Painting by Numbers Hi Reader, I can't paint. I tried though. Gave it a good shot. Still life. Portraits. Plein air. I produced nothing that warranted a frame. But it wasn't a waste of time. I was in the company of real artists. And while I was beating my head against a wet canvas, I noticed how few tubes of paint the good ones needed to create real art. Writing isn't so different. Much of a novel comes down to four colors: Description (rooting us in place or time) Action (walking, nodding,...
about 13 hours ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, Kath and I work out at a local gym a few times a week. We often see Chris and Ted walking the track. Fantastic couple. Chris reads my books and seems to enjoy them. But she's also fairly convinced I might be deranged. She says it with a smile. But... I get that a lot. The folks who've read my books sometimes give me odd looks when they meet me in person. And it usually leads to a question. "Where do you get your ideas?" Which is a polite way of asking, "What the hell is wrong with...
8 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, It's a rite of passage for authors. You always remember your first. The one-star review. In layman's terms, it means the reader spent a few days with your book, threw it in the trash, and wanted to make sure the world knew it was garbage. I remember mine. It was prior to the launch of Fortunate Son. I'd sent out 50 advance copies for readers to review on Goodreads. The reviews started streaming in and I was feeling a bit chuffed that everyone seemed to be enjoying the book...
15 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I follow famous authors on social media. Why? Because I'm a masochist, maybe. Every book release post is the same: a selfie of the smiling author with three hundred people holding his or her books in the background. If you follow me on social media and haven't seen me posting photos with two hundred readers holding Noble Reckoning, don't worry. You didn't miss anything. My family photographs my events. It takes a certain skill to set up a shot so it gives the impression that more...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, You ever get that feeling you're falling? I did. And guess what? I was. Apparently, I steered my little bookmobile right off a very steep cliff. Now, I'm scrambling to get the parachute to deploy. What? Just go with it. Pretend my bookmobile has the parachute option and I'm not just torturing metaphors willy-nilly. A while back, I publicly declared I was done being a vassal of Amazon. I thumped my chest and pulled my books from Kindle Unlimited. If you're not familiar, KU is...
29 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Noble Legacy will be the fourth and (possibly) the final book in the Emma Noble series. I'm not nearly as far along as I'd hoped to be. I’ve started it four times. I think. I kinda lost count. Sorry about that. But don't worry. I've been thinking about it. And I heard someone once say that thinking about your story qualifies as writing. Except... it's really not. Writing is writing. I have excuses. Being caught in the emotional riptide of Kath's diagnosis made writing a lower-level...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, Looking for a strong reaction? Start talking about AI's role in the creative process. Prepare the pitchforks. I write my own books. I choose humans to design my covers and real people to voice my audiobooks. At a time when it's popular to shout down AI, my stance seems safe. Even admirable. Sorry. I'm not trying to score points. I just like working with real people. I believe there is art in imperfection. A little over a year ago, I wrote an article for Writer’s Digest about...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, Kath grabbed me by the shoulders on my way up to my writing room this morning and turned me toward her. "Smile," she said. "It tricks the brain." I nodded. "Do it." So I did. She's right. My brain falls for anything. This week, I've been telling it that I'm not enough. I should be doing more. Achieving more. Finishing more. Not helpful. Noble Reckoning releases next week. I should be writing about the launch. But that's not what's on my mind today. This morning, I walked into the...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I'm not a gambler. But I kinda love watching people bet—the more, the better. It's fascinating and kind of dark. A study in human behavior. By the way, that's a writer thing. Standing around—watching people. I once stood next to a guy and watched him lose an absurd amount at a blackjack table at a resort in the Bahamas. It was an absolute train wreck that, apparently, the idiot could afford. The dealers rotated and I asked him how he was doing. "Down a quarter mil." "When do you...
2 months ago • 3 min read