Author: M. Edward McNally

Epic fantasy author M. Edward McNally is a North Carolinian of Irish/Mexican extraction. He has a Masters in English Lit from ISU and Russian/East European History from ASU. He grew up mostly in the Midwest along I-35 northbound (KS, IA, MN), and now resides in the scrub brush surrounding Phoenix AZ, where the scorpions and javelinas play. Learn more about Ed at his blog, and his Amazon author page.

Ed’s Casual Friday: Happy Trails 2012

Well, turns out the world didn’t end (thanks for nothing, Mayan King Yik’in Chan K’awiil) so it looks like we’ll all be embarking on another year of Indie World. And since last year was my first of writing this weekly column (episode one, 12/30/11), I guess this year I should at least acknowledge the new one.

Many traditions come along with the changing of a calendar date, including spending the next month or three swearing quietly as you continue to write the wrong digit at the end of checks. Also popular are the “Year in Review” sort of things every news broadcast, blogger, and columnist feels the need to uncork along with the bubbly. I myself am more of a “Don’t look back, as something might be gaining on you” type of guy, so I won’t be doing that. 😉 Continue reading “Ed’s Casual Friday: Happy Trails 2012”

12 Stars for the 12 Bestselling Books of 2012

Really not sure why I’m writing a column today…I mean, it is the End of All Things, right?

Well, anyway, since the year is winding down maybe even if the planet isn’t, it seems like an appropriate time for me to go back to the well I have gone to so many times before, and share with you some real one-star reviews on real books.

As always, I do so only as a gentle reminder that for every book ever written, somebody out there is gonna freakin’ loathe it. Continue reading “12 Stars for the 12 Bestselling Books of 2012”

Top d20 Signs You May Be An Epic Fantasy Writer

While I usually try to keep Ed’s Casual Friday to topics that might be of general interest to writers / readers of all kinds, today I admit I am staying in my wheelhouse. What follows is a list relating mostly to writers of Epic Fantasy, though some items will fit any sort of writer with a couple different words substituted. Others are probably unique to the species. Also, if you at any time sense an implication that I am saying you MUST have been (or still be) a Dungeons & Dragons nerd to write Epic Fantasy, I am really not saying that. Though I will say that it helps. 😉 Continue reading “Top d20 Signs You May Be An Epic Fantasy Writer”

A Pantser’s morning monologue upon sitting down to write.

Oh…gawd.

What the Aytch-Eee-Double Hockey Stick am I doing here? I mean here in the middle of this book? Did I not have a plan when I started this? What has been going on for the last ten chapters, and why-oh-why do I have all these characters off in different places doing different things? For the love of Virginia Woolf, every narrative is supposed to have a central trunk from which all the other stuff branches out – I swear somebody told me that in a class at some point – and all I have here is a thorn bush!

Hey, a squirrel out the window. Look at him go… Continue reading “A Pantser’s morning monologue upon sitting down to write.”