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Behind the Scenes of Epic Fantasy Creation

What the hell was I thinking?

I’ve worked part-time at my local regional theater for the past fifteen years. I’m lucky my job lets me work with one of my best friends, often as a professional shopper in the wardrobe department. I’m also lucky that my place of employment is filled with fabulous, funny, creative people—and that the theater is a mere two blocks from my house.

For several years during that time, I worked as a dresser. It was quite an experience, some of which I chronicled (with copious creative license) in my backstage horror novel, Final Dress. Sometimes, when the cast was large and the costume changes were numerous, I ran around backstage like a crazy person without so much as a bathroom break. Other times, when it was a one-person show with a single costume, I still got paid to sit backstage according to Equity rules, just in case something went wrong: a broken zipper, a missing shoe, an actress forgetting to put her pants on under a robe for a quick change (true story), or any other conceivable clothing emergency.

It was during one of those one-person shows—a production about Erma Bombeck—that I sat backstage with a notebook (I never use my phone) and began jotting down the ideas that would eventually become Starlight Over Oran, my first epic fantasy series.

This was way back in 2018, when HBO’s Game of Thrones was all the rage—back before they destroyed the series with that terrible ending—and my love of fantasy fiction had been regenerated with dragon’s breath and intrigue.

Fantasy was a genre I’d loved as a kid, although mostly through comics and movies rather than fiction. I was very late coming to Tolkien, but I devoured those epic ’80s fantasy films like Conan and Krull. Heavy Metal magazine was another passion. But GOT was what really got me back into fantasy.

I started with George R. R. Martin’s series (incomplete as it is), then moved on to The Lord of the Rings, which I read twice, followed by the brilliant film adaptations. Then came The Wheel of Time (unfinished), The Witcher, and quite a few vintage paperback doorstoppers. I dipped into some newer works–sorry, N.K. Jemisin, I tried. But it was really the old-school epic fantasies–Franzetta paintings brought to life!–that really moved me.

Sitting backstage in my theater blacks, with several indie horror books and two series already under my belt, I began to wonder:

Dare I?

Could I write my own epic fantasy?

The notes started flying. The pistons of my cognition began firing. And before I knew it, I’d created an entire world called Ardelym.

It took me forever to write that first book. I posted the first draft on Wattpad, then moved it to Amazon’s short-lived Vella, where it actually gained some traction while the platform lasted. Eventually, after investing quite a bit of money in all the bells and whistles that come with self-publishing, I finally released it on Amazon.
And then…

Crickets.

I was so discouraged by that outcome that I quit writing and suspended my BookTube channel for a while. I discussed what happened in a recent video.

In a nutshell, I’m back—to writing, to creating. Honestly, I just needed a break.

Since that video, I released a new book, Black and Blue Ivy, and the response has been good. I’m also writing Book Two of my fantasy series. I’m in the final editing phase, and it’s a bear.

Writing an interplanetary epic fantasy with multiple points of view has challenged me as both a writer and a thinker. The mental exhaustion of keeping track of these worlds, people (and a few beasts) while weaving together what I hope is an interesting story is something I never anticipated when I was sitting backstage, excitedly jotting down notes in the dark.

But here I am.

Hyperia Rising, Book Two in the Starlight Over Oran series, should be out before the end of the year. I hope you’ll check out Book One, Starlex, and let me know what you think.

And as I get closer to the end of Book Two, I’ve realized I’ve already set things up for Book Three.
Seriously.

What the hell am I thinking?

The world of Starlex!

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Call for Submissions – Book Worms #12

Halloween Edition – Occult Horror

What’s Hiding in the Dark?

This Spooky Season, Book Worms Horror Zine is celebrating the kind of horror that truly gets under our skin: the things we’re not supposed to know.

Secret societies. Demonic cults. Government conspiracies. Forbidden rituals. A frat/sorority house with a hidden basement. A pajama party Ouija board game that goes horribly, horribly wrong. If there’s a secret—and something sinister lurking behind it—we want to hear about it.

We’re looking for stories that explore the fear of what’s hidden, what’s forbidden, and what might be waiting just beyond the veil of what we think we know.

