Elijah, the final part of The Champion Trilogy, will be released in early July. Here’s a taste of what’s coming: “Dear Katya: “I am writing this letter in the hope that it will get to you somehow. After leaving you I was taken in a vehicle with blackened windows to an underground holding facility. I … More Sneak Preview from “Elijah”–part 1
I’m my own worst enemy. It’s been a busy few days, with the whole family traveling up to Oklahoma for a reunion. Now it’s just Gavin, my grandson, our three dogs and me. Shelly and my kids drove off to Jefferson to get my daughter moved into a new house. Those of us who stayed … More Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
In the past 18 months since I started my indie author enterprise, I have experimented with lots of ways to get readers’ attention. After all the contests and advertising and promotions, I have come to the conclusion that the bottom line for selling books online is in reviews. How does one get reviews? You get … More My 99 Cent Sale
If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I have said more than once that there are no guarantees in life. And that goes for writing as well. I told a fellow magazine editor one time while we were watching our first issue roll off the press: “Enjoy … More Positive Strokes
I have a lot of respect for Orson Scott Card. By linking his name with mine in the title, I am not presuming that my writing is the same caliber as his, at least not yet. But I admire him greatly because he has been able to do something that I am trying to do … More Orson Scott Card and Me
I’ve never been able to pat my head and rub my belly at the same time, and so I have been remiss in keeping up with my blog, or my writing for that matter. But I had decided early on that this summer was not going to be writing intensive. Instead, I have spent the … More Hits and Misses
Today I am a hostage in my own home. There are workmen outside who occasionally have to come in to use the bathroom. So I am hanging in here, ignoring errands that must be attended to eventually and watching them haul pipes and power cords and equipment past my windows. We have known for a … More Clatter Outside, Scatter Inside
I confess. Every once in a time I find myself guilty of doing the same things I tell my students not to do. Like fretting over things you have no control over. You know the feeling: you work your butt off to get your manuscript finished, send it off in the mail to some potential … More Watching Paint Dry
I’m not proud. It’s been sixteen months since I made the decision to go into independent book publishing after three decades of traditional publishing. I have already gone into the reasons why I did so, and I still think it was the right decision. And I knew from the very beginning that I was going … More The Biggest Mistake I’ve Made (so far) In Indie Book Publishing
When I decided to enter indie publishing a little over a year ago, I rationalized it with two reasons. First, many of my books didn’t easily fit into the niches that traditional publishers were looking for. Publishing them myself seemed the logical thing to do. Second, as a professor who talks often about the changing … More Lots of thunder. Will there be lightning?
