[First thing: If you’ve never read Richard Nash’s What is the Business of Literature? you should check it out. It’s a free e-book, and I’m sure it can be found online. Yep — right here.] * * * Richard Nash’s “What is the Business of Literature?” is one of the best things I’ve ever read […]
Wooden Writing
I recently read an article about publishers hunting for blockbusters. It’s an interesting article, but what struck me most was this comment (by Gizella) about what many books lack: Perhaps it’s because a great story needs a background of compelling conflict, and in our peaceful, Western, materially rich, and mostly liberal societies, conflicts are muted, […]
Making Writing Visual
I have always admired artists. They can hold up their work and, in an instant, an audience can tell if they like it or not. I’ve talked about it before: when it comes to a properly formatted manuscript — physically — they all look the same. (Man, that’s a shoddy video! But…it’s how one learns!) […]
Shawn Kupfer is Full of Fear and Anger — An Interview
When we last left Shawn Kupfer, he was going Supercritical. These days, he’s still writing the 47 Echo series, with a big change in the way it’s being published (spoiler alert, but not really: he started his own electronic press). He’s also added a weekly podcast to his already busy schedule of blogging. This time […]
A Book Signing Warning
Years ago when I was doing a comic book with my wife, we had a brilliant idea: “Sign all orders!” Every book that sold through a distributor was signed before shipping. Looking back, we were lucky we only had to sign what probably totaled a little over 500 comic books. At the time, we thought […]
Shawn Kupfer Has Gone Supercritical
I’ve interviewed Shawn Kupfer before, asking questions about the first book in his near-future series, 47 Echo — and a bit about his writing process. This time around, we’re talking about Supercritical, the latest book in his series. No bloated intro, here…let’s get straight to the interview! The Interview Welcome back, Shawn! First up, the […]
Kickstarting a Relaunch
On Sunday, I mentioned that I did a very poor job promoting Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors (HCWWPD). I tossed it out there and that was that. The interesting thing about the Internet is writers have a chance to follow up with promoting things. Used to be — a book came out and there […]
Han Shot First…Wait, No–Greedo Did!
The weekend of my 8th birthday (1977), my mom took my sister, one of my sister’s friends, and me to see Star Wars at a drive-in theater. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen — particularly the cantina scene, where we meet Han Solo. In that scene, Han chats with Greedo, a bounty hunter […]
Alex George Interview (About A Good American)
One of my most cherished memories is sitting at my great grandmother’s dining room table, listening to her tell her story about coming over from Sicily to America. Growing up in and then near Chicago, I was raised around a lot of people from different places. When I moved to Texas in my teens, I […]
In Defense of Quirky
I’ve recently mentioned the book I’m currently working on, A Magic Life. A couple people have emailed to ask what’s been happening with the novel I wrote before starting A Magic Life. That novel is called Promise, and I’m currently shopping it around to agents. The general feeling from the rejections I’ve received so far […]
Amazon as Publisher
I’ve chatted before about how I see some parallels with self publishing e-books and self published comic books from the mid 90s. And I still wonder if it’s possible for an unknown writer of literary or upmarket fiction to find the same kind of success as some unknown genre self publishers. (There’s a great article […]
Judging a Book by its Cover
Yesterday, Chuck Wendig shared the cover of his upcoming novel, Blackbirds, on his blog. (Go here to see the whole thing in all its stunning glory; it’s mighty impressive stuff! And if you’re curious what Wendig’s writing is like, I can think of a pile of worse things you can do today than dropping $2.99 […]
Lean and Mean Writing
My father had a thing for British motorcycles — particularly Triumphs. In the 70s, he had a Bonneville and a custom Trident. He loved stripping down a factory bike and turning it into a cafe racer. (Okay, so the Trident eventually became a drag bike.) There was always something neat to me about British bikes. […]