R.P.Holliman

Magical Academies & Epic Fantasy — ARCs for Honest Reviews Fantasy | Magic | Academy | Epic | Fae

Hello! I’ve teamed up with a group of fantasy authors to offer free review copies of epic fantasy and magical academy fantasy titles.
We’d love for you to take a look:
storyoriginapp.com/to/3H72SrC

#ARC
#AmWritingFantasy
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I loved this one — especially the chapter narrated by each of the snakes in her hair. Such a brilliant choice. And honestly, she absolutely should have been the hero in the original myth too.

The art on that book looks breathtaking, to say nothing of what I'm sure is between the covers!

Just went through character creation with a player for a new Changeling: The Dreaming campaign, and it was magical.

There’s something about the very start of a story — like previews before a movie — all promise and hope, before anything has had the chance to break yet.

#Fantasy
#TTRPG

This is for sure one of my comfort replays. Plus it features the world's best love story: Varric and Bianca.

Galdur Academy: Secrets in the Blood | R.P.Holliman When Inyin is promoted to Master of Galdur Academy, his triumph is short-lived. A loved one stands accused of forbidden blood magic, shaking Inyin’s faith in the very institution

That’s really kind of you—hope next week treats you more gently. I’ve got a fantasy novel out now: Galdur Academy: Secrets in the Blood. Magical academy, rival schools of magic, and a lot of quiet identity pressure under the spellwork.

Book page here 📚
rpholliman.com/books/galdur...

Nothing more like modern day society than taking a cautionary tale and assuming it's a How-To Manual.

Blog | R.P.Holliman Galdur Academy & the Slices of Pie Theory | I’ve spent most of my life in academia. The first twenty-seven years, I was on the receiving end of the red pen. The rest of it, I’ve b

Only in academia do people fight so hard over something so little. It took me years to realize I’d built that truth into Galdur Academy—how scarcity turns minor differences into identity wars, and why people bleed over slices of pie.

rpholliman.com/blog/galdur-...

#writing #fantasy
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This is like saying Moby Dick was about a guy who loved whales. Absolutely bonkers take on this series.

Reading Guy Windsor’s longsword manual to write a sword-fighting scene in my new novel.

Sadly, my Texas education focused a lot on the Alamo and not nearly enough on Italian swordfighting.

Galdur Academy: Secrets in the Blood Galdur Academy stands as one of the last great schools of magic—an institution built on discipline, tradition, and the quiet belief that certain kinds of power are best forgotten. Inyin has spent ten...

Here's the link:

storyoriginapp.com/reviewcopies...

Screenshot of a storyorigin review request.

I’ve put up a StoryOrigin review request for Secrets in the Blood. If you enjoy magical academies, institutional secrets, and morally complicated characters, I’d love to hear what you think.

#writingfantasy

Totally get it, I know two pages isn't much to convey everything. Best of luck with everything!

A woman in a black dress with a grey cloak and a star pendant looks at a book on a table in a dark room with gothic style windows. The image is from a modern interpretation of the Tarot representing the Hermit card.

There’s something endlessly intriguing about tarot decks. I keep one on my desk and use it like an alternative Rorschach — everyone always wants to look through it.

This year, The Hermit feels right: insight through solitude. That’s the energy I’m making room for.

I really liked the parts about the immaterial plane, and how a single tear introduced something new to break up a cycle. Overal realy great. The only constructive bit I might add is I might like to hear a litte diaogue from the deities to get a sense of their personality. Really enjoyed it!

I'm sort of in the middle. I like a backlog, but I'll start before the series is finished. That way I can binge a good chunk of the series and spend a lot of time with the characters upfront.

To my wife the three most romantic words I can say are, 'I made soup.' So it's always soup season at our house!

Reminder to every creative person making anything.

Having hope and creating in the face of horror is rebellion too.

It's also one of the bravest things we can ever do.

Please remember that.

Oh... and that all art is innately political.

I’m a therapist, and this just made my “things I will absolutely be saying to clients” list. Also, as a writer, I kind of love how quotable these are!

I like the reframe! We need more artist of every stripe in the world!

Wait, that’s not what people do? I’ve got two fiction books, a writing craft book, and a dungeon mastering book going at the same time. How else do you keep momentum?

This looks rad! Guilty admission: I often choose books the same way I choose wine—cool names and awesome cover design get me every time.

Steer into the skid and start your villain era 🙂

Honestly though, book clubs are kind of at their best when you get a bad one—nothing bonds people like collectively throwing popcorn at a book.

The word "mid" on a blue-green background with the heder, Merriam-Webster, Your 2026 Word.

So Merriam-Webster did me dirty for 2026 and gave me the word mid.

Which… honestly feels fitting, since I frequently tell people I’m a pessimist who thinks he’s a realist.

It’s that special time of year: the time when my wife and I try to beat our reading goals for the year in a single week. One of the advantages of living with an introvert.

Anyone else doing a last-minute reading sprint?

Thanks for the rec! I’ve got a week of quiet introvert time coming up, so this might be perfect binge-read material.

I also added Ilavani to my every-growing reading list.

One of the reasons I fell in love with fantasy as a kid was Bilbo Baggins. Even then, I knew I was a hobbit at heart—and Tolkien made me believe that even hobbits can go on adventures.

#Tolkien
#Fantasy

It’s my firm belief that the universe assigns a black cat to every fantasy author. If you have a black cat and haven’t written a book yet… you just haven’t realized you’re a fantasy author.

I got completely pulled into Glynn Stewart’s Starship Mage series. I’ve always loved stories that blend high-tech and magic. Some days it was the only thing getting me through six straight hours of lecturing at my day job 😅