Read more about the article Watching Novels: Thoughts on Book Adaptations
Personal Rants

Watching Novels: Thoughts on Book Adaptations

Sometimes, when you look at Hollywood’s movie repertoire, it seems they only release remakes and book adaptations. Some people cringe, hoping for more original content and fresh stories, and as much as I’d love to see more originality as well, I do have a soft spot for book adaptations. There’s something enchanting in seeing the story I loved (or at least enjoyed) envisioned by someone else. It’s almost like sharing thoughts on a book and learning someone else’s perspective. (more…)

9 Comments
February 19, 2018
Read more about the article Miye’s In: The Origin of a Story
The Origin of a Story

Miye’s In: The Origin of a Story

In the Origin of a 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. For the first installment, I chose Miye’s In, a fantasy short story, published back in 2013 by Fiction Vortex. You can now read it on my website. (more…)

4 Comments
December 18, 2017
Read more about the article Gaming Writer’s Saturday – Divinity: Original Sin 2
Gaming Writer's Saturday

Gaming Writer’s Saturday – Divinity: Original Sin 2

A year ago, I was writing about Divinity Original Sin, and how the game surprised me with its rich storyline and great writing. I was already waiting for the second installment of the game, having backed it on Kickstarter in 2015, and even though the game came out later than I expected, it was definitely worth the wait.

Being a backer meant that I had access to the in-development version of the game, but even though I couldn’t wait for to play, in the end I didn’t spend much time with this version. I wanted to taste the finished product instead of guessing how it was going to look like. (more…)

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November 18, 2017
Read more about the article 3 Interesting Sci-Fi and Fantasy Movies
As a Side Note

3 Interesting Sci-Fi and Fantasy Movies

We all hear about blockbusters like Avatar, Lord of the Rings, or movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some are great, some meet our expectations, and some are just entertaining enough to ignore their shortcomings. There are many sci-fi and fantasy movies that any fan could readily name. But what about the less known titles? They aren’t necessarily worse, and sometimes they offer some fresh ideas, because they aren’t bound by the blockbuster requirements of how the story should be written.

I’m sure there are many great ones out there, but today I’d like to share three that I really liked. They aren’t without flaws, and they aren’t the most recent blockbusters, but they all provide decent entertainment and some inspiration too. (more…)

4 Comments
October 2, 2017
On Writing

All the Novels I Write

Even though I usually end up focused on one project at the time, it’s never the only one that is brewing in my head. I’ve mentioned before I usually have several projects going, in different stages of (de)composition, as this is my way of escaping the dreaded writer’s block. If one project feels tiresome or boring at the time, I can always jump into another one and get my writing momentum back.

(more…)

7 Comments
November 21, 2016
On Writing

Fantasy: The (Not So) Easy Genre

Fantasy- the (Not So) Easy Genre (1)Everybody says that writing fantasy is easy. You don’t have to do research, and you can create just about anything your imagination conjures. It’s all inexistent anyway, right? As a writer of speculative fiction, both fantasy and science-fiction, I can say from my experience: quite to the contrary. I think fantasy is one of the most difficult genres to write. (more…)

12 Comments
July 25, 2016
Gaming Writer's Saturday

Gaming Writer’s Saturday: Arcanum

1I played Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura when it first came out in 2001. I waited for the game only because three of its developers were the people involved in Fallout 2 which I loved, and Arcanum promised a similar game-play, rich story and turn-based combat. I still remember the doubtful thoughts when I’ve learned that Arcanum would not transfer me to a post-apocalyptic world, but instead invite me to the world of fantasy. What interesting and fresh could there be about fantasy in the games mostly dominated back then by Dungeons & Dragons cliches?

Oh, how little I knew. The game had charmed me, and now, after fifteen years, when I came back to the game, it’s still the same. (more…)

5 Comments
July 16, 2016
As a Side Note

5 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Animations Worth Your Time

5 Speculative Short AnimationsThe life of short films tend to be as long as they are: they flash into existence, and then disappear in the daily stream of the new information, events, and videos. Some get into the limelight when they become viral or are lucky enough to be among the Academy or other award nominees, while others fade even though they deserve attention too, some of the masterpieces of animation, storytelling or evoking emotions.

I’m not on top of every new release, I don’t follow every news, and I’m more likely to stumble upon interesting titles on random websites, forums, or via friends’ recommendations, so I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of interesting projects. Others I’ve forgotten or they simply didn’t strike the right chord to make it to the list below.

But I dare to call the 5 short films I mention here as my favorite ones. I come back to them every once a while, and they not only show the best what this form has to offer, but also spark my writer’s imagination and inspire me to create new stories. (more…)

13 Comments
July 5, 2016