The Holiday Season is a wonderful time for most, a time of special music, colorful lights, great food, renewed friendship, and renewed souls. What's not to love? It's a rewarding season for all. Not so much for authors of eBook mystery and crime novels. I've noticed a lag in sales during most U.S. holidays, lasting … Continue reading Tis The Season For…Crime and Carnage?
writing influences
Writing “SAND”
It is true the sand of the Mojave Desert hides treasures. There are storied treasure hoards, such as a ship laden with pearls, an underground river bed of black sand laced with gold, a shaft of gold ore behind an iron door, lost and never relocated. Then there are the real underground treasures … Continue reading Writing “SAND”
Changing Genre Midstream
As writer and reader I've noticed few authors write in more than one genre. I wondered why. An author of a crime mystery series, I decided to try another category of writing. In so doing, I think I may have learned the answer to my question. It is not about ability so much as expectations, … Continue reading Changing Genre Midstream
Can You Maintain Your Identity As A Writer?
It's all right there––in your head. Your dream project, your book. You know what you will say in it, you know what it will look like. You begin to write, it grows page by page, chapter by chapter. One day it is finished. Soon you will find a way to publish it. But ask yourself: … Continue reading Can You Maintain Your Identity As A Writer?
Writing and…Exercise?
I was fortunate to spend this past week in Palm Desert, CA. To say Palm Desert of course means Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta...even the Salton Sea, for we spent time in all of them. Don't turn away. This article is not "How I Spent My Summer Vacation". It is about an … Continue reading Writing and…Exercise?
Five Best Marketing Approaches for Self-Published Writers
IndieRecon (an independent publishing on-line conference) recently presented an interview with Mark Coker of Smashword. The topic, among other things; new marketing approaches for self publishing authors. He had five central thoughts: 1. Write a good, no, a great book 2. Forget Social Media - it won’t help 3. Write a lot of great … Continue reading Five Best Marketing Approaches for Self-Published Writers
How I Write
If you write books, sooner or later you will be asked how you came to write them, in essence why have you written what you have written the way you have written it? I have been asked such questions. I have even been asked, “Do you use a formula or something?” Well, yes. The genesis of … Continue reading How I Write
Books That Kickstart Writers
Recently I read an interview with James Patterson. The interviewer asked him if there was a particular book that influenced him in his writing career. This is an interesting question, because where you might expect most authors to respond that many books influenced them, most can identify a particular one, a book that was the genesis of … Continue reading Books That Kickstart Writers
Four Things I Never Forget
Each of us writes in our own way, in our own time, and for our own reasons. Over time we establish our own truths; our own mandates, if you will. These tend to boil down to just a few basic rules, if we scrutinize them long enough. And they are often universal. I’ll share mine … Continue reading Four Things I Never Forget
