Anything Good Takes Time. I have read a lot of articles and advice from people about writing, and how writers should just write. Hurry up and write. Write. Write. Write. Somewhere in the article they mention, in passing, about making sure the quality is there, but the focus usually shifts back to writing fast so you can […]
Why My Characters Drink Coffee I had a few readers write to me and ask why my characters drink so much coffee. The first email I got, I brushed off. Maybe they’re not a coffee drinker, I thought. But then I got another, and yet one more. At that point I was forced to give […]
Creating Characters to Die For I wanted to dedicate this post to Stephenie Meyer, the wonder-woman mom who kicked off an unbelievable surge in young-adult reading. In the process she sold a gazillion copies of her books to teenagers and women all over the world. Some guys too (hand raised). A lot has been written […]
Why My Book is Delayed My next book, A Bullet For Carlos, is going to be delayed a bit, probably a month or two. I blame it all on Dennis, our crazy wild boar. No, he didn’t eat the only copy of the manuscript. And he didn’t destroy my hard drive. What Dennis did was […]
Something Special I read a fantasy book one time that was magnificent. It was the first in a series and the series went on for six books. I devoured each one, couldn’t wait for the next to come out; however, (you knew there would be a “however”) at the end of the last book the […]
Early memories The other day I thought of a fond memory from back when I was ten years old. I was helping my Aunt Rose tend to her rose garden, and we were chatting about a lot of things, then, out of the blue, she said, “Life is like a rosebush, Jibbo.” (She always called […]
5 Secrets to Writing Success Warning: This post contains sarcasm. The publishing industry is a complicated business…but there are certain absolutes: Publishers want to publish bestsellers. Agents want to represent bestsellers. Writers want to write bestsellers. Readers want to read bestsellers. Not all writers have the vision to predict or anticipate what will be the […]
What’s the harm in switching a few letters around? As most of you know by now, I poke fun at my wife. Trust me, she gets in her fair share of jabs. My wife is a brilliant person, talented beyond belief, gifted in many areas. Smart as she is though, she frequently mixes up her […]
Character Development This is Biscotti, the sweetest, most lovable dog in the world, right? If you said yes, you’d be right—some of the time. At other times she is a domineering, nasty, violent little… Well, I think you know where I’m going with this. She bullies dogs two to three times her size. One of […]
