Star Spun Souls

This post is Part 4 of a series to augment the Atlas of the Known World available for free download. Start with Part 1 here . This and other TotKW maps are gathered in my Map Directory for you to explore. Enjoy! The Sutek Desert Eternal sands of the mystic Dua Dara. Geography and Climate In Chapter 2 of Awakening , the reddish sands of the Sutek stretch from the back of the D'jed Mountains to Allana's east coast. There, the elevation sheers into steep cliffs and escarpments. To the south, dunes spill out into the neighboring plains, while in the north, desert highlands sprout rocky buttes from coarser sands. Few clouds pass the D'jed to rain on the Sutek, so water is pulled from wells and the rare oasis. Arid summers scorch the lapsing breeze, until winter's cooling air stirs whirlwinds and raging sandstorms. This region also borders the Katei Ocean and the Back Rishi , ...

This post is Part 1 of a series to augment the Tips for Writing Fiction available for free download. This and other writing workshops are gathered in my Workshops Directory for you to explore. Find more guest-inspired content in my Guest Directory . This week, I'm pleased to introduce guest blogger Jocelyn Crawley, author of Erudition . Her top five favorite sentences unveil the precision writers use to craft their best work. I don't do much outside of writing except reading. And when I read, I'm always on the lookout for writers that have an innovative way of doing things. Whether the doing involves an exceptional articulation of the absurd or an inventive complication of something simple, ingesting a well-written sentence is an activity that leaves me in a state of mental reverie. Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to read a lot of really great bo...

In the novel Awakening , there are 23 portents fortelling the events of the unfolding saga. Start with Portent I here . These and other riddles in rhyme are gathered in the Portents Directory for you to explore. Enjoy! The hidden prince unveiled his plan To take the darkened sky But mountain met where time began Awaiting flame to cry With flame without the flame within Did flee through snow and hate To meet another shifting sin And find A'lara's mate The bound with binder came to flee The builder sent to wed Adopting long mistaken key When mages both lay dead At last the stolen builder deems Escape from master right Awakening from broken dreams To flee unto the sight The dragon mage emboldened fled The builder's errant son And master drank the growing dread Of destiny begun. Can you decode the future Tales...