Welcome to Dire Skies

Gears, Torchlight, Black Powder and Sorcery

About The Books

About the Authors

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A Fantasy Map of Stheara

When I began writing the "Dire Skies Trilogy" I knew that one day I would need a map of Stheara. I can remember poring over the map of Middle Earth when I discovered "The Lord of the Rings" as a kid. I loved tracing the path of Frodo and Sam's…

The Sky That Spilled the Stars is Near

The long awaited final book in the Dire Skies Trilogy is coming in August, 2024! After "The Sky That Ate the Smoke," Slaga continues alone on a perilous journey to the Academy of Witch Wardens in the mountains of Tarshem Prefecture, where he hopes to uncover the secrets of his…

High Noon at the High Low

We had a great time on Oct. 19, 2023 at the Listening Room at the High Low coffee shop in midtown St. Louis, an intimate listening space with good acoustics. We talked about the history of Dire Skies, our process and signed and sold some books. Dan Rubright brought his…

A Silver Tray Q/A with T.C. and R.E. Rubright

Our friend Thomas Crone, substacker, journalist, author and long time chronicler of the St. Louis (and more recently, New Orleans) cultural scene, asked us a some questions for his substack series "A Silver Tray Q/A." You can read it here or read it below. Ted and Ross Rubright describe their…

Rendezvous With Clarke

Though I've been an avid reader my whole life, I'm not one to pay too much attention to the nuts and bolts of layout and typesetting. I'll take notice if there's a note about a particular font, especially if it's a classic from, say, the 1600s, but otherwise I trust…

Dire Skies Book 2 Cover Reveal

"The Sky That Ate the Smoke" just dropped on Amazon. As always, we appreciate your stars and positive reviews!

That Time I Met Neil Gaiman

I've been honored to be on the Saint Louis Literary Award Campus Read Committee for the last four years. The annual award dates to 1967 and past winners include Joan Didion, John Updike, Zadie Smith, Margaret Atwood and Arundhati Roy. The 2023 award winner is the legendary Neil Gaiman. The…

Prologue

"The blessed man is hard to curse, and the cursed man is hard to bless.” The Tome of Ácles, Canto 24, Versicle 9 In short, the magic was gone. It did not go quietly. An element as old and mysterious as the world, woven deep through its bones and memory,…