There’s an age-old adage in the writing biz: “Write what you know.” This advice is suspect for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it’s difficult to apply as a science fiction/fantasy author. Tolkien didn’t “know” Middle Earth, not in the personal sense. And Anne McCaffrey probably never actually made it … Read more
I am riding the crazy train again. In just two more days, I have not one but two new stories coming out – “Through the Veil” in the anthology “Myths Untold – Faery” and my story “Repetition” in the spring “MCB Quarterly”. So I am no longer an author – I am now J. Scott … Read more
Sometimes you wake up feeling fresh and alive, newly attuned to the vibrations of the glorious universe, and ready to tackle the day and accomplish great things. This is not one of those days. Work is slow this month. I was harassed on Facebook by someone who took offense when I told them not to … Read more
I’m an author. I know that comes with a certain amount of built-in idiosyncrasy: I carry a notebook to jot down ideas “on the fly” The radio has become a font of story ideas for me, and I am are often caught with a thoughtful expression on my face and my tongue between my teeth, … Read more
Today’s a momentous day for me. This morning, the Campfire Podcast launched the first chapter of my story “The Autumn Lands” – for the next two weeks, the story will unfold, day by day, on Vance’s fantastic chapter-a-day podcast: campfirepodcast.com It almost didn’t happen. Back in the late summer, my friends at Mischief Corner Books … Read more
Hey all… I just got back from Dreamspinner’s annual retreat. I had a fantastic time there with a bunch of QSFers, including but not limited to Angel Martinez, Jon Keys, Jamie Fessenden, Lloyd Meeker, Andrew Q. Gordon, Brandon Witt, Elizabeth Noble, Z. Allora, Shira Anthony, Skylar M. Cates, Wade Kelly, Gus Li, Clare London, Pearl … Read more
We all want to make a little money in this business. Yes, most writers write because they can’t NOT write. Because there’s something inside each of us that drives us to express ourselves through the written word, putting out into the world the stories we see in our heads. But we also want to make … Read more
I want to be a full-time writer. I mean, yeah, it absolutely scares the shit out of me. But right now, I barely have the time to shave once a week (as you can see), let alone write all the things I want to write. And yet, when I think about it, I realize that … Read more
OK, so I am knee-deep (or maybe neck-deep) in third drafts for Oberon, my NaNoWriMo sci fi project, prior to sending it out for submission. So what have I spent this last week doing? Writing an entirely new and unrelated project, of course. This is how writer brains work. You have to be at least … Read more
I am stealing this column from my blog tour stop at Elizabeth Noble’s Emotion in Motion blog. It was one of my favorites on the tour, and so I wanted to share it directly with y’all as well: I LOVE working with an artist on the cover for a new book. It’s your chance as … Read more