I stayed up past midnight last night, working on a chapter for a book I'm co-writing. The story was burning inside of me and I just needed to finish the chapter. Although the pace I was working at felt slow, the progress felt huge. I'm looking forward to sitting down with my partner this weekend and going over our chapters. Unlike last weekend, ( Read more... )

Jack London wrote big adventures set during the Alaskan gold rush. I loved reading them. Spring forward. Marcus Sedgwick writes a book in Londonesque style about a boy and a gun and the Alaskan gold rush. I loved reading Revolver, what a great book. Highly recommended.
I took the weekend off from writing, not something I normally do, and my son and ( Read more... )

I was driving home when I saw several young branches and newly formed leaves sticking out of the back of a hunched man riding his bicycle towards me. Strange place to plant a tree, I thought. Like any writer who is also a good reader, I was feeling slightly cheated by not knowing this character's back story. Hmmm...was this some sort of curse ( Read more... )

March Madness is here. And for me, a basketball fan, it didn't arrive a moment too soon. I don't know who coined that term for the month filled with basketball tournaments, but it's certainly catchy. March Madness...it just sounds great.  And that got me thinking...what other catchy months are out there? In southern California we have our June ( Read more... )

Magic

My wife and I had a date night at the Magic Castle. I love magic and I love that place. The walls there ooze magical mystery and whisper secrets from days when magicians ruled the headlines of the world and were held in awe by millions. When I was in high school I grew up with Harry Blackstone III, and since I was ASB President and we were ( Read more... )

Some current news:
This is a very exciting year for me in so many ways. First, I have a manuscript-oops! Let me rephrase that. I have a 115,000 word, labor of love I’m sending out to the world…fingers crossed. Secondly, I’m now working on another project, one I’ve been dying to get back to (I started it several years ago while taking a break on my ( Read more... )

Zombies have been hot in the publishing world. This is a great video for those who might wonder what to do about a zombie holiday invasion.

Click to view

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Yesterday I finished a major Draft. This manuscript is close to done, and it feels great to now shift gears and think about sending it out. Now I can start my Christmas shopping and travel about, waiting for parking spots, standing in lines for cashiers, and doing all the rest of the yule time fun without feeling any guilt. Hip Hip Hoorays and ( Read more... )

In my last entry I posted about how I like to go to coffee shops and watch the people that come and go, making notes on mannerisms that I might be able to use in my writing. The same holds true when I'm out at public events. I watch the way people exchange glances and words, I study the way members of different genereations interact, and I ( Read more... )

I carry a little black book, a small journal with blank pages, around with me when I go out alone for coffee or a bite to eat. I use it to document the mannerisms of the people I watch. This somewhat strange routine helps me see the everyday motions and movements that I'd normally overlook if I had simply eaten or drank without paying attention to ( Read more... )