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…
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.…
One of the things I love about my sons as adults is that they are now the teachers, and I truly enjoy learning from them. Currently my younger son is teaching me about alternative rock, and I’m loving it. Context: I’m working on a new book with a working title of “Maisie’s List.” The protagonist is…
I am editing Soul Lost for the umpteenth time, trying to finally–three years, for God’s sake–get the print version published. I have discovered a new characteristic that I had not previously uncovered in my quest for self-awareness. Whereas I lack an attention to detail in nearly all things, when it comes to editing I am…
Sometimes I sit back and ask myself, “Why am I writing? What have I got to say that is worth the time of any other person on the planet? Where do I belong in the literary scheme of things?” Here is an epiphany I had today, which also explains why I am having so much trouble…
We all know them, we all make them: New Year’s Resolutions. That time of hope and optimism when you believe that planning ahead makes it all possible. A chronic list maker anyway, I must make mine every year. Here they are for 2015: 1. Re-release Soul Lost in April with a new, professionally made cover. …
