Tag Archives: Writing
Gary Shteyngart Book Trailer: It’s Not Do Authors Read, but Can They Read?
With the internet kerfluffle this week over whether or not Tin House has the right to require that submitters prove that they’ve actually bought a book, Gary Shteyngart unintentionally weighs in with a highly entertaining book trailer. It promotes his … Continue reading
Filed under Reading
Temptation Blocker
I’ve often thought of how much easier it must have been to write novels with quill pens, back before the internet and infinite distraction was only one click away. Hmmm… I wonder what the best way is to outrun a … Continue reading
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Ray Bradbury and Science Fiction Cave Paintings
In his essay “Dusk in the Robot Museums: The Rebirth of Imagination” from 1980, Ray Bradbury writes about the transition he saw in how science fiction was viewed during his lifetime. This essay, along with many other gems, is collected … Continue reading
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6 Rules for Writing Book Reviews
A couple of author blogs that I follow have had some great recent posts on the role of the book reviewer. First, Mark Charan Newton weighed in with a discussion on the value of hype. And then Sam Sykes on … Continue reading
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Thoughts on Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me
I first found Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me in the library about 30 years ago. At the time I was an avid fan of the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series for young readers. I had finished … Continue reading
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Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Rules for Short Story Writers
I first encountered Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. when it was published a decade ago. It collects his short stories that didn’t make the cut for Welcome to the Monkey House. Most were originally published in magazines like Colliers … Continue reading
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Top 3 Things I Learned at SCBWI
It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a week since the SCBWI conference ended. Though now that I’ve had a little time to digest all of it, I can whittle down the two-day conference into the top three … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized, Writing
What Not to Get for a Day Job
I accepted long ago that first novels don’t vanquish the day job. With average first advances coming in at $5,000, they’re financial successes if they pay the rent for a few months. But it still surprises me when I hear … Continue reading
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Automatic Digi Super-Duper Readi Payments
I’ve taken Harlan Ellison’s advice into consideration and enacted Automatic Digi Super-Duper Readi Payments™ on this site. Your credit card will be billed $1 if you continue reading this fine post. Still reading? Wonderful… processing. Thank you! April Fools’ aside, this … Continue reading
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Who Needs Fiction When You Got Mountains?
I spent a long weekend on Orcas Island, holed up in a private and utterly comfortable cabin on the water with stunning views of the Puget Sound and Mt. Baker… when the clouds cleared long enough. This is the third … Continue reading
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