There has been trend in our popular media over time. From movies, TV, games, comics, and books. It began as presenting our main characters as flawless good guys. They always did the right thing. They always had good manners. They were kind, but they weren’t realistic. In rebellion against that, the anti-hero came out. The hero that still liked to murder. The criminal who would fight the bad guys as well as the good. A subsection even morphed into following villain stories altogether. While more realistic, they aren’t hero characters to be admired and modeled after. If taken too far, it glorifi ..read more

This is an autobiographical post. The names of people and places may be changed. We decided to write autobiographical posts about the colorful life we have lived. There will be tales of sleeping in a campervan on the beach, of defending a bird’s nest from a snake, and of running away from wolves while sick with bronchitis. There will be tales of diagnosis with PTSD and ADHD and how it changed our lives, of meeting biological family, and of job loss. It’s a tale of overcoming challenges, of finding out who we are, of love, hope, cats, and of a marriage that’s gotten stronger through it all. Aut ..read more

We talk about the differing opinions about the amount if detail in books and give some tips for your writing! If you search for writing tips online, it doesn’t take long to find widely differing viewpoints on how much, or how little, description is needed to make a good book. “I don’t care about the color of the sunset! This book describes way too much!” “I can’t picture any of the locations. There needs to be more detail.” “Stop it with the sappy ‘eyes like glittering moonlight’ descriptions.” “I love sappy descriptions! I live for them!” “I don’t care how the character looks. I’m only intere ..read more

We presented you with two earlier excerpts from the fifth book in our Thread of Souls series. One from Ruuda’s POV, and one from Jade’s POV. Here is our third and final excerpt on our way to book publication! Keep in mind the book is still in the final editing stages, and things may be changed. All content is protected under Tal & Ru Travels LLC. Enjoy! TALIESIN  . . . What’s happening?  Pain was the first thing that woke Taliesin’s fuzzy, drugged consciousness. He felt himself dragged across rough stone. He tried to command his body to move but couldn’t concentrate. Couldn’t foc ..read more

This is an autobiographical post. The names of people and places may be changed. We decided to write autobiographical posts about the colorful life we have lived. There will be tales of sleeping in a campervan on the beach, of defending a bird’s nest from a snake, and of running away from wolves while sick with bronchitis. There will be tales of diagnosis with PTSD and ADHD and how it changed our lives, of meeting biological family, and of job loss. It’s a tale of overcoming challenges, of finding out who we are, of love, hope, cats, and of a marriage that’s gotten stronger through it all. Aut ..read more

For this art feature we are going to highlight some creatures from the world of Thread of Souls! All art is done by co-author Talia, a self-taught artist who does this as a hobby. All art is protected by Tal & Ru Travels LLC. Enjoy ! Cherrisil These little creatures live in Eleste’si, a capital city. They like to snack on the cherry blossoms that are so abundant! While some people in the city think they are cute, others get upset when they ruin carefully curated cherry blossom trees during peak season. Stone Snakes These are pests in the Deep Hollows. They look just like stones, and so th ..read more

What is a collaborative TTPRG check-in, and why is it important? These check-ins are when players together, or a GM and a player, take time to talk about the game they are playing. It’s a great opportunity to brainstorm ideas for the story ahead, as well as talk about character development. We’ve employed these TTPRG check-ins throughout our nearly eight years of playing. We did it when we had a very large group at the table, and we do it even more now with just the two of us. These can be formal, sit-down occasions with note taking. Or they can be more informal text messages whenever you’re f ..read more

March has been a relatively quiet month on the Thread of Souls side. We’ve had a lot of personal tasks to attend to and have been tackling some challenges. But we’ve still got the train rolling along, so to speak. Book V: The Deep Hollows We are in the editing phase for the fifth book in the Thread of Souls series. Currently I’m reading it all aloud and adjusting it as needed. After that, I’ll pass it over to Dorian to edit. Pretty soon we’ll be able to share new cover art and the official summary! Though editing isn’t my favorite, it’s important for us to take our time in this step to ensure ..read more

This is the eighth and final post in a series on how to become a writer. How much does it cost to become a writer? You might go into it with the idea that you’ll spend nothing but time, and plenty of royalties will flow your way. Don’t we all wish that was so?! But it does require some money on your part not only to get a good book published, but to maintain an online presence and protect your assets. This post is mainly aimed an indie authors and writers, but anyone seeking to run their own business can benefit from this. We share our stories about what we actually pay for in a year to keep o ..read more

This is an autobiographical post. The names of people and places may be changed. We decided to write autobiographical posts about the colorful life we have lived. There will be tales of sleeping in a campervan on the beach, of defending a bird’s nest from a snake, and of running away from wolves while sick with bronchitis. There will be tales of diagnosis with PTSD and ADHD and how it changed our lives, of meeting biological family, and of job loss. It’s a tale of overcoming challenges, of finding out who we are, of love, hope, cats, and of a marriage that’s gotten stronger through it all. Aut ..read more