eSports is an untapped well of creativity and storytelling. The competitive gaming scene is growing at an exponential rate, so where are the stories? In this episode I look into the rise of eSports, both as a competitive sport and a new setting for fiction.

Some authors live to write, and some write to live. Others fall somewhere in between, and a few just seem to fall into it.

Mark Twain, author of multiple Great American Novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, encapsulates all of those traits, yet somehow also exists outside of them, or, perhaps, above them.

In this episode we will learn how Mark Twain’s legendary career as an author began from the man himself. I am Arthur McMahon and this is Paracosms.

Now known as one of America’s greatest novelists, Mark Twain came from humble beginnings, and he lived quite an adventurous life before finding his success.

Born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Twain was raised in Missouri where he learned to pilot steamboats on the Mississippi River.

At a young age, Twain lost his father to pneumonia. Several of his siblings passed away before they had reached

The monomyth, now more popularly known as the Hero’s Journey, is a common structural pattern that serves as the foundation for countless stories. It has been a basic form of storytelling for as far back as humanity can remember, laying down the plot structure for ancient epics like Gilgamesh and in many of today’s New York Times best sellers and Hollywood blockbusters.

Author’s haven’t always followed the Hero’s Journey structure, knowing that they were doing so. It wasn’t until the 1800s that hero myth narratives were studied and given this identity by mythologist Joseph Campbell in The Hero Wit hA Thousand Faces. Since then, The Hero’s Journey has become an essential tool in the writer’s toolbox.

In this episode I will be breaking down the stages of The Hero’s Journey and linking them to some memorable moments of a few of our favorite heroes: Luke Skywalker, Bilbo Baggins, and Harry Potter. I am Arthur McMahon, and this is Paracosms.

Ever since Game of Thrones was published in 1996, fans of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series have ceaselessly asked “Hey Georgie boy, Georgie from the block. Mr. R.R. Martin, when’s the next book coming out?” His responses, summed up, have been usually something like “Heh. Well, soon. Not yet, sorry about that.”

Years of effort are put into crafting each volume of the series. The last release, A Dance With Dragons, came out in 2011 after six years of writing, editing, and rewriting by Martin. Now, six years later, fans are eagerly awaiting The Winds of Winter, book number six in the series, to appear on bookshelves across the globe.

Recently Martin responded to the masses of adoring, impatient fans, saying that “The book is not done yet, but I’ve made progress. But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now. I think it will be out this year

In celebration of the upcoming release of Deceit of Humanity, the second book in my Shadow Assassin series, I am giving you a quick look into my own imaginary universe and creative process. As a special treat, you also get to listen to the audiobook of Vengeance of Humanity, my first Shadow Assassin book, for free!

Thank you to the wonderfully talented Zehra Jane Naqvi for narrating and producing my Shadow Assassin audiobooks. She is super talented and great to work with. I couldn't be happier with the quality of the work she has done for me.

Listen to the first chapter of Vengeance of Humanity in this podcast episode. Get the rest of the audiobook for free by visiting www.audiebletrial.com/paracosms. Start your free trial of Audible and search for my name, Arthur McMahon, to find and download one of my audiobooks for free.

Deceit of Humanity is now available for pre-purchase and will be released on June 1st! Read Vengeance of Humanity now before it

H.R. Giger is the father of the Xenomorph. We call it an alien, we call it a monster, but to Giger his creation was beautiful, no matter how many people it raped and killed. Known for its interspecies sexual domination and wanton destruction, the xenomorph is not unlike ourselves. Perhaps we are the real monsters.

I was never invited to Hogwarts. In this episode I offer you the Wizarding World as seen from an outsider’s perspective. This is a muggle’s story.

Yes, it’s true. I’m one of the few people out there who doesn’t know all there is to know about Harry Potter. I haven’t read all of the books, nor have I seen all of the movies. I don’t know the wizarding world, not well enough to put it through the wringer like I have with other worlds in past episodes.

I missed that train to Hogwarts, the one that it seemed like the rest of the world had a ticket to ride.

I don’t want to go off about why I don’t like Harry Potter or list you the things I think are wrong with the series. There’s enough criticism out there and I know the millions or billions of die-hard fans out there don’t want to hear it. And I do like the story and the characters, as far as I know them at least. I just haven’t had the drive to finish the story.

So instead I just

Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell franchise can be summed up in two words: fear and philosophy. The story became a success because it mirrored real American fears during a time when Cold War tensions were rising and the Internet was still a mystery to most.

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In 1989 I was three years old. My experience with technology was limited to those old, boxy CRT televisions with knob dials and spiral-corded land-line phones. The most futuristic possession my family had was the original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, but that was all I needed back then. It was hi-def enough for my imagination. I recall physically jumping in my room every time I made Super Mario leap over a goomba. I eventually stopped doing that after a friend’s mom laughed at me for it. And boy, for the rest of my life I will remember the time when I was too frightened to play a

Discworld is perhaps the quintessential example of worldbuilding. Decades of imagination by the late author Terry Pratchett went into creating a land so rich with depth that it has become a lens into our own world

The Legend of Zelda has used the fairytale formula to create memorable settings and characters that will stick in our memories for ages to come, but it has also added a new layer of complexity to the method in the form of interactivity, the game mechanics.

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The Legend of Zelda is one of the most well known video game franchises across the globe. It truly is a legend in many respects, having sold millions of copies over the last several decades. Generations of gamers have explored the world of Hyrule, tediously turning over every stone and rudely smashing handmade pottery from the depths Lake Hylia to the heights of Death Mountain.

Link, The Hero of Time, has been our window into this world of master swords and fairy magic. Befitting of one called the Hero of Time, we have experienced the many lives of Link, reliving the franchise’s cyclical storytelling with each new addition to the series.

Though hugely successful, the Legend