, since the cross-country trains come through Salt Lake City in the wee hours, but to my way of thinking it’s tomorrow and not Sunday.  Either way, I won’t be posting anything until Tuesday night, since… Continue reading Random updates before leaving

New guest post and blurb for Desert Stars

First of all, my latest guest post for the Bringing Stella Home blog tour is up at The Villain’s Worst Nightmare.  In it, I discuss where I got the idea for the Hameji, and how I world-builded (world-built?) their culture from the ground up.  Good stuff; you can find it here, along with another giveaway… Continue reading New guest post and blurb for Desert Stars

BSH blog tour and other random updates

Just a few things to get out of the way before returning to other things: I’ve started the blog tour for Bringing Stella Home, and the first post was on my friend Kindal’s blog; you can find it here.  He asked me to blog about music and writing, so I shared some of my thoughts… Continue reading BSH blog tour and other random updates

“Who would have thought…”

I would like to address this post to my fellow Mormon readers. A couple of days ago, I got a discouraging message from some old mission friends of mine.  It said, more or less: “who would have thought that the missionary that taught us the gospel would write such a lurid book?” They were referring… Continue reading “Who would have thought…”

Q3 Report, 2011

Before I move on to other, more interesting subjects, I want to take a little bit of time to review how my writing went in the past three months.  For those of you who may be new, this is something I like to do at the start of each new quarter.  Keeps me honest, I… Continue reading Q3 Report, 2011