As the flowering trees blossomed to life around us in the spring of 2023, a dream that we'd uncovered last summer returned to us. We wanted to go camping with our three dogs. We wanted to spend more time in nature. And finally, we wanted to realized our dream of traveling.Jonathan and I have always … [Read more...] about Taking the Steps We Can, Now, to Travel
Inspiration
How to Write Your First Novel
Welcome, writer, to the wonderful world of fulfilling your dreams and telling the story (or stories) of your heart! writer's backgroundBefore we listen to someone, especially about something so important to us, we need to know who that person is. So, first, a little bit about me: I am a novelist, … [Read more...] about How to Write Your First Novel
Five Tips for Building Your Ren Faire Costume Over Time
In today's post, I'm going to cover five tips for building your Renaissance Festival costume/D&D character cosplay (more) affordably over time. I also want to add a couple assumptions to the trajectory of this advice so we're working from the same foundation:My quick caveat to number two above … [Read more...] about Five Tips for Building Your Ren Faire Costume Over Time
Life-Changing Magic, Part One
Transforming Self and HomeIn the late spring and early summer of 2022, my husband Jonathan and I went through Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. We’re relatively neat and averse to clutter, and we had just moved in October 2021 so, to be honest, I didn’t think we would have that … [Read more...] about Life-Changing Magic, Part One
Embracing Ritual in the Everyday, Part One
Fantasy Afield began with the goal of finding (and celebrating!) magic in the everyday. And for me, a lot of that magic comes from transitioning routines into rituals. In this series, I'll explore personal transformations from routines into rituals. I'll also look at some of the thought leaders and … [Read more...] about Embracing Ritual in the Everyday, Part One
Advice for Attending the Carolina Renaissance Festival
A few tips to make your day easier and more fun! This year, my husband and I had the pleasure of returning to the Carolina Renaissance Festival. We made our first trip in 2019 and loved the experience—I don't know why we hadn't ever been before! Then they had to cancel the festival in 2020, so we … [Read more...] about Advice for Attending the Carolina Renaissance Festival
Tools for Fiction Writers: The Language of Magic
In this post in our Tools for Fiction Writers series, we look at Naomi Novik's Uprooted and the unique way she sets up magic in her world. Like many novels, Uprooted celebrates language and storytelling. However, I want us to delve deeper than that. We'll examine how Novik integrates … [Read more...] about Tools for Fiction Writers: The Language of Magic
The Power of Choosing Yourself as a Creative
encouragement & empowerment for creativesThere's a special power to choosing yourself as a creative, a freedom and empowerment to believing in your creative dream.But if that's true, why do we face so much resistance around our creative dreams? Why is it so difficult for us to put ourselves … [Read more...] about The Power of Choosing Yourself as a Creative