Let’s face it, writers are a crazy bunch. We listen to the voices in our heads, research crazy things on Google (waves to the CIA), and would rather spend hours with people who don’t really exist in places that only come from our deepest imaginations. But when the rest of the world sometimes looks at…
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Why I Decided To Self-Publish (And The Doctor Who Giveaway Winner!)
The winner of the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who book THE SILENT STARS GO BY by Dan Abnett will be announced at the end of this post! But first, I’m going to talk about self-publishing and why my co-authors and I decided to go that route with our first book, THE SOWING. Y’all may have noticed…
Read MoreFive Ways To Get Me To Not Read Your Book
Here are five ways to easily convince me that I should not read your book: 1. Tweet or update your Facebook status about it all the time. You bombarding me with messages about it (that all say the same thing) is not going to convince me that your book is good, or that you are a credible author, or…
Read MoreBook Review: “Beltamar’s War (Malmaxa)” by C.G. Ayling
I was really thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review BELTAMAR’S WAR by C. G. Ayling, a writer who I met and communicated with on Twitter and with whose writing I was impressed. I’m always a little nervous when I agree to read and review self-published books – I’ve read a fair few…
Read MoreBook Review: “Fear Of The Dark” by Trevor Baxendale
And I’m proud to announce my first stop on a book tour with a review of FEAR OF THE DARK by Trevor Baxendale! FEAR OF THE DARK stars the 5th Doctor, portrayed in the BBC series by Peter Davison, and accompanied by three companions: Nyssa, Tegan, and Adric. In the book, only Nyssa and Tegan appear…
Read MoreBook Review: “In The End” by Alexandra Rowland
Two weeks ago, at the Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference, I met a girl named Alexandra Rowland, whose passion for writing was unquenchable. I was impressed from the get-go at her drive, her exuberance, and the fact that she, a year younger than me, seemed to have her writerly shit together way more than I do. Example:…
Read MoreBook Review: “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy
I barely know where to begin with this one. I picked up “The Road” because I’m currently waiting for reader comments on my own post-apocalyptic novel, THE SOWING, and I wanted to take advantage of the downtime to research the classic dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories – the ones that my own work will inevitably draw…
Read MoreWhat Does Your Rating Scale Say About You?
So I finally figured out a way to properly define book ratings so that they make sense to me, and (hopefully) will make sense to my readers. I’ve always struggled with the traditional five-star rating system, because there’s so much room for misinterpretation. For instance, if someone rates something four stars, does that mean it…
Read MoreThe 5 Worst Writing Tips I’ve Ever Received
As someone who tries to write very consciously and deliberately, I like to pay attention to writing tips from agents, publishers, and other authors. I also got a fair few back in English classes when I was a young’un in high school. I’ve seen some pretty awful writing tips in my day, and I wanted…
Read MoreWhy IS Dystopian Fiction So Great?
The estimable Jamey Stegmaier emailed me the other day after I posted my last book review and asked me a very interesting question. What is it, he asked, that you like so much about dystopian fiction? The question really got me thinking. After all, I’m working on a book with strong dystopian elements, and I’ve read a whole…
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The Z-Axis 