As always, we’re accepting:

Original flash fiction — 1,500 words or less (no AI generated material, please)
Poetry
Topical essays

Please read the submission guidelines below for all the details.

So, dig into the darkness, uncover something you wish you hadn’t, and send it our way.

Good luck—and happy Spooky Season!

Deadline: October 1, 2026 (must be received by deadline, so please mail early).

Word Count: 1500 words or less (we mean it).

No reprints, please. Exclusive print rights for six months after publication.

Payment is 8 cents a word for fiction and non-fiction, $25 for poems 20 lines or less.

ACCEPTING MAIL-IN SUBMISSIONS ONLY! (*see exception below)

Mail your submissions to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007

Decision notices are sent through email so there is no need to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please include your email address and your mailing address with your submission. All submissions must be typed (cover letters preferred but not mandatory) and be properly formatted. Also, if you have a social media presence, please include those beneath your email.

Be sure to:

Send only one submission, meaning don’t send multiple short stories or poems or a combination of both. Send only one piece and send your best.

DO NOT send your submissions using registered mail or any kind of correspondence requiring a signature. It probably won’t get to us and you’ll be wasting your money.

*If you’ve had work previously published in Book Worms (you know who you are) you may email your submission to bookwormssubmissions@gmail.com (same deadline) Please write Returning Author Submission in the subject line.

Please use the EXACT mailing address listed above. Please don’t write Book Worms on the address. This is a side project and our mailman might get confused. The mailbox is in a huge industrial complex and unfortunately, letters have gotten lost in the past, so please follow the instructions and mail as early as possible.

Curious what’s lurked in our pages before? Check out Book Worms Horror Zine.

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Rest in Peace, Reggie Bannister

I never had the pleasure of meeting Reggie Bannister at a horror convention, but friends of mine who had attested to what I’ve always suspected: that the unlikely hero in the amazing Phantasm movie franchise was pretty much the Reggie in real life, maybe without the ice cream man outfit. Phantasm creator Don Coscarelli confirms this in his lovely, heartfelt tribute to his friend and collaborator. Reggie the man inspired Reggie the character, which is probably why he became such a singular, unforgettable character: a true icon in the horror pantheon. Reggie earned that place.

Since the first time I watched Phantasm at a drive-in as an impressionable high school kid, I became an instant fan. I’ve seen the original film more than a hundred times — even taught it in one of my film classes to the delight of my students. Coscarelli’s Phantasm has the mark of a young and talented filmmaker who is a true American auteur. Even in the digital age, where you can make a film with your buddies in a weekend, few films carry the imprimatur of authenticity and wacky weirdness as Phantasm does. You can tell there was no production company oversight, and that’s a good thing.

Phantasm has meant a lot to me over the years, maybe because it imprinted my mind back in 1979. I’ve spoofed it, and I’ve created an homage to it in my web series Gemini Rising. It’s never left me. Reggie was a true original, the ultimate cool best friend, and popular with the ladies too, despite the balding mullet. Aura such as Reg’s can’t be faked. He’ll be greatly missed, but his legend lives on–hot as love forever!

Watch my Phantasm discussion video from a few years back HERE.

Phantasm tribute

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Camp Wormy!

Book Worms Issue #11 is out, and it’s a big one!

Now, first a bit of an apology. We were late getting this summer issue out because–life. We’re a two-person team and sometimes one of us gets a new job and moves, as James recently did, or one of us breathes in some Canadian wildfire smoke and ends up sick for two weeks, which recently happened to me. So, yeah…life.

But the good news is it’s here, and it’s jam-packed with all kinds of wormy goodies. For one thing, we’re calling this our JUMBO issue because I believe it’s our biggest one yet–at least that’s what I gathered from looking at the printing bill, but I digress. So, what can you look forward to in this fab issue….

Well, the OG of old-school horror, Will Errickson is back–have we mentioned we love his blog! At this point, we’re just going to give him a regular column if he’s down with that because we can always trust his takes on the old paperbacks from hell reading recs, so you don’t want to miss that. We also have some fabulous new fiction and poetry (as always) featuring new-to-us contributors as well as a few former favorites.

