If you knew sushi…

In which our intrepid blogger joins the 21st century So I had sushi last night for dinner. I know what you’re thinking; you’re thinking this is a post that I wrote in 2005 and it disappeared down a wormhole, only to surface now, years after it has lost all relevance. But no: I’ve been ducking…

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IMMORTAL: ARC cover

Moving forward… at last! Last evening I received the final proof of the cover for the advance review copy of Immortal.  This is sort of an important step, so I’m glad it’s finally done and on its way to the printer.  Assuming the printer isn’t hit by a meteor in the next week, ARC’s should…

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Immortal Quotes

Some choice quotes With little else to do right now but wait for the advance review copies to surface–soon, honestly–I thought I’d share some of my favorite quotes from Immortal.  These are taken from various sections of the book and mostly stand on their own without need for additional context. I’d also like to add…

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I frighten small children

Beware Uncle Gene I frighten small children. It’s not something I necessarily mean to do, more like an instinctive thing that I can’t appear to control. I came to this understanding over the weekend as sister Terri and bro-in-law Rob arrived in town (from Seattle or thereabouts) with two small children, Libby and Phoebe.  They are…

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On publishing

Forget I asked A few years back I went to a book reading for an established writer who was teasing an excerpt from his new book.  This was following the rampant success of his prior work, a literary roman a clef I won’t name for reasons that will become clear below. I remember two things…

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Three Minute Fiction

NPR’s Three Minute Fiction contest Earlier this year, on a whim I decided to participate in round three of NPR‘s “Three Minute Fiction” contest.  Alas, since NPR does not send out “You did not win because we think you suck” announcements, I didn’t win, but I don’t know why.  I’m not saying I should have…

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Love letter to David Simon

Television as it should be We decided a few weeks back that it was time to introduce the children to The Wire, which is also referred to in our household as The Best Show Ever Made For Television.  (There will be no arguments on this point.  If you have seen it and disagree, we might…

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A brief outline

Don’t try this at home I know a lot about how other people write, mainly because of the advice I’ve gotten about writing over the years.  That’s almost unavoidable, because writers talk to each other quite a bit, or at least more than practitioners do in most professions.  One reason for this is that writing…

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Bike rant of the day

What are you thinking? All right, I know it’s hot, and you and your four fat family members–plus whatever you’ve got in that baby stroller–need to get across the street.  I do.  Goodness knows it’s probably well past grazing time at the local eatery and you’re probably low on energy, and the other side of…

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Accidental Network

When I was still trying to understand Twitter I had this conversation once with a friend who signed onto Twitter before I did. “I’m in a chat.” “On Twitter?  How the hell do you chat in Twitter?  Is there a room everyone goes to?” “No, we just all follow each other.” This struck me as…

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