And the Writing Fantasy Heroes Giveaway Winner Is....

...Mike Chivers, AKA Mikey_C.

Congratulations, Mike!

Please contact Jason Waltz (roguebladesentertainment@gmail.com) and give him your mailing address.

The hand of the Offspring removing the winning name from the hat.

A Review of Writing Fantasy Heroes

Writing Fantasy Heroes
Jason M. Ward, ed.
Rogue Blades Entertainment
mmpb $14.99
ebook $7.99 Kindle

It's taken me longer than I anticipated to finish this book, and that's in no way a reflection on the book.  It's been one of those weeks.  For about the last two months.

Anyway, you didn't come here to for me to kvetch.  You want to know about the book.  It's a keeper.

If you're looking for a technical manual on the nuts and bolts of writing, things like basic story structure, you won't find it here.  Well, not much, anyway.  This book is designed more for the aspiring writer who is looking to hone his or her craft and take it to the next level, which preferably would involve publication, rather than the novice writer just learning to put a story together.  I read Writing Fantasy Heroes from cover to cover, albeit in pieces between other books, but I think the book's values rests in its use as a reference that one picks up and consults as needed more than as volume to read straight through..

Writing Fantasy Heroes Giveaway

Writing Fantasy Heroes
Jason M. Waltz, edl
Rogue Blades Entertainment

I recently wrote a post about my copy of Writing Fantasy Heroes arriving and how eager I was to dive into it.  That post got more traffic, and certainly more comments, than most of the posts I've done in the last couple of months. 

Since then, two things have happened.  First, I've read about 1/3 of the book, and it's every bit as good as I hoped.  I'll review the book once I've finished, so I won't go into details here.

The second thing that  happened, and the one that has a direct bearing on readers of this blog, is that I received an email a few days ago from Jason M. Waltz, the publisher of Rogue Blades Entertainment and the editor of the aforementioned book.

It seems a couple of years ago, I took advantage of a special RBE was running and prebought several titles.  Writing Fantasy Heroes wasn't one of them, probably because it wasn't conceived of at the time.  That's a guess on my part.  What isn't a guess is that this is the book Jason had intended to make a part of the prepurchase deal, subbing this book for another one.  But then I went and bought the book before he had a chance to send me my copy.  He asked what I wanted to do about it, and I quickly decided to do a giveaway.  Since Jason is the person who has the copy of Writing Fantasy Heroes in his possession and will be handling the mailing, this is a joint giveaway between Adventures Fantastic and Rogue Blades Entertainment.

So, here's the deal.  Between now and when I post the review, which will probably be just after Easter if I can keep the schedule I've sketched out, anyone who posts a comment here answering the following question will be entered.  The question is:  What one characteristic above all others is essential for a fantasy hero and why?  Your answer could be long or short, but you have to say why that characteristic is the one you think is the most essential.  Hopefully, this will generate some thought provoking discussion as well as a little buzz for RBE.

Once the review of Writing Fantasy Heroes goes live, I'll put all the names in a hat and draw one at random.  Actually, I probably have my son draw the name.  He'd enjoy my involving him like that.  I'll announce that person's name the day after I post the review.  I'll also contact that individual directly and/or pass that person's name directly on to Jason.  He will be mailing the book.  This is an unread copy, not the copy I've got.

There is one other thing.  The winner will be requested, but not required, to post a review of the book once they've read it, either on their own blog, Goodreads, Amazon, or some combination of the above.

Writng Fantasy Heroes Arrives

Writing Fantasy Heroes
Jason M. Waltz, ed.
Rogue Blades Entertainment
trade paper, 202 pages, $14.99

This isn't a review.  That will come later, after I've read the book.  I don't normally profile books until I've read them, but in this case I'm making an exception.  I think you'll understand.

This volume contains 13 essays (plus an introduction by Steven Erikson) on how to write heroes in fantasy.  The contributors include (in no particular order) Glen Cook, Brandon Sanderson, C. L. Werner, Howard Andrew Jones, Ian C. Esslemont, Ari Marmell, Paul Kearney, Orson Scott Card.  I could go on.  But I won't.  You can discover the rest for yourself.

I've reviewed works by several of the above here at Adventures Fantastic, and there are others on that list I haven't gotten to yet, at least as far as reviews are concerned. There will be some great writing advice in there.  (I know, I've already peeked.)

I also know some of the people who read this blog are writers at various stages of their careers.  In the interest of helping you improve your craft (because I'm selfish and want great books by you to read), I thought I'd announce this book here.  And, yes, gloat, because my copy arrived today.  I'm going to steal time from some other commitments later tonight and start reading it.  I'll post a full review when I'm done.

Writing Fantasy Heroes is from Rogue Blades Entertainment and is available from Amazon and B&N.  I was completely surprised when I heard about it.  Rogue Blades Entertainment hasn't had anything out in a while, and they've been sorely missed.  Jason, it's great to have you back.

Dispatches From the Lone Star Front: Profile of an Early Texas Ranger

It got an email last week from Jason Waltz, informing the contributors of Home of Heroics that he was discontinuing adding new material to the site.  Between work and family obligations, not to mention trying to publish the books on the Rogue Blades Entertainment schedule, Jason said he was exhausted and simply couldn't devote the time necessary to maintaining the site.  As regular readers of this blog are probably aware, I was one of the contributors to Home of Heroics, with a quarterly column entitled "Dispatches From the Lone Star Front", featuring heroes from Texas.  It was in a different vein than what I do here, focusing on history with little or no fantasy aspect.  With Jason's blessing, that column will continue here, although I don't know if it will be quarterly, more frequently, or just when I find something interesting to write about.  Reader reaction will help me decide.

