Crafting Fantasy

Grim Batol: Its dark legacy stretches back into the mists of Azeroth's past. But most know it as the site of a terrible tragedy - where the vile orcs corrupted the hatchlings of the noble Dragonqueen, Alexstrasza, and used them as weapons of war. Though a band of heroes, led by the enigmatic mage, Krasus, defeated the orcs and freed the captive dragons, the cursed mountain stands as another ravaged landmark within the....

A Practical Guide to Making Your Settings Work for Your Story Some writers treat setting as an afterthought—a simple backdrop for the plot to unfold. But the best stories don’t just happen somewhere; they emerge from places that feel alive, rich with history, symbolism, and emotion. The Anatomy of Settings is a step-by-step guide for writers looking to craft immersive worlds that shape character arcs, deepen conflict, and reinforce theme. Whether you’re writing fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, or contemporary stories, this book will help you transform your settings from ...

Nate wants more to life than moving from town to town, hustling chess with his con-man grandfather or wagering pick-up games online. A new immersive game opens up the chance to bring in a steady paycheck. Maybe enough to convince his grandfather to stay straight. Little does he know how his actions will change his life. A GameLit coming of age story.

The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilisation faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction, and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home.

Antimony Price has never done well without a support system. As the youngest of her generation, she has always been able to depend on her parents, siblings, and cousins to help her out when she’s in a pinch - until now. After fleeing from the Covenant of St. George, she’s found herself in debt to the crossroads and running for her life. Lucky for her, she’s always been resourceful, and she’s been gathering allies as she travels.

Back in San Francisco, Mika is working on bringing the Marshall greenhouse back to its full glory, despite her sister constantly breathing down her neck about the Matriarch ritual. Claire tries to force Mika's hand, but she refuses to give her sister the power to control her, or Audrey's life. To her sister's fury, Mika challenges Claire to the title of Matriarch. There hasn't been a witch challenge in centuries, and Mika isn't sure she is stronger - but it has to be worth the risk. But if one does not yield, both will die. Can Mika survive the challenge without exposing what she is?

Thrall, wise shaman and the warchief of the Horde, has sensed a disturbing change . . . Long ago, Azeroth’s destructive native elementals raged across the world until the benevolent titans imprisoned them within the Elemental Plane. Despite the titans’ intervention, many elementals have ended up back on Azeroth. Over the ages, shaman like Thrall have communed with these spirits and, through patience and dedication, learned to soothe roaring infernos, bring rain to sun-scorched lands, and otherwise temper the elementals’ ruinous influence on the world of Azeroth.

Forty years after the God Wars, Dresediel Lex bears the scars of liberation - especially in the Skittersill, a poor district still bound by the fallen gods' decaying edicts. As long as the gods' wards last, they strangle development; when they fail, demons will be loosed upon the city. The King in Red hires Elayne Kevarian of the Craft firm Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao to fix the wards, but the Skittersill's people have their own ideas. A protest rises against Elayne's work, led by Temoc, a warrior-priest turned community organizer....

A proud and reserved alien society finds its homeland destroyed in an unprovoked act of aggression, and the survivors have no choice but to reach out to the indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they are distantly related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life, but doing so may mean changing their culture forever. Working together to save this vanishing race, a man and a woman from two clashing societies will uncover ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications.

Jake's monster girls just want to have fun, but success always brings new challenges. After his embarrassment in the Trials, an evil god wants vengeance, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. Despite his sound defeat, Apophis's plot is going to make it difficult for Jake's party to enjoy their hard-won freedom. Meanwhile, the true perils of the war with Tartarus loom on the horizon. Join Jake and his growing family as they face fresh challenges and summon a new ally that's a lot more than they can handle. The giant dark elf lamia proves to be as difficult to deal with as she is powerful.

"The Horde is nothing!" With those infamous words, Sylvanas Windrunner betrayed and abandoned the Horde she vowed to serve. The Dark Lady and her forces now work in the shadows as both the Horde and Alliance, including her own sister, Alleria, race to uncover her next move. Struggling to shoulder the crushing weight of leadership, King Anduin entrusts the void elf and High Exarch Turalyon to uncover Sylvanas’s whereabouts.

It's been years since 12-year-old Aramar Thorne, a clever boy who is never without his precious sketchbook, has seen his father. So when Captain Greydon Thorne comes ashore and asks his son to join him at sea, it feels as if someone has redrawn Aram's entire world. At sea Aram struggles to get along with the Wavestrider's crew - especially second mate Makasa, a tough teenage girl who has been reluctantly placed in charge of him.

As soon as Lily opens her recently purchased trunk of old clothes, she feels strange vibrations emanating from a mysterious velvet cloak. When she tries it on, Lily sees awful visions from the past. And when the antiques dealer who sold her the cape is killed, Lily suspects a supernatural force might be behind his death. Then Lily's familiar, Oscar the potbellied pig, disappears. Lily will do anything to get him back - including battling the spirit of a powerful witch reaching out from the past.

The second installment of the Traveler saga, based on Blizzard's World of Warcraft®. An epic action-adventure series set in Blizzard's popular World of Warcraft® game franchise. Features a young cast of characters discovering the mysteries and majesty of the world around them.

Even if you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, you probably know someone who has: the game has had a profound influence on our culture, and 2014 marks the intriguing role-playing phenomenon’s 40th anniversary. Released decades before the Internet and social media, Dungeons & Dragons inspired one of the original nerd subcultures and is still revered by more than 30 million fans. Now, the authoritative history and magic of the game are revealed by an award-winning journalist and lifelong D&D player.

Juliette is on the verge of accepting that she'll never have a traditional family of her own when her magic upends her life once again. As her vision for the future grows ever murkier, Juliette is forced to battle her ever-present anxiety to make the hardest decision of her life. The wrong choice will affect more than just her, and the right choice could transform her life; she's just not sure which is which.

Juliette just wants to run her bookshop, recommend great reads, hunt for treasures at estate sales, and savor quality time with her family and friends. Her magic has other plans. The emerging magical ability to return lost things to their owners has thrown her a curveball. She can’t communicate with someone who’s dead…or can she? As she races against time to reunite lost loves and right tragic wrongs, Juliette is handed the power to finally overcome her chronic anxiety and debilitating panic attacks.

Aramar Thorne and Makasa Flintwill have borne their fair share of troubles. Ever since Aram's father entrusted him with an enchanted compass, Aram and Makasa have traveled the extraordinary lands of Azeroth, seeking out the shards of a legendary weapon: the Diamond Blade. The truth behind the weapon and the terrible doom it seeks to prevent, seems to have been lost at sea with Captain Greydon Thorne. But not all secrets are meant to stay buried.

Sandra managed to survive the first major incursion from the nearby Orcs, thanks in part to the help a certain half-orc/half-dwarf provided. However, Kelerim left her dungeon to seek out his father, leaving her all alone with just Winxa - her dungeon fairy - as company. With the loss of her new friend comes some opportunities, at least; she now has the freedom to craft whatever she wants, and the threat of her dungeon core’s destruction from outside forces is practically absent. She even has the opportunity to upgrade her core size.

Students are spooked at the San Francisco School of Fine Arts, and Lily is called in to search for possible paranormal activity. In return she's been promised a trunkful of Victorian-era clothes recently discovered in a school storage closet. But Lily finds something else: the body of a wealthy patron of the school. In between running the store and seeing her new boyfriend, Max - a "mythbuster" who is uncomfortable with her witchcraft - she uses her sleuthing skills to try to solve the murder. Soon Lily senses something from the school's vintage clothes, but it's not the smell of mothballs - it's the unmistakable aura of evil intent.