And let’s not forget our fun, hand-made artwork, Book Worms fans love! Remember, Book Worms Horror Zine is a print only, limited run, handmade horror zine and once the issues sell out that’s it, so start collecting them now! We may be late sometimes because we’re human, and we’ll definitely be back for another fabulous issue for Spooky Season. Enjoy what’s left of your summer. There’s still a lot of camping left.

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Reviving Creativity: My Journey Back to Writing

After a little hiatus where I did a little more (creatively, that is) than post my daily outfits on TikTok, which was quite fun actually, I’m finally getting back to business and back into writing. Honestly, I needed a break, and now that my creative coffers are full again, I’m thrilled to share this new book that I started maybe three(?) years ago as a serial for the short-lived Kindle Vella. After reworking it a bit, I’m proud to get this baby out there. Black and Blue Ivy is a YA gothic story about a girl who travels from the tough streets of Kensington, Philadelphia, to a home for wayward girls, then eventually lands in Providence House, the sprawling estate of a wealthy family in Philadelphia’s Main Line. If you know anything about gothic novels–especially the V.C. Andrews ones, which were an inspiration for this book–then you’ll know that’s when the trouble for our main character really begins.

There are religious themes in this story, which reflect–and challenge–my own Catholicism. I was thrilled to see the book reach #1 New Release in Teen and Young Adult Christian Social Fiction. I didn’t even know there was such a category, but I’ll take it. Please note, there is nothing preachy or proselytizing about this work, so atheists and other (fill in the blank) are welcome to partake. If there is a religious theme, it has more to do with examining and weeding out hypocrisy than anything else. I strongly believe writers should explore ideas that are important to them. That what makes a voice unique and interesting.

There is a disturbing trend in publishing today where it’s all about hitting the right “tropes.” If I’m not mistaken, “trope” used to be considered a negative term, a cliché, but it seems to have evolved to be synonymous with conventions, which is the term I prefer. I used plenty of gothic conventions in Black and Blue Ivy: the Jane Eyre orphanage and awful neglect, the tony mansion hiding diabolical secrets, the creepy housekeeper, the list goes on. My homages to V.C. Andrews, including a metaphor of powder sugar on doughnuts, abound. There’s also an attic or two. But this story is my own, meaning it comes from my own twisted (at times) heart. I’ve certainly given it my own spin, and with so many changes happening in publishing: the seemingly almost daily AI scandals, the bizarre AI witch hunts on Threads, the fact that “tropes” seem to be telling the stories, not the writer/creator, and the head scratching that goes along with why the hell is this book popular–yes, Romantasy I’m looking at you! Well, you get the picture.

I needed the break, and I’m excited to be creating again. I’m heading over to my studio this morning to record my first YouTube video in about six months. It’s good, no, it’s great to be back!

*Watch my first video in six months:

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My Midnight AI Confession

Back when we were shooting Gemini Rising during the digital stone age, I recall the habitual stoner guitarist Jah (beautifully portrayed by Matt Fischer) improvising a line of dialogue that proved to be quite prescient nearly twenty years later.

AI has become inevitable, and, like the switch from vinyl to cassette, I’m not sure how I feel about it. The problem is, no one asked me then, and certainly no one cares now.

It’s everywhere and has been for a while. But more and more, I see it encroaching on the creative space like some kind of Cthulian (try writing that one without spellcheck) vaporous monster. Apparently, you can write an entire shitty (romance? tee-hee) novel using it, upload it to Amazon along with an equally shitty cover, and rake in the cash. As an indie author who’s yet to hit “Shrimp” status on the 20Bookto50K Facebook Group, it’s, frankly, tempting to create a new pen name, feed the A.I. monster, and have it spit out next month’s PECO bill.

There’s only one big problem with that: it’s not why I write, not why I create. To quote a genius who’s inspired centuries of writers: I cannot heave my heart into my mouth enough to fake that. And also, I enjoy the writing process too much to take that leap.

