About Joel
Author — telling imaginative stories of mystical and whimsical lands.
Joel Oslund is an author and musician (bass players, unite!). From short fiction to epic quest fantasy, Joel loves to tell imaginative stories of mystical and whimsical lands — often reimagining traditional folklore or building new worlds with unique rules and magic systems.
With one foot tethered to reality, Joel also maintains a nonfiction blog and serves as a guest writer and teacher at Renovation Church in Phoenix. He currently lives in Payson, Arizona.
The longer story
Joel Oslund grew up in a musical family in Tucson, Arizona. Creativity was highly encouraged among him and his siblings — be it musically, artistically, or entrepreneurially. As a result, Joel spent much of his childhood writing short stories and comic books.
The draw to write persisted into adulthood, often taking the shape of blog posts, short articles, and teaching outlines. Joel even attempted to write a book on several occasions, only to fail spectacularly. It wasn't until his introduction to Dungeons & Dragons that Joel took the first real steps toward understanding how to develop an interesting collection of characters, worlds, and plots.
After several years as a DM (Dungeon Master), Joel returned to writing and finally completed his first novel, The Tea Garden. The process of writing, revising, and completing a full novel bolstered his love for storytelling. He's since gone on to write a fantasy epic and several pieces of flash fiction. He's currently working on The Legends of Kezzog series, which is being released serially on Patreon.
Joel also maintains a nonfiction blog where he writes about life, God, and Christianity — www.justforacloserwalk.com.
He currently lives in Payson, Arizona, where he's constantly dreaming up new stories. You might run into him on a hiking trail or playing a solo-bass gig in town.