125 Very Short Shorts
You might remember that last year I participated in the Twitter #vss365 challenge. For the challenge, I had to write a 280-character-or-fewer story every day using a given prompt word. By December 31, I...
Category: Reading
The Truth about Author Earnings
The entertainment industry presents us with two very different ideas about writers. Either they are struggling, living in a drafty shack on Ramen noodles while pounding out their novels on an old typewriter because...
The Cost of Art: Some Thoughts
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed an uptick in Tweets and articles relating the plight of the artist in the modern age. I’m using the term “artist” broadly to refer to writers, musicians,...
Don’t Wait ‘Til It’s Too Late!
The last month or so has seen the passing of a couple of celebrity authors. Sue Grafton, writer of the “alphabet” mystery series, passed away on December 28, 2017. And then popular and influential...
The Unique Power of Reading, Part 2
Last time I talked about the power of reading to communicate with the dead. Well, better put, to have the dead communicate with us. Though the author may have shed the chains of mortality...
The Unique Power of Reading, Part 1
Most people in the world can read. About 98% of Americans are literate to some extent. Heck, you’re doing it right now! Unless you just came to look at the pictures. And if you...
Some Thoughts on Reading and Writing
A while ago, there was a discussion on Janet Reid’s blog around how much you should read in your chosen genre before you write that genre.* The received wisdom is 100 books. Yes, 100...
Book Review: THE SINGER FROM MEMPHIS by Gary Corby
Herodotus, an aspiring author, turns up at Nicolaos and Diotima’s house to ask if Nico would escort him to the land of the Pharaohs. It seems he wants to write about the past, and is traveling...
A to Z Catch Up #3
April is just flying by with less than a week to go on the 2016 April A-to-Z Challenge. If you don’t know what that’s about, click the link to find out. Those of you...
Links and Stuff
This week, I play with mirrors, pick up birds, and get lost in translation. But first, it’s March already, my birthday month (search the blog to find out exactly when–I’m sure I mentioned it...