So, have I ever used AI? Full disclosure, yes! I’ve run my prose through Grammarly for years. It’s good at catching errors that slip by my blind spots, although I typically ignore its stylistic suggestions. And most recently, I’ve asked Chatgpt to “tighten” the ad copy for some of my Facebook posts, and although it’s been enlightening to see how much I suck at writing ad copy for my own books–much too humble and beseeching, I see how my friendly chatbot assistant could be as seductive as a gorgeous secretary in a sleazy 70s potboiler when it comes to “expanding my ideas.” So far, I’ve resisted, although a reviewer recently accused me of using it in a book written before I’d ever heard of generative AI. For the record, I’ve always used em dashes (although I prefer parentheses).

It’s a weird time, and I’m not militant, like some of my peers, about other authors using it. I get it, and I also get that books written by real people are better. And speaking of sleazy 70s potboilers, I’m currently chewing my way through a well-thumbed copy of Sidney Sheldon’s The Other Side of Midnight and loving every minute of it.

Okay. One last AI confession. While burning the midnight oil the other night, I cheekily asked ChatGPT to create a portrait of the characters from my soon-to-be-released novel, Black and Blue Ivy. I fed it the character descriptions, asked it to make a picture resembling an old V.C. Andrews cover, and this is what it spit out. And frankly, I’m astonished (and frightened) at how closely these characters resemble the ones formed in my head now committed to the page. Dare I use this image in my promotional materials?

I admit, it’s tempting. Would I prefer hiring a real artist for the job? If I had thousands of extra dollars lying around I would, but I’m already spending hard-on money on actual cover designers, line editors, ad creators–real people with real skills whom I’m happy to hire for the job. But this picture is so cool. It sums up the theme and style of my story so well, and if it got eyeballs on my book… Again, seductive.

As you can plainly see, I’m somewhat torn. Are the La Résistance authors who blatantly refuse to engage in anything AI and who love to call out anyone who does the true heroes, or are their careers destined to perish on the barricades while the robots take over?

I don’t know, and I’m frankly a bit scared to find out. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your honest thoughts about this topic.

*No AI was used to write this post. All awkward phrasings and clunky metaphors are my own.

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Call for Submissions – Book Worms #11

Book Worms Horror Zine – Summer Edition

Pack your poisonous bug spray, your Blair Witch map, and your messiest mess kit—then join us for our campiest issue yet!

This summer, Book Worms Horror Zine is heading to camp, and we want your creepiest, campiest horror stories to share around the fire. We’re talking classic summer scares like Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, and The Evil Dead—but don’t be afraid to blaze your own twisted trail. Conjure a new type of monster crawling up from the pond scum, turn a Kumbaya sing-along into an alien abduction, or dream up something so strange and disturbing we’ll never leave home again.

So…

stoke the fire, sharpen your pencils, and tell us a tale that’ll have us sleeping with one eye open in our sleeping bags.

Submission Guidelines:

Please read ALL before submitting! You’d be amazed (we are) how many great stories are turned away each submission period because writers fail to follow the rules. Please don’t waste your (and our) time and stick to the following…

Deadline: June 15, 2026 (must be received by deadline, so please mail early).

Word Count: 1500 words or less (we mean it).

No reprints, please. Exclusive print rights for six months after publication.

Payment is 8 cents a word for fiction and non-fiction, $25 for poems 20 lines or less.

ACCEPTING MAIL-IN SUBMISSIONS ONLY! (*see exception below)

Mail your submissions to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007

Decision notices are sent through email so there is no need to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please include your email address and your mailing address with your submission. All submissions must be typed (cover letters preferred but not mandatory) and be properly formatted. Also, if you have a social media presence, please include those beneath your email.

Be sure to:

Send only one submission, meaning don’t send multiple short stories or poems or a combination of both. Send only one piece and send your best.
DO NOT send your submissions using registered mail or any kind of correspondence requiring a signature. It probably won’t get to us and you’ll be wasting your money.
*If you’ve had work previously published in Book Worms (you know who you are) you may email your submission to bookwormssubmissions@gmail.com (same deadline) Please write Returning Author Submission in the subject line.
Please use the EXACT mailing address listed above. Please don’t write Book Worms on the address. This is a side project and our mailman might get confused. The mailbox is in a huge industrial complex and unfortunately, letters have gotten lost in the past, so please follow the instructions and mail as early as possible.

