The American Zebras?

Posted on August 3, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is found in San Simeon, California and is a popular tourist spot.  It has amazing architecture and . . . Let’s just get to the zebras.

William Randolph Hearst was a rich eccentric who loved nature and wanted to create habitats on his land for animals not found in California.  This would be a place where people could walk or drive through to see animals such as deer, giraffe, and many more species.  The dangerous animals were in cages.  In 1937, money became an issue and this ‘zoo’ shut down.  Many of the animals were sent to other zoos or private collectors, but the land was eventually donated to California in 1958.  There were still animals living on the property too.

Among these animals were a bunch of zebra that made an area near Highway 1 their new home.  They coexist with a heard of cattle, so they can be seen on occasion.  Being on private property, you can’t get close and that’s a good thing.  These are still wild animals and possess the zebra’s natural territoriality.  So, a human will get kicked and bitten if they get too close.  There’s a reason you don’t really see zebra in petting zoos since they don’t have a pleasant demeanor.  As of 2022, there are 151 wild zebra descended from the origin herd.

It’s an interesting story since they have clearly adapted and flourished.  I didn’t find many people calling them an invasive species either because they stay in a small area and don’t destroy things.  I guess that’s a key point towards invasive species.  If they aren’t destructive, we don’t seem to mind them.  That being said, it has to be a shock for someone driving along in California and seeing a zebra without knowing they will be there.  Talk about a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

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Goal Post: Home Stretch With a Tweaked Spine

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Crud . . . I was going to edit before scheduling this post.  Well, I’m here and my brain is steadily falling into disarray.  Best to do what requires more thinking.  I should have a chapter of edits typed in before I go to bed though.  Leaves me with 3 to go for Darwin & the Beast Collector.

It’s possible that I will finish typing in the edits this weekend, but I will probably come up one chapter short.  I can do that during the week, which means I’m practically done.  I’ll use the rest of my summer school and following week with my son to tinker with my notebooks.  Darwin & the Joy Path can be started after my son is with his mom and I get some Pokemon time in.  There isn’t going to be much to do that weekend, so I will have the prologue done by the following Monday.  Chapter 1 should be completed before I start the school year.  After that, I’m not sure how I’m going to make progress beyond using every other weekend.  This is why I’m afraid to get back into writing.  My schedule and energy are chaotic at best.

The rest of the week was exhausting due to work, parenting stuff, and the general weather punishing us for existing.  The week started with high 90’s/low 100’s and I tried to get some walking time in.  Going to a coastal park helped since it was cooler, especially during the evening.  Still, I had my son and didn’t want to expose him to bad weather.  By the time I found a day where I was only putting myself at risk, the weather turned to nasty storms that I narrowly avoided.  Not even joking since it started as I reached my block with dinner and I had to rush into the house.

Wish I had more to report in terms of writing, but it was a dry week.  I couldn’t even get to my notebook since I didn’t get to work early enough to tinker.  I’m needing to create 6 characters for one of the ‘Phi Beta Files’ stories and one might become a repeating ally/frenemy/lover.  This is where I realize I can’t get any inspiration from my old baby naming book.  Thought about using groups of six from mythology, but nothing has caught my eye.  Probably another reason why it might be good to take a week to work on these things.  I’m bringing the notebook along on the father/son trip, so I’ll be doing that when my son is doing his own thing.

Been doing a few Lego sets that you can see on my Instagram.  Probably getting a bunch of big ones in the next week or so.  I won’t tackle those until the school year starts though because I don’t want distractions from starting a new book.  It’s nice to a low energy hobby since writing drains me pretty badly these days.  Ever since my first bout with Covid in 2021, I don’t have the mental and physical stamina to crank out chapter sections.  I still find myself becoming fatigued after writing for 10 minutes.  It’s like I attempted a marathon while doing mental calculous.  It’s frustrating to be reminded how damaged and weak I’ve become with no way of full recovery.  The days of being highly productive in a short span of time are over.

Speaking of health, I keep getting told to look into prebiotic/probiotic stuff.  Anybody know about these things?  Found some gummies that have them.  It’s from the same company that makes my stress gummies, which help me fall asleep.  Staying asleep is still an issue and all medications taken to help have might with horrifying failure.  I question how I can be so messed up that I can’t even get sleeping right.  That’s a basic function of an organism and I epically fail.

Goals of the week?  (At this point, time with son is a given unless he’s away for the entire time.)

