My Blog
Best Book List
I’ve recently been invited by Ben Fox at Shepherd.com to recommend and curate a list of fiction about the Roman military. I was asked because of my most recent novel, The Barbarian Princess. You can find my list of five books with my reviews of each at...
Reviewed by Ananya Hazarika for Readers’ Favorite
Get ready for an epic adventure in Dogs vs. Aliens by Robert J. Ristino! This captivating story weaves together science fiction with a heartwarming tale of the unbreakable bond between humans and their beloved canine friends. The plot introduces us to 'Others' created...
Maturation of a Novel: The Barbarian Princess Comes of Age
Like the characters that inhabit them, novels have minds of their own. My most recent book, The Barbarian Princess, aka The Barbarian Queen of the North, has undergone a remarkable transformation since its cerebral birth. It began with the title. I decided to change...
Plot Conceits that I Love to Hate Pas Deux
Having expanded on my top five plot conceits, I'd like to add another five that bother me to no end. Number 6. The obvious stakeout conceit. This conceit has many iterations, so I'll share just a few of my favorites. The first is the stakeout in the car across the...
Plot Conceits I love to Hate
I have a major pet peeve about the conceits writers employ in fiction, especially suspense thrillers and mysteries. Let's begin by defining what a plot conceit is: In drama and other art forms, a conceit of a work of fiction is the underlying fictitious assumption...
A Word to the Wise—Caveat Emptor
If you’ve visited my blog you may have seen the post about my upcoming book, The Barbarian Queen of the North, The post featured an artist’s rendition of the lead character, Princess Alauna. I contracted to have this piece of art created by an artist in Great Britain,...