One topic I see a lot of on author blogs and in the various online groups that feature authors, is the use of outlines versus 'pantsing', i.e., winging it, playing it by ear, throwing stuff on the... Read the rest of this post

One thing I have noticed in a lot of other people’s blogs on the subject of writing, whether they are agents or authors or editors, is that they repeatedly urge writers to research their area be... Read the rest of this post

One thing I have noticed in a lot of other people’s blogs on the subject of writing, whether they are agents or authors or editors, is that they repeatedly urge writers to research their area be... Read the rest of this post

One thing I have noticed in a lot of other people’s blogs on the subject of writing, whether they are agents or authors or editors, is that they repeatedly urge writers to research their area be... Read the rest of this post

That’s right, today’s post is about feedback.I just filled out a survey form today for the hotel we stayed at while we were in Chicago for the Printer’s Row Lit Festival.  I filled out a similar one i... Read the rest of this post

That’s right, today’s post is about feedback.I just filled out a survey form today for the hotel we stayed at while we were in Chicago for the Printer’s Row Lit Festival.  I filled out a similar one i... Read the rest of this post

That’s right, today’s post is about feedback.I just filled out a survey form today for the hotel we stayed at while we were in Chicago for the Printer’s Row Lit Festival.  I filled out a similar one i... Read the rest of this post

This is the part that readers have to play in the great game of publishing.  It sometimes gets lost, what with all the hype about Oprah, and the movies that get made, and once upon a time The NYT Book... Read the rest of this post

When my first book first arrived in the world, ready for all the eager book-buyers to pounce upon it, I discovered something horrifying. Did you know that bookstores don’t stock all books, just becaus... Read the rest of this post

I finally went out and bought my own ebook reader a few weeks back, mainly so I could show people what ebooks looked like, in the fond hope of getting them to buy and read some, hopefully my own. ... Read the rest of this post

I'm getting two manuscripts edited at the same time. One is my first novel, which never got a proper edit in the first place. I asked my publisher if she was planning to format Unbinding the Sto... Read the rest of this post

For me, the werewolf has always been the Universal werewolf, poor Lawrence Talbot getting bit, turning into a wolf, and finding to his horror that even death wasn't enough to save him from his cur... Read the rest of this post

There was a contest that ended on tax day.  A short story on a theme, 3500 words.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it?   Well…   I usually do well with themes.  All of my short stories (what did you expe... Read the rest of this post

..Yes, I'm finally going to do it! What? Blog about my event last week.Why? Because I have another event today and I need to get all caught up.The biggest and best thing about Lunacon for me was... Read the rest of this post

It’s been a strange week for me, vampire-wise.  Not only is the theme of this week’s blogs ‘Vampires’, but just yesterday I saw a hilarious comedy, Lesbian Vampire Killers, and one of my stories, ‘... Read the rest of this post

I recently pulled out my overused copy of Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, one of the great Alternate History novels. As often happens, I found myself wondering how gunpowder is made. For those who don't kno... Read the rest of this post

Right. Sex scenes, and why I don't write them. Actually, I said this already, in a story that hopefully will be published someday, so I'll just quote myself. The characters are Author Guy (that's m... Read the rest of this post

So here I am, inside, having spent the day watching snow fall, writing a little bit more in my novel, watching Medium, and eating popcorn and hot cocoa.   I also played a lot of Bejeweled Blitz, a gam... Read the rest of this post

I love characters.   Not just my own, I love all the good characters I've read about or seen in the movies and even sometimes on TV (in between the explosions).   And I'm not alone in this.  Lots of... Read the rest of this post

No, not the movie, real life.Although I did try to get the movie, yesterday at the library.  Two copies, both overdue.  Bastids.So I got some other movies.  The Get Smart movie, which I watched yester... Read the rest of this post

Odd combo, huh? Well, it's stuff I'm doing today.  A lot of driving around taking my various kids to various places, which of course means that I'm listening at least some times to Christmas music.  I... Read the rest of this post

I finally got around to seeing this, when my son's girlfriend gave it to him for his birthday and he insisted on watching it with us. Both he and I enjoy these sorts of movies, but even my wife, who... Read the rest of this post

That's a line from a movie I just watched, Grand Canyon.  One of the great movies.  It even mentions Thanksgiving in it, so there.  It seemed appropriate to me to watch it tonight, I don't know why.... Read the rest of this post

I don't normally post about my book-selling events here but I really have to congratulate the people who run the Mount Sinai Middle School craft & gift fair.  I did it for the first time yesterday a... Read the rest of this post

We just finished watching the the last three episodes of the third season of Medium, and let me tell you, the parallels with Tru Calling are scary. There are some spoilers here, so if you haven't seen... Read the rest of this post