So, I have done a few book signings since the release of King of the Forgotten Darkness last year, and one question I’ve gotten is whether or not my book is “like Fourth Wing”? At the time I was like, well…I dunno. I looked up what it was about–a dragon rider college mixed with enemies-to-lovers romance with quite a bit of spice. What could go wrong? Not only that, but Fourth Wing is incredibly popular, I think there’s talk of a TV show or movie, I dunno. That said, it’s also

DREAMS, NIGHTMARES, AND THE IMAGINATION In this podcast over at James Cussen's "The Living Philosophy" podcast, I return to James' channel and we have a fun time discussing ways to understand the meaning of dreams and how best to explain them. After our last podcast, James picked up my book Understanding Dreams and Other Spontaneous Images: the Invisible Storyteller, and well, let's just say, James had questions! So sit back, tune in and have a listen while we discuss the dee

Hey Imaginarians and fellow misfit toys, I just had an interview with The Statesman of MSN.com , where I talk about the importance of mythic fantasy in psychological healing and transformation. The original article can be found here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/society-culture-and-history/books-and-literature/reclaiming-the-soul-author-erik-goodwyn-on-healing-trauma-through-mythic-fantasy/ar-AA1YRnre?fbclid=IwY2xjawQnw7dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFhSDRINDhiWDNVVmhqREllc3J0YwZhcHBfa

Obsessed with Death, Fantasy, Dreams, and More! So, this week, I discuss death, dying, the mind, and ritual with Rob on the "Obsessed with Death" podcast--click HERE for more: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/when-the-dead-visit-our-dreams/id1478296198?i=1000755367378 . Rob and I cover a lot in this episode, including: Why modern Western culture has largely lost meaningful death rituals How traditional grief rituals help people move from overwhelming grief to “integrated

It's book review time! So this month I am reviewing A Drowned Kingdom by P.L. Stuart--a somewhat divisive beginning to an epic fantasy series that blends elements of medieval chivalric adventure tales and modern political fantasy to make a tale about Othrun, second Prince of Atalantyx. Othrun is a consummate knight, honorable, noble, and skilled...but also bigoted, sexist, and racist. Hence the divisiveness! In other words, Second Prince Othrun is kind of a jerk, but also wi

Greetings Imaginarians, Soul Journeyers and Fellow Misfit Toys! Please join me in welcoming award winning fantasy and science fiction author Janny Wurts. If you don't know who Janny Wurts is, she is a very prolific writer who wrote To Ride Hell's Chasm , which I reviewed recently on my YT and TikTok channel, but she is SO much more than that. Janny is not only a professional author, she is a professional painter as well, and she has had an incredibly rich journey throughout h

Back in 2020, I and Dr. Jessica Reis published a paper on the importance of teaching psychiatric residents dream interpretation, and you can email me if you want a copy of that paper, but turns out there is a lot of literature on how important dream work really is–and yet despite that, most institutions don’t have a dedicated course in it. Why is that? And what is the problem here? Let’s get into it! Why Don't We Teach More About Dreams? So, with only a few exceptions, why do

Today’s post is for all you writers out there, or fantasy lovers who just love to talk story and storytelling. I’m going to share a scene-structure technique that I’ve developed over the years of my own writing journey. No, I’m not a best-selling author or anything (yet), but I hope you’ll at least find it interesting. Dreams and Carl Jung's 'analytical psychology' So in this book, the Chidren’s Dreams seminar, the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung, in his prime at the time duri

So, I finished Philip Chase’s Edan Trilogy and I have thoughts - quite a few of them!  So, if you don’t know, the Edan trilogy was written by Philip Chase, a professor of English Studies. So, he is an expert on Old English literature as well as other works such as the Icelandic Sagas, Irish and Welsh myths. Given that I've read a LOT of that material, although I am not an expert in it like he is, we nevertheless have a lot in common since we're also both major fantasy nerds.

What if you slept And what if In your sleep You dreamed And what if In your dream You went to heaven And there plucked a strange and beautiful flower And what if When you awoke You had that flower in you hand Ah, what then? So this poem by Coleridge, written in 1834, expresses a common theme in fantasy (and sci-fi and horror) stories - the distinction between imagination and reality. What is the boundary, and is it as hard and rigid as we commonly think it is? The Boundary So

Hey Imaginarians! Especially to all my subscribers interested in creative writing and fantasy fiction, I have a special treat for you today: an interview with Filipa Roque of Fantasy Wordsmith! Filipa is a professional developmental editor and beta reader, and she has graciously agreed to share her insights with us today! Meet Filipa Roque: The Fantasy Wordsmith Hi Imaginarians and all subscribers of this talented author. I am a Portuguese fantasy fanatic with a degree in the

Greetings Imaginarians! Some news for you--I have another book signing coming up on November 15th at the Elizabethtown, KY Barnes & Noble. I will be there signing copies of King of the Forgotten Darkness from 1pm - 5pm, come one come all! If you get a chance, I'd love to meet and greet. Next up, I just posted a new podcast discussion on my Youtube channel, the Imaginarium. This one is with fantasy author and professor of English literature, Philip Chase. Be sure to hop over t

No doubt you’ve heard about the standard choices, first person present or past tense, third person limited, third person omniscient, and all that. So, if you’re a writer, which one do you choose? Do you just go with “well, I’ll just pick this one because it just feels right”. What are we a bunch of hippies? No, if you’re going to pick a POV, you should know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what the tradeoffs are. If you're new here, welcome to the Imaginarium! I’m

I have a couple of special treats for you all today, on this glorious day of days--not only the best day of the year, but also my birthday, so HUZZAH to that haha! Anyway, it's been a busy week here, and I have two new podcasts for you all, one on the process of writing for all you creative writers out there. Aster Jewell and I do a workshop on how to put together a great query letter for your novel--it's actually a very important part of the process, not only to get attentio

I just recently re-watched one of my favorite Guillermo del Toro films, Pan’s Labyrinth. And of course, the big question in that movie is: are the fantasy creatures real, or is it all just in Ofelia’s head? A lot has been said about this award-winning movie, which I won’t rehash. What really caught my attention was the interesting question of whether or not the fantasy elements of the story are real or whether or not they are merely in the imagination of the main character Of

Hey Imaginarians, quick note, philosopher James Cussen has just now posted a great conversation about dreams, meaning-making, and fantasy writing on his channel @TheLivingPhilosophy on Youtube. You can check out our conversation right here: James is an engaging thinker and explorer of all sorts of fascinating subjects, so don't miss out on this one. See you next time! EG

Hey gang, so the latest on The Treacherous Fire , book 2 of the Raven’s Tale: I’m finished with all 5 drafts and now it is in the alpha and beta reading phase. So far I’m getting very positive feedback for it, so that’s very exciting. The Treacherous Fire The story is, of course, a sequel to King of the Forgotten Darkness, set twenty years later, where an investigator in Midworld is trying to track down Liam and his Dream Stone, but Liam turns the tables on him and drags him

Cinderella is classified as ATU 510A and has variations all over the world. It’s not just a Disney movie based on Brother’s Grimm, it’s found in Finland to Sardinia, from Slovakia to Japan, from India to North American First Nations, from Chile to Egypt, from Namibia to South Africa.  So what is the Cinderella folktale type? In this story, a young woman is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, and forced to live in the ash as a servant. When they all go to a ball or t

You aspiring writers have heard this advice. You fantasy readers have heard it, and you’re on the lookout for it. I’ve encountered this...

There has been a trend in the last few years in fantasy where the authors are including depictions of mental illness in their fantasy...