Just a nerdy kid who grew up to be an even nerdier adult. I’m a gamer, reader, writer, photographer, and hiker. If I’m not 500 hours into a video game or nose deep in a book somewhere, you’ll likely find me out on the hiking trail.

Blood & Silver and the Runeforged Saga series was inspired by my favorite video game of all time—Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It planted a seed of a cursed realm and five warriors reluctantly bound together by prophecy and elemental magic. I didn’t think I would ever write it but something about this story stuck with me over the years. It followed me through three different states, heartbreak and more personal trials than I care to recount. One fateful day I sat down at my computer, opened up a word document without a clue of what I was doing and I just started typing.

I quickly discovered that while I may have been a straight A student and college essays had always been a breeze, writing a sweeping epic fantasy saga was not exactly in my skillset. The years the followed would be a whirlwind of reading, listening to Brandon Sanderson writing lectures on Youtube and a lot of revision.

I was lucky enough to live through the golden age of fantasy media. Beyond the Zelda franchise I’ve played some incredibly RPGs; from Final Fantasy, to World of Warcraft, to the Witcher. The Witcher in particular caught my attention as it captured the gritty mood I was looking for in my own work. Then there’s Lord of the Rings, the franchise every fantasy director has been trying to emulate since the early 2000s (and failing miserably). Then in 2010 came the juggernaut that was Game of Thrones. While the show sadly didn’t end on the highest of notes, it put the final piece into place within my own work. Five rival kings and queens, bound together by prophecy and elemental magic, in a realm cursed by undeath and demons.

Thus, the Runeforged Saga series was born. It’s my love letter to the fantasy genre. A genre that has been my shelter in extremely hard times. When life in this world got rough, I could always escape to Hyrule, Azeroth, Middle Earth, or Westeros. I hope that Ashureen could one day be a shelter for those who are looking to escape as well. I didn’t intend to write the epic high fantasy of my dreams, but fate it seems, had other plans.