Father Roderick

Advent of Dragons - Chapter 4: Of Lanterns and Tunnels Brought to you by Lyn Francisco

Chapter 4 of my cozy fantasy book is here: The Lantern Boy and the Tunnel Beast

A missing rock monster. A mysterious tunnel. And a lantern-maker who sees more than he lets on.

A wintery chapter with glowing creatures and glimmers of something more: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

I think things are working again, thankfully!

Looks like there’s another serious Cloudflare issue, lots of sites like Substack are down (including, ironically, Downdetector).

How Pokémon Helped Me Write Today’s Cozy Fantasy Chapter Advent of Dragons - Chapter 3: The Rock Whisperer | Sponsored by CozyFantasy.nl

How #Pokémon helped me write today’s Cozy Fantasy chapter: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

Advent of Dragons - Chapter 2: The Lost Spark Sponsored by Sarah Lindamood

Read chapter 2 of my new cozy fantasy book 'Advent of Dragons' for free:

fatherroderick.substack.com/p/advent-of-...

#CozyFantasy #FantasyWriters #BlueSkyBooks

I DID IT! In just 30 days, I finished my Irish medieval fantasy novel. 32 chapters, 105,025 words, plus an additional 11,631 words of scholarly appendices. That’s a grand total of 116,656 words!

Follow my Substack for more updates! Link: fatherroderick.substack.com

YouTube video by Father Roderick - LEGO Brickpriest The Life of Saint Martin of Tours in 60 seconds - with LEGO!

It’s Saint Martin’s Day! In parts of the Netherlands, kids sing door to door for candy 🍬🎶
I made a short LEGO explainer video to share the tradition — check it out!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycBl...

The final #Inktober story is here!
Prompt: Award 🏆

Meet Miss Whistleblossom, a pixie with a dandelion hat and more wit than wingspan.
She enters a harvest contest—against giants, squirrels, and too much pie.

Read the tale 🍁
fatherroderick.substack.com/p/miss-whist...

One Vacant Room Inktober Day 30 – “Vacant.” A couple seeks shelter in a remote Highland manor where one room is always vacant… and breakfast is always served. But some guests check in and never leave...

Inktober Day 30 – “Vacant.”

A couple seeks shelter in a remote Highland manor where one room is always vacant… and breakfast is always served. But some guests check in and never leave.

🎃 One of the spookiest stories I’ve written so far:
fatherroderick.substack.com/p/one-vacant...

The Lesson For Inktober Day 29, "Lesson": A sick young woman writes to her favorite fantasy author, hoping to learn his invented language—and finds herself drawn into a lesson no book could ever teach.

Still deep in my writing-and-drawing sprint to finish the #Inktober challenge. I loved creating this one, about a chronically ill young woman who writes to her favorite fantasy author, hoping to learn the language of his imagined world…

fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-lesson

The King of Skeletal City Inktober Day 28: “Skeletal.” A tyrant builds a city of bones to rule even in death—until a child leads him to the shore, where the tide teaches him what must be buried… and what can be rebuilt.

#Inktober Day 28: “Skeletal.”

A tyrant builds a city of bones to rule even in death—until a child leads him to the shore, where the tide teaches him what must be buried… and what can be rebuilt.

🎃 A short story for Halloween: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-king-o...

The Onion His tears made the play a legend—until the tears stopped flowing, and he was forced to peel back the layers of his own life to find what he’d lost. (Inktober Day 27, "Onion")

#Inktober Day 27 – “Onion” 🧅
An actor’s tears made him a legend... until they stopped.
To get them back, he had to peel back the layers of his own life.
fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-onion

The Puzzle Magic of Sister Ludica When a clever nun enters a magical baking contest to save her crumbling classroom, she discovers that true magic isn’t about winning—it’s about seeing wonder where others see failure.

#Inktober Day 26: "Puzzling"
The drawing was easy. The story? Not so much. Probably because it required inventing an entirely new magic system from scratch:

👉 fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-puzzle...

Catabasis: Firetail's Inferno After a sudden death, a mischievous cat finds himself descending through the nine circles of Hell, where he has to relive his nine lives. But even in the coldest place, grace can still purr.

#Inktober Day 25, "Inferno", inspired a drawing and a short story: Catabasis

After a sudden death, a mischievous cat finds himself descending through the nine circles of Hell, where he has to relive his nine lives:

fatherroderick.substack.com/p/catabasis-...

“Why fantasy?” they ask. “Why wizards and dragons when you could write about saints?”

