About M.W Devers

Author M.W. Devers has been crafting stories since childhood, drawing from a lifelong love of reading that began at age three. The idea for Woods & Wings took root during a family vacation to a theme park, and he’s been dedicated to bringing it to life ever since, beginning in 2022. This is his first published work of fiction.

MWD enjoys the quiet magic of early mornings spent world-building and shaping characters, all from his home in New Braunfels, Texas, where he lives with his family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. I’d tell you what they are, but where’s the fun in that?

Sometime between 5am and 6am (depending on the day), I’ll wake up, make the coffee, and crack open the laptop. When I’ve done a good job of prepping the night before, I’ve exited out of email on the laptop and left the manuscript hanging with a next line I was dying to write.

I began writing Woods & Wings in January of 2022 and it will be released in October of 2024. Not all of that time was spent writing though. Nine months is a pretty fair estimate for the first draft and 18 months from first word to final draft would be accurate.

Outliner. All the way.

I do my best to never start with a blank page. I’ll have a blog post about that soon. My worst bout of writer’s block happened fairly recently and had me stymied for ten days. It took a lot of long walks through our neighborhood to break out of it. That and little trick I stumbled across that would also make for a good blog post. Someday. I’d write it for you now, but I seem a little stuck.

You will be able to find Woods & Wings on all of the major online retailers, and the major eBook platforms as well. Any bricks-and-mortar bookstore is capable of ordering it, though outside of Texas, not many will keep it in stock. Ask your local bookstore to place a special order—it not only helps the staff become aware of the title, which supports me, but also supports my favorite hangout: local bookstores!

In the state of Texas, my team is working diligently with the expansive and very active indie bookstore community that exists here. We have a goal of having the book stocked on the shelves at the top 100.

It will be available in eBook on all of the platforms. An audiobook is in the works. Stay tuned!

For a long time, I’ve been a fan of Ryan Holiday’s book, Perennial Seller. (If you’re a writer reading this and don’t have a copy, go get one now!) In it, Ryan writes about the worthy pursuit of focusing on creating great work and trying to write something timeless. I also wanted to create something new and unique (I think all authors do), and so I tried to take some of my original ideas and ground them in a world that would feel timeless to a fantasy reader.

From a visual, or mental image standpoint, I was inspired by the album artwork my wife had created for the Dead End Angels album, November, back in 2003. I’d always loved the starkness and simplicity of that album cover and had it firmly in my head as I worked on creating Rhigov and the world of Woods & Wings

In a previous FAQ, I mentioned that I’m an outliner and not a “pantser.” As such, I go through a lot of index cards and No. 2 pencils as part of my writing. At the highest level, I use them to help me with the major story beats while putting together the initial rough outline for a book. Then, during drafting, I’ll use them to break down a scene within a chapter. They’re also helpful when I find myself stuck at a certain story point when I’ll use them to write down one crazy idea per card. Then I shuffle “the deck” and see what kind of hand I get.

I like the big names—the ones who got me into the genre to begin with. Writers like George RR Martin, JK Rowling, Brandon Sanderson, and Suzanne Collins. Though with Suzanne Collins, I have to admit that I have soft spot in my heart for Gregor over Katniss. Recently, I’ve really enjoyed Leigh Bardugo and Rachel Hartman.

Book 2 of Woods & Wings! I started the manuscript in May of 2024 and am racing to get it ready for a late 2025 release. I’ll be sharing updates about that book in my email newsletter (you can sign up here) and on social media (links at the bottom of the page).

If you have a question you’d like to see answered in the future, either here or in my email newsletter, you can send them to me via the contact form here.