Read more about the article Waiting for the Witcher
As a Side Note

Waiting for the Witcher

I first read the Witcher series in my early teens, grabbing the books off the bookstore’s shelf as soon as they were published. Through years to come, I’ve re-read the saga almost as much as I used to read one of my other favorites, The Count of Monte Cristo. At some point, I knew pieces of dialogue and descriptions by heart, and reading those books impacted my growth as a writer.

Yet, my relationships with the Witcher’s derivative works were—so far—very lukewarm. Can the Netflix’s upcoming series change that? (more…)

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December 15, 2019
All Things Art

30 Inktober Witches

Back in October I took part in Inktober: a challenge for artists that encourages daily drawing and sharing art. It wasn’t my first time. Last year I had fun with quickly-drawn dragonflies (that later became regular guests on my social media), and this year I decided to push myself a bit more. By common demand (expressed via Facebook and Twitter polls), I was to draw witches.

I’m not very good with anatomy, so I had to settle for simplified humans rather than realistic ones, and many of the prompts pushed me far beyond my comfort zone, but all in all, I had fun, and missed only one day due to work overload.

If you weren’t following my witches on social media, you can find them here. (more…)

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December 9, 2019
Read more about the article A Month in a Writer’s Life – September, October, November 2019
A Month in a Writer's Life

A Month in a Writer’s Life – September, October, November 2019

It’s been a while since I updated this blog. It’s been mostly due to my freelance workload and the determination to finish my writing project, but I also realized that the monthly update on my life has become slightly repetitive: focused on my writing, I do very little outside of it that would justify monthly reports. Therefore, I bulked the last three months together in a larger post. Next year, I might switch to quarterly updates or find another formula. Until then, here’s what has been going on in my life while I was quiet. (more…)

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December 2, 2019
Read more about the article Friends Do Lie: Normalization of Lies in Fiction
Personal Rants

Friends Do Lie: Normalization of Lies in Fiction

After three and a half seasons of screaming at my tv, I finally gave up on Supernatural. The show had a lot of potential: good acting, interesting lore, and that speculative element I always welcome in my entertainment, so I was willing to give it a go, despite it being a little too close to horror for my liking. And yet, here I was, finally giving up after over three seasons of being less and less entertained. At the same time, I had similar experience with Stranger Things 3. I’ve been so hopeful for it, only to be met with disappointment. While I appreciate some aspects of these two and many other shows, they all seem to suffer from a fatal storytelling flaw. (more…)

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August 19, 2019
Read more about the article A Month in a Writer’s Life – July 2019
A Month in a Writer's Life

A Month in a Writer’s Life – July 2019

Another month went by, and it’s been quite different from what I thought it would be. Since in summer time businesses slow down, I expected some downtime in my freelancing business. It meant that I would have time to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo to which I promptly signed up at the end of June. Of course, life decided to prove me wrong, and July turned out to be a whirlwind. (more…)

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August 5, 2019
Read more about the article Does Gotham Need Batman?
As a Side Note

Does Gotham Need Batman?

I don’t have cable tv, so I watch many of the popular shows months or years after they were aired, when they become available on Netflix or Amazon Prime or when I buy their blu-ray editions. This is why I only recently caught up with Gotham, the gritty series focusing on James Gordon’s youth and his first steps in Gotham Police Department.

Generally, I’m not a fan of DC Universe, and even though when I was young, I enjoyed the 80s and 90s Batman movies, the new ones didn’t manage to enthrall me, so naturally I was quite dubious about the show, but in the end, it surprised me in many positive ways. (more…)

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July 22, 2019
Read more about the article Mr. Roache’s Drummer: the Origin of a Story
The Origin of a Story

Mr. Roache’s Drummer: the Origin of a Story

In the Origin of the Story series I’ll be sharing insights of how some of my stories came to be. What inspired them, and what kind of process followed it. All of that spoiler-free, so you can still enjoy the story if you didn’t have a chance to read it yet.

Today, I’m going to share a story of the piece that I’m particularly happy with, the quasi-steampunk (or magical realism, if you prefer) short story, Mr. Roache’s Drummer (Polish: Bębniarz pana Roache). It was first published, long with its counterpart story, Seven Percent Chance (Siedem procent szans) in a Polish anthology by RW2010. Its English version is available as a part of my collection, Scourges, Spells, and Serenades, and you can get it for free. (more…)

3 Comments
July 8, 2019
Read more about the article A Month in a Writer’s Life – May & June 2019
A Month in a Writer's Life

A Month in a Writer’s Life – May & June 2019

It’s been a while since I posted regularly. After nearly finishing the A to Z Challenge, I needed time to recuperate from intensive blogging, and I had to catch up with my writing. On top of that, the last two months were quite intensive work-wise, demanding my attention and time. So, with heavy heart, I decided to “disappear” for a while, including less presence on social media for the much-needed catching up with my priorities. (more…)

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July 2, 2019