Belisarius II: Storm at Noontide by Eric Flint and David Drake. 859 pages. Baen Books. My daughter Melissa, the English major purist that she is, rolls her eyes when I talk about alternate history stories, as if they were worse that pornography. And I guess it is sort of an eye candy to me, especially … More Review: “Belisarius II: Storm at Noontide” by Eric Flint and David Drake
I’ve been asked what the hardest part of writing a novel is, and my answer tends to be directly related to how well my novel-building is going at the time. My dad used to have a saying: “Some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you.” Some books come together quickly … More Brick By Brick
I was just out mowing my lawn in the early morning hours, trying to beat the Texas heat, when I heard Billy Joel sing his song, “Piano Man.” If you listen to the words, most of it is about people who wish they were doing something other than what they were doing. Henry David Thoreau … More If Not You, Then Who? If Not Now, Then When?
I was watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert the other night when the actor Paul Dano was being interviewed. Stephen Colbert talked about how “intimate” his acting roles tend to be, and it got me thinking about writing (of course). Intimacy. Privacy. Vulnerability. It’s what we all resist sharing, and yet it’s what we … More The Yin and Yang of Storytelling
Starship Eternal (War Eternal Book 1) by M. R. Forbes. Quirky Algorithms. 433 pages. I’m a member of Amazon Prime (which I recommend), and one of the benefits is that once a month I get a free ebook to read on my Kindle. Pretty cool. Of course, you have to choose from their list, but … More Review: “Starship Eternal” by M.R. Forbes
Here’s a sneak peek at the writing project I am working on this summer. Some of you may recognize some of the names already. Prologue: Land of the Free July, 1892 Off the Coast of New York Fritz Lowenstein let the cool morning ocean breeze hit his face as he leaned against the ship’s … More “Land of the Free”
The City of Mirrors: A Novel (Book Three of The Passage Trilogy) by Justin Cronin. Ballantine Books. 624 pages. Back when I was a kid, there was a well-known, very successful author named James Michener. He was known for novels centered around specific geographic locations, with perhaps his most famous being his book, Hawaii. He was also … More Review: “City of Mirrors” by Justin Cronin
I am a man who is relatively quick to decide things, but often I change my mind as well. And like most people, I am never satisfied with how my face looks. Yes, I know, God made me a certain way, and the features that I have are consistent with the features that my father, … More Beard? No Beard?
Spain In Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War: 1936-1939 by Adam Hochschild. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 485 pages. Like most of the 2,800 nonfiction books that I read, this book was historical in nature and was done as research for an upcoming writing project of mine that partially takes place during the Spanish Civil … More Review: “Spain in Our Hearts” by Adam Hochschild
I started getting published in the 80s and 90s when I realized it was a simple as one thing: give the editor what they want. But it wasn’t until recently that I realized that there were more important things than cashing a paycheck from a publisher. I tell my students there are two good reasons … More First, Find the Fun
