Skip to content
selenite dagger

Fantasy For Footholds: A Fundraiser

There’s a lot going on right now, things are bleak, and while escaping into a fantasy world looks very attractive, it can also feel very weak and selfish. How can I hide in the safety of a world I control while hospitals and evacuation routes are bombed, while “patriots” attack Americans for their names or ethnicities, while parents bring their children to a refugee station and then leave them behind as they return to fight? Who am I to sit comfortably at my desk while all that happens?

I’m a worldbuilder, that’s who I am. And it’s time we build a better world.

New Release: Untethered

Unicorns locked away in the cargo holds of spaceships, becoming roller skating phenoms or leaving sparkly rainbow poop in a poor bartender’s living room are just the start. There’s a demi-god trying to figure out where Pegasus has disappeared to, horses formed of sea, or steam and even one who thinks he’s a spider. And so much more. These stories are all a little untamed, a little wild, a little… untethered.

A Political Stump That Shouldn’t Be Political

Gonna take a moment to share something that frankly shouldn’t be political, but judging by the party-lines vote so far, apparently is.

Someone shared a meme on Facebook to say that white men should be treated well because they won World War 2. This of course not only ignores the contributions from BIPOC members of the armed forces (and all women), but blatantly denies the history of why there were fewer non-white combatants than there could have been, such as official regulations which prevented enlisted black men from serving in the same capacity as enlisted white men. Dorie Miller shot down enemy planes at Pearl Harbor in a cook’s uniform because he was not allowed to be a gunner. He saved countless lives, was awarded a medal, and was sent back to continue as a cook until his death, because that was the regulated role of a black sailor.

This shared meme also ignores that tens of thousands of eligible Asian-American men could not fight alongside white soldiers because they had been taken from their homes without due process and imprisoned for years in camps where people were shot to death if they walked too near the fences—a thing which is Very Bad if it happens in Europe, but apparently is not worth mentioning in history classes when it happens here.

Cover Reveal: Untethered

Do you remember Equus, all about magical horses and horse-like creatures? Untethered is the successor to that, and today we get to see this sparkly purple reveal! and just a hint of the stories inside.

An iconic classic, the Eye of Argon! (To Write and Have Written)

“The Eye of Argon” is generally considered to be the worst piece of writing every produced in English — but is that fair? Let’s talk about the history behind — and then do a live reading of — the iconic disaster, “The Eye of Argon.” And then let’s talk about what we can learn from it as writers.

Giftmas 2021: The Thrilling Conclusion!

You might know that every year I join Rhonda Parrish and a coterie of authors for Giftmas, a blog tour to raise funds for the Edmonton food bank. This year we have a goal of raising $1200 CAD, which will provide 3600 meals through the exponential leverage of… 

Cards on the way

Every year I send Christmas cards to readers who want one (and now to my Patreon fam too). I design a new holiday postcard and send it to anywhere in the world it’s requested (barring current USPS international restrictions, thanks DeJoy). It’s fun! It is, however, a lot… 

A fantasy book cover titled "Kin & Kind" by Laura VanArendonk Baugh, featuring a warrior holding a sword amidst a fiery and battle-damaged scene. The background shows smoke and ruins, and the text indicates it's from "The Shard of Elan, Book IV.

Kin & Kind, at last

So I was having an exchange with someone who ordered a paperback copy of Kin & Kind for a friend, trying to make sure she understood that it would not reach her friend before Christmas, and was that still okay?

“I’m ordering it for her before the book was even supposed to be out!”

Well, that’s a valid point, if the book was still on schedule it wouldn’t even be on sale before Christmas, so you make a good argument and thank you. :)

Because, yes, Kin & Kind is releasing early!