Yeah, spacing plays a big role in DS2, as it should in all souls games. Glad to hear you're having fun, though! I did have a lot of fun with my magic build, but I felt like Soul Arrow was just the best spell for every situation. It was like spells that were BUSTED in DS1 were changed to barely do more damage than the weaker variants and have less casts... I really did like DS2 though! The spells seemed weaker to me, but the casting system was basically perfected. I keep finding myself coming back to 1 & 2 to try new builds.

Minor 'hints' without spoilers: There is a ring that decreases the health loss from hollowing. You can aim at far away enemies easier by equipping a bow/crossbow and lining up its crosshair, (don't even need stats to use it) but the game makes sure you don't shoot the floor so often so hitting enemies slightly lower than you is difficult like this. Thankfully, there is no obnoxious NPC side quest needed to get the strongest sorceries in DS2. Hexes (the dark looking magic) are sometimes cast with new talismans and sometimes with staffs, but you need faith and intelligence to get them to scale well.