I have a very bad habit. Somehow I have gotten in my mind that if I don’t finish something, then nothing bad will happen. It started when I wrote my first book. I knew that the editor was waiting for it. I put it in an envelope, addressed the envelope, put stamps on it, and … More Avoiding the Last Chapter
I love it when I am obsessed with a story I’m writing. My wife? Not so much. I call it being in the zone. Obsession leads to loads and loads of productivity. My wife calls it being zombified. That’s the time when she can’t keep an adult conversation going with me because my mind is … More Sacred Hours
Some days you eat the bear. Some days the bear eats you. -Unknown For those who have been following this blog for any reasonable amount of time, my latest literary battle goes by the name of Tesla’s Ghost. I’m one of those guys who is quick to take up a challenge, and this has been … More Writing Backwards
There was a time when I used to study for classes in front of the TV, music playing in the background, often while speaking on the phone. I could even do it with other people in the room doing their own thing, often loudly. Not any longer. I was young then, and for some reason, … More Distracted
I am currently writing what I consider the worst book I have ever written. But on the other hand, I am writing it. After all, according to Anne Lamott, writers have to give themselves permission to write a “shitty first draft” (her words, not mine). Because if you don’t give yourself that permission, in many … More Dealing with Ugly Stepchildren and Other Realities of Writing Life
I don’t write romance novels, nor do I read them, although some of my books do include romance elements in them. For the most part, I write suspense novels, Christian suspense to be exact, but I try to include a little bit of everything in there. I always try to balance out suspense with humor, … More Why Good Relationships Are A Bad Thing
Well, not literally. But essentially, my latest project has me writing what equates to two books at once. And it’s not easy. In Tesla’s Ghost, I tell the story of a secret notebook kept by Fritz Lowenstein, the assistant of Nikola Tesla recording strange goings on that happen as the famous inventor and his team … More The Challenge of Writing Two Books at Once
“Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.” -Yogi Berra Football season is almost upon us, and I am fondly watching my own Oakland Raiders getting into training camp and getting ready for their first official game in September. This, I hope, will be the year that Oakland returns to the playoffs … More Bringing Back the Swagger
One of the websites I’ve gotten quite fond of is quora.com. It’s simply a forum where people can ask questions or go and answer other people’s questions. I get asked a lot of questions about writing there, and get to ask professionals questions that help me in the writing of my books. Yesterday someone asked … More Beyond the Big Picture
“I see my mind as a cluttered desk.” —Me, not too long ago. In case you didn’t know, I just came back from a week-long Alaska cruise. My wife Shelly and I visited Juneau, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria, British Columbia, and then back to Seattle. It was something that I had to talk my … More Vacating the “Cluttered Desk”
The Great Adventure 