Not too long ago, I wrapped up a bible study by Tara-Leigh Cobble called He’s Where the Joy Is, which I participated in through her organization D-Group (both of which I highly recommend!). The study was on the Trinity, which both daunted and excited me. The Trinity—the theological doctrine that God exists as One God …
Author: Madelynn Orion
Rereading the Tolkien Canon (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, & The Lord of the Rings)
It had been a while since I last read The Lord of the Rings—just about four and a half years, to be exact. Same with The Hobbit. And, to be honest, I couldn’t give a timeline on when I last read The Silmarillion; I just know it was sometime in high school. Since I’ve been …
Continue reading Rereading the Tolkien Canon (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, & The Lord of the Rings)
Happy 20 Years to Kingdom Hearts, My Favorite Video Game I’ve Never Played…
Okay, given the fact that I’m technically the one who got my brother into Kingdom Hearts because I picked up re:coded for the Nintendo DS all those years ago, the title of this post is a little misleading. However, it is true that I haven’t played all of the Kingdom Hearts games. Just re:coded, Kingdom …
Continue reading Happy 20 Years to Kingdom Hearts, My Favorite Video Game I’ve Never Played…
Storytelling Tips from Video Games
I love video games, though I’m not a particularly skilled player. My brother and I grew up in the Nintendo DS and Wii era and shared many moments playing together—duking it out in Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Mario Kart.I still feel nostalgic about particular games I played growing up, and during college started to …
The End: Writing Farewells & Finales
I’ll admit, I’ve written more beginnings than endings, to the point that I’m tempted to say that writing the first chapter of a book is significantly harder than writing the last. I don’t necessarily disagree with that statement—I myself struggle most with how to best start a book—yet I do certainly think that a misstep …
February 2022 Writing Update
Set-backs in writing are…frustrating. And discouraging. I know set-backs are common for writers. Stories not working out, characters falling flat, readers not understanding something in the book, etc. There are always scenes to revise and stories to sort out. And it takes humility to see it, to say, “It’s not ready yet,” and be willing …
Fools Friday: Holding the Dream
As one final Fools Friday post, I wanted to share a video from December 2020 when I received my first proof copy in the mail. This was a special moment for me because it’s the first time I held a physical copy of my book in book form and saw how the cover art would …
How Our Company of Fools Changed My Writing
Fueled by an explosion of inspiration and angst, I wrote Our Company of Fools at the beginning of January 2016. I’d never written a book of that length that quickly. I’d never written a more personally emotional book. I never wrestled so much with a story through the ebbs and flows of editing and revision. …
Continue reading How Our Company of Fools Changed My Writing
Fools Friday: Failed Sequels
Oh boy. Today’s a fun topic. If you read my post last year summarizing the history of Our Company of Fools, you might remember that I mentioned my attempts at a sequel never panned out. For today’s Fools Friday, I want to dive a bit deeper into the directions I considered for a sequel and …
Fools Friday: Behind the Cover Art
Happy Fools Friday! Today, I wanted to tell the brief history behind the cover art for the book. The cover was created by Caleb Cole, a graphic designer, fine artist, and friend of mine, but before the project was handed off to him, I actually tried to design a cover myself…using Canva. I know, I …
By Madelynn Orion 