Let's review some books vs movies The Hunger Games isn’t one of my favorite books, but I got sucked in by the action and worldbuilding. The characters were compelling, and I loved the … [Read more...]
My 12 Step Program for Edits
May 11, 2013 by
The final book of my Crown Phoenix series is in the hands of my wonderful editor, “Eagle Eye” Carlie Cullen as I write this post. I call her Eagle Eye because she is extremely thorough, and if you … [Read more...]
The Forced Vacation
April 11, 2013 by
For three weeks now, I’ve been unable to sit down and work on my manuscript. Things were going really well before several unforeseen events forced me to take a break from my … [Read more...]
In The Corner – Writing Exercise
March 11, 2013 by
At times, writers practice a fine balancing act: they devise more and more difficult situations for their characters and find ways to eventually rescue them from the dangers, unless the work is a … [Read more...]
The Villain Concept
February 18, 2013 by
I wrote back to back blogs last week about bad guys. Readers eagerly responded to the theme; as I suspected, villains (and villainesses) are fascinating. I’m going to take a look at some evil and … [Read more...]
Wattpad, Part Deux
January 11, 2013 by
Last month Shaun Allan and I wrote about Wattpad. I’m continuing this month with some tips for those writers who have decided to join the site, which is an amalgam of social media and writing … [Read more...]
Wattpad – Yes or No?
December 12, 2012 by
The number of writers using Wattpad, the site that posts free uploads of essays, poems, novels, and short stories, has grown tremendously. Furthermore, Wattpad has attracted the sponsorship of authors … [Read more...]
Guts and Mullets
November 11, 2012 by
I used to be an English teacher, back in the day. (You can tell it was a long time ago, since it wasn’t called "Language Arts" yet.) One of my favorite portions of my curriculum was writing short … [Read more...]
Experiences and Ideas
October 11, 2012 by
An interviewer asked me if I based my books on my own experiences. I had to think about that one. Books are a “sneeze of the soul” – we write and edit and sweat, and the result is a tangible … [Read more...]
Curtains
September 11, 2012 by
And here it is, that date. Nine Eleven. It’s a date I have dreaded for a while. A year ago, my mother passed away, on the eleventh of September. She had suffered with Alzheimer’s for years. … [Read more...]
Strange Objects: Typewriters
August 11, 2012 by
When I wrote The Nightwatchman Express, the plot centered around a strange device called the Crown Phoenix. It was an antique typewriter that an offstage character had turned into a mechanical version … [Read more...]
Why Steampunk is Still Cool
July 11, 2012 by
For some reason, I get a very visceral reaction when I tell people that my books are steampunk. Either the person says, “Eh? or “Ooh!” The genre has been typecast by its own recurring themes. … [Read more...]
