Epic Worlds: When Fantasy Meets Poetry

 

Epic Worlds in Verse: When Fantasy Meets Poetry

This morning, I'm arranging my table at Realm Makers Writers Conference and Expo—a gathering of Christian fantasy and sci-fi writers. Stacks of sword-clashing and spaceship novels surround me, yet the little poem stack in the corner is part of my writing, too.

Fantasy, scifi, and poetry invite us to speak in symbols. They ask our hearts to see farther than our eyes. My new collection, To Speak, lives right in that overlap with poems from the real world, but also phoenix-bright free verse. While it's more usual for epic fantasy to live in great tomes of text, it is possible to celebrate epic worlds in verse, when fantasy meets poetry. 

Here’s one of those pieces:

***

Embers by Tyrean Martinson

The wind is gone,

the trees are still,

clouds cover sun,

my heart feels chill.

 

But the embers glow,

and from this I know,

the spark still lives,

and each breath gives

 

Faith to life,

Truth to love,

Peace abiding,

Hope for flight:

 

A phoenix rising.

***

If you’re walking the expo floor, stop by my booth and read more. If you’re miles away, know that To Speak is taking shape on Kickstarter right now—ready to ignite new sparks of courage and wonder. 

➡️ Kickstarter link | 🛡️ #FantasyPoetry #PhoenixVerse #RealmMakers #ToSpeak

To Speak with Fairy Tales and Faith

 

To Speak with Fairy Tales and Faith

My poems walk winding roads.
One road is faith.
God’s grace anchors each line.
The second road is imagination.
Castles, lost crowns, winged lions—yes, please.

I believe stories shape souls.
Parables proved that long ago.
Fairy tales do the same today.
They sneak truth past our defenses.

To Speak binds these roads together.
Light meets legend.
Prayer meets once-upon-a-time.

Below is a peek from the collection.
It nods to every “sleeping” dreamer who still hopes.

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Sample Poem — “The Sleeper Wakes”

She hears the thirteenth clock strike noon.
No prince breaks the bramble gate.
Instead, a whisper cuts the curse:
“Rise, child of dust and dawn.
Storms need singers, not silence.”
She stands on shaky legs,
brushes off a century of hush,
and speaks—
one word,
bright as brass.

---

Words like these fill the book.
Some bloom from Scripture.
Others bloom from story.
All ask us to wake and speak.

Call to Action

If faith and fairy tales move you, back the project today.
Help these poems find every sleeper who still believes the hope of a new bright dawn beyond the visible horizon.

👉 Kickstarter link: To Speak

Thanks and Gratitude on To Speak Launch Day

 The Kickstarter for To Speak is now live!

Before I shout links and reward tiers, I need to say thank-you.

---

First Spark

In tenth grade, Ms. Evans encouraged me to try poetry. 
She thought I might love it.
She was right. One small nudge, and a lifelong voice woke up.

---

Circles of Courage

• Creative Colloquy handed me a mic and let a shaky poem fly.

• The Insecure Writer's Support Group cheered on so many of my fiction and poetry efforts.

• My in-person writing crew passed pages, pens, and conversations over our projects.

• My Thursday accountability author group encourages me every week online to keep chasing down my dreams and putting foundations under them.

• Years ago, an editor took a chance on one of my poems.

Each yes, each gentle bit of feedback and encouragement, pushed To Speak one page further.

---

Cover-Art Vote

Last month I posted several draft covers on Instagram and Facebook.
You voted. You argued colors. You encouraged me to consider different images.
Now the book wears a shared vision. 

---

Editors, Acceptances, Rejections

Editors who published me: thank you for the green lights.
Editors who rejected me: thank you for the hard turns.
Both routes brought the poems home sharper and braver.

---

Today’s Invitation

Because of every teacher, reader, voter, and friend,
To Speak launches with a chorus, not a solo.

1. Back the project if the poems call to you.

2. Share the link with someone who needs courage to speak.

👉 Kickstarter link: To Speak: Poems of Courage, Grace & the Sacred Ordinary

Thank you for giving these words their wings.

Courage, Creation, and The Title To Speak

 

Courage Before “Launch”

As the Kickstarter clock ticks down, nerves rattle louder. The collection is titled To Speak for a reason: it’s a call to step up, speak out, and weave faith with creativity, no matter the butterflies. Yet here I am, tempted to stall, to fuss over perfect copy, to hide behind “research” instead of clicking Publish.

Long posts? Readers skim. Short posts? I fear they miss the heart. The dread says, “Wait until everything is flawless.” The truth says, “Perfection is silence in disguise.” My answer is to break the work into small, honest pieces and share one brave line at a time.

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Call to Writers

If the blank page shakes your knees, hold the pen anyway. Courage is walking forward while fear tags along—write, post, submit, repeat.

Call to Readers

Ready to see where that courage leads? Peek at my Kickstarter Preview for To Speak and join the journey from first tremor to final print.

IWSG July 2025, A New Book, and Kickstarter

Happy IWSG Day!

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts for the July 2 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre, Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour!

And as always, we are lead by our Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh!

Optional Question of the Month:

Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?

My answer:

Yes, I really want to try writing adventure-tech-paranormal thrillers as a mashup. And yes, I have some scraps of stories that may eventually come together someday.

My current focus for writing and publishing involves my upcoming poetry collection (see more below) and moving forward with The Dark Blade Trilogy this fall with book 2 on the way. 

Why I wasn’t here last month to chat: we had a family member in the emergency room. Everyone is okay now, but it’s part of my life taking care of my elderly parents as an only child. 

Even with life rollercoaster moments, I still keep on going.

My Big News:

I am launching a Kickstarter Campaign for To Speak: Poems of Inspired Courage, Wild Grace, and Sacred Ordinary. 

This poetry collection will include poems over the last twelve years of my writing life, including a poem that tied for second place in the Lakewold Gardens Poetry in the Gardens Contest from 2022, poems which have been published in various places, and new-never-seen-before poems. 

This is a sample mockup of one of my tiers (almost the highest reward one). Please note this isn't the final cover with all the extras on it - gold foil, etc.

To find out more, head to my Kickstarter Campaign Page (or see Monday's post).

A huge way you can help me without spending any money on the campaign is to sign up BEFORE it even begins. If I have a certain number of sign ups, Kickstarter will promote it to their “regular” backers. 

Praying you all have happy writing and find beauty in life for all the month of July and beyond!

And Happy Fourth of July!