Ithani comes out tomorrow, the culmination of three years of work and the conclusion to the Oberon Cycle trilogy. I am so not ready. It should be a triumphant moment for me, and I should have been deep in pre promo and preparation these last three days. Instead, I have been on the phone to … Read more
Every writer who has been doing this gig for a while has probably experienced something like this: A character suddenly reveals something about themselves that you’d never guessed when you first created them. Or maybe what was just a minor throw-away plot point or description suddenly blossoms and veers the story off onto a whole … Read more
My mother is one of the strongest people I know. She brought me up to be self sufficient, to stand on my own and to go after what I wanted. She made me my own man. There was a period in my childhood when she was single and supporting us both on a teacher’s salary. … Read more
Hey all… I am finally moving along on my latest novel, “The Long Redemption” – it’s set in the same universe as the “Liminal Sky” trilogy, but with a whole different setting and cast of characters. For the last three years, I have written two novels a year, and this year, I am giving myself … Read more
Last night we saw the blood moon. Okay, technically it was a “super” blood moon, as it was at close approach to the earth, but it actually looked kinda small to me. But it tickled a memory, something from a very long time ago. When I was a kid–maybe four or five years old–we lived … Read more
Last fall, I took a deep dive into Antarctica to write my novella “Slow Thaw.” It was an amazing experience to immerse myself so deeply into setting. Now I’m setting my sights a little higher. My next novel is a stand-alone in the Liminal Sky universe tentatively titled “The Long Redemption.” I am pulling together … Read more
Warning/Disclaimer: In today’s column, I discuss phrases that are colorful synonyms for when someone is “crazy.” I want to distinguish this from mental illness, which is not what I am referring to. Instead, I am referring to people who espouse crazy ideas, often knowing they are not true. Every good writer loves words. It’s an … Read more
It’s that time of year again – time to take stock of the ending year, and make plans and write down my goals for 2019. Looking Back So I thought I’d start by looking back at what I said a year ago: “Nevertheless, I go into 2018 re-energized. For one, it’s an election year, and … Read more
It’s almost the end of the year, and so I wanted to take a moment to reflect on and be thankful for some of the things that keep me going, even when it seems like the world might be ending. So here we go, in no particular order. Waking up next to Mark each morning. … Read more
Last week I was at a bit of a low ebb, bemoaning how difficult it was to market your work on social media and in the publishing world. This week, none of that has changed. Facebook still makes it hard to get your posts out there without tons of money, and Amazon… well, the Zon … Read more