Life has been incredibly busy lately, so I have not had much time for the blog—or writing in general—but today’s post is something that’s been on my mind for a while. It’s a list of books I would encourage every Christian to read, as they speak into many cultural issues we are facing as a …
Author: Madelynn Orion
A Completed Draft 2: Writing Update May 2025
Huzzah, The Myth-Keepers Draft 2 is complete! This semester-long project has been an absolute delight to work on in the beginning part of 2025. I mostly kept up with my goal of revising 10 chapters each month, though that fell off in April entering into finals. However, the flexibility of May post-finals week allowed me …
Continue reading A Completed Draft 2: Writing Update May 2025
The 2025 Easter Post: A Prayer Through Psalm 40
I wait intently upon the Lord, knowing He has heard my cry for help, help in the midst of a season of loneliness, of striving and feeling stuck, a cry for help waging war against my own sin, my own lack of gratitude, my own blindness to the goodness of the God I cry out …
Continue reading The 2025 Easter Post: A Prayer Through Psalm 40
Reading Recap 2025 – Part 1
I’ve read a ton in 2025 already, from massive fantasy fiction to thought-provoking nonfiction. Here’s a roundup of the highlights, starting with the biggest book I’ve read this year: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson (3.5/5 Stars): Let’s start off with my highest anticipated read of 2024, which I finished at the start of 2025. …
Storytelling and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been in crisis mode since Avengers: Endgame. Why is that? I went on a quest to answer that very question. Recently, I watched through (most of) the MCU, adding in the movies and most of the shows I skipped in recent years. And honestly, a lot of the newer …
Continue reading Storytelling and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
Best Strong Women in Fiction
Confession: I don’t like a lot of women characters in fiction. On the one hand, you’ve got the one-note damsels in distress, which we’ve largely moved away from as a society. On the other hand, we’ve overcorrected with the tough girlboss trope that largely masculinizes women. Neither extreme lends itself well to creating and presenting …
All About Teamwork
My fantasy series WIP, The Myth-Keepers, is a teamwork-driven story, and as I’ve worked on it, I’ve reflected on some of the best teams in fiction. Now, I certainly could talk about nonfictional teams as well, such as the Minnesota Vikings, which would be a well-deserved shoutout, but I’ll stick to fictional ones. After all, …
Writing Lessons: Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive
Leading up to the release of Wind and Truth, I reread Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive (abbreviated to “Stormlight” throughout).Along the way of revisiting one of my favorite fantasy series, I made some mental notes on how to apply Sanderson’s mastery of fantasy world-building into my own tales and what my fellow fantasy writers might …
Continue reading Writing Lessons: Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive
Of Kings and Prophets
After years of putting it off, I finally achieved a long-time goal of mind: read through the Kings & Prophets of the Old Testament chronologically. It took me all of 2024 and was such a sweet, rewarding way to engage with Scripture last year. So, I wanted to share some of the main insights and …
Writing Update January 2025: A New Year Full Of New Excitement
Happy 2025! Wow, can’t believe I haven’t written on the blog since last year… (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Anyways, terrible joke aside, I have some exciting progress to report. Since my last writing update, despite starting a Ph.D. program in the Fall, I managed to write a rough draft for not one, but TWO novels! …
Continue reading Writing Update January 2025: A New Year Full Of New Excitement
