Originally published at Agent Incite. You can comment here or there.

One thing that makes me put down a book or a submission is a world where the behavior of the inhabitant doesn’t bear any resemblance to what you can expect of people as a whole with a their cultural history. The Pearl Harbor attack affected the American psyche because it was the ( Read more... )

Originally published at Agent Incite. You can comment here or there.

Good Day,

I’ve had the privilege of meeting many very smart, talented and interesting people in the years I’ve attended conventions and been part of the professional end. It’s been an undiluted pleasure to meet people like Elizabeth Bear, David Drake, and Lois McMaster Bujold. I’ve ( Read more... )

Originally published at Agent Incite. You can comment here or there.

A couple days ago Chris posted about social media. Specifically, he asked about how to generate conversations, and well, stick to something that doesn’t come naturally to him. Any form of social interaction that doesn’t come naturally to you is uncomfortable.

A couple things to ( Read more... )

Originally published at Agent Incite. You can comment here or there.

Battlefield maps aren’t really difficult to come by, but getting one map with absolute brain breaking loads of the them from a source known for quality? Just about unheard of. Click here and drool.


( Read more... )

Originally published at Agent Incite. You can comment here or there.

I have a pretty simple criteria for words I don’t want to see in books. It probably hasn’t changed in years. I don’t think I’ve ever explained exactly what it is. Your mileage may vary, but for me it is real simple:

If I haven’t heard a word spoken in conversation at least three ( Read more... )

There is nothing more frustrating to me than finding a great book, reading one or two more by the author and then finding out they are no longer being published. Sometimes its just because I have found a writer who has passed away, decided they don't wish to go through all that is need to get published, or maybe the publisher folds. But if its a ( Read more... )

One of the impactful questions that lurks behind the question of self publication (or in some cases micro-presses and scam organizations) is:

Why does self-publishing have a stigma?

There are two answers to this, the first is the simple one, the second will no doubt get me unfollowed on twitter, unfriended on Facebook, and generally labeled a member ( Read more... )

One of the biggest areas of failure for a lot of writers is failure to grow their craft. I don't make money as a novelist (and don't think I could) but my writing is still important. Most writers have at least two things they are contantly fighting against to keep their writing at their highest level. For some its things like leaving out words and ( Read more... )

Here's your answer, its the email i sent to a writer friend this morning:
Subject: You Damn Theif
Body: You owe me five hours sleep. "***** ******" was awesome.
Mike

That's it.

We want a book to invade, attack, lay siege and occupy our attention for hours, it needs to overrun the other stuff we need to be doing. If there are flaws to the book, they need ( Read more... )

Thanks Stacey.

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