  1. Finish typing in edits for Darwin & the Beast Collector.
  2. Get car checked for trip.
  3. Do food shopping for trip.
  4. Make packing list and start packing for trip.
  5. Tinker with notebook.
  6. Sleep better.
  7. Finish the October blog posts.  Maybe start the November ones, but I can’t think of many topics.  Any writing topics going around latey?
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Revisit: Religion . . . in Fantasy

Posted on August 1, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Originally posted on March 6, 2013 . . . Well, it was definitely something.  A true precursor to when I started to real story-crafting posts.  Looking at how I was posting multiple times a day with poems, random stuff, book news, and teasers, it isn’t surprising that I was all over the place.  Geez, I covered a lot of ground and my love of lists in posts seems to have been born here.

God from Monty Python

I’m sure at least one person made one of those hissing inhales in preparation of a conversation on religion.  I can go into it, but I’m sure religion and politics are the reasons people stop being friends and the phrase ‘mortal enemies’ appears.  Yet, religion is an important factor when creating worlds of fantasy, so I can’t avoid the topic.  For every race, there is a pantheon with overlapping gods, in-fighting, histories, and other details that make the gods of fantasy almost as interesting as the main characters.  I’m still going to apologize if I offend anyone.

There are many ways that a new author can go, so I’m going to list the most common ones (and one baffling one) before I reveal what I’ve done.  I’m sure I’ll miss a few though.

  1. Jesus . . . I’m not kidding here.  I’ve seen fantasy movies and read fantasy books where the entire world is Christianity with no sign of any other Earth religion.  I find this to be lazy and a little insulting to other religions that didn’t cross over.  I can’t figure out how a person can rationalize having a world of magic and the only religion is one that comes off sometimes as anti-magic.  I guess if you want it to be religion versus magic, but that’s still rather insulting to the Christians.  My advice on this one is to not do this without a lot of thought and work to make sure it fits.  This goes for if you pick any of the other monotheistic religions, but I’ve yet to see a fantasy book with Judaism in it.  If there is one, let me know because I’d be curious
  2. Greeks/Norse/Roman/etc. gods acting like they own the place.  It can work if the author puts in a lot of work to make sure they don’t take the gods exactly from their myths.  I’ve seen books with these gods where they’re made more human and others where they’re the bad guys.  This one could work if you want influential gods, but you simply can’t come up with your own.  Though, like the first one, it can be perceived as being lazy.  Oddly enough, you can get away with this to some extent when people aren’t up on their mythology.  I’ve met people who think Thor was created by Marvel Comics or Ares is nothing more than a zodiac sign.
  3. Two god system with one good and one evil.  This is a simple system for those who don’t want to delve too far into the religious aspect of the world.  Any character that follows a religious path tends to be either a villain or an obnoxious supporting cast member.  I’m not saying this is a bad system and it’s great if you don’t want to bother with religious subplots.  It also makes it a lot easier to design temples, religious symbols, and everything else that goes with a detailed pantheon.
  4. Gods that are worshiped, but are never seen.  This is another easy one, but it allows a fantasy author to be more detailed.  The priests worship the gods for holy magic or try to convert, but their gods are never seen or heard.  You can throw atheists into this world too, which is always fun.  The trick to this one is to have phrases from the characters that incorporates the gods’ names, so the reader gets the feeling that the gods are important to the world.  Otherwise, they may come off as lackluster.
  5. Warring gods to push the plot.  This one is simple.  Every god hates each other according to their priests, so every war and event has something to do with them.  Not much else to explain on this one.
  6. Gods that are present.  This is probably the most difficult because you have to give personalities and details to your gods instead of them only being a name, a symbol, and a group of followers.  You have to decide on their histories, their relations, how they interact with mortals, and so many other details to make them be a factor in your stories without taking over everything.

This brings me to Windemere and what I’ve learned about making religion in a fantasy world.  I have learned that it’s a lot of work.  I have a file that is a 3-4 page pantheon with the gods, what they’re in charge of, and their symbol.  This can be helpful if you want a lot of gods to choose from, but you have to accept that some of them might not ever appear in the books.  I found that making pantheons are difficult because you have to make multiple gods for each category.  You can cheat to some extent, but typically every pantheon needs a chief (Odin, Zeus, etc.), war, love, wisdom, and death god.  Dwarves always need an alcohol god and elves always need a forest god.  Orcs get fury, gnomes get invention, etc.  I decided to go another route and make an event that forced the pantheons to merge in order to survive after many of the gods died.

