It’s that time once again. Time for me to introduce you to another fine Indie Author. This month I present to you Kristen Kooistra. Kirsten is the Author of “Heart of the Winterland”. How do you go about creating the language in your book? How do you translate it? I’m horrible with fantasy languages because … Read more
The Fourth Street Fantasy Convention is a bit different from other conventions that I go to. For one, there is a single programming track which means that everyone (mostly) goes to every panel. Most conventions that I attend are multi track which generally means that everything that I want to see is at the same … Read more
“The pen is mightier than the sword” An old truism that is mostly true. Swords are intimidating. They show their power openly. Everyone knows that a sword can kill and it looks like it. The sharp edges draw your attention to that deadly power almost immediately. But the truth is that a sword is an … Read more
As a writer I sometimes struggle with the idea that words aren’t as important as we think they are. As a linguist, I’m fascinated by this reality of communication. Depending on which studies you believe, anywhere between 80% and 90% of interpersonal communication has nothing to do with the words. Linguists call this meta-linguistics – … Read more
When I’m not writing, I work as an educational or freelance ASL interpreter. Lately the differences between those two environments has been a minor source of stress in my life. In freelancing, I am sent out by my agency to do a variety of jobs. Most assignments over 30 minutes I’m sent with a team. … Read more
I know that they teach us not to insult people when we are growing up, and that’s good advice for dealing with real people. Really, if you want to get along in this world, insults aren’t going to do it for you. However, when it comes to characters in stories, insults are quite handy. Characters … Read more