Blog
The Virgin and the Critics
So today I did what was probably a foolish thing, but I learned from it. I belong to a private group for writers on Facebook. It has literally thousands of members, over six thousand. Today was designated "First Line Friday," a day in which everyone is invited to post...
Praise from San Francisco Book Review
I have a pretty good run going here with the positive book reviews! The latest one is from San Francisco Book Review who gave it 4.5 stars. Thanks to Maggie Marshall for the good words. Here are some highlights: "...many fantastic qualities...weaves in mythology,...
Goodreads asks: How do you deal with writer’s block?
Goodreads recently asked me to write a response to this question: How do you deal with Writer's Block? Here's what I said. We need to ask, What is 'writer's block?' And we should be clear, it is not a clinical condition the way it sounds. Swimmer's Ear. Tennis Elbow....
Authors review The Former Hero
Two new reviews of my book came in this week, this time from fellow authors. I sent each a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Both responded with strong praise both for my book and for me as an author. The first was Oliver Chase, author...
Author Show Contest Winner
Hey everyone! Congratulate me today for being a winner in The Author Show contest, "50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading." The prize for winning is this cool red medallion graphic that you see here. Before you start fawning over me, clamoring for my autograph,...
4.5 stars from Portland Book Review
The Former Hero is an ambitious and philosophical novel that looks at the concept of a “hero” while following three protagonists are caught in an overwhelmingly corrupt city. Mary, mother of young Penny wakes up after an alcohol binge to discover that her daughter is...
Reflections on reading Gone Girl
I read the NY Times runaway bestseller Gone Girl last month. There were plenty of other things I could have read. It's not like I've read everything of note, every Murakami book that has been recommended, every Franzen, Eugenides, Eggers, Gaiman, Chabon. I'd like to...
3 Days in Rome: on borrowing the lives of others for your fiction
There is a running joke among authors. "Lookout, or I'll write you into one of my stories! Ha ha!" I said it's a joke. But for many authors it's no joke. On October 19, 1998, The Author's Guild held a panel discussion titled "Whose life is it anyway?" There were four...
What Happened to Penny?
An excerpt from The Former Hero. With a clamor she burst onto the bright doorstep, one hand across her brow. She strode out to the street and looked one way and then the other. Up and down the sidewalk she saw a long mural of pastel chalk drawings: a winged horse and...
Lucy and the ongoing quest for superheroism
If you are like me and do not have your analytical faculties constantly running full bore, you may have looked at the movie trailer for Lucy and thought to yourself, "Hm. Looks cool. And maybe for once Scarlett Johanssen will have a role where she can show a little...
