Call of the Creator: Fantasy Writing from a Christian Worldview

We Minors are about to head out on a major adventure, and you know what? Adventures are expensive. And I don't have a contract from a bunch of dwarves promising me an equal share of the treasure at the end. As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Here's a little context to help you make sense of things. Every year since we began Realm Makers, I have designed the official Conference T Shirt as well as a "fun design" that we sell as a simple artistic endeavor. From fandom to geekery, these shirts have definitely been popular--and I've enjoyed seeing friends and strangers alike wear them. This year, we've been working with the fabulous Kirk DouPonce, illustrator extraordinaire, to generate some updated branding for the conference and our awards. Out of that process, this awesome dragon graphic arose. Being the dragon freak that I am, I was immediately ready to slap that puppy on everything, from our awards seals to our car to ...

Inktober continues here in my world, and it's been a fun and therapeutic exercise to "take requests" in making artwork. No real musing today, just a sampling of the projects that have come out of the process. From the start, multiple people chimed in with dragon requests, so I found a day where I could put more than 10 minutes into the drawing before I did one. Granted, a drawing like this, you could noodle for hours and hours--but hours are something in short supply right now, so this 25 minute drawing is where it landed. This octopus is part of an ongoing collaborative project that I hope to get some traction on soon. Yes, an octopus composer is a pretty ridiculous premise--but I bet it's not one that's overdone, right? This final image, which is not part of the Inktober challenge, but has been in process during this time, has been the subject of much consternation for me. I took a leap into a minimalist, stylistic experiment. As with all experiments, t...

It is with great pleasure I take this moment to reveal to you the current object of my admiration. If I could play an antiphonal fanfare for double brass quintet as an introductory piece of music, I would. Anyway, I have been waiting for weeks now to reveal to you the absolutely phenomenal cover art that will grace the front (and back) of my print version, volume I, of The Windrider Saga . So without further ado... I want to thank the staggeringly talented  Christina Hess for her inspired painting, and the always accommodating and gifted Jon Mills for his classic text layout. I am richly blessed to work with such gracious and artistic people. And because you dropped by, I will also include an image of the full cover that will wrap the book. After all, the way Christina designed it to continue Majestrin's wing onto the back cover is way too cool to skip. So keep an eye out! February 29th, the print compilation goes live. It will be available from Amazon and Barnes and ...

Huzzah! What a surprise that my first publication went "live" on B&N and Amazon a day early. How often does that happen? Well, if you are in the mood just to smile with me and see the book actually for sale on the internet (or maybe you even want to pull out a dollar and get a copy of your own) you can do so here: The Windrider 1, Divine Summons for Kindle Get it here on Nook! Thanks, all of you, who have been such a great support...and thanks in advance to all of you who purchase a copy and support small publishing! Sincerely, Becky

With the release of my debut ebook, The Windrider: Book 1, Divine Summons looming on the horizon, it is with great pleasure I unveil to you, my most stalwart friends, the cover art for first of an intended series. Illustrator Christina Hess created the illustration for this cover, and I could not be more thrilled with her execution of the concept. I am deeply thankful for her willingness to help me establish a top-notch brand for my fantasy writing. There's not much else to say, since I think the image speaks for itself. If you want to take a look at some of Christina's other beautiful artwork, visit her site at http://www.christinahess.com/ And just as a reminder, the tale of Captain Vinyanel Ecleriast's exploits will be available for Kindle, Nook, and at Smashwords this coming Tuesday, October 25th . The book will start out at the bargain price of just  99 cents , but that price won't last forever. Links forthcoming...  Your support of independent artist...

In an effort to shift my blog over from articles (though occasionally, some will still appear here when I feel I have something to rant about, or a book to review, or something like that) I am posting a short story here for your enjoyment. The following was a story I submitted to a contest in the early part of 2010. It was a "tell us what happened in this picture" type of contest, where the catalogue running it offered an image of a knight, a king, a princess, and the suggestion of a nearby dragon. The story below takes a traditional stab at the image, but hopefully it will meet with your discerning standards anyway. ;) Without further ado... A Willing Heart   by Becky Minor Nothing spoils a momentous occasion like an uninvited guest. So when a forty-foot, bronze-scaled dragon swooped down upon the field of tournament behind Stonewarden Keep, the festivities not only ground to a halt, but the throng of spectators burst into cacophonous panic. Courtiers wailed. Peasa...