We can’t wait to gather ‘round the fire and read your tales. Curious what’s lurked in our pages before? Check out Book Worms Horror Zine.

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Call for Submissions!

Book Worms Issue 10 – Apocalyptic Horror!

Submission Guidelines

We’re kicking off 2026 with all the optimism of a Threads viewing—yes, the 1984 nuclear war drama, not the app.

If you recognize our Wormy cartoon to the left, then you’ve seen it—and you know. If not, buckle up. There’s a reason it’s considered one of the scariest films ever made.

For our 10th issue of Book Worms Horror Zine, we’re chasing that same level of end-of-the-world dread. If our current political climate gives you the creeps, channel it. Or take us somewhere entirely different—your own futuristic nightmare is fair game, as long as the vision is dark.

We’re looking for stories and poetry that dive into nuclear winters, climate catastrophes, algorithmic uprisings, techno-anarchy, or whatever fresh brand of apocalypse your twisted imagination can conjure.

Have fun with the devastation. We certainly will.

SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES:

Please read ALL of the following before submitting!

Deadline: January 10, 2026 (must be received by deadline, so please mail early).

PAYMENT: 8 cents a word for fiction (1500 words or less). $25 flat fee for poetry (20 lines or less)

No reprints, please. Exclusive rights for six months after publication.

ACCEPTING MAIL-IN SUBMISSIONS ONLY! (*see exception below)

Mail your submissions to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007

Decision notices are sent through email so there is no need to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please include your email address and your mailing address with your submission. All submissions must be typed (cover letters preferred but not mandatory) and be properly formatted. Also, if you have a social media presence, please include those beneath your email.

A few new things to know:

Send only one submission, meaning don’t send multiple short stories or poems or a combination of both. Send only one piece and send your best.
DO NOT send your submissions using registered mail or any kind of correspondence requiring a signature. It probably won’t get to us and you’ll be wasting your money.
*If you’ve had work previously published in Book Worms (you know who you are) you may email your submission to bookwormssubmissions@gmail.com (same deadline) Please write Returning Author Submission in the subject line.
Please use the EXACT mailing address listed above. Please don’t write Book Worms on the address. This is a side project and our mailman might get confused. The mailbox is in a huge industrial complex and unfortunately, letters have gotten lost in the past, so please follow the instructions and mail as early as possible.

Editor’s Note:

Each submission period, we have to pass on many wonderful stories—not because they lack quality, but because the authors didn’t follow the guidelines. Common issues include exceeding the word count, missing the deadline, straying from the theme, or sending work via email instead of the required method (exceptions notwithstanding).

Please don’t be discouraged if your story isn’t selected for this issue. We receive many more submissions than we can publish, and the competition is always fierce. Often, the final decisions come down to word count limits or maintaining a balance of story types. If your piece isn’t chosen this time, we hope you’ll keep writing and submitting—your voice matters, and we’d love to see your work again.

Curious about what kinds of stories we publish? Pick up a copy of Book Worms here!

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Call for Submissions for our Halloween Issue!

Theme: Folk Horror

For our next issue, Book Worms is venturing deep into the twisted roots of folk horror—that uncanny space where ancient legends, rural isolation, and old-world rituals fester just beneath the surface of pastoral charm.

Think of it like this: you and your partner leave the city behind for a peaceful life in a quaint countryside village. The air is clean, the neighbors are… unusually welcoming. Then one night, you hear drums echoing from the forest. You follow the sound. There’s firelight flickering through the trees. Chanting. Masks. A circle. And just like that, you realize you’re not the guest—you’re the offering.

Folk horror thrives on the uneasy tension between tradition and terror. Classic examples include Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon, Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley, and The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. On screen: The Wicker Man, The Witch, and Midsommar.

That said, folk horror is fluid—so stretch the boundaries. Invent your own cursed villages, pagan rites, or ghost-haunted fields. Just keep it eerie, keep it folkloric, and above all, make it scary.

