Do I blog or to go through the several thousand e-mails waiting for my attention? Since the several thousand e-mails totally overwhelm me, I will blog. (If you have written me an e-mail that I have not answered, please understand it is buried in an avalanche of “Christmas is coming” sales promotions. I promise I…
I finally saw Disney’s Christopher Robin, and it did exactly what I hoped it would do. It did not bog me down in “but’s” or “on-the-other-hand’s.” Adults get too wrapped up in the importance of their work and forget what they are actually supposed to be working for: the means to make the rest of…
“Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” This is a no-brainer, right? Almost everyone I know listens to music to relax, but what is interesting is the different composition of each person’s playlist. I was talking with my older son’s fiancée yesterday about her affection for…
I am often asked where I get the ideas for my stories. The answer is “Anywhere.” I don’t just sit on the sofa and wait for inspiration to strike, however; I look for it wherever I go during the day, or in my environment when I am home. Things hit me at the craziest times.…
I committed to a writing career on my 40th birthday–May 27, 1999. I figured that, given the average lifespan of 80 or so years, I was about halfway done with my life, and if I was going to be a professional writer I had better be about it. Do the math. That was 19 years…
When people tell me they love math and science but hate writing, I always tell them how mathematical writing is. It never fails to get me a puzzled stare, but once I explain it they see it is clear as day. After all, I’m not a genius, I just spend a lot of time thinking…
I always worry that my novels are too short. Soul Lost is my longest at 81,000 words, but Megan is much shorter, only 47,000. A book that has not yet seen the light of day, The People of the Green Hills, is more epic in my mind, but on paper it is only 67,000 words.…
