Tag: books

A New Anthology by the Pikes Peak Writers

Dream: Tales from the Pikes Peak Writers, a new anthology, is now available! I’m really excited about this publication, not only because I’m in it, but because I am humbled by the caliber of writers who also appear.

Research: Some Odd Findings

As writers, we joke about the research we do and what the NSA or CIA or INTERPOL or whatever other agency out there might think of us. Personally, I don’t really believe any of that. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve looked up how to [redacted] or fit a [redacted] into a…
Read more

What the Devil is Anthropological Science Fiction?

Anthropological Science Fiction sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Maybe when we break down it down, it is indeed. In simplest terms, anthropology is “the study of human societies and cultures and their development” (thank you Oxford). When we think of anthropology, we consider the past (i.e., how did we get here?). Science Fiction on…
Read more

What’s not to love about a literary smörgåsbord?

Today marks the release of a true literary smörgåsbord of short stories, novellas and bad poetry. I’m talking about my collection Regarding Dead Things on the Side of the Road. For those who have been with me on this writer’s journey for a long time, you may be wondering why this is news. Last year,…
Read more

What Just Happened? An Incomplete Journey of a NaNoWriMo Newbie – Part 2

Journal Entry: NaNoWriMo 2021 Day 1: And So It Begins… So, the alarm went off at 4 AM with a note: “NaNoWriMo Wake Up.” Right. I said I was going to do that. After coffee, a look at the news, a moment of meditation to rid myself of the stink of the news, and another…
Read more

What Just Happened? An Incomplete Journey of a NaNoWriMo Newbie – Part 1

Journal Entry: NaNoWriMo 2021 T-Minus 38 Days: The Decision The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting creative writing. Its main program is an annual event in which crazy people attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript during November. My math skills tell me that comes to 1,667 words per day. That…
Read more

Ghost Vomit: Or How Ideas are Born

Inspiration: noun \ˌin(t)-spə-ˈrā-shən, -(ˌ)spi-\ A divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation. (Merriam-Webster) Inspiration. That divine breath of literary genius given to us as sacred revelations wherein we all ascend from poor writer to rich author. Or maybe it’s just the crap that…
Read more

Write, Rinse, Repeat (Or: the Drunk Ex-CIA Agent Finds the Treasure and Saves the World!)

Write, rinse, repeat….Once upon a time I read a Facebook comment on David Morrell’s page which made me think about what I read more than I normally think about what I read. For reference (I save things), the comment was this: “The Tor editor and I discussed a number of situations in thrillers that are looking…
Read more

Llama, Llama, Go Llama

In 2002 (or so), a writer friend (the-great-and-not-quite-as-unknown-as-me Eric A. Jackson) and I were discussing what makes good fiction. At the time, he had recently loaned me a copy of Bentley Little’s The Collection, a great book of short stories. One of those stories included a dead llama. Naturally, the discussion on what made good…
Read more

What Works for Independent Authors? Guest Post by Scott Bury

This guest post by Scott Bury examines the “Independent Author” label and what’s worked for him.