This Halloween, Book Worms wants stories that chill, not just charm. We’re still suckers for “fun” horror, but this issue? We’re going full nightmare.
Ready to scare us?
Send us your tale.

Deadline: September 10, 2025 (must be received by deadline, so please mail early).

PAYMENT: 8 cents a word for fiction (1500 words or less). $25 flat fee for poetry (20 lines or less)

No reprints or multiple submissions, please. Exclusive rights for six months after publication.

ACCEPTING MAIL-IN SUBMISSIONS ONLY! (*see exception below)

Mail your submissions to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007

A few new things to know:

Send only one submission, meaning don’t send multiple short stories or poems or a combination of both. Send only one piece and send your best.
DO NOT send your submissions using registered mail or any kind of correspondence requiring a signature. It probably won’t get to us and you’ll be wasting your money.
If you’ve had work previously published in Book Worms (you know who are) you may email your submission to bookwormssubmissions@gmail.com (same deadline) Please write Halloween Submission in the subject line.
Please use the EXACT mailing address listed above. Please don’t write Book Worms on the address. This is a side project and our mailman might get confused. The mailbox is in a huge industrial complex and unfortunately, letters have gotten lost in the past, so please follow the instructions and mail as early as you can.

And finally, please don’t be discouraged if your story isn’t selected for this issue. We receive many submissions for each zine and can only accept a small handful. If your piece isn’t chosen this time, we still encourage you to keep writing and submitting—your voice matters, and we’d love to see your work again.

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Summer Reading & Writing

Cabin in the Woods

I just returned from my first summer getaway—and it was lovely. I’ve been renting this cabin on Lake Nockamixon for the past few years, sometimes as a solitary retreat in the dead of winter (which is actually one of my favorite times to go). But this year, it was more of a family affair.

I grew up in the country, so it’s in my soul. Coming from a large family that could, at times, feel chaotic, I used the woods—and climbing tall trees—as my emotional escape. Nothing soothes my nerves quite like a deep, quiet forest.

Honestly, I could easily become a hermit. I dream about it constantly. Maybe my dream doesn’t include the insects or the occasional field mouse, but I’d still take that kind of pest over the human kind any day.

Am I confessing to misanthropy? Not at all. I love people—but I love solitude more. It’s just the way I’m built. We all need to honor our natures, and mine craves quiet, natural spaces for comfort and restoration.

Perhaps this is one reason I became an avid reader as a kid—often perched up in a tree. Escaping into fantasy might not be the healthiest coping mechanism, but it’s far less destructive than many others. Writing, self-expression, creating plays and stage personae—none of that’s really changed. They’re all ways of coping, I suppose, if you dig in a bit deeper, but I’ll save that for my therapist.

Naturally, I brought books with me to the cabin, along with my sketchbook to indulge my latent (yet still sadly undeveloped) drawing talent, and my guitar—which I barely strummed the entire time. I have a notebook full of unfinished songs, but since I’m too shy to play around anyone, so finishing them will have to wait for the next solitary retreat.

But I did read. I’m currently indulging in a Richard Laymon read-a-thon I’m hosting on my YouTube channel with some BookTube pals. Extreme horror/splatterpunk is a genre I only dip into occasionally—for obvious reasons. It’s often gross, absurd, and, yes, frequently misogynistic. So, why was I the one to suggest this read-a-thon in the first place? LOL! Who knows. Go with it. I love a good gory drive-in movie in the summer, so Laymon it is. I’m on my fourth novel this month. I’d love a dollar for every “rump” and “turgid nipple” I’ve come across, but hey—I’m having fun. I may need to cleanse my palate with a cozy mystery when it’s all over.

Long summer days tend to bring out more focused writing in me. As a lifelong early riser, I try to knock out at least a thousand words each morning on my current work-in-progress. I recently released two YA romance novellas, and I’m now finishing up Book Two of an epic fantasy series that I still can’t believe I challenged myself to write. But here we are.

That’s my summer so far—and my summer plans. But as we know, life can change in an instant. All we can do is enjoy the day we’re blessed with.

Hope yours is a good one.