Showing results by narrator "Merphy Napier" in All Categories

Writing advice tends to be full of "rules" and "tips" which are either too broad to be helpful or outright wrong. In On Writing and Worldbuilding, we will discuss specific and applicable ideas to consider, from effective methods of delivering exposition and foreshadowing, to how communication, commerce, and control play into the fall of an empire.

For generations, a family has lived with Death in their library. An old lighthouse keeper picks through the Beach, where all things forgotten wash up. A young girl discovers the stars are going out, one by one.

Writing guides are often full of 'tips' and 'tricks' either too broad to be useful, so specific they don't apply, or frustratingly vague. The On Writing and Worldbuilding series is here to change that. Volume III covers a whole new array of topics with applicable, clear, and practical discussions, be it writing character descriptions, compelling dialogue, or worldbuilding cities and towns. While written with an edge for science fiction and fantasy, the help found in this book applies to all genres. Volume III stands entirely independent of the first two volumes with entirely new discussions.

Following the immense success of Volume I with over 35,000 copies sold, On Writing and Worldbuilding: Volume II brings a host of new topics to table in even more detail and depth. Writing advice tends to be full of "rules" and "tips" which are either too broad to be helpful or outright wrong.

Identity: Everyone was designed for purpose. In fact, one of the most repeated cries of the heart is, “Why am I here?” Although many try to answer that question with their own ideas of purpose, the only One who holds the first and final word is the father. While many search in various places to find meaning in life, it is certain that the only safe place is in the voice of the father. The answer isn’t more money, more fame, or even the right political party. The answer is a life centered in the person of Christ.

On a cold morning in late fall, a girl was found running down the street, naked and screaming. She had been missing for over a month. It’s been five years since that day, and 18-year-old Taylor Cormier may have escaped her captor but never escaped the trauma. Despite this, she wants what all girls entering senior year want. That is until another girl goes missing, and Taylor’s life erupts into chaos once more.

A vacation to Mexico is supposed to be about sun, sand, and drunken debauchery. It's not supposed to include being trapped in a cave and trying to keep your head above water, while slimy things watch you with gleefully hungry eyes. Ellie Hughes swears that if she makes it home alive, her travel agent is going to get such a bad review.

Arie eagerly anticipates becoming queen of her humble kingdom. Even when a jinni’s gift manifests before her 18th birthday, she fights to hide the forbidden ability. But when a neighboring king attempts to manipulate her into marriage and steal her kingdom, discovery feels imminent. Just one slip could cost her throne. And her life. A jinni hunter and his crew of thieves are the only thing that might help her remove this gift.

She’s lost her mother and her memory. And if she fails to escape...she’ll lose herself. Meiko Wright wants nothing to do with the mother who abandoned her nine years ago. She takes a nasty fall in a Shinto temple, she wakes with no memory of her mother...or anything of her past life. Without any idea who she is, she must rely on the kindness of a local priest who offers to help her as best he can. When the amnesiac Meiko wakes with a strange suspicion that something isn't right, she vows to escape from a bond she doesn't truly understand.

My...what gorgeous eyes you have. That is so I can look into your soul, my dear. And what strong arms you have. It is so I can protect you, my darling. Oh, and what mesmerizing lips you have. It is so I can devour you, my sweet. Red is a modern-day retelling of the popular classic Little Red Riding Hood. In this story you meet Scarlett, a young woman whose chance meeting with a stranger completely changed the course of her life, turning it from a fairy tale into a dark disaster.

Air spirits carry the wind, nymphs and dryads supervise the trees and animals, and great stone creatures turn the world on its axis. The World of Order, our world, operates by the hard work and dedication of fairies and other mythical creatures working behind the scenes. Among them, a young elf woman named Kyla Nim leaves home for Equinox to seek her own role. This proves more challenging than expected, and she struggles to find her strengths until she falls into the wrong end of a plot by Erebus, the god of darkness, to rid the world of light.

After nearly 18 years of living in an altered history, Vanessa Marshall, and her twin sister Annabella, jump through time to the year 1949. While living under their great-great grandmother’s roof they are given strict instructions not to cross paths with the Davenport boy. While living 70 years in the past they read through journal entries written by their mother, and find out just how intertwined their lives are with the boy who changed their history. Against the laws of Luna the girls stay put longer than allowed while they search for the place they truly belong.

At the cusp of the new millennium, Elena and Greg Bailey arrive in Green Springs, Wisconsin, to help her hospitalized mother. As they drive into town, cats are everywhere and seem more populous than humans. Within hours, Elena and Greg discover a horrendous scene in the nearby woods. When they report their finding to the police, the response is not what they expect. If Elena doesn’t get to the bottom of the great wickedness in high places that’s at work in this enigmatic town, all humanity will suffer.

When Vanessa Marshall jumps off the Swan Pier back into the future from the year 1949, a piece of the past arrives with her. While continuing to search for her birth mother she develops relationships with the family she never knew she had, and finds that history has been altered in Port Swan. Meanwhile her mother Gina, a fellow time traveler and lost soul, is waiting and watching. Through journal entries written by Luna Marshall herself, the history and secrets of the Luna Time time portal are unveiled making the past and present become one.

You can't blame Carl for enjoying death more than life. That's when he lived the most! Join Carl, as he meets the young adventurous kids that will change his life...rather, his death, forever. Dark forests are explored, old bogs reveal secrets, and life long friendships are forged in the unforgettable tale of A Grave Friend.

People have a reflexive reaction to pain. They have all this pain and have no idea of the power they have to stop the pain and chance the course of their lives. With just a little different perspective, they can stop dating those heart breakers and pick the man for them. Stop feeling so alone in your marriage and learn how to make the right stay or go decision. Learn to change your workplace to make it enjoyable if not ideal. Go from victim to leader. It’s so powerful.

Happiness can be elusive. We know what it feels like, we know we like it, but few people understand how to create real happiness. If you are like most people, you have a busy life juggling work, school, family, friends, and other commitments. Such a life may lead you to feel more stressed and less happy, especially because you may not even have time to find out how to cultivate happiness amid a busy life. Don’t worry! Angelica Ribeiro did the work for you, with amazing results.

When Graham breaks up with Isla she can’t stop dreaming of their yesterdays, and he can’t stop dreaming of their tomorrows. In the midst of their broken lives, a mysterious rainstorm is falling on the town making reality feel like a dream.

Vanessa Marshall has spent her life in and out of foster care, with only a vague recollection of the women that left her behind. When she receives a strange letter from her mother three weeks before her 18th birthday, Vanessa knows it’s the only shot she has at finding her real family. The letter instructs her to jump off the Swan Pier into the ocean at midnight under the next full moon. With the steadfast hope that her mother would be waiting for her, Vanessa jumps, only to find that she’s come up for air 70 years in the past.

A widow with no family, web designer Liv Larson yearns for big change. After all, she can work from anywhere, right? Why not throw a dart at the map? She heads out of the big city for the rural South and falls in love as soon as she arrives - with the Belle Bride, an abandoned antebellum mansion. Heath Barrow loves his country life, managing his antiques store in sleepy Camellia. But he’s lonely, and his condition - epilepsy - makes life uncertain. It’s already cost him a marriage. A new medication and the new girl in town have his heart hopeful again.