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If you are not interested in the Expansion-Compression theory of vacations and related new findings, don’t read this. Everyone knows that a short week is always longer than a regular…

Writing a historical novel requires research. Writing Members of the Cast taught me a great deal about the clothing and music of the 1950s. Being in grammar school during those…

When revising, I make multiple passes through my manuscript. In my editing, I find sentences that make me uncomfortable. This is not a grammar issue but one of meaning and…

I’m vain. There, I’ve said it. I’m vain—even in my writing. My vanity hates to hear me admit I am vain. My vanity is not so much about looks, although…

Agent Jennifer March Soloway (@marchsoloway) retweeted Tammi Sauer’s (@SauerTammi) tweet: When it comes to pbs, if you don’t hook an agent, editor, or reader by word 50, chances are you…

Jennifer Laughran, a literary agent (@literaticat on Twitter), posted: If you are an author who is scrambling madly to query / get a ms out on sub "before the end…

It has been a tough week, and I am tired and a bit maudlin. I am thinking of Maggie, my main character in Members of the Cast. I made her…

We all are busy, so I will limit my remarks to extra annoying interferences keeping me from writing. Goal: Complete The Ship from Wolfskill this fall. Writing Event: A beta-reader…

A Short Story that will Need Hours of Cleanup Prolog Man Selling Us Graestone: The basement doesn’t leak. George, for ten years: The basement doesn’t leak! Gutters The gutters around…

Where did I get the idea for Members of the Cast? I think it started with the house. Before we were married, Ruth and I drove to Pasadena to look…

This article is not about plot twists. It is about a twisted plot, or perhaps a plot that needs a little twisting to make it right. I am a big…

Seven months and ten days after Members of the Cast was published, it may be time for evaluation. So, I give you some statistics: I sell a book every 1.2…

Self-publishing makes you a writer, speaker, and publicist if you want readers. In an earlier blog article, I discussed Kindle Ads for books. Today we delve into Kindle Lockscreen Ads.…

I love my beta readers and critique partners, but I am a plodder. I make glacial movement through books. I am far behind in my work. I excuse this by…

Do public book talks help sales? Members of the Cast has been out six months. To be honest, sales started with a bang and have tapered off in the months…