Welcome to Pen & Sword, a blog by two fans of all things reading and writing.
Join us for updates twice a week as we ramble about our favorite reads, bemoan the struggles of being an aspiring author, and discuss anything else related to the lovely world of literature.
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100TH POST EXTRAVAGANZA: 50 Books, Shows, Movies and Games That Will Change You
WELCOME TO THE PARTY!!! Can you even BELIEVE we have been vomiting out our thoughts and opinions on this blog for 100 ENTIRE POSTS??? Technically, 105, if you count the unscheduled posts, but we’ll ignore those for the sake of… Continue reading
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Thoughts on the Agent Querying Process
If you’ve been a writer for a while, you’re probably familiar with the dreaded task: querying agents. It’s something most of us without connections have to do, and quite often to little results. It’s frustrating, exhausting, and often demoralizing. Since… Continue reading
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Should Books be Over 500 Pages?
As someone who reads and reviews a lot of books, I notice a lot of trends. According to The Storygraph, so far this year, my sweet spot for books floats around 300-499 pages, with 64% of my reads falling into… Continue reading
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Drafting VS. Revising: Balancing Hope and Despair
There are two sides to every coin. In writing, the two sides are drafting and revising. One of them is mostly fun, the other is mostly awful. First I’m going to discuss drafting- my usual process, the parts of it… Continue reading
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Five Magical Book Reviews^5
Can you believe I’ve written 25 blurbs for this series? I barely can, and I’m the one doing all the work! As always, check out articles 1-4! Your support means the world. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea –… Continue reading
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My Weekend Attending Get Lit! Fest 2026
The weekend of April 17th, Saige and I had some much-needed, creation-focused time together in Spokane attending the Get Lit! Festival. Get Lit! is put on by a nonprofit of Eastern Washington University and features a diverse and talented panel… Continue reading
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Of Voyages and Virtues: Original First Chapter
A few months ago, I shared two starting chapters that I wrote for one of my current projects, The Changeling Prince. Today, I want to share with you one of the very first things I wrote when I started getting… Continue reading
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Reflecting on My First Author Signing
Sometimes you have these surreal moments in your life that you never actually thought you’d experience. A few days ago, I signed copies of my short horror story collection, Losing Air: Dark and Strange Tales for patrons at Adventures Underground… Continue reading
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What Brandon Sanderson Does Perfectly Every Time (And Can I Do the Same?)
Ever since I read my first Sanderson book, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, I have LOVED one particular thing that Sanderson nails with every publication: The opening line. I think he’s so good at this that I have several of… Continue reading
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How The Hell Do You Write Poetry?
You may have seen me mention a secret co-writing project with Saige in my writing goals section for a few weeks now. While we’re still keeping it secret, it has given me a (quite monumental) challenge that I’d like to… Continue reading
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