What My Animals Teach Me About Writing. There are thousands of books for sale that offer advice on writing, but I don’t buy any of them. I have all the advice I need right here on the animal sanctuary. There is nothing like several dozen animals to teach you about…well…damn near anything. It seems like […]
Mixing Concrete is Like Writing a Great Book I started out my “work life” mixing concrete. Concrete is extremely strong. It’s used for roads, for foundations that hold up skyscrapers and bridges, in dams that hold back rivers and lakes. There isn’t anything that can take the place of concrete. And the most amazing thing […]
Building Your Team Being an independent author/publisher means you have to do a hell of a lot more than write. Once you’re done writing, you have to work with a lot of vendors: content editor copy editor proofreader. Graphic designer for your book cover layout and formatting for both ebook and print Website design and […]
A Kiss is Just a Kiss Or so states the line from As Time Goes By the song made immortal when Dooley Wilson sang it for Ingrid Bergman in the movie Casablanca. While a kiss might be just a kiss most of the time, there are special kisses. I bet you remember your first kiss, […]
Substance Abuse Addiction and substance abuse affect almost every family in the country. If you don’t have someone in your family afflicted, or a relative, chances are you know someone. Growing up I didn’t realize this. Back then it was the kind of thing that was kept hidden. That uncle who was so hilarious was […]
How to Get Your Time Back Writers often struggle with time management, unsure how to manage the delicate balance between work, writing, social media, and family—so many things to do. And when there are so many things to do, there is something on the list that you really hate. But it’s not just writers who battle […]
Lies, and How To Use Them One of the Ten Commandments is “thou shalt not lie,” but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Imagine me, or any guy, telling their wife— “Honey, you look terrible in that dress.” Not only will a comment like that cost you a smack in the face, it […]
An Indie Author’s Response to Sue Grafton I know I shouldn’t do this. I know it’s like responding to a bad review…but I couldn’t help myself. Sue Grafton pissed me off. Sue Grafton, bestselling mystery author, has been in the headlines recently, but not for her books. This time it’s for her mouth, or rather, […]
Sometimes You Have to Lie to Make Your Writing Believable My first book was published in April, and in late May I got emails from a few readers. Two of them said how much they loved the book, but they found it difficult to believe that six-year-old kids would have been smoking. Everything else they […]
Writing Erotica I have always tried to keep my posts “G-rated,” but with all the excitement over Fifty Shades of Grey and the landslide of books following it, I felt I had to do something drastic. Keep in mind, this character is not me. I swear. Temptation I was feeling a little down, and quite lazy […]
