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Author · Storyteller
Joel Cole
@joelcole
Independent writer working mainly in fantasy, with an interest in craft, books and the practical side of publishing.
Behind the stories
About the writer
Joel Cole writes mainly in fantasy and enjoys discussing both the creative and practical sides of making books, from early drafts to finished editions.
The smallest detail can change the temperature of a scene.
Books and story worlds
Stories by Joel Cole
On the writing desk
Currently creating
First draft
The Cartographer of Ash
When a meticulous mapmaker discovers that certain roads in the kingdom are being quietly erased from every record, she follows the missing routes into a borderland where distances behave badly and old agreements still have teeth. Her only guide is a disgraced courier who knows how to cross places that officially do not exist. Together they uncover a buried system of wards, tolls and names, all of it holding back something that prefers the world unmeasured.
50%
Draft progress
Around The Globe
Recent conversations
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Publishing
Kindle Unlimited is often discussed as a reach-versus-control choice, which is tidy but a bit too neat. The more awkw...
18 August 2026
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Crime & Mystery
A suspect’s routine is often more unsettling than their alibi. The kettle comes on at 7:12, the newspaper is folded t...
16 August 2026
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Romance
Competence can make romance messier, which is probably why it works.
16 August 2026