From the Story Cauldron
Bubbling over with the origins of imagination. Every tale begins somewhere. Peek behind the curtain and into the bubbling brew of inspiration, memory, and a touch of mischief.
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Not every story is meant to be read from beginning to end. Cloe’s Field Notes are not traditional stories. They are entries drawn from her journal—moments recorded as they happened, without being shaped into full narratives. There is no clear starting point or final resolution waiting at the end. That’s intentional. Each entry stands on…
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Some stories don’t arrive with a beginning, middle, and end. They show up in moments—half-finished conversations, decisions made too quickly, places you pass through and never return to. You don’t always get the full picture while you’re living them. You just know something mattered. Cloe’s Field Notes started there. I didn’t set out to write…
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A cozy con with big imagination—Enchanticon 2025 brought together fantasy lovers, authors, gamers, and cosplayers under the spellbound ceilings of St. Louis Union Station. From thoughtful panels on worldbuilding and story structure to handcrafted vendor treasures and a warm, welcoming atmosphere, the weekend offered magic in many forms. As both a writer and gamer, I…
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What do you get when you mix a medieval party center, a laser gun, and a game of Whac-A-Mole? For me, it was the start of a two-book adventure—and it all began with a single painting.
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We read picture books to help children grow, but sometimes they surprise us by putting that growth into action. Zoey’s “Monster Hands” moment at Disney reminded me how even small stories can carry big courage—and how much kids really do take in.
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It started with a bucket list, a window seat, and a stretch of desert seen from thirty-thousand feet. By the time I left Phoenix, I’d written Drive Fast, Curse Harder—a story about magic-fueled buggies, a rookie racer with a legacy to reclaim, and her sarcastic cross-eyed raven familiar named Frank. I thought it was a…
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It started with a writing dare, a road trip to Hannibal, and a question that wouldn’t let go: What if magic needed protecting? What if it was vanishing—like endangered species or lost languages? That drive became the spark for a fantasy world where conservation meets spellcraft, and three unlikely allies step up to become stewards…
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As a fantasy author, I write magic. But on this trip, I got to watch someone step into it. That changes everything.
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It started with a contest I almost didn’t enter. A blinking cursor. A thousand excuses. And then—an image of a girl holding a snowball, eyes closed in a wish. That moment cracked something open. Now, contests aren’t a distraction from my writing life. They’re the reason it’s stronger.