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Me – Interviewed!

Barbara G. Tarn Interview

I always interview other folks, but today we’re turning the tables. My friend Barbara G. Tarn has me over to her blog for an interview: Where do you live and write from? My husband Mark and I live in Sacramento. We’ve been here for seventeen years – we lived in the Bay Area for a long time, but I grew up in Tucson. Literally, though, I write at my desk in our shared office with a view of an ivy-covered wall and my container vegetable garden. Why do you write? Because I have to. I’m a writer, and I have … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Reading to the Crowd

Scott - Capital Books

The first time I read one of my works aloud, I was scared shitless. That’s not entirely true. The first time was a breeze. It was the second time that almost killed me. The first time was at RainbowCon circa 2015. I was scheduled to read in a huge meeting room with at least a hundred chairs, and just looking at them made my heart beat like a jackhammer. But due to low attendance and too much programming, I ended up reading to an audience of just six people – the four of us authors scheduled for the hour and … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Setting Goals (And Making Them)

I am both immensely thrilled and a whole lotta stressed today as I write this. I set myself two missions at the start of this year – one, to get into the Science Fiction Writers’ Association (SFWA, pronounced Siffwuh) by writing and selling a qualifying short story. And two, to take steps to snag an agent for what I hope will be the next step in my writing career. Well, missions one accomplished. This week I got not one but four rejections from the major sci fi magazines to which I have submitted. I know, that’s totally not where you … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Relief and Sadness at the Finish Line

Scott GRL prep

Hey all, It’s a strange juxtaposition of events for me this week. Tomorrow my latest novel, “The Rising Tide,” comes out, the long-awaited sequel to last year’s “The Stark Divide.” Forever is evolving, both the world and its people, and at the same time leaving Old Earth far behind. And trouble is brewing… Just three days before this new book’s release, I finished the first draft of “The Shoreless Sea,” the third and final book in the Liminal Sky trilogy. Shoreless Sea is my second trilogy-ending book this year, after the Oberon Cycle’s “Ithani,” which comes out in February. And … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Normalandia

Scott

Hey all, As I was thinking about what to write this week, it struck me that I am living in two very different worlds simultaneously. Bizzaro World and Normalandia. In Normalandia, life proceeds as usual. I wake up each morning, get some writing done, and get to work. Mark and I have breakfast together, work some more, and play a card game at lunch. In the evening, we binge-watch some shows on our Roku box, and then get to bed around ten o’clock. In Normalandia, the sun shines brightly outside, the sprinklers come one at 5 AM, the mailman brings … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Holy Sh!t Moment

Scott - Holy Sh!t Moment

Every novelist works a little differently. Some write books by the seat of their pants, riding the crazy writing train to wherever it takes them. Others make meticulous outlines before ever putting a word on the page, and know exactly where they’re going and how they will get there. I suspect that most of us are somewhere in the middle. Icertainly am. I start with a loose outline. I know how the plot will lay out, generally, and the steps along the way. But I also allow for that rarest of beasts – the “Holy Sh!t Moment (HSM).” It’s the … Read more

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Lavender Library Reading

Lavender Library - Scott

Hey all, Just had a fabulous reading event here in SacTown at the Lavender Library. We had six authors read – Amy Lane, DL Kent, SA Collins, Liz Faraim, Pat Henshaw, and Me… click each name for the video on FB live. 🙂 Each one’s 8-12 minutes long. And there were cookies. So many cookies. Thanks to the great folks at the Lavender Library for facilitating this event – We had about thirty people show up! We plan to do these quarterly, so next one will be in the Spring!

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Point of View: After the Con

Scott Predictions

OK, so GRL 2016 (Kansas City) is officially over. Time to look back over my pre-con predictions: 1) The Dancing Bear: There was no dancing bear (though there was a dancing Cowardly Lion – who knew Steve Zimmerman was so furry?). There were also dancing flying monkeys, fancing witches, and a handsome dancing tin man. Prediction Rating: 2 out of 5. 2) The Smores Bar: There was no smores bar, though there was a fairly good buffet on the last night, and the Grease movie night featured a fair selection of candy and some great pop corn, including Hershey bars, … Read more

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Point of View: 8 Tips to Prepare for a Successful Con

Scott GRL prep

OK, so GRL is officially just two weeks and a couple days away, and I am TOTALLY FREAKING OUT. There’s too much to do! I’ve done cons before, but there’s always a bit of last minute preparation, and this one is no different. So I thought I’d share with you a bit of what I do, have done and will do to prepare for a con like this. 1. Book Your Hotel Early: Most of these cons offer a discounted hotel rate, but these often have limited availability. Book early to have the best shot at these low rates – otherwise … Read more