Another challenge here is the influence that your gods will have.  If you go for the Greek method then they’re going to be causing trouble everywhere and you better be ready for it.  In fact, you might find yourself writing a story where mortals head out to kill or battle the gods just to get them off your back.  There are various ways to solve this influence problem.  One is giving the gods a simply apathy toward mortals and they’re only interested in the attention.  Another is that the gods act rather human, which means most of them won’t get thoroughly involved in the lives of mortals.  A third option is that there is a self-imposed law on the gods that prevents them from getting physically involved.  I did a little of the first two ideas, but I created the Law of Influence to keep the gods at bay.  Personally, I think this law brings a sense of caution and fear to the gods that allows a reader to be more interested in them.

Now, you can do a fictional religion any way you want.  You can make sure every character has a god to follow even if they never mention it in the story.  You can make religion only for the priests and those who need guidance.  The great part about designing religion in a fantasy world is that you can do almost anything. You can even leave religion out entirely and never mention a god or use a priest.  This option might be the easiest because I will admit that keeping track of all the gods of Windemere gets a little confusing.

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Poetry Day: Wrath Rondelet

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

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(A rondelet is a 7-line poem where the first line is repeated on line 3 and 7.  The refrain lines are usually 4 syllables and the other 4 lines are 8.  These were tough, so I hope I got them right.)

Is Wrath your sin?

Do you rage with every slip?

Is Wrath your sin?

Anger is your natural phase.

Without it you are lost and scared.

Looking for a reason to snap.

Is Wrath your sin?

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Where to Sell Books

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Hi SEers! Denise here to talk about where indie authors can sell their books. For most authors, Amazon is the most popular platform for selling …

Where to Sell Books
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Revisit: The Perfect Style Is . . .

Posted on July 30, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

First published on February 20, 2013, I think this one still stands.  Can’t think of anything else to change about this post.  I am wondering if I should keep this old post revisiting going through September though.  Just to make things easier for the start of a really crazy school year.  Are people enjoying this?

I was in a writer’s workshop years ago and somebody asked what the perfect writing style was, so they could adopt it. This led to a lengthy conversation about what would constitute the perfect style and I played my part of the conversation.  I was young and foolish and probably exhausted from a long day of work.  It would be the following morning that I woke up with the true answer in my head.  It’s really quite simple if you think about it.  The perfect writing style is:

Your style

No, I’m not being lazy.  That really is the most simplistic and true answer.  I hear young authors worry about how their style sizes up to the masters or their peers.  Many of them begin to adopt the praised parts of various styles and create a mess that takes years to untangle.  A shed full of tangled Christmas lights can be easier to fix than a Frankenstein writing style.  So, one thing I would tell young authors is to find their own center style and evolve. What works for one author might not work for another, but you could always try.  Just be ready to say ‘that didn’t work’ and try again.

A key word that I just said was evolve, which is essential for a writer’s style.  I remember several classmates using styles that I found atrocious, muddled, or simply sloppy.  There was one person who wrote with horrible spelling and claimed it was his style.  I would put myself into a category of poor style during this time because my writing was all skin and bones with very little character development and subplot.  I stubbornly considered it my style for a month before I accepted the fact that I was using that as an excuse to never grow.  An aspiring author’s style must remain fluid and adaptable in order to absorb new aspects of writing.  Again, don’t absorb everything and be ready to reject certain things.  We can evolve our writing in a way that goes back and forth.

The tricky part is to know what works and what doesn’t because we are our own worst critics and greatest fans.  We can have blinders on about an aspect of our writing that doesn’t really work while at the same time despising a part of our style that does work.  I’ve got no idea why it works like this, but it’s the way the muses made us.  This is where family, friends, and anybody else who is willing to read your work can come in handy.  They will give you an outside eye about your style that can help you fine-tune it.  I stated a while back that critics and reviews are very important to a writer’s growth and this is true as long as the criticism is constructive.  I’m not talking about the ‘this author sucks and should jam their pen into their eye’ criticisms that I see on Amazon at times.  The only thing we learn from a review like this is that some people shouldn’t be allowed near the internet without a psych evaluation.

A final important note: develop a style that’s comfortable.  If you’re writing in a style that garners heaps of adoration while you despise your own work then you’re doing something wrong.  I know the reader is the main target of our art, but we cannot abandon our own enjoyment from the act of writing.  That will lead down a rather empty path.

