I enjoy teaching writing, although as I freely admit to students, one does not actually “teach” another to write. You can guide them, make suggestions, demonstrate technique, but the bottom line is that one learns to be a writer, by, as someone put it, “applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the … More Dress Rehearsal
I’ve been checking out YA books for several years now. Not that I fit into the Young Adult category–I slipped out of that about 40 years ago. But I have written one YA book, and am considering others, and since it is really the only book market that continues to grow, it’s worth a gander. … More Review: “Legend” by Marie Lu
As you probably know, I’ve committed to running an indie publishing empire since the beginning of 2012. So far, no one is getting rich, but as they say, it’s all a matter of time. And that’s the rub. I need time to write all those gorgeous books. I need even more time to edit and … More Your Most Valuable Asset
If you caught my blog yesterday, you will know that I have been debating for a while what my next writing project will be. I finished five books in 2013, chief among them the Champion Trilogy I came out with during the summer. Since that time, I have been considering myriad possibilities, some more realistic … More Learning from the Past
There was a day when I could study for classes, read a book, listen to music, carry on a conversation and watch TV…all at the same time. But as I steadily become longer in the tooth, I find it harder to concentrate on things creative when other stuff is going on in my life. I … More Back In the Saddle…I Think
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,300 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people. Click here to … More 2013 in review
I’m one of those guys who has more ideas than he has time to exploit those ideas. Retirement is coming one of these days, and my hope is that I will finally take the time to turn these kernels of stories into fully fledged novels. In the meantime, I came across the idea of writing … More One Mind, Many Options
As part of my ongoing research on a historical novel I want to write set in the 1930s and 40s, I bought this book on the Battle of Iwo Jima. My father was there as a radioman and gunner on a landing craft, and I had known some basic information about the battle, but this … More Review: “Iwo” by Richard Wheeler
I’m a pretty driven person. I feel guilty when I am not accomplishing something. But as a writer, I have discovered the value of downtime. The mind–and the body–need time to recharge. And occasionally weather provides the excuse to do just that. You see, north Texas is currently socked in with extreme winter weather. Yesterday–Friday–I … More Downtime
“Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld. 440 pages. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. I have been meaning to read this book for a long time but haven’t, mostly because I was either reading something else or couldn’t buy it on sale, which is the way I buy most of my books. Because I have written one steampunk … More Review: “Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld
The Great Adventure 