Because sometimes truth hides in unlikely places. In a Hobbit’s courage, an Elf’s sorrow, or even a fallen wizard’s pride. Fantasy can preach the Gospel without ever quoting it.

The Missing Button Day 22 of Inktober began with a missing button. I didn’t know where it was going—just followed the thread. It led somewhere I didn’t expect: a quiet love story stitched with memory and loss.

Day 22 of #Inktober began with a missing button. I didn’t know where it was going—just followed the thread. It led somewhere I didn’t expect: a quiet love story stitched with memory and loss.

Read it here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-missin...

The Blast at the Edge of the Galaxy On a forgotten outpost at the edge of the galaxy, one trooper stands between order and chaos. But when fantasy and reality collide, a single blast changes everything.

Day 21 of #Inktober2025: “Blast.”

I set myself a challenge — write a story set in a galaxy far, far away… without using any names, trademarks, or crossing into fan fiction.

Did it work? You tell me: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-blast-...

Rivals of Wand and Will Inktober Day 20, “Rivals.” Two gifted students. Three trials. One throne. In the dungeon’s heart, they face the cost of power—and the true purpose behind their school’s deadly game.

#Inktober Day 20, “Rivals.”
Two gifted students. Three trials. One throne. In the dungeon’s heart, they face the cost of power—and the true purpose behind their school’s deadly game.

👉 Read the short story this prompt inspired: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/rivals-of-...

#Inktober, Day 24 – "Rowdy".

He was bred for hellfire. Raised on biscuits. His name was Rowdy—and he was. But sometimes, the loudest bark hides the bravest heart.

👉 Read the story of Rowdy the Hellhound here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/rowdy-the-...

#Inktober Day 23’s prompt “Firefly” lit up memories of the beloved sci-fi series.

I wrote a short story as an homage to its spirit, cast, and crew.
A loving tribute for all the Browncoats still flying.

👉 Read the story here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-firefl...

The Guardian of the Arctic Veil Day 19 of Inktober: Arctic. A man chases a myth through ice and grief, searching for what was lost. But in the shimmer of the polar lights, he finds a truth deeper than reason...

Here is my drawing for Day 19 of #Inktober: “Arctic”.

A man chases a myth through ice and grief, searching for what was lost. But in the shimmer of the polar lights, he finds a truth deeper than reason...

👉 Read my short story: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-guardi...

The Better Deal Inktober Day 18: “Deal”: Three children walked into a tavern. They were hungry. The innkeeper fed them. In return, they offer him a deal he can't refuse...

#Inktober Day 18: “Deal”: Three children walk into a tavern. They are hungry. The innkeeper feeds them. In return, they offer him a deal he can't refuse... Read the story here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-better...

I'm so excited to launch 'Dragon Patrol', my first serialized fantasy novel today at the LegendHaven Con! You can still get weekend tickets, they're only $10 (legendhaven.com)

Why This Cathedral Is Full of Dragons How saints and dragons inspired me to write two fantasy books

My weekly newsletter is out! Read about a cathedral full of dragons and discover what I will be announcing at #LegendHaven this weekend. Read it here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/why-this-c...

#Inktober Day 16’s prompt was “Blunder.” So I drew… a blender. A playful twist on misheard words. Today, it spiraled into an unusual love story about saying the wrong thing and being understood anyway. Enjoy: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-girl-w...

#Inktober Day 16: "Blunder" 🤪

The Thread Between Worlds For day 15 of Inktober, “ragged,” I drew a homeless man and a ghost in rags trying to scare him. The irony? They’re both in rags—the man’s unimpressed. I followed that thread, and it spun this story.

Yesterday, for #Inktober Day 15, "Ragged", I drew a ghost trying to scare a homeless man. Both were dressed in rags.

No story. Just a funny little sketch.

But this morning, the story found me. Half fairy tale, half parable:

fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-thread...

Caption this 👻

#Inktober day 15: "Ragged"
#inktoberchallenge #inktober2025

The Brewer’s Debt A monk trades a sacred chalice for a secret beer recipe. But some brews carry a cost beyond coin—and one sip may be enough to damn him. A dark monastic tale of thirst and consequence.

Here is the story inspired by #inktober day 13, "drink":

🍺 A monk trades a sacred chalice for a secret beer recipe. But some brews carry a cost beyond coin, and one sip may be enough to damn him...

👉 Read the full story here: fatherroderick.substack.com/p/the-brewer...

On Day 13 of the #InktoberChallenge, I experimented with a new drawing style inspired by medieval illuminated manuscripts. The prompt was “drink,” so naturally, I had to sketch a monk about to indulge in a beverage he might regret later…