Thomas Howard Riley
@thomashowardriley.bsky.social
190 followers 220 following 550 posts
author of rated-R fantasy sagas | cat whisperer | father of 2 tiny superheroes | history nerd | guitarist | swordfighter | evil wizard | lover of chonky books | notorious car radio singalong extraordinaire thomashowardriley.com
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thomashowardriley.bsky.social
The cute giant dog content in this manuscript shan’t preclude the grimdark violence content.
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Very excited to help celebrate wirh @spotlightindie.bsky.social!! Happy year one of supporting indie authors!
spotlightindie.bsky.social
Our Big Indie Weekend is nearly over, but before we wrap up, we're inviting some friends over to celebrate one year of Spotlight Indie. Join Holly and Frasier, plus @thomashowardriley.bsky.social, @alethearlyons.bsky.social and @tdevens.bsky.social at 9pm! youtube.com/live/glKdXsC...
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
2yr old daughter just walked in wearing her favorite snow white costume and unprompted told me that when she grows up she wants to be a daywalker so she can chop vampires up with her sword

So now that I’ve won parenting I’ve got to figure out what to do with the rest of my night
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
me: *writes multiple books after years of practice & hundreds of drafts having learned thousands of little tricks of writing, plotting, editing & publishing*

anyone: do you have any writing advice?

me: um, what? hmmm *taps chin* how to write? how to write? how to write?
Reposted by Thomas Howard Riley
williamjadams3.bsky.social
I know there's still a week left, but Tuesday, Sept 23rd at 8pm CST, we will be chatting with @thomashowardriley.bsky.social about his book, The Light of Kasaban for Willow Wraith Press' Indie Book Club. Come join the chat!
Reposted by Thomas Howard Riley
williamjadams3.bsky.social
Hey indie book fans on #booksky, Willow Wraith Press' Indie Book Club book of September is The Light of Kasaban by @thomashowardriley.bsky.social!

Here's my review for this awesome book!

Don't forget, we are talking with Thomas tonight at 8pm CST!
Reposted by Thomas Howard Riley
spotlightindie.bsky.social
@thomashowardriley.bsky.social is the author of We Break Immortals, The Monsters We Feed, The Light of Kasaban and The Last Gasp of Midnight. Recently described himself as 'profoundly silly'. You can find Thomas here: thomashowardriley.com
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Editing fun:

It just doesn’t hit the same during an emotional scene when your main character feels hopless instead of hopeless
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
As much as it frustrates me how long it takes to write & edit & publish a book, I am eternally grateful for that time because I tend to keep coming up with badass ways to improve the story all the while

Sometimes a VITAL element of the story only reveals itself on the final edit
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Weird fact: I have synesthesia so to me letters have colors & textures & ‘vibe’

Because of this, the way letters are arranged in characters’ names impacts their personalities in my writing

I’m not remotely qualified to determine how weird this might seem to anyone else
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Relief is noticing in the final copy edit of your manuscript that the sequence of events might be out of order and you panic thinking you’ll have to chop up and reassemble the whole book, only to remember that you already did that and this is the correct sequence
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
I’ve heard that a good author can survive in the wilderness for up to 72 hours with only a single new story idea and their own determination to find some kind of writing device to jot that idea down before they fall asleep.
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Sometimes you stumble across a line while editing that you’d forgotten you wrote

Sometimes those words are a perfect distillation of your main character

I’d say this is by far the best way to summarize Evran Caid (from The Heroes We Never Were)

I can’t wait for you to meet him
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
The problem with me writing so much serious rated-R high stakes dark (grimdark?) stuff is that at my core I am a profoundly silly person and a certain amount of that goofiness inevitably works its way into my books.
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Writing a character when I know from the start that they are going to die

Every day I watch them grow from a little idea into a complete person, someone who surprises me and inspires me and the more beautiful their souls become the more it hurts to know what must happen to them
Reposted by Thomas Howard Riley
spotlightindie.bsky.social
Big Indie Weekend Panel: INDIE AUTHOR SUMMER PARTY. Join us as we invite @tdevens.bsky.social, @thomashowardriley.bsky.social and @alethearlyons.bsky.social to join Holly and Frasier to wrap up the weekend with a celebration of all things indie!
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Thank you Bjorn!!! 🔥 It’s been a long journey for this one.
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
THANK YOUUUUUU!!! You have exceptional taste so it makes me so glad you dig it! 😃
Reposted by Thomas Howard Riley
ajcalvin.bsky.social
In a city where magic is forbidden and most of its users are detained and killed, Saya dares to protect and teach children born with the gift. The Light of Kasaban is a story of oppression, defiance, and found family.

Review below

@lordtbrffa.bsky.social @thomashowardriley.bsky.social
#booksky
Review: The Light of Kasaban by Thomas Howard Riley | FanFiAddict
Synopsis: In the brutal desert city of Kasaban, the old gods have had their statues crushed to powder by invading Priests, with magick forbidden to anyone b ...
fanfiaddict.com
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Editing fun:

Remembering halfway through editing the book that you changed the name of that one gate from the bridge-gate to the midgate, but only after you’ve already changed them all to the old name and now you have to switch them all back

At least it’s only the 3rd time 😂
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
I finally found my favorite coffee mug hiding in the back of my cabinet!

Being an author sometimes feels like being on both sides of this at once 😅
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
Your wake up alarm: beep beep beep beep

My wake up alarm: daddy wake up lemme tell you something about transformers did you know they have power from a gazillion energies & that’s how they can transform? I have that thought in my brain & said it to you now it’s in your brain too
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
I really dig chapter titles for a whole variety of reasons (some rational and some neurotic)

I do wonder how many people are like me vs how many think I’m crazy

Here are the ones from The Light Of Kasaban—mostly because it’s my only book short enough to all fit on one page 😂
thomashowardriley.bsky.social
I know I say this about every new book I write but this one is quite simply the best thing I’ve ever written

It has the best qualities from each of my previous books and I just love this new story and it’s characters

Here are some fire emojis so you know I’m serious🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