I’ve read through my initial book allocation for my role as a judge on Team Tar Vol On in this year’s Self-Published Science Fiction Competition(SPSFC)! In this initial phase of judging, each of us is asked to categorize a book as a “Strong Yes,” “Soft Yes,” “Soft No” or “Strong No.” We’re asked to read […]
Category Archives: books
Understanding LitRPG
What is LitRPG? Why do people read it? With Dungeon Crawler Carl slated for a television adaptation, a lot of people are curious about LitRPG. Whether it’s the first time you’re hearing about the genre or if you were aware of it but just a little unsure, I’m here to break it down for you. […]
2024 r/Fantasy Bingo Guide: Progression Fantasy, LitRPG, & Gamelit
If you aren’t aware, every year, the massive r/Fantasy Reddit publishes a reading bingo sheet. https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1bt4iqf/official_rfantasy_2024_book_bingo_challenge/ If you complete the entire card (and turn it in during a form they post the following March) you get a “Reading Champion” flair in the subreddit. If you do this for multiple years, they’ll increment your title to “Reading Champion II”, […]
Writing believable children
A lot of authors find children hard to write well, but most people find the kids I write very believable. In this post, I’ve tried to sum up what I’ve learned as succinctly as possible: a bit over 3,000 words, broken down into sections. Kids are not that different than adults. They just lack an […]
LitRPG and Progression Fantasy I read in 2023
After doing mini-reviews for all the SPSFC3 contestants’ books I read, I felt like I was remiss to not be doing any for my own genre! This list includes only series that I started reading in 2023. So yes, of course I read the next Dungeon Crawler Carl and the conclusion of the Cradle series, […]
SPSFC3 books worth finishing
I read a lot within the genre I write in – LitRPG – but I like to read a number of the entries in the SPSFC each year, partly as a chance to stretch my brain and partly to give indie authors a chance. I review any book I finish! Rather than give a star […]
Apocalypse Parenting #1: Time to Play will be released on audiobook by Podium Audio on February 21!
Click above to listen to a sample of the amazing performance by Laurie Catherine Winkel! She’s a talented narrator who’s recorded books for New York Times bestselling authors. If you regularly listen to LitRPG audiobooks, you may have heard her before as part of the Life Reset audiobook cast, alongside Jeff Hayes and Annie Ellicott. […]
Eight more self-published speculative fiction books worth finishing (From SPSFC 2022)
A bit after the 2022 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition kicked off I made a post about five books from the competition I’d found good enough to finish. I’m back now with eight more! These aren’t selected from all the entrants. I was looking exclusively at books available on Kindle Unlimited and I only gave a book a […]
Five self-published speculative fiction books worth finishing (From SPSFC 2022)
The 2022 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition kicked off recently, and I’ve been reading my way through some of the entrants that both A) appealed to me on some level and B) were available on Kindle Unlimited. I have fairly eclectic tastes, and for your perusal today I present the first five books I liked enough […]
LitRPG and GameLit with great women
As a LitRPG author myself, I read a lot of work from the genre, and I think about it quite a bit too. One weakness of the genre is, sadly, women. It’s actually uncommon for women to be actively treated poorly by popular authors. Most authors – especially the successful ones – are nice people […]