Category Archives: Islevale Cycle

Tuesday Musings: What Makes An Effective Villain?

Posted on February 18, 2025 by dbjackson

I love villains. I love writing them. I love reading them. I love seeing them brought to life on big screen and small. Well, let me modify that. I love villains in fiction and movies and television shows. I can’t … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Beginnings, Middles, and Endings, part V — What Makes a Good Ending?

Posted on July 12, 2023 by dbjackson

Continuing my Professional Wednesday feature on “Beginnings, Middles, and Endings,” (previous posts can be found here, here, here, and here) I now turn to endings. And I will begin by stating the obvious: The ending to our story is likely … Continue reading →

Posted in Falstaff Books, Fantasy, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Reading, Setting, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Professional Wednesday: Beginnings, Middles, and Endings, part IV — Keeping Our Plots Tight

Posted on July 5, 2023 by dbjackson

Today, I bring you one more “Middles” post in my several-weeks-long feature on “Beginnings, Middles, and Endings.” You can find past posts in the series here, here, and here. I made the self-evident point a couple of weeks ago that … Continue reading →

Posted in Angry Robot Books, Bell Bridge Books, Belle Books, Business of publishing, Falstaff Books, Invasives, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Publishing, Radiants, The Chalice War, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Professional Wednesday: Beginnings, Middles, and Endings, part IV — Keeping Our Plots Tight

Professional Wednesday: Learning From Each of Our Projects

Posted on May 3, 2023 by dbjackson

Ideally, every new book and story we write is not just an adventure in imagination, a chance to discover new characters and settings and narratives, but also a learning opportunity. I continue to improve my writing with each project, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bell Bridge Books, Belle Books, Character, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Radiants, Short Fiction, The Chalice War, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Professional Wednesday: Learning From Each of Our Projects

Monday Musings: My Favorite Babies

Posted on April 24, 2023 by dbjackson

This post is not about my daughters. I swear. I love my girls exactly the same amount. Except maybe around my birthday, when my love for them is directly proportional to the quality of the presents they give me. Other … Continue reading →

Posted in Angry Robot Books, Bell Bridge Books, Belle Books, Business of publishing, Falstaff Books, Fantasy, Invasives, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Publishing, Radiants, The Chalice War, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Monday Musings: My Favorite Babies

Professional Wednesday: The Twisted, Tortured Story of THE CHALICE WAR

Posted on January 25, 2023 by dbjackson

My “What matters?” series of posts will conclude next Monday, after a Monday Musings post this week that straddled the personal and professional a bit more than usual. In the meantime, I am using today’s Professional Wednesday post to begin … Continue reading →

Posted in Bell Bridge Books, Business of publishing, Invasives, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Publishing, Radiants, The Chalice War, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Professional Wednesday: The Twisted, Tortured Story of THE CHALICE WAR

Professional Wednesday: Planning For Next Year — Try Something New!

Posted on December 14, 2022 by dbjackson

As you know, early in 2023 I will be coming out with a new urban fantasy series that is steeped in Celtic mythology. Before working on this series, I hadn’t known much about Celtic lore. But I did my research, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bell Bridge Books, Business of publishing, Invasives, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Publishing, Radiants, Short Fiction, The Chalice War, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Professional Wednesday: Planning For Next Year — Try Something New!

Professional Wednesday: Once More Unto The Breach — To Outline or Not, Redux

Posted on September 14, 2022 by dbjackson

After attending DragonCon and speaking on panels about various aspects of writing, I have found myself thinking—yet again—about the age-old debate between those who outline their books and those who don’t. Or, between planners and pantsers, in the parlance of … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: What We Can Learn About Writing From a Horny Bluebird

Posted on May 4, 2022 by dbjackson

I got you with the title, didn’t I? I thought I might. The horny bluebird in question lives in our yard and is so hopped up on testosterone, so eager to make himself THE player among breeding bluebirds in the … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Punctuating Our Stories (Not the Way You Think I Mean It)

Posted on March 23, 2022 by dbjackson

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” We all know the line. Even people who haven’t seen Casablanca know the line. (And please, don’t get me started about not seeing Casablanca. I mean, sure, it’s dated, … Continue reading →

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