This past June, I sat down with Jay Lake to talk about his writing career and his terminal cancer diagnosis. His advice to other writers has already been crafted into an article for The Writer (October 2013 issue), and additional parts of that 90-minute conversation will appear in future posts in the “in conclusion . […]
I’ve been working on “teaser text” for the upcoming release of The Black Pool, the third book in the Valhalla series. I’m pasting this below to ask for your help: * What intrigues you about this teaser? * What parts could be left out and still maintain your interest? * Does this teaser provide too […]
I’ve been laser-focused on the huge rewrite of “The Black Pool” (volume 3 of the Valhalla series). I’ve also been meeting newspaper and magazine deadlines, and working (lagging) on NIWA’s NSQ program. So I’ve not been blogging so much. After falling three weeks behind on the outline and notes for the rewrite, I mapped out […]
Today, I’d hoped to announce?finally?the launch of The Indie Pub podcast. That’s not going to happen. We’re at the beginning of a heat wave here in Portland, and I’m laying low for a bit. I’ve found that my ideal temperature is around 58 degrees F. I start to have trouble when the thermometer sails past […]
I read a lot. Good readers make good writers, you know? So technically, every time I read something?even a cereal box?I’m technically working. At least that’s the joke I’ve always made with my partner. When he’d catch me reading in the middle of a work day, I’d feel a pang of guilt even though I […]
Sometimes a story idea comes fully formed out of the blue, complete with all of its layers, nuances, character development, backstory, and plot points in place. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. More often, in my experience, new stories first make themselves known as fragments. Sometimes it’s a news story that jogs a hook, but […]
Friday night, we went to see “World War Z” in the theater. I hadn’t read the novel ahead of time, but even though the movie isn’t reported to follow the book closely at all I still left the theater feeling pretty sure that I would have preferred Max Brooks’ version. I’m beginning to wonder if […]
