In January 2008, David, along with his friends Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, and C.E. Murphy, began the Magical Words blog site, a blog devoted to the craft and business of writing and geared toward advanced intermediate writers of all genres, but especially fantasy. From the beginning, Magical Words was a labor of love, a project born of passion for teaching, the desire to give back to the genre and its readers, and a wonderful spirit of camaraderie, collegiality, and friendship.

In the years the followed the founders of Magical Words added contributors to the site — A.J. Hartley, Mindy Klasky, Edmund Schubert, John Hartness, Lucienne Diver, James Tuck, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Kalayna Price, Stuart Jaffe, Carrie Ryan, Lynn Flewelling — and hosted more guests than can possibly be listed here.  And still the site goes on, with guest and discussions of writing.

Somewhere along the way, a core group — Faith, Misty, A.J., Catie (C.E.), Stuart, Edmund, and David decided it would be a good idea to turn some of what had been done on the site into a book. And so was born HOW TO WRITE MAGICAL WORDS: A WRITER’S COMPANION. The book, also a labor of love, is available from Bella  Rosa Books. Pick up a copy — you’re bound to learn a few things about writing, the writing life, and the publishing industry.

“This is the best idea for a writing book that I’ve ever seen. It’s like sitting in a room full of professional writers, and after each one delivers a riff on one aspect of writing, the others weigh in to buttress, amplify, refine, or add to what was said. It’s an extended conversation with writers who know what they’re talking about—and what matters in writing fiction that really communicates with readers.” —Orson Scott Card