R.J. Castiglione's Blog

I sometimes ask myself why I write the sort of stories I do. In Fjorgyn, I created an entire world alien to our own, with its own culture, problems, and governing systems, one where people had to cope with RPG-like mecha...

It's official. I've bitten off more than I can chew and am going to spend the next few months really, really catching up. Somewhere between being bitch-slapped by the COVID-19 lockdown (I'm not sick, don't worry) and spr...

When writing fantasy fiction, I find worldbuilding is a skill in and of itself, and just as vital to the success of your story as characters and plot. At the same time, I have seen many a promising indie author delve so ...

In Steamtown Chronicles: The Dark Market, Delmen MacDougall was my first stab at writing a sentient NPC in an unnamed VRMMORPG. In my mind, this game exists in the same universe as Fjorgyn: Online and Lacrimosa: Online (...

When I build a character, I often find myself asking a ton of questions about who a character is and who I ultimately want the character to be. Michael Semione offered an exciting challenge. On Earth, he was a timid tech...

Adam Frost is unique among my current stories and works in progress. I have Michael (Fjorgyn), Delmen (Steamtown Chronicles), Jonathan (Bracken Manor), Benjamin (WIP - Healer in the Mist), Jenny (WIP - Lacrimosa), and Ni...

At the moment, I'm in the throes of finalizing Sunset Sanctuary. I am currently in the last editing phase and will have it wrapped up by this weekend. The final word count rests at 61,500 words, right around 250 pages fo...

After a long week of editing, I'm proud to say "Sunset Sanctuary," my latest and first contemporary novel has been sent off to my wonderful editor who, like me, is stuck at home and implementing social distancing.

Sometimes I'm waking up from a vivid dream. Other times, I'm out to dinner with my husband or driving in the car, or on vacation. Inspiration for a new story seems to hit me frequently and lingers in my mind until I get ...