A Fun Fantasy Series

The Witch's Tower and The Clouds of Izmah are books 1 and 2, respectively, in the Max Series, written by David W. Walker.

In the first novel, Prince Max and his brothers are tasked by their father, the King, with searching out the greatest treasure in the land. Unknown peril and evil await them as they set out on the quest which will ultimately determine the next heir to the throne. Along the way, Max meets talking animals, an elf, and of course a witch, as the title indicates.

The second novel takes us on more adventures with Max and his woodland friends as they search for the wizard of legend who could save the King from his failing health. On his journey, Max is met with trials and challenges that threaten to derail his mission and force him to confront his real purpose.

Walker has created a world for his readers not unlike Camelot. I loved the well-drawn characters and nail-biting adventure of these novels, as would any fan of Narnia and Middle Earth. Especially striking was the uniqueness of the dwelling-in-the-clouds that Walker created with Izmah. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in the Max Series.

You Can't Have Too Many Resources

Resources are something we all need as writers. I have loads of tabs, websites, books, and newsletters that I use for my writing, and here are two that I'd like to share with you. (Some more of my favorites are listed on my Resources page.)

The first website, www.rhymezone.com, I use mainly as a thesaurus, searching for that just-right word to take the place of my original less-precise word. But you can also search for rhyming words, phrases, definitions, and get this - you can even search for words found in Shakespeare.

The second website, I use for naming my characters, www.behindthename.com.

It has an enormous database of the etymology and history of first names. You can search by first letter, heritage, gender, and popularity by country. There are even lists of mythological and medieval names. I had a lot of fun when I needed a name with a particular meaning. YES, you can search by meaning and keywords! Or translate your name from one language to another. And if you like the element of surprise, use the random name generator. Just beware, it's way too easy to lose track of time with this one.

Welcome to My Blog!

It's an exciting thing to go live with a website. A little nerve-wracking too but exciting

all the same. As a pre-published writer, I wanted to get a jump-start on putting myself

"out there" and setting up a path for success. This blog is part of that path. I will alternately share with you my own writing journey, valuable resources that I've discovered, and highlight other authors and their work. I hope my content helps you as a writer, informs you as a reader, or both. Enjoy!