Mike Struan

My second novel is out!🪐📚 🏳️‍🌈 A half-orc with a healer's heart. A world full of alchemy and ancient secrets. An infuriatingly handsome noble. And a whole lot of bottled-up emotions. books.mikestruan.com/AlchemicalDr... #Booksky #Fantasy #NewRelease #Reading #KindleUnlimited

I feel @barrows.itch.io #AwesomeCharacters Diodorus would make for a great costume! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

CW: Violence The only rattle I have in Exiles, but a... rather strong one. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Love me a good statue! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

What a lovely place in today's #WIPSnips! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

That's really no way to treat your noble boyfriend, Kragh! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Kragh, my main #AwesomeCharacters, is all into pumpkins, probably. He'd love to carve them! I can very much imagine Valir with vampire teeth and Dagna constructing a ghost-on-a-rail, too! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

After a week break, I'm back, friends! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

I hate it when that happens and you just don't remember the name of someone... #WIPSnips To be fair, dwarven families are extensive. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Kragh, my main #AwesomeCharacters, wears the small necklace with a tiny vial, containing some of the first alchemical mixture he ever did: a glowing paste! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Huh. Doesn't sound good. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Kragh sometimes has a plan, and usually, things happen and then the plan is worthless. Valir rarely has a plan and the one time he does, it's a *really bad one*. Dagna always has multiple plans. Some of them involve putting half-orcs on catapults. #AwesomeCharacters #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

The scene this #WIPSnips is from is kinda bittersweet. And also hints at something bigger going on with the two of them. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

The Queen of Chaos, an #AwesomeCharacters herself, has a pretty awesome sense of fashion! At least if you like colors. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

I don't have any rice in my WIP, so please have another source of carbonhydrates instead! #WIPSnipe #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

A very prominent wall in today's #WIPSnips. Much in Exiles is about that very wall. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Half of my book is the word "contract", not gonna lie. Here's a (slightly censored) one at the end of book 2. #WIPSnips A beta reader put it as "I now realize the entire series is about a bunch of people trying to navigate their NDAs", and he is right. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

I can do unpredictable #AwesomeCharacters! 🥉Jared from Dam Breakers, casually agreeing to a month-long magical journey mid-semester. 🥈Kragh from Alchemical Green, who's just very ADHD-coded. 🥇Wyrdroot from AG, who... I have no idea what he's up to now. Nothing good probably? #WriteSky

FAIRY NONSENSE! Listen to the guy, he knows what he's talking about. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunityWith #WritingPrompts

Look at that GOOD BOY @aowna.bsky.social created for me! Skarn, the thunderwolf, will make his appearance in Alchemical Exiles and I'm absolutely AMAZED by how well he turned out. Thank you @aowna.bsky.social! #Art

Kragh, my main #AwesomeCharacters, likes to laugh, and when he has the opportunity, he does so loudly! However, much of what I put him through isn't *too* laugh-worthy. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Whew. That sounds cold. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Kragh would venture into cozy territory. A slice of live scene in his favorite town where everything just works out. #AwesomeCharacters #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Good! Don't let the intrusive thoughts win over your healer knowledge! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Out of the #AwesomeCharacters main cast, only Valir can be considered patient. Kragh degenerates to a nervous wreck if he has to wait, and Dagna... You better not let her wait, unless you want her to get *ideas*. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

It's worth mentioning that Kragh is talking to an animal in today's #WIPSnips. An animal who doesn't understand a single word. Sometimes, I worry about him. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Kraghtol, always assuming the worst, since 350 aU. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

That's one way to avoid a real answer, Voldrik! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Ah, shoot! I should have waited until today! Light and Darkness are alchemical principles and govern all kinds of energy (or lack of it)! #SeptemberWorldbuilders

Kragh, my main #AwesomeCharacters is without a doubt a Pistachios Donut filled with vanilla cream! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Order is upheld by the aptly named Orderkeepers of the Guild of Peace! They wear red uniforms, and some call them bloodjackets, but that's just derogatory! #Septopolis

Let's check my #AwesomeCharacters for punch-tolerance! 🥉Jared, Dam Breakers. The guy is tougher than he looks. 🥈Kragh, the MC of Alchemical Green. He has taken a beating more than once. 🥇Zrughor, the orc. The name translates to "The one who eats meat" and, well, that's accurate. #WriteSky

This #WIPSnips is more or less a direct prequel to the one two days ago! What a less-than-pleasant troll! #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #WriteSky

Also, I have to remind everyone that it's nearly orctober, and Ame has a mean talent for green-skins! Get your character art! #WritingCommunity #Art

Do you know ominous positivity? Here's an example: Alchemical Exiles is coming. It's inevitable. Related: If you have read book 1 of the series (important!), Alchemical Dreamer, and would like to ARC-read book 2, registrations are now open: books.mikestruan.com/AlchemicalEx...

Kragh, my main character, carries a small vial around his neck containing the first alchemical mixture he ever did: a glowing paste. It's not very bright, only about as much as a candle flame, but he uses it frequently throughout the story!

Fall is great for Kragh, my main #AwesomeCharacters. The heat of summer is over, and the world gets colorful! He loves the golden afternoons to go mushroom-picking in the forest! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Well, that sounds like an easy-enough plan! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

#Septopolis Winterstone has some places for relaxation in wonderful, guild-approved ways! High society has its own teahouses and taverns in the Silver Spires, and the Park District has bathhouses and theaters. You should stay away from the shady etablisments of Oldport, of course, unless you're poor

Fun fact: The speaking character in this #WIPSnips has been recently renamed, due to some very good beta-feedback! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Light and Darkness are literally alchemical Principles, encompassing all kinds of sub-principles, like energy or warmth, but not morals. There's nothing inherently "good" about the Light principle. #SeptemberWorldbuilders

#AwesomeCharacters Kragh: Okay, let's talk it through first. Valir: Oookay? Will it work? Dagna: Great. It'll get us out of trouble. But now I'm worried about the plan more than the problem. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Okay, so Kragh did something really embarassing. Must be tuesday. Between this and the previous #WIPSnips, one could really think I hate my main character. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Words that make me happy! Aside from "Schadenfreude" and "Wanderlust", I really like a good "stele" in "autumn" when the sun "sparkles" on the leaves, while the air you "exhale" "transforms" into clouds.

Most people in Wardenreach are afraid of Kragh, my main #AwesomeCharacters, and they can't really be blamed. He's the only half-orc in Wardenreach, and if you're not used to an almost two meter guy with green skin and tusks, you might get nervous. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

I'm afraid we don't see Kragh in his highest spirit in today's #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Hello #Septopolis! Winterstone exports finer crafts, and, especially, alchemical wonders. It's position and strong Alchemists' Guild presence makes it perfect for being the top player in terms of wondrous potions, salves and mixtures.

Hard to say. For Kragh, my main #AwesomeCharacters, at the end of book 2, he has seen plenty of shit already. But there's always more to come, right? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

The clock tower, a true marvel in Winterstone! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts