Saturday is Indie Book Event Day
On the road to NYC I am packed. I am ready. I am terrified. I am on my way to NYC shortly (by bus) and will be spending all day Saturday at The New Yorker Hotel to attend the Indie Book Event as part of my continuing effort to convince all of you to read Immortal. I…
Read MoreSummertime
Brain dump A funny thing happened to me after I finished writing Hellenic Immortal: my brain stopped working. Oh, it’s not like it’s actually fully non-functional, but it’s tired. Really, very deeply tired. In fairness, it’s been running non-stop between the promoting of Immortal, the rewrites, and some screenwriting stuff I can’t talk too much…
Read MoreWhat to get the author who doesn't have everything
Birthday wishes “I don’t want everything. Where would I put it?” —Stephen Wright As today is my birthday, I have decided to be obnoxious, which I admit is not a large step for me but here it goes. Read Immortal That’s what I want from you, on this, the occasion of my forty-third birthday. I…
Read MoreParis bucket list
If you can’t give bad advice, what’s the point of giving any advice at all? Daughter Becky has a friend who is on her way to Paris for a semester abroad. On Facebook, she was tasked with drafting a “bucket list” of things her friend had to do while she was there. Perhaps foolishly, she…
Read MoreRinging in the New Year
It has been quite a year I have a bad habit of focusing on things that haven’t happened yet rather than stepping back and looking behind me at what has been accomplished. This tunnel vision quality is sometimes very useful, such as when I’m writing a novel, but maybe less useful in other settings, such…
Read MorePromoting in a social media world
Leading horses to water Promoting a novel can be extremely challenging, and in ways that are different from promoting a website or a toy or a machine that goes *ping* at regular intervals. Novels are subjectively enjoyable, frequently disappointing, and an unavoidable commitment. Nobody wants to get stuck reading a bad one, or worse, having…
Read MorePromoting Immortal
The month in summary It has been quite a good month for Immortal, the little novel that could, but only after six years of couldn’t. On penalty of death, I can’t mention specific sales numbers, but if you count both the books bought through Amazon and from my personal supply… well, we did okay. And…
Read MoreMary Sues and assholes
On the notion of the Mary Sue and the ubiquity of fan fiction I’m a fairly non-social writer, by which I mean when I’m working on something I’m alone with it until I’m reasonably certain it’s truly and actually done. I have not historically taken advantage of writing groups or posted partials for comment, or…
Read MoreBut I don't get sick
I’m looking for someone to blame Readers, I don’t get sick very often. I try to maintain a decent diet, I bike to work nine months out of the year, and… okay, I also smoke 4-6 cigarettes a day, but only the additive-free kind! (Yes, in Cambridge we even go green with our bad habits.)…
Read MoreMiscellany
Losing my mind I’m going to go ahead and conclude that I am not wired properly to handle a gradual book roll-out. A week ago I was completely convinced Immortal wasn’t going to debut as scheduled, which is a terrifying thought for someone who’s already gone through that once. Now I’m completely preoccupied with the…
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