S.W. Raine's Blog

There’s something about November that feels a little enchanted.

Maybe it’s the early sunsets and bottomless cups of tea.
>Maybe it’s the way a story opens like a portal the moment I commit to it.
>Maybe it’s simply the delight of joining thousands of writers who collectively whisper, “We’re doing this. We’re really doing this.”

This month, I dove into my annual 50k-word challenge with my usual combination of ambition, stubbornness, and questionable optimism. Today is November 30, and I’m here to r...

Are you excited for The Gatekeeper’s Portal release, book 2 of the Elementals Trilogy?

If you enjoyed the elemental magic, the off-the-rails action, and the delightful chaos of The Elemental’s Guardian, brace yourself. Book two takes everything you loved and cranks it up—bigger stakes, deeper feels, and new characters who saunter in like they own the place (*cough*Moses*cough*).

You asked for faster pacing, and I listened. In The Gatekeeper’s Portal, the action threa...

It’s crunch week, and the final edits for The Gatekeeper’s Portal are officially underway! Between bouts of stress-fueled insomnia and marathon editing sessions at Panera (complete with my favorite cozy fireplace spot), I’m in full-on deadline mode as I prepare to send the manuscript to my editor on November 1st.

One of my favorite behind-the-scenes moments this week was spending an entire day editing at Panera Bread. No distractions, cozy vibes, delicious food, and my favorite seat by the fire...

Every October, as the leaves blaze with color and a mug of hot chocolate becomes a permanent fixture at my writing space, it can only mean one thing: Preptober is here again. It’s that magical time of year when writers everywhere gear up for November’s writing marathon.

For me, it’s less “organized plotting” and more “organized chaos.” After all, I’ve been doing this for nearly two decades now (nineteen years and eighteen wins!). But Preptober 2025 feels extra exciting because I’m diving into so...

Five years ago, I published my very first novel, The Techno Mage. It launched my steampunk world and introduced readers to Arteus, Ikarim, and Magaliana—the trio that started it all.

Now, to celebrate its 5th anniversary, The Techno Mage is finally available in French! Both the ebook and paperback released on September 15, 2025, and I couldn’t be more excited to share this story in another language so close to my heart.

As a French Canadian, translating The Techno Mage felt like the ...

Comic cons are their own beast—equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. As a vendor, I’ve learned that preparation is everything. The good news? I already have a tried-and-true event checklist that I rely on for every show, from outdoor festivals to steampunk fairs. But with three comic cons on my calendar this year (two of them this month—Monroe Comic Con and FantastiCon), it’s the perfect time to share what goes into my comic con vendor checklist… with a little steampunk twist, of course.

There’s something magical about indie bookstores. The quiet murmur of readers browsing, the scrawled recommendations taped to shelves, the way staff know exactly which book will light up your weekend—it’s more than a shop. It’s a community.

Michigan indie bookstores carry their own kind of magic, and we’re fortunate to have so many of them. I’m lucky enough to already have my books stocked at Brooks Books in Wyandotte, which feels like a dream-come-true home base. But there are still so many Mic...

When I write, romance is almost always nonexistent. Instead, there’s something I find far more powerful in storytelling: friendship, loyalty, and the bonds that feel like home… even if no one shares a drop of blood. That’s why my books are packed with found family moments—the kind of bonds you love to see in fiction.

To me, found family means people brought together by circumstance who form strong, family-like connections. It’s about fighting for one another. Having each other’s backs through th...

When I first published The Techno Mage, I never imagined I’d one day be translating it—word by word, emotion by emotion. But nearly five years later, here I am, translating my novel into French—and rediscovering the world of The Techno Mage through a brand-new lens.

Translating a novel isn’t easy. Sure, I already know the characters, the plot, the tone, and the twists. But translating isn’t jus...

Some books make you want to see the movie. Some movies instantly make you want to pick up the book. And sometimes, you fall in love with the movie first—only to discover there’s a whole story behind it just waiting to be read. In all cases, I’m sold.

Here are my top 5 favorite movies based on books—films that stuck with me long after the credits rolled.

I first heard about the book back in 2003 through online forums. It seemed like ever...