Adventures Fantastic would like to wish Jason and Rogue Blades Entertainment all the best.  Home of Heroics will be missed; the contributors are still around and blogging on other sites, so if you enjoyed the work of any of them, look them up if you haven't already.  Now, here is the most recent Dispatch from the Lone Star Front that would have been posted at HoH if things had been different:

Jack Hays

There are a number of qualities that are commonly used to describe heroes.  One of them is courage.  John Coffee “Jack” Hays had that in spades.

Hays was one of the first Texas Rangers, seeing most of his service during the days of the Republic, before Texas joined the United States, and then during the Mexican War.  He was renowned for his bravery, cunning, and his leadership.  He was called “Devil Jack” by the Comanches. 

The Rangers were formed to protect the Texas settlers, both Anglo and Tejano, against bandits and hostile Indians.  The Comanches were the primary tribe hostile to the settlers, and they were traditional enemies of the Lipan Apaches.  Naturally, the Rangers, and Hays in particular, allied themselves with the Lipan.  Hays’ Lipan scout Flacco is reported by Walker Prescott Webb to have said, “Me and Red Wing not afraid to go to hell together.  Captain Jack he brave; not afraid to go to hell by himself.” 

RBE Challenge Continues

Jason M. Waltz posted a little while ago on the Rogue Blades Entertainment website that he is extending the Challenge! Stealth competition.  Due to issues related to a virus infecting the site, which have now been resolved, the 2011 Challenge will continue until 30 submissions have been accepted.


For more details, go here and here.  The artwork for this year's competition can be found here.

Home of Heroics and Rogue Blades Entertainment are Back...

...and I have a post there!  Jason M. Waltz just sent out an email saying that Rogue Blades Entertainment is back online as is Home of Heroics, both virus free.  That's great news, made even sweeter for me by the fact that I have a post there.  It's a review of a book entitled The Roads to Baldairn Motte.  Check it out!  Then buy and read the  book.  There are still a few details Jason is working on as far as the look of the site, but it's great to have RBE and HoH back.

Rogue Blades Entertainment, Home of Heroics Websites Temporarily On Hiatus

I got an email earlier today from Jason M. Waltz.  The RBE website has been infected with some sort of virus.  Jason is working to fix it, but at the moment he is swamped with some additional training for his day job and doesn't have much time (or energy) at the end of the day.  As soon as he can, he's going to get things back up and running.  In the meantime, the RBE site is in construction mode and new Home of Heroics posts are on hold.  They'll return once things are fixed, and on a daily basis until HOH is back on schedule. 

Contest at Home of Heroics

I got an email over lunch from Jason M. Waltz, the publisher of Rogue Blade Entertainment.  He's running a contest next week for a chance to win a limited edition copy of Rage of the Behemoth.  I reviewed the book here, if you're wondering what it's about.  All you have to do is comment on one of the posts at Home of Heroics next week.  There will be one Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I've written the one for Monday, so I obviously can't reply to that one, but you can.  Details of the contest are here. 

New Challenge Writing Competition at Rogue Blades

Rogue Blades announced its 2011 Challenge Writing competition this morning.  This year's theme is Stealth.  Judges are author Mary Rosenblum, Black Gate editor John O'Neill, and cover artist Storn Cook.  That's the cover over on the right. 

There's a $10 entry fee, which is more than reasonable.  Rouge Blades will begin accepting submissions in 15 days, so that should give all of us time to get something ready.  I'm intending to submit.  There's a minimum of 30 entries needed for this project to go forward.  The stories can be any genre, so long as there's a heroic element. 

Here's our chance to make sure there's good heroic, adventure oriented stories to read.  Let's inundate the judges and make their job hard by having to agonize over choosing form an avalanche of great stories. 

A Bit of Shamelss Self-Promotion

If you've read this blog in the last few weeks, you've seen me mention Home of Heroics over on the Rogue Blades Entertainment website.  I've got a column, Dispatches From the Lone Star Front, there, and the first one went up a little while ago.  Check it out.  The column will be a little different from the type of things I write about here.  I'll be focusing on factual heroes more than fictional, with the emphasis being on those from Texas, since that's where I live.  Hence the title.

Cool Stuff at Rogue Blades' Home of Heroics

There have been a couple of posts up at Home of Heroics, the new feature on the Rogue Blades Entertainment site, the last few days.  Friday Bruce Durham reviewed Howard Andrew Jones' Desert of Souls.  This morning, Luke Forney surveyed the graphic adaptations of Robert E. Howard's work, including Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, and Red Sonja.  Interesting stuff, so check it out if you haven't already.

Home of Heroics Debuts

As I told you last night, the RBE Home of Heroics has made its debut.  The first article, by Michael Ehart, is now up.  Read it here.  It's about Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman pilot and barnstormer.  Great post, Michael. 

Announcing Rogue Blades Entertainment's Home of Heroics

Hey, everybody, just a quick word to let you know that Rogue Blades Entertainment is about to launch a new feature at their website.  Tomorrow morning, April 4, at 8:00 a.m., Home of Heroics makes its debut.  This will be a page focusing on heroics in any and all forms, fictional and historical, reviews and analysis, and general discussion.  There are 26 regular contributors, posting Monday and Friday, with guest contributors posting on Wednesdays.  My column, Dispatches From the Lone Star Front, will premiere on Monday, April 25, for those of you who are interested.  Jason Waltz has assembled an impressive lineup of writers and an aggressive schedule of new content, and I'm excited and humbled to be a part of it.  Also, he's got some upgrades and changes to the RBE website that will be going live over the next week or so.  Check it all out.  You'll be glad you did.  As much variety as Jason has planned, you're sure to find a number of things that will appeal to you.