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Teaser Tuesday: The Scrumptious Siren Tavern

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

The Scrumptious Siren is probably one of my favorite settings.  I’ve made plenty of cities, dungeons, wildernesses, ruins, and more, but this place was always fun.  Chastity Sullivan always brought a positive energy to a scene, so I had her home and place of business do the same.  So, it was a nice escape for myself when real life was getting me down.  Maybe all authors should create a setting that they can write about when they need an emotional pick-me-up.  Check out the full scene in War of Nytefall: Loyalty!

Continue reading →

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INTRODUCING FOOD TO YOUR WIP

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Noelle Granger here with my first post on Story Empire. Over my next few posts, I hope to add “Food” to your writing menu. I don’t know about you, …

INTRODUCING FOOD TO YOUR WIP
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Revisit: Unstoppable

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

This was first published on February 16, 2013 and it’s a weird one.  Only because I would go on to make Nyx and Clyde more susceptible to losing.  I still think a ‘versus’ between characters from different worlds is inherently flawed because people will always choose their favorite.  I also think Luke Callindor now has a better chance at defeating Skywalker since I know his powers now.  Still, I can’t even say it would be a full trouncing or even entertaining.  For one thing, I don’t even think they would fight unless there was a misunderstanding and that’s what these ‘versus’ things tend to revolve around.  So, the entire activity seems fruitless.

By Kayla Matt

I’ve mentioned once or twice that I don’t like perfect characters.  I love flaws in my characters and I love flaws in other characters.  It makes them more realistic and the reader can relate to them more.  Still, I do have a few characters who I would label as unstoppable.  They aren’t perfect, but for some reason, I can never see them losing in my head.

This came to mind when somebody was talking to me about how my character, Luke Callindor, would lose to Luke Skywalker.  First of all, this isn’t a fair fight because Skywalker has the Force and an energy sword.  My Luke is out of his league and will probably lose 7 out of 10 times because of a Force push, Force choke (I know he isn’t a Sith Lord), or his sabers getting sliced through by the lightsaber.  I could argue about situational and sneak attacks, but that’s why I’m still giving my Luke a chance at winning.  When he gets more abilities then I’d up him to 5 out of 10 times, but that Force thing is still a challenge for a close-range fighter.  So, I conceded the point and then pointed out that Skywalker would be slaughtered as soon as Callindor hit the ground.

Here’s my reason: Nyx.

She has the power to incinerate cities and she’d go berserk on the person who kills Luke, her ‘little brother’.  This guy continued to argue in favor of the Force and I continued to argue in favor of my walking magical powerhouse.  Eventually, it got ridiculous when I had Nyx scorch earth the entire planet.  It was at that point that I realized that I couldn’t rationalize Nyx losing in a fight that she could use her magic in.  I mean, she loses a few fights in the books due to having to use restraint or something else that minimizes or negates her magic.  Yet, here I was basically saying that she was unbeatable and getting angrier the more I’m being denied.

In the end, I left the conversation in a funk and continued dreaming about Nyx laying waste to every Star Wars character that I could think of.  Eventually, I calmed down and tried to figure out why I do this.  I still don’t have a good answer.  Though, I did realize that Nyx isn’t my worst offender.  That would be Clyde, my progenitor vampire.  Unlike Nyx, I don’t think I ever have him lose in his series.  Maybe once or twice, but those times are because he didn’t feel like fighting.  I would assume that this is because I never lost a fight with him when I played him in a game.

Maybe my main confusion is why I’m more than willing to concede that Luke Callindor would lose a fight, but I get angry that somebody states that Nyx would lose.  Luke was me for two and a half years, so one would assume that I’d make myself out to be the constant winner.  It just doesn’t make any sense to me, but it also makes me wonder if this is unique or common.

Do any other authors out there have characters that they can never imagine losing a fight or hold them up to an insanely high pedestal?

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Happy Gary Gygax Day

Posted on July 27, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

So, who is Gary Gygax?  He is the man who helped to create ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ and tends to be the main name associated with it.  This game was clearly based on Tolkien’s work, but Gygax allowed people to live out their fantasies.  That’s probably why certain groups thought it was evil and demonic.  Anyway, the game has evolved a lot over the decades.  I stopped at 3rd Edition and I think it’s on 5 or 6 by now.  Many fantasy authors have indulged in DnD to get ideas, test out characters, or simply have fun.  I know this game is a main inspiration since it’s the system where I played Luke Callindor, Darwin Slepsnor, and Sin.

So, Happy Gary Gygax Day.

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