M.D. Presley

Enhance Your Fantasy Worldbuilding.​ Ready to build your fantasy world but don't know where to start? This definitive collection of fantasy writing tips and prompts jumpstarts the process with:​ Over 100 questions from Geology, Biology, Physics (Magic!), Metaphysics, Technology, and Culture. Strategies for top-down planners and bottom-up pantsers. An introduction into fantasy conceits and analogue cultures. How to find your subgenre based on your worldbuilding. Links to an additional 15+ free and inexpensive worldbuilding resources. For new authors and experienced world builders looking to sharpen their skills.

Worlds can exist without stories, but fantasy stories cannot exist without a vibrant and enthralling world. But what makes a good fantasy world? Be you a top-down planner, a bottom-up pantser, or a fantasy fan experiencing the worldbuilding from the inside-out, this comprehensive guide has you covered. Adopting a “tools not rules” approach, you will discover dozens of worldbuilding strategies, including: Ineffective, effective, and inspired worldbuilding. Designing comprehensive magic systems. The four Cs of worldbuilding and how to use them. The ins and outs of immersion. Enhancing the audience experience with fantasy conceits. Also featuring: Case studies from famous worldbuilders. Map design 101. Survey results showing what audiences want. Answers to these questions and more were once scattered throughout the realms, but have finally been compiled and synthesized for fantasy fans and authors alike.

A fantasy reimagining of the American Civil War, The Woven Ring pits muskets against magic, massive war machines against mind readers, and glass sabers against soldiers in psychic exoskeletons. In exile since the civil war that tore the nation of Newfield apart, former spy and turncoat Marta Childress wants nothing more than to quietly live out her remaining days in the West. But then her manipulative brother arrives with one final mission: Transport the daughter of a hated inventor deep into the East. Forced to decide between safely delivering the girl and assassinating the inventor, Marta is torn between ensuring the fragile peace and sparking a second civil war. Aided by an untrustworthy Dobra and his mysterious mute companion, Marta soon discovers that dark forces, human and perhaps the devil herself, seek to end her quest into the East.