Character Spotlight: Captain Galyek Basilekel

Character Spotlight Image - RandiAnderson.com

Earlier posts acquainted you with the main heroes of my novel-in-progress, The Whitemaiden — namely the healer sisters Catirna and Alruna and the sage Axel. Now I think it’s time to present one of the villains! Meet Galyek Basilekel*, the dreaded captain of the guard at the Thornwood Citadel. WAIT. HOLD UP. That’s not Galyek. That’s Josef. … Read more

A Tale of Two Novel Openings

Thank Amazon for free Kindle samples…because what a difference an opening chapter makes. The other day, after finishing Mariette in Ecstasy, I hungered for another good story and so consulted my ever-growing to-read list. There were two books in particular that I was curious about, so I downloaded their opening chapters to compare. It was a good … Read more

ENCHANTMENT by Orson Scott Card

Friday night I finished reading Enchantment by Orson Scott Card — and I was caught between the pleasure of having read such a great book and the sadness of finally coming to the end of the adventure. The plot summary you can find on Amazon, but basically Enchantment is a modernized and Russianized retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It … Read more