S.A. McClure

I attended my very first author event yesterday at a lovely little bookshop called Bookmamas. It was rainy. And cramped. And had very little foot traffic during the first hour of the event. I don't write that to complain. It just was how it was. I was super excited for this event. Since publishing my book in June, I have been participating in marketing campaigns and contacting various bookstores in the Indianapolis area. Bookmamas was the earliest one on the schedule and I wa

The best four days of gaming just came to a close. It was the time of my people; and by that I mean the over 60,000 people who fanboy/girl over fantasy authors, table-top board gaming, and nerdy comedy shows. This year, I spent four days discovering new authors, learning tips from the pros, and—of course—playing strategy games. Here are some of the highlights: 1. Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails If you know me, then you know that I am an absolute Ticket to Ride fanatic. This b

Characters are, in my opinion, some of the most important aspects of a novel, or any story, for that matter. Sure, plot twists, the environment, and the building action (climax!) impact the way people remember a story. But, what is it that people actually remember about a story? How the characters REACTED to the plot twists. How the characters ADAPTED to the environment. How the characters DEVELOPED in moments of action, climax, and resolution. There's a lot of advice out the

Alright. So I'm not a starving artist. But it sometimes feels that way, especially when the ideas swarming in my head are anxious to be put to paper. And, when the fate of my characters or, you know, the mystical world I am creating hangs in the balance, eating a meal just doesn't seem quite as important. The Truth I was recently asked where I found the time to manage a full time job, graduate classes, and, most importantly write my novels. Do I sleep? Do I eat? Do I spend ti