I love traveling. But I hate traveling for business. Most of the time I just do what I came for, then hole up in my hotel room, just like I am doing now. I miss my family, and when I travel alone, I find myself wishing I had someone to share the trip with. It … More How Can You Be Two Places At Once When You Not Anywhere At All?
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Knopf Books. 352 pages. Ah yes. Another dystopian book. Another flu pandemic that kills 99 percent of the world’s population. Another book where people strive to survive, killing each other in the process. But wait, this book isn’t like the others. It sees the post-dystopian world as poetic, … More Review: “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel
There are two kinds of writers in the world. There are those who are character-driven, and those of us who are plot-driven. Many of my stories are exciting, breathtaking adventures that keep you on the edge of your seat. But I have learned the hard way that, unless the reader cares about what happens to … More How to Care About Your “Care-acters”
There’s an axiom in magazine editing. It goes like this: The first issue is not the hardest one to do. It’s the second issue. Why? Because in our efforts to come up with a slam-bang beginning and get everyone’s attention, we generally end up using most, if not all, of our great ideas. That’s a … More Writing the Second Chapter
Today’s blog raises a question that I don’t have an answer for. As I continue to write, I am gravitating toward more complex plots and multiple characters, what TV often calls “ensemble casts.” The advantage for writers and readers both is that you can have multiple subplots going on at the same time. The disadvantage … More Pleased to Meet You, Let Me Introduce Myself
When my niece accompanied my aging mother from California to Texas to see me graduate with my doctorate about 12 years ago, she was amazed. “It’s so green!” she said. “Everyone has swimming pools and the houses are so big!” I asked her if she expected cowboy boots and tumbleweeds, and from her look I … More A Primer on Speaking Texan
About a year ago, I had a friend ask, “How many books have you written?” My response was, “Written? Or published?” Because anyone who writes knows that there are hits and misses. There are great books, there are bad books, and there are books that should never see the light of day. The first book … More You’ve Got to Start Somewhere
It’s the first official day of the week of Spring Break. There are a lot of fun things I could be doing, including working on my new book, Salome’s Charger, which is being adeptly co-authored by Celeste Perrino-Walker. I could even be playing Lord of the Rings Online, or watching another rerun of Glee. Instead, … More Hurry Up and Wait
Summer of the Apocalypse by James Van Pelt. 255 pages. Fairwood Press. I have said for a long time that vampire stories aren’t about vampires, that zombie stories aren’t really about zombies. The same goes for stories about the end of the world. Call them apocalyptic tales, dystopia or whatever, they aren’t about disease, nuclear … More Review: “Summer of the Apocalypse” by James Van Pelt
The Disciples (Strait Truth Series, Book 2) by Celeste Perrino-Walker, 226 pages. As I have commented in one of my reviews before, the two criteria I use to determine if a book is great and not just good are (1) did it surprise me? and (2) did it stick in my mind long after I … More Review: “The Disciples” by Celeste Perrino-Walker
